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Table 3.10-6. Isolated Resources Within the Cultural Resource Study APE
Site No. Name/Description Resource Type NRHP Status*
48CR11805 Open Camp Prehistoric Eligible 48CR11807 Historical Artifact Scatter Historical Not Eligible 48CR11808 Stone Circle Site Prehistoric Unevaluated 48CR11809 Collapsed Cairn and Lithic Scatter Prehistoric Not Eligible 48CR11810 Open Camp Prehistoric Eligible 48CR11811 Cairn Prehistoric Not Eligible 48CR11812 Stone Circle Site and Cairn Prehistoric Unevaluated
*Evaluations for eligibility for inclusion in the NRHP are considered preliminary only and subject to change for any resource updates or newly recorded cultural resources to date.
Table 3.10-6. Isolated Resources Within the Cultural Resource Study APE Site No. Name/Description Resource Type NRHP Status*
IR_WY_2022_1495 Pull Tab Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1496 Steel Oil Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1497 Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1498 Projectile Point Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1499 Vehicle Part Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1500 Pull Tab Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1501 Steel Fuel Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1502 Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1503 Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1504 Biface Midsection Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1505 Crushed Steel Beverage Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1506 Crushed Steel Oil Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1507 Projectile Point Fragment Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1508 Historic Artifact Scatter Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1509 Historic Artifact Scatter Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_1510 Lithic Scatter <15 Artifacts Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2444 Early 20th c. Farm Equipment Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2447 Plains Side-Notch Projectile Point Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2453 Solder Dot Can and Steel Pail Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2456 Cone Top Beer Can Historical Not Eligible
Site No.
Name/Description Resource Type NRHP Status*
IR_WY_2022_2457 Duraglas Glass Jug Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2461 Hazel Atlas Mason Jar Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2463 Solder Dot Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2464 Steel Beverage Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2465 Solder Dot Cans Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2466 Solder Dot Cans Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2467 Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2468 Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2469 Biface Fragment and Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2470 Glass Bottle Base Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2471 Glass Bottle Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2472 Solder Dot Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2473 Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2474 Solder Dot Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2475 Steel Beer Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2476 Pull Tab Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2477 Modified Flake Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2478 Modified Flake Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2479 Corner-Notched Projectile Point Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2480 Oil Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2481 Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2482 Pull Tab Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2483 Glass Bottle Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2484 Stage 4 Biface Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2485 Historic Can Scatter Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2486 Animal Trap Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2487 Drill Base, Mano Fragments, Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2488 Historic Artifact Scatter Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2489 Historic Artifact Scatter Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2490 Stage 3 biface Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2491 Glass Bottle Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2492 Historic Artifact Scatter, Bifaces, Debitage Multicomponent Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2493 Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible
Site No.
Name/Description Resource Type NRHP Status*
IR_WY_2022_2494 Debitage, Exhausted Core, Modified Flake Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2495 Biface, Debitage, Tobacco Tin Multicomponent Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2496 Projectile Point and Debitage Prehistoric Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2497 Solder Dot Cans Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2498 Crushed Hole in Cap Can Historical Not Eligible IR_WY_2022_2499 Coca Cola Bottle Historical Not Eligible *Evaluations for eligibility for inclusion in the NRHP are considered preliminary only and subject to change for any resource updates or newly recorded cultural resources to date.
3.10.2 Direct and Indirect Environmental Effects on Cultural Resources
Project construction, operation, and maintenance may have an effect on historic properties. Types of effects may include direct (i.e., the result of Project activities at the same time and place with no intervening cause), indirect (i.e., the result of Project activities later in time or further removed in distance but reasonably foreseeable), and/or cumulative (e.g., caused by a Project activity in combination with other non-Project activities in the past, present, and foreseeable future) (ACHP 2019). Section 106 of the NHPA requires lead federal agencies to consider direct, indirect, and cumulative adverse effects of their undertakings on historic properties. In this case, the undertaking is FERC’s issuance of a license for the Project. 36 CFR §800.5(a)(1) states that:
An adverse effect is found when an undertaking may alter, directly or indirectly, any of the characteristics of a historic property that qualify the property for inclusion in the National Register in a manner that would diminish the integrity of the property’s location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, or association. Consideration shall be given to all qualifying characteristics of a historic property, including those that may have been identified subsequent to the original evaluation of the property’s eligibility for the National Register. Adverse effects may include reasonably foreseeable effects caused by the undertaking that may occur later in time, be farther removed in distance or be cumulative.
Because completion of the Cultural Resource Study is still pending and has therefore not been reviewed or accepted by the lead federal agencies or WSHPO, all recommendations of NRHP eligibility contained herein are preliminary and subject to change during review and consultation. Of the 49 sites recorded within the APE, 29 sites (48CR979; 48CR3991; 48CR5027; 48CR7262_5; 48CR7265_2; 48CR8029 48CR8032; 48CR8038; 48CR8045; 48CR10045; 48CR10707; 48CR10710; 48CR11157; 48CR11723; 48CR11746; 48CR11766; 48CR11767; 48CR11768; 48CR11789; 48CR11790; 48CR11792; 48CR11796; 48CR11797; 48CR11798; 48CR11799; 48CR11800; 48CR11807; 48CR11809; 48CR11811) are recommended not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP or noncontributing segments and no further work is recommended.
There are 11 sites (48CR1200; 48CR7262_6; 48CR8033; 48CR8034; 48CR8947; 48CR11801; 48CR11802; 48CR11803; 48CR11804; 48CR11805; 48CR11810) within the APE that are recommend eligible for inclusion in the NRHP or are contributing segments
of NRHP eligible linear sites. These sites may be adversely affected by the Project. However, as stated above, recommendations for NRHP eligibility are preliminary and are subject to change during review and consultation, and therefore effects cannot be determined at this time.
There are nine sites within the APE that are unevaluated. One site, Watkins Ranch (48CR3737), is on private land for which access for cultural resource survey was denied by the landowner. Although, a review of the 1953 1:24k T E Ranch USGS Topographic Map, in addition to historical and modern aerial imagery, locate the site approximately 800 feet farther north than the current plotted site boundary, which would place the site outside of the APE. Another site (48CR4808) was not relocated. The remaining seven unevaluated sites (48CR5028; 48CR11791; 48CR11793; 48CR11794; 48CR11795; 48CR11808; 48CR11812) require additional data before a recommendation of NRHP eligibility can be made.
The 59 IRs are recommended not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP and no further work is needed.
Evaluations of eligibility for inclusion in the NRHP for these sites are considered preliminary only and subject to change for any resource updates or newly recorded cultural resources. The Cultural Resources Study is ongoing and will include documenting existing conditions and potential Project effects on historic properties. If assessment of cumulative environmental effects to cultural resources is not feasible as part of the study, a future assessment of effects will be provided for under the HPMP.
As noted in Table 3.2-1, the geographic scope for cultural resources is the proposed APE, since the impact area for direct effects (physical) includes areas subject to ground disturbance, while indirect effects (visual or audible) include Project elements that are visible from historic properties in which the setting contributes to their NRHP eligibility. As detailed in Table 3.2-2, there are three projects that occur within the geographic scope for cultural resources: 1) WPCI Projects, 2) Gateway West Transmission Line Project, and 3) Gateway South Transmission Line Project.
Due to the sensitive nature of cultural resources, publicly available information on projects in the geographic scope is limited. Cumulative effects to cultural resources will be evaluated as Project design continues in coordination with applicable resource agencies. Determinations of NRHP eligibility and Project effects are still under review with federal, state, and Tribal agencies.
3.10.4.1 Agency Consultation
The NOI and PAD for the proposed Project were filed with the FERC on April 20, 2020. Comments were received from several agencies including BLM and WGFD, and individual stakeholders. Black Canyon held a virtual joint public-agency meeting on July 21, 2020,
and has continued consultation with stakeholders since that time. Black Canyon distributed its proposed resource study plans for the Project on August 3, 2020, and March 23, 2021. Black Canyon distributed the DLA on June 6, 2022. Responses to stakeholder comments and Black Canyon’s Record of Consultation are provided in Appendix A. BLM provided comments on cultural resources in their comments on the DLA. Responses to comments on the DLA are provided in Appendix L.
3.10.4.2 Applicant Recommendations
As described in Table 2.1-5, the following PM&Es are applicable to cultural resources:
• Historic Properties Management Plan (HPMP): Black Canyon proposes to develop a HPMP and to conduct cultural resource monitoring during ground disturbing construction activities.
3.11 Paleontological Resources
The subsections below describe paleontological resources in the vicinity of the Project and consider the effects on these resources of constructing and operating the Project as proposed by Black Canyon. Descriptions of the affected environment, the environmental analysis, the proposed PM&E measures, and the identification of unavoidable adverse effects were developed based on available data presented in the PAD and the Paleontological Survey Report by Stantec (formerly Paleo Solutions Inc.) (2022). This report is appended to this FLA as a privileged document, provided only to FERC and federal land managing agencies.
Black Canyon also completed a Paleontological Resource Survey and evaluation of the proposed Project infrastructure components within the proposed Footprint of Potential Disturbance. The Paleontological Resource Survey included an analysis of existing data and field surveys. The survey evaluated the paleontological potential of geologic units within the Project area by researching their known fossil potential and paleontological significance and determining the number and significance of previously recorded and newly discovered fossil localities within the Project area and elsewhere in the same geologic units. The survey was designed to ascertain the presence of previously unknown scientifically important vertebrate fossils and/or scientifically important occurrences of invertebrate, plant, or trace fossils located on the ground surface, evaluate the physical condition of previously recorded paleontological localities and the potential for disturbance of these localities during the proposed construction and operations and maintenance of the Project, and evaluate the potential for adverse impacts to subsurface paleontological resources that may be disturbed during construction in the Project area.
Field surveys were conducted on all lands within the Project area where the ROW is underlain by PFYC 3, 4, and 5 geologic units, plus an additional 200-foot buffer (Stantec 2022).
The analysis of existing paleontological data included:
• A geologic map review to determine the distribution of geologic units within the Project area; • A literature search to evaluate the paleontological potential of the Project area and the same geologic units in the general vicinity of the Project area; and • Museum records searches to determine the presence of previously recorded fossil localities within the Project area from the University of Wyoming (UW), the University of Colorado Museum (UCM), and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) with an additional records search using the public online Paleobiology Database (PBDB).
Pedestrian field surveys focused on the proposed Project area, with exposures of sedimentary bedrock geologic units with moderate to very high paleontological potential (Potential Fossil Yield Classification [PFYC] 3, 4 and 5). Fieldwork for the paleontological resource survey was completed on August 18, 20-21, and 23-24, 2021; and June 3, 2022. All paleontological resource surveys were conducted in accordance with BLM (1998, 2008, 2016) paleontological resource management policies, guidelines and procedures, and established best practices in mitigation paleontology (Murphey et al. 2019) (Stantec 2022).
3.11.1 Affected Environment
This section describes existing paleontological resources associated with the Project. It is presented by the following five areas: 1) regulatory context, 2) geology, 3) results of the Paleontological Resource Survey.
3.11.1.1 Regulatory Context and BLM Authorities and Standards
Various laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards govern how fossils on public lands may be collected and preserved. The BLM currently uses the Paleontological Resources Preservation Subtitle of the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009 (PRPA) as the legislative authority for its paleontological resource policies. Implementing regulations for the PRPA, Title VI, Subtitle D, are currently under review. Additionally, the BLM Handbook 8720-1 (BLM 1998) and Instruction Memorandum (IM) 2009-011 (BLM 2008c) provide general procedural guidelines for the management and mitigation of adverse impacts to paleontological resources. Management objectives include locating, evaluating, managing, and protecting paleontological resources, as well as ensuring that proposed land use projects do not inadvertently damage or destroy important paleontological resources.
Under the PRPA, the Secretaries of the Departments of Interior and Agriculture shall manage and protect paleontological resources on federal land using scientific principles and expertise. The PRPA is modeled after the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) and incorporates the recommendations of the May 2000 report of the Secretary of the Interior, Assessment of Fossil Management on Federal and Indian Lands, regarding future actions to formulate a consistent paleontological resources management framework. With the passage of the PRPA, Congress officially recognized the importance of paleontological resources on federal lands by declaring that fossils from federal lands are federal property. The PRPA codifies existing policies of the BLM, NPS, USFS, Reclamation), and USFWS. The PRPA provides the following uniform.
