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On behalf of CP&Y and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), AmaTerra Environmental conducted an intensive archeological survey of two of five proposed detention ponds in Brazoria and Fort Bend Counties, Texas. The detention ponds are part of TxDOT’s proposed widening of State Highway (SH) 36 from Farm to Market Road (FM) 2218 in Pleak, Fort Bend County to FM 1495 in Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas (CSJs 0187-05-050, 0188-02-029, 0188-03-019, 0188-04-035, 0188-04-025, 0188-05-027, 0188-06-046, 0111-08-100, 0187-05-048, 0188-04-044, and 0188-02-036). The project was completed in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Section 106) and the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) under Permit no. 8868. Work was conducted April 17, 2019 by a team of two archeologists and consisted of visual inspection and shovel testing of two proposed pond locations (Varner Creek and Pond B). A total of 21 shovel tests were excavated and one new archeological site (41BO282) was recorded. This mid-twentieth century site, recorded in the proposed Pond B location, retains little to no data potential within the APE. It is therefore recommended not eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or as a State Antiquities Landmark. Access was not available at the time of survey for proposed detention Pond A. However, it was visually inspected from the existing right-of-way (ROW) and its current use as a paved construction staging area indicates that archeological resources are unlikely to exist at the location. Therefore, no further work is recommended for this pond site. Rights of Entry (ROE) were not available at the time of survey for the remaining proposed pond locations (Big Creek 1 and Big Creek 2). AmaTerra recommends intensive archeological survey for these areas when access becomes available and prior to construction.

At the request of Salt Creek Midstream (SCM), Flatrock Engineering and Environmental, LLC (Flatrock) conducted an intensive archeological resource survey of approximately 2.9 miles (15,312 feet) of a proposed pipeline corridor on University Lands in northern Ward County, Texas. Because the project will take place on property owned by the University of Texas, a political subdivision of the State of Texas, it is subject to the Antiquities Code of Texas (Texas Natural Resources Code, Title 9, Chapter 191) and its associated regulations (13 TAC 26). The archeological survey was carried out under Antiquities Permit Number 9355. A pedestrian field survey was conducted by Flatrock archeologist Joel Butler on March 30 and 31, 2020. A corridor 100 feet in width, encompassing 38.7 acres, was surveyed during fieldwork. Surface visibility ranged from 80 to 100-percent along the 100-foot survey corridor and revealed predominantly heavily disturbed or deflated surfaces. The entire corridor was 100-percent surface inspected and 31 shovel tests were excavated to locate and/or evaluate the potential for buried cultural deposits; all shovel tests were negative. No artifacts or archeological sites were identified during fieldwork and no historic structures were visible from the right-of-way. Flatrock recommends that construction of the pipeline be allowed to proceed as planned, with no further archeological investigations. However, it is recommended that if any cultural resources are encountered during construction, the Texas Historical Commission and University Lands should be notified, and a qualified archeologist should evaluate the findings. No artifacts were collected or curated during this project; field records will be curated at the Center for Archaeological Studies (CAS) at Texas State University, San Marcos.