4.5 PREHISTORIC AND HISTORIC CULTURAL RESOURCES
This section provides a summary evaluation of the prehistoric and historic cultural resources on the LLNL Livermore site, LLNL Site 300, and SNL, Livermore. Paleontological resources are discussed in section 4.8. Prehistoric cultural resources refer to any material remains of items utilized or modified by people prior to the establishment of Mission Dolores in San Francisco (the first San Francisco Bay Area mission) in 1776, or physical alteration of the landscape that occurred during the prehistoric time. Historic cultural resources include all material remains since the establishment of Mission Dolores, and any other physical alteration of the landscape. An overview of the prehistoric and historic resources in the project areas is presented in Appendix H.
4.5.1 Federal and State Regulations Related to Cultural Resources
NEPA requires consideration of the effects on cultural resources. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. section 470(h)-2) requires DOE to take into account the effects of its undertakings on properties included in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Criteria for determining eligibility for the National Register and the steps involved in the Section 106 review process are described in Appendix H.
In the context of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the Area of Potential Effect is the area in which planned development may directly or indirectly affect a cultural resource. Direct effects would include alteration of the surface by construction, while indirect effects would include human activity around the area. The Area of Potential Effect is determined by DOE during the EIS (in this case, EIS/EIR) process.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires consideration of the effects of a project on prehistoric and historic resources. Additional information regarding CEQA requirements is presented in Appendix H.
4.5.2 Prehistoric Resources
LLNL Livermore Site
Information regarding prehistoric resources on the LLNL Livermore site is from an updated archival literature review conducted at the California Archaeological Inventory at Sonoma State University; the California Archaeological Inventory at California State University Stanislaus; records in the possession of Basin Research Associates, San Leandro, California; and records on file at the LLNL Livermore site.
Three surveys of various portions of the LLNL Livermore site (primarily in areas where historic alteration of the ground was limited) were conducted from 1974 to 1990 and no cultural (prehistoric or historic) resources were discovered (see Appendix H for more detail on these surveys). A recent (1991) records search by Holman & Associates at the California Archaeological Inventory Northwest Information Center at Sonoma State University did not report any recorded cultural resources on or near the LLNL Livermore site property. Field inspections for cultural resources by Holman & Associates in the undeveloped western and northern perimeter areas at the LLNL Livermore site (including the 500-ft-wide buffer areas and additional undeveloped area along the western perimeter) were conducted in May and October 1991; no prehistoric resources were discovered.
LLNL Site 300
The general regional area in which LLNL Site 300 is located appears now to contain few natural resources that would have been attractive to either prehistoric populations or historic settlers and later to farmers, ranchers, and industrialists of the Carnegie era (see Appendix H); however, prehistorically the area probably contained more varied habitats, which would have been attractive to either prehistoric or historic populations, that have since been eliminated by modern agricultural and industrial uses. LLNL Site 300 contains at least a few potentially important prehistoric resources, the potential importance arising partially from the very scarcity of prehistoric sites in the region.
A total of 24 cultural resource sites (3 prehistoric, 20 historic, 1 with both a prehistoric and historic component) and several more areas of potential resources were recorded during a 1981 field and archival survey by Busby, Garaventa, and Kobori (1981). This survey involved an intensive visual field inspection of the site to identify surface indicators of cultural activity, but included no subsurface presence or absence testing. The prehistoric sites located and recorded during this survey included three rock shelters with associated artifacts and one surface lithics resource (stone artifact). No protective measures have been implemented at these sites. One of the prehistoric resources recorded in 1981 was not relocated during the 1991 resurvey of the sites; either the 1981 mapping was inaccurate or the site has been obscured. A more detailed description of these sites is presented in Appendix H.
SNL, Livermore
SNL, Livermore has been the subject of a recent thorough cultural resources overview and inventory (Busby and Garaventa, 1990) and cultural resources assessment (Busby, Garaventa, and Harmon, 1990). The 1990 studies were completed under the most recent guidelines and regulations regarding federal cultural resources procedures (48 Fed. Reg., 1983). Although all structures and features at SNL, Livermore were considered in the 1990 reports for potential inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places or National Historic Landmark status, no structures qualified for such status (State Historic Preservation Office, 1990). Consequently, no further investigation of prehistoric resources, or evaluation pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act, is needed at SNL, Livermore (State Historic Preservation Office, 1990).
4.5.3 Historic Resources
LLNL Livermore Site
Neither the previous surveys nor the 1991 records search identified any historic properties which, in the opinion of the professionals involved, met the criteria for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places (as contained in 36 CFR 60.4) in the areas surveyed. In the 1991 field survey of the western perimeter area, remnants of what may be a former historic building location were seen at the northwest corner of the perimeter area. This area was not considered by the researchers to be significant (Woodruff, 1990), and was not evaluated further. Consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office will determine whether the properties meet the criteria for nomination to the National Register. Research in compliance with the historic property identification phase of Section 106 is being conducted within the LLNL Livermore site in order to identify which facilities within the site may be considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The overall facility itself is also being evaluated for potential historical importance relative to its role during the Cold War years (William Self Associates, 1992). Historical information on the Laboratory is found in Section 2 of the EIS/EIR and in Appendix H. The historical overview of LLNL is important to the understanding of the historical importance of the facility relative to National Historic Preservation Act requirements. See section 5.1.4 and Appendix H for more information regarding this historical evaluation.
LLNL Site 300
Archival research prior to and during the 1981 field survey revealed that the LLNL Site 300 area has a high potential to contain important historic resources (Busby, Garaventa, and Kobori, 1981). The 1981 field survey and report located and recorded 21 historic sites, all of which were reinspected by Holman & Associates for this EIS/EIR. Only 4 of the 21 sites are within the Area of Potential Effect. During the 1991 reinspection, 7 of the historic sites, including the 4 sites within the Area of Potential Effect, were not relocated (they are either obscured or have been removed), and an eighth site was revisited but the artifact associated with the site had been collected during the 1981 survey (see Appendix H for more details).
The 1981 report recommended additional historic archival research to clarify the locations and characteristics of the Carnegie townsite–era residential, industrial, and other types of resources (described in Appendix H). Additional archival research on the historic activities along the southern border of LLNL Site 300 identified materials and locations associated with the town of Carnegie that may be potentially eligible for inclusion on the National Register (William Self Associates, 1992).
SNL Livermore
No existing historic resources at the SNL, Livermore facility are currently eligible for inclusion on the National Register based on consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office (State Historic Preservation Office, 1990). Consequently, no further review of historic cultural resources at SNL, Livermore, pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act, is needed.
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