This Historic Properties Management Plan (HPMP) was developed to assist Georgia Power, a Southern Company, in protecting Historic Properties within the Morgan Falls Hydroelectric Project's area of potential effect (APE), and in integrating protection of these significant cultural resources with other project management plans. This document was prepared as part of Georgia Power's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing application for the Morgan Falls Hydroelectric Project (FERC #2237). Georgia Power owns and operates the Morgan Falls Hydroelectric Project under a hydropower license issued by the FERC on 1 March 1959. This license expires on 28 February 2009. Georgia Power initiated the relicensing process under the procedures and guidance of the FERC, and in accordance with FERC authorities provided in the Federal Power Act (FPA) of 1920 (16 United States Code [USC] 791a et seq.). Before issuing a new hydropower license, the FERC must comply with a number of federal laws, regulations, executive orders, policies, and guidelines. Among these requirements is compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (16 USC 470 et seq., as amended through 2000) and the regulations implementing Section 106 issued by the Secretary of the Interior (36 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 800). Section 106 of the NHPA requires the FERC to take into account the effect of its undertaking (in this case, relicensing of a hydroelectric project) on Historic Properties and to afford the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) a reasonable opportunity to comment. The Morgan Falls project (Figure 1) consists of a powerhouse, dam, spillway, and 673 acres of reservoir impoundment (Bull Sluice Lake). The project is located on the mainstem Chattahoochee River between river miles 312.6 and 319.5 in the upper Piedmont. The Morgan Falls Project APE encompasses areas directly affected by Project operations, including lands within the Project Boundaries (areas at or below full pond contour [elev 868], Georgia Power owned islands in the reservoirs, access areas owned by Georgia Power, and land around the powerhouse, dam and spillway).
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