ML13296A491
| ML13296A491 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Sequoyah  |
| Issue date: | 09/11/2013 |
| From: | Ezzell P Tennessee Valley Authority |
| To: | Brown L, Gwin P, Larue-Baker L Cherokee Nation, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| Download: ML13296A491 (1) | |
Text
Dudley, Cynthia S From: Ezzell, Patricia Bernard Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 4:10 PM To: 'Pat Gwin'; 'tylehowe@nc-cherokee.com'; 'Lisa LaRue-Baker - UKB THPO'; 'LaDonna Brown';
'Kirk Perry'; 'PaulBackhouse@semtribe.com'; 'Emman Spain'; 'tdcole@mcn-nsn.gov';
'Celestine. Bryant@actribe.org'; 'aqttculturaql@yahoo.com'; 'hlharjo@yahoo.com';
'chascoleman75@yahoo.com'; 'joseph.blanchard@astribe.com'; 'RDushane@estoo. net';
'sdaugherty@estoo. net'; 'kjumpershawneetribe@hotmail.com' Cc: 'Russell Townsend'; 'Gingy.Nail@chickasaw.net'; 'Amber.Jarrett@chickasaw. net'; 'Anne Mullins'; 'AlisonSwing@semtribe.com'; 'bradleymueller@semtribe.com';
'jfife@muscogeenation-nsn.gov'; 'odettefreeman@muscogeenation-nsn.gov';
'davidp@muscogeenation-nsn.gov'
Subject:
TVA, SQN OPERATING LICENSE RENEWAL, SITE 40HA22 AND REVISION TO PHASE I CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY FINAL REPORT, HAMILTON COUNTY, TENNESSEE Attachments: SQN_LRA_40HA22_SHPO letter THPO 09 11 13.pdf; Directions for accessing TRC Survey ReportsTribalnew site design.pdf Good Afternoon, I hope this email message finds you well. By this email message, I am transmitting the attached letter with the purpose of reopening the consultation that we completed in April 2010 regarding TVA's section 106 responsibilities in connection with the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant license renewal application. We are correcting errors concerning the area of potential effect and the status of archaeological site 40HA22.
TVA provided the new information about site 40HA22 to TRC and asked TRC to provide a revised version of the 2010 final cultural resources survey report. Please find on-line at https://trcnet.trcsolutions.com a copy of the draft report titled Phase I CulturalResources Survey of the TVA Sequoyah Nuclear Plant,Hamilton County, Tennessee-Revised Final Report. The file name is listed as "TVA Sequoyah Plant Survey final report revised 9.5.13.pdf."
The maps referenced in the letter are part of the pdf attachment, and I have attached directions for accessing the TRC site.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me ifyou have any questions. Please respond by October 11, 2013, if you would like to provide comments.
Thank you.
Sincerely, Pat Pat Bernard Ezzell Tribal Liaison and Corporate Historian Public Relations and Corporate Information Communications Tennessee Valley Authority 400 W. Summit Hill Drive 460 WT 7D-K Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 Phone: (865) 632-6461 E-mail: pbezzell(tva.,ov 1
Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, TN 37902 September 11, 2013 To Those Listed:
TVA, SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT (SQN) OPERATING LICENSE RENEWAL, SITE 40HA22 AND REVISION TO PHASE I CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY FINAL REPORT, HAMILTON COUNTY, TENNESSEE Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is currently proposing to renew its operating license for Sequoyah Nuclear Plant (SQN) Units 1 and 2. The license renewal application (LRA) is under review by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In April 2010, TVA carried out a Phase I cultural resources survey within the SQN LRA area of potential effects (APE) and consulted with your office pursuant to 36 CFR Part 800.4(d)(1).
Information compiled during the literature review conducted by TRC at the Tennessee Division of Archaeology (TDOA) and the Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) in 2010, prior to the survey, showed that two previously identified archaeological sites were located in the APE (as it was defined at that time): 40HA20 and 40HA22. Site 40HA22 was excavated by Moore in 1913, and both sites were documented in 1936 by Buckner. Based on the literature review and on the observed extent of land disturbance resulting from the construction of SQN in 1968-1980, TRC concluded that both sites were non-extant. TRC's archaeological survey identified one previously unrecorded site, 40HA549, and recommended that site ineligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). No historic architectural resources listed in (or eligible for listing in) the NRHP were identified in the APE. Map 1, which was presented in TRC's 2010 report, shows the recorded locations of all the cultural resources discussed in the report. The'Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) agreed with our finding that the APE contained no historic properties.
Recently, new information has come to light about one of the archaeological sites discussed in the 2010 report: 40HA22. First, IVA discovered that 40HA22 is still extant. A surface scatter of prehistoric artifacts and the remnant of a prehistoric earthen mound were identified on TVA property near the recorded location of 40HA22. The mound and artifacts were noted by TVA staff during visits to the site vicinity in March and April of this year. TVA believes the mound and artifacts are the remnants of site 40HA22. However, this site is located outside the area where site 40HA22 is currently recorded in records archived at both of our agencies and at the University of Tennessee McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture. In fact, the site is located on a set of small islands in Chickamauga Reservoir. Map 2 shows the comparison: the location where 40HA22 was erroneously recorded previously, and the location where the site has recently been identified.
To Those Listed Page Two September 11, 2013 Secondly, TVA has discovered that, during the 2010 consultation, the SQN plant boundary (which is the basis of the LRA APE) was mistakenly shown to include the islands on which 40HA22 is now known to exist. At the time of our initial consultation with your office about this undertaking, TVA Cultural Compliance staff believed that these islands were part of the SQN plant boundary based on IVA's Chickamauga Reservation Land Record Map, dated 1959 and updated in 1978. However, TVA staff recently learned that this was an error: the islands are not part of the SQN property boundary. The true location of 40HA22 is actually outside of the SQN property boundary, as shown in Map 2, and therefore the site is outside of the LRA APE.
The purpose of this letter is to reopen the consultation we completed in April 2010 regarding TVA's section 106 responsibilities in connection with the SQN LRA, in order to correct the errors concerning the APE and the status of 40HA22. IVA provided the new information about site 40HA22 to TRC and asked TRC to provide a revised version of the 2010 final cultural resources survey report. Please find on-line at https://trcnet.trcsolutions.com a copy of the draft report titled Phase / CulturalResources Survey of the TVA Sequoyah NuclearPlant,Hamilton County, Tennessee-Revised FinalReport. The file name is listed as "IVA Sequoyah Plant Survey final report revised 9.5.13.pdf."
This revised final report contains the new information on 40HA22 and presents the correct APE for the undertaking. Based on this new information, TVA has determined that 40HA22 is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). However, based on the corrected APE (as shown in Map 2), the site is outside the APE and will not be affected by the undertaking. Therefore, TVA's finding presented in the April 14, 2010, letter to your office, that the APE contains no historic properties, remains valid despite the new information.
TVA is in the process of updating the site form for 40HA22. The update will include this new information about the site's condition and location, based on these recent discoveries. IVA will submit this updated site form to the Tennessee Division of Archaeology once it has been completed.
TVA currently has proposed no undertaking that would affect site 40HA22. If TVA proposes any such undertaking in the future, IVA will fulfill its responsibilities for the site pursuant to 36 CFR Part 800.
Pursuant to 36 CFR Part 800.3(f)(2), IVA is consulting with the following federally recognized Indian tribes regarding this new information and regarding historic properties within the proposed project's APE that may be of religious and cultural significance and are eligible for listing in the NRHP: Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, The Chickasaw Nation, Seminole Tribe of Florida, Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Kialegee Tribal Town, Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.
To Those Listed Page Three September 11, 2013 By this letter, TVA is providing notification of these findings and is seeking your comments regarding this undertaking and any properties that may be of religious and cultural significance and may be eligible for the NRHP pursuant to 36CFR § 800.2 (c)(2)(ii), 800.3 (f)(2), and 800.4(a)(4)(b).
Should you have any questions, please contact me via phone at 865/632-6461 or via e-mail at pbezzell@tva.gov. Please respond no later than October 11, 2013 if you have any comments on the proposed undertaking.
Sincerely, Patricia Bernard Ezzell Tribal Liaison and Corporate Historian Public Relations and Corporate Information Communications WT 11D-K SCC:PBE:CSD Enclosures