| (C) THC approval of proposed projects. When THC concurs
with a finding of a qualified TPWD archeologist or archeologist contracted
by TPWD that no archeological sites are located in a proposed construction
area or that a proposed project will not adversely impact cultural
resources, TPWD may proceed with the project on receipt of written
concurrence (hard copy or electronic format) from THC.
(D) Archeological site evaluation. When a qualified
TPWD archeologist or archeologist contracted by TPWD identifies an
archeological site or sites in a proposed project area, he or she
will evaluate whether each site appears to merit official State Antiquities
Landmark designation under §26.10 of this title (relating to
Criteria for Evaluating Archeological Sites).
(E) Protection of significant sites. If adverse impacts
to an archeological site(s) can be avoided during construction, the
archeologist will mark the site in the field and TPWD personnel will
not damage that area or a TPWD archeologist will provide GIS data
to field staff who will mark the archeological site for protection.
If TPWD conducts vegetation clearing on significant archeological
sites, it shall be done by hand to avoid damage to the site. On-site
decisions made by TPWD archeologists regarding protective measures
for archeological sites will be respected by TPWD employees and contractors,
and will balance the need to conserve significant sites with timely
project completion.
(F) Mitigation of impacts to significant sites. If
an archeological site that merits official State Antiquities Landmark
designation would be adversely impacted by a proposed project, TPWD
will propose mitigation measures and request THC consultation and
recommendations. If TPWD or THC ascertains that further investigations
are necessary prior to or during a construction or maintenance project,
these investigations must be performed before the project may proceed.
(G) Archeological site discovery. Whenever cultural
resources are discovered on TPWD lands, they will be reported to the
CRPD, WFC, or their designees, who will report this information to
THC and maintain central repositories of cultural resource information.
(4) THC Review and Coordination of Third Party Projects
on TPWD Lands.
(A) TPWD will ensure that archeological investigations
conducted on TPWD lands on behalf of other entities promote the identification
and conservation of cultural resources.
(B) TPWD will require principal investigators conducting
archeological investigations on TPWD lands on behalf of third parties
to obtain individual Antiquities Permits for those investigations.
(C) THC will notify TPWD if they should become aware
of proposed archeological investigations on lands that TPWD manages,
but are owned by another entity, and/or that are sponsored by an entity
other than TPWD.
(D) THC shall issue Antiquities Permits to entities
conducting archeological investigations on TPWD lands on behalf of
third parties, only after receiving written (hard copy or electronic
format) notice that TPWD has approved the research designs, scopes,
methods, and reporting requirements for those permits, and the CRPD,
WFC, or their designee has signed the Landowner's Certification on
those permit applications.
(E) THC will notify TPWD prior to granting permit extensions.
(F) TPWD will require that background research for
archeological projects on TPWD lands is conducted at the TPWD Archeology
Laboratory in Austin prior to the field investigations, unless otherwise
stipulated.
(G) TPWD will review all reports or sections of reports
for archeological investigations on TPWD lands, regardless of whether
those projects extend beyond TPWD boundaries. The CRPD, WFC, or their
designee will provide written (hard copy or electronic format) comments
on draft reports within 30 days to the principal investigator, and
principal investigators shall provide revised draft reports to TPWD
in which TPWD comments are addressed. After TPWD concurs that those
comments have been addressed, TPWD will submit reports to THC for
review, under a cover letter from the CRPD, WFC, or their designee
notifying THC that those draft reports have been reviewed and approved
by TPWD. In all phases of investigations, third parties will communicate
with THC only through CRPD, WFC, or their designee.
(5) Scope of TPWD Annual Antiquities Permit Archeological
Investigations.
(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.
Cont'd... |
