2017-09-11_PERMIT FILE - C1981019 (3)

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Cultural Resource HPTP for MK -1-082317 and MK -2-082317 Colowyo Coal Company 3.3.1 Data Recovery Scope Data recovery activities beyond evaluative testing will be limited to the Project disturbance area. Cultural resource components found to extend outside the disturbance area will be left intact for preservation and resource management. Tetra Tech will map, document, and describe the portions of the site extending outside the disturbance area to support the site's continued preservation and management. Documentation will include mapping, photographs, and verbal descriptions to allow for accurate relocation and future study if necessary. Remaining intact portions of either site found outside the disturbance area will be protected using avoidance measures employed for other NRHP eligible or Needs Data cultural resources within Colowyo's permit boundary. The measures include avoidance flagging and/or fencing. If intact portions of either site remain, the site will be added to Colowyo's list of sites requiring monitoring at regular intervals as outlined in Exhibit 5, Item 3 -Cultural Resource Protection Plan for the Collom Mine Expansion. 3.3.2 Site Specific Data Recovery Tasks The following site specific data recovery efforts will occur within the disturbance area independent of the evaluative testing results. These tasks will recover data in support of the research design from the site as it is current defined. The three site specific tasks are: A) Feature Data Recovery, B) Test Unit(s), and C) Mechanical Ground Stripping. For the Feature Data Recovery all exposed features identified to date at both sites will be fully excavated using the methods outlined in Section 3.3.3.2. The recovered material and samples from each feature will be analyized as outlined in Section 3.4. For the Test Unit(s), 1 by 1 m test units will be placed based on the overall site grid established at each site. The units will be placed at the Principal Investigator's (PI) discretion to investigate evaluative testing findings and/or further expose the documented features. The profiles will assist in the geoarchaeological and taphonomic assessments of the site. If testing and feature data recover indicate that units are not necessary, none will be completed. Each unit will be exacavated using the methods outlined in Section 3.3.3.1. Once all other data recovery efforts have been completed, Tetra Tech will monitor Colowyo conducting finer grained mechanical top soil stripping to the remaining intact sediments to determine if any features, living surfaces, or artifacts are still present within the area of the discovery, but not detected during testing. Mechanical scrapers can remove topsoil within centimeter accuracy. If evaluative testing and/or the test unit(s) define a distinct living surface(s), mechincal scraping will be completed to immediately above the surface, final stripping will be done manually. The application of following traditional data recovery methods with finer grained mechanical scraping has proven sucessful for data recovery projects on hard rock mining projects in Nevada (Cannon 2012). The methods provide important data regarding spatial organization and utilization can be obtained by horizontally exposing large sections of identifed living surfaces. 3.3.3 Data Recovery Methodology The following section reviews the overall data recovery methodologies that will be applied to all efforts regardless of the scale or cultural resources encountered during testing and/or data recovery work. The methods are based on current archaeological theory and method. Documentation of on-site work will utilize Tetra Tech's cultural resource electronic and paper Tetra Tech August 3' 2017 12