| (2) Eligibility determinations that TxDOT performs
under this MOU will not require field investigations if sufficient
background information exists to demonstrate that the portion of the
site to be affected does not have potential research value.
(3) Determinations that TxDOT makes under this MOU
regarding the presence of cemeteries in project APEs may be made through
the use of maps, project-area photographs, or other background research.
(i) Permits for Archeological Sites and Cemeteries.
THC shall issue antiquities permits for reconnaissance survey, intensive
survey, monitoring, eligibility testing, exhumations, and emergencies
to archeological staff at TxDOT under the following terms:
(1) The archeological staff of TxDOT's Environmental
Affairs Division, or its successor as established by TxDOT administration,
oversees the work.
(2) The work shall be completed in accordance with
the provisions of the MOU.
(3) THC shall not require TxDOT to submit an antiquities
permit application.
(4) In lieu of a permit application, TxDOT archeological
staff shall notify THC in writing (by email or letter) of:
(A) the principal investigator;
(B) the investigation type and scope of work;
(C) the county in which the project will occur;
(D) the project name or identifier (site trinomial,
if applicable); and
(E) the period of time for which the permit is desired.
(5) TxDOT staff may initiate work following notification
of THC.
(6) THC shall issue a permit number within five business
days of receiving the notification.
(7) TxDOT may revise the type of investigation based
on observations made during the conduct of work as long as TxDOT provides
to THC notification of the change prior to submission of the report.
(8) TxDOT may determine the appropriate amount of time
a Principal Investigator will be in the field for a project based
on the complexity of the project. TxDOT Principal Investigators will
document their estimated proportion of field time in the corresponding
reports of investigations.
(9) When conditions of natural disasters, man-made
disasters, or post-review discovery necessitate immediate action,
TxDOT may initiate work under an emergency permit without having first
requested and received the permit number subject to each of the following
conditions:
(A) TxDOT staff shall only conduct work under an emergency
permit when archeological deposits are discovered during development
or other construction projects or under conditions of natural or man-made
disasters that necessitate immediate action to deal with the situation
and findings.
(B) TxDOT will provide notification to THC to obtain
the permit number within five working days of initiating the work.
(C) All categories of investigations can be authorized
under an emergency permit, but an emergency permit will only be issued
under emergency conditions where the investigations must be initiated
or performed prior to notification under paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(10) THC shall consider the work conducted under the
permit completed upon receipt of:
(A) one unbound report;
(B) two tagged pdf format reports on an archival quality
CD or DVD, one containing all maps and locational information and
one with maps and locational information redacted;
(C) a shape file of the project area subject to investigation;
and
(D) a completed abstract form.
(11) The number of defaulted permits accrued by particular
TxDOT staff while working for TxDOT shall not affect the issuance
of additional permits to other TxDOT staff by THC for TxDOT projects.
(12) The inspection of a project APE or proposed APE
for purposes of evaluating the kind of archeological investigation
that may be required (scoping) shall not constitute an activity that
requires a permit from THC when that activity does not result in a
report to be coordinated under the terms of the MOU.
(13) All types of archeological investigations conducted
by TxDOT but not covered by this section shall require submission
of an antiquities permit application and adhere to the terms of the
permit and this chapter with the exception that any permit issued
to TxDOT under this paragraph, including data recovery permits, shall
not include a requirement for project-specific outreach to be completed
as part of the scope of work. TxDOT shall conduct public outreach
at a program level regarding its activities under this MOU as specified
in subsection (s).
(j) Surveys for Archeological Sites and Cemeteries.
(1) Surveys may be limited to an evaluation of existing
impacts or stratigraphic integrity when these activities are sufficient
to determine that any sites present are unlikely to be eligible.
(2) Eligibility determinations made by TxDOT under
this MOU will not require further investigation if TxDOT demonstrates
that the portion of the site to be affected is not likely to have
sufficient integrity to be eligible.
(3) For portions of the APE where deposits may retain
sufficient integrity for sites to be eligible, TxDOT survey methods
will conform with THC's Archeological Survey Standards, underwater
survey standards promulgated in 13 TAC 28 (relating to Historic Shipwrecks),
or with other appropriate methods, except as provided in subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of this paragraph:
(A) TxDOT reserves the right to depart from published
survey standards in cases where it deems appropriate.
(B) THC reserves the right to review non-standard procedures
for their adequacy.
(4) Survey methods will be considered adequate for
the identification of burials and cemetery boundaries when the portions
of the APE within 25 feet of a known cemetery have been investigated
and the survey included scraping to a depth adequate to determine
whether grave shafts or burials occur in the APE.
(5) A survey to identify burials does not comprise
an activity with the potential to cause an adverse effect to a historic
property.
(k) Archeological Eligibility Testing Phase.
(1) Each of the following methods will be employed
for test excavations:
(A) Mechanical trenches will be excavated and profiles
documented in order to characterize the area's potential for archeological
deposits with sufficient integrity to be eligible to occur at the
site.
(B) The extent of the site within the APE will be sampled
through some combination of shovel-testing, column sampling, augering
with an auger diameter of not less than 12 inches, surface collection,
and geophysical prospection in order to characterize the distribution
of archeological materials across the site.
(C) Additional units will be excavated and screened
to evaluate site areas that appear to have the best potential for
yielding important data with good integrity, based on the results
of previous work.
(D) The materials analyzed will comprise those materials
most likely to contribute important information about prehistory or
history.
(E) TxDOT reserves the right to depart from these methods
in cases where it deems appropriate and shall justify deviations in
the report.
(F) Testing procedures conducted for underwater archeological
investigations shall be coordinated and approved by THC Marine Archeology
Program (MAP)
(2) Data from test excavation projects shall be made
available to qualified researchers.
(l) Archeological Excavation and Data Recovery.
(1) When appropriate and established in the final research
design approved by THC, TxDOT will develop public educational outreach
projects for significant data recovery investigations.
(2) Data from data recovery projects shall be made
available to qualified researchers.
(3) Research designs for underwater excavation and
data recovery shall be reviewed and approved by the THC MAP.
(m) Exhumation.
(1) Exhumation is a form of investigation to resolve
the adverse effects of a project on a cemetery.
(2) Exhumation efforts may be staged as a separate
phase of work from burial identification. Following procedures set
forth in Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 711, exhumation may
begin once any required notifications of next of kin or other procedures
required by Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 711 have been conducted.
(3) The following tasks represent a sufficient, reasonable
and good faith effort to identify remains and any next of kin associated
with burials in unknown or abandoned cemeteries:
(A) making inquiries through the local County Historical
Commission;
(B) posting notices with local news outlets; and
Cont'd... |
