Cultural Resources Intensive Pedestrian Survey within the Dayton Loop Pipeline Project, Harris and Liberty Counties, Texas

Abstract

Gray & Pape, Inc., of Houston, Texas, conducted an intensive pedestrian cultural resources survey of jurisdictional portions of survey corridor within a proposed pipeline alignment measuring a total of approximately 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) located in Harris and Liberty Counties, Texas. The pipeline route is on privately-owned property; therefore, a Texas Antiquities Permit was not required prior to survey. In total, the surveyed property totals approximately 2.8 hectares (7 acres) which defines the Area of Potential Effects. The goals of the survey were to establish whether or not previously unidentified archaeological resources were located within the project area, also defined as the project’s Area of Potential Effects, and whether the pipeline alignment would affect any previously identified cultural resources. The lead agency for the project has been identified as the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District. The procedures to be followed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to fulfill the requirements set forth in the National Historic Preservation Act, other applicable historic preservation laws, and Presidential directives as they relate to the regulatory program of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (33 CFR Parts 320-334) are articulated in the Regulatory Program of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Part 325 -Processing of Department of the Army Permits, Appendix C -Procedures for the Protection of Historic Properties. All fieldwork and reporting activities were completed following accepted standards set forth by the Texas Historical Commission and the Council of Texas Archeologists and in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Fieldwork took place in March 2019 and required 32 work hours to complete. Field investigation consisted of intensive pedestrian inspection, subsurface shovel testing, photographic documentation, and mapping. A total of 20 shovel tests were excavated, of which none were positive for buried cultural materials. No historic structures were identified as a result of survey. Based on the results of the survey, Gray & Pape, Inc. recommends that no further cultural resources work be required and that the project be cleared to proceed as currently planned.