Phase I Remote Sensing Marine Archeological Survey of the Southwest Pass, Ocean Dredge Material Disposal Site, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana

Abstract

Abstract : This report presents the results of a Phase I Marine Archeological Remote Sensing Survey of the Southwest Pass Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS) in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. This investigation was conducted in September and October 1999, by R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District (USACE-NOD). The study was undertaken to assist the USACE-NOD to satisfy its responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, prior to continuing the disposal of dredged material at this location. All aspects of the investigations were completed in accordance with the Scope-of-Work, and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation (Federal Register 48, No 190, 1983). The study area for this project consisted of a single survey block comprising the entire ODMDS, which is located at the southern entrance of the Southwest Pass. The survey block measured a total of 6,652.8 ft (2,027.3 m) x 19,377.6 ft (5,906.4 m), or 2,959.5 acres. The objectives of this study were to identify specific targets that might represent significant submerged cultural resources within the project area, and to provide the USACE-NOD with management recommendations for such resources. These objectives were met with a research design that combined background archival investigations and a marine archeological remote sensing survey. Background research and archival investigations indicated a low to moderate potential for encountering submerged historic cultural resources within the project area. A review of Louisiana archeological Site files and relevant research reports documented no sites within a mile (1.6 km) radius of the project area.