(A) Archeological investigations. The annual permit
authorizes construction monitoring, surface reconnaissance, shovel
test excavation, controlled unit excavation up to 1 by 1 meter in
horizontal dimension, mechanical testing, rock art recording and conservation,
and intensive cultural resource surveys of TPWD lands up to 200 acres
per project conducted during that calendar year.
(i) Reconnaissance surveys as defined in §26.15
of this title (relating to Archeological Permit Categories) conducted
under the annual permit may exceed 200 acres per project.
(ii) Up to twelve (12) backhoe or other mechanical
trench excavations may be used during survey-level investigations
to determine whether buried cultural deposits exist, and to obtain
geoarcheological (geomorphological) data.
(iii) The following investigations are not authorized
under this permit. Intensive surveys covering over 200 acres and/or
advanced archeological investigations such as testing or data recovery
as defined in §26.15 of this title (relating to Archeological
Permit Categories) will not be conducted under this permit. Architectural
investigations are not authorized under this permit.
(B) Qualifications. Investigations will be conducted
under the supervision of qualified TPWD archeologists or, at the discretion
of the CRPD, archeologists contracted by TPWD who meet THC requirements
for principal investigator as listed in §26.4 of this title.
The CRPD, WFC, or their designees may designate qualified TPWD archeologists
to serve as Principal Investigators for particular projects.
(C) Standards. All archeological investigations performed
on TPWD lands must meet current professional archeological standards
as promulgated by the Council of Texas Archeologists.
(6) THC Review of Reports on Archeological Investigations
under annual Antiquities Permit.
(A) Archeological investigations conducted on TPWD
lands under the annual Antiquities Permit that require THC review
under paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection or other state or federal
regulations will be reported in the annual Antiquities Permit report.
At the discretion of the CRPD, additional investigations that do not
require THC review may be included in the annual Antiquities Permit
report, and will be clearly designated as such.
(B) Interim reports. When TPWD seeks project approval
from THC as a result of archeological investigations conducted on
TPWD lands under the annual Antiquities Permit, the CRPD, WFC, or
their designees may send THC a concise interim report on the findings
of the investigations. The interim report will contain information
on:
(i) the type of project that is proposed, including
the nature and extent of its impacts;
(ii) any prior impacts that have affected the project
area;
(iii) locational data for the area of archeological
investigations and any archeological sites encountered;
(iv) a summary of the scope, findings, and conclusions
of the archeological investigations;
(v) evaluations of each archeological site's suitability
for official State Antiquities Landmark designation under §26.10
of this title (relating to Criteria for Evaluating Archeological Sites);
and
(vi) a project approval request or recommendations
for further work, as appropriate.
(C) THC review of interim reports. THC shall respond
in writing (hard copy or electronic format) to interim reports within
30 days of receipt. When appropriate, THC will concur with the report
findings and recommendations after review. If THC does not respond
to TPWD within that period of time, TPWD may proceed with internal
authorization of the proposed project without further notice to THC.
(D) Draft reports. TPWD archeologists and archeologists
contracted by TPWD who conduct investigations under the annual Antiquities
Permit at the discretion of the CRPD shall provide the CRPD with concise,
informative draft reports with supporting documents. All interim reports
described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph will be expanded into
draft reports meeting the requirements of the Council of Texas Archeologists
Guidelines for Cultural Resources Management Short Reports. The archeologist
will submit shapefiles of areas investigated and copies of TexSite
forms for the sites described in the report to the CRPD along with
each draft report. All sites shall have trinomial designations assigned
by the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of
Texas at Austin.
(E) Draft annual Antiquities Permit report. The TPWD
draft annual Antiquities Permit report on each year's investigations
will be compiled and edited by the CRPD or their designee, and the
CRPD will submit the report to THC for review by May 1 of the following
year. THC shall provide comments in writing (hard copy or electronic
format) on the draft annual report within 30 days of receipt. If THC
does not respond to TPWD within that period of time, TPWD may proceed
with publication of the final annual report without further notice
to THC.
(F) Final annual Antiquities Permit report. The final
TPWD annual Antiquities Permit report shall be in a format that conforms
to §26.16(a)(1) of this title (relating to Reports Relating to
Archeological Permits). Upon approval of the draft annual Antiquities
Permit report by THC, TPWD will submit the final report to THC no
later than 120 days after TPWD has received THC approval, and will
distribute copies in accord with §26.16 of this title.
|