Article Title

A Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of the 8-Mile Project, Brazoria County, Texas

Authors

Zachary M. Overfield
Abby Peyton

Agency

Texas Historical Commission

Abstract

Perennial Environmental Services, LLC (Perennial), on behalf of Phillips 66 Pipeline LLC (P66), conducted an intensive cultural resources survey of the proposed 8-Mile Project located in Brazoria County, Texas . The proposed Project will consist of an approximately 1,275.3-acre (ac) (516.1-hectare [ha]) facility designed to service the transportation of Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) and will include a railroad track loop, storage, railcar offloading tracks, an administrative building, and other structures necessary for operation of the facility.

The proposed Project is located within the jurisdictional boundary of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District. The Project may require the usage of a Nationwide Permit (NWP) issued by the USACE, and as such, a cultural resources survey was conducted for the 1275.3 ac (516.1 ha) Project area in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (36 CFR Part 800). The survey was designed to inventory and assess cultural resources across the Project. These efforts involved both surface and subsurface archaeological survey.

The area of potential effect (APE) is considered the entirety of the Project area. The APE measures approximately 1275.3 ac (516.1 ha). Perennial conducted the intensive Phase I cultural resources survey within the boundary of the Project APE. Zachary Overfield served as the Principal Investigator (PI) for the Project and supervised all aspects of the cultural resources survey. The fieldwork was conducted by Tessa Noble, Mary Noell, Jacob Cumberland, Patrick Gainey, Anne Marie Fraley, and Allyson Walsh on December 4-12, 2014 and Amy Goldstein, Kirsten Atwood, and Zachary Overfield on February 22-24, 2016.

The background review identified two National Register listed properties (Marmion’s gazebo and Palapa table) northwest of the Project area. Both properties are located upon the historic James Richard Marmion Estate, which has not been evaluated in its entirety for its NRHP eligibility (Atlas 2016). The gazebo and Palapa table were created by noted sculptor Dionicio Rodriguez and qualify under criterion C as the work of a master. The gazebo is located 0.4 mi (0.7 km) northwest of the Project area and the table is located 0.6 mi (1.0 km) northwest of the Project area. The properties do not lie in the Project viewshed as bottomland hardwood forest obscures the northwestern boundary. Additionally, rail facilities will not drastically alter the character of the viewshed due to the prior establishment of a railroad and rail facilities in the immediate area. These properties are a sufficient distance outside of the Project APE and will not be impacted by Project construction activities.

The field survey resulted in entirely negative findings with no cultural resources observed along the ground surface or within any of the 395 shovel tests excavated across the Project. Overall, the Project area was found to be dominated by cleared pastureland that was once bottomland hardwood forests. Multiple pipeline corridors bisect the property, and inundation was widespread during the 2014 and 2016 investigations. Based on the extent of the survey efforts and the entirely negative results of the investigation, it is the professional opinion of the Principal Investigator that the Project will have no adverse effect on significant cultural resources listed on or considered eligible for listing on the NRHP. No further work is recommended for the Project.

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