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Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District (SRP) plans to construct an 88-mile-long 500-kV extra-high voltage transmission line linking the Pinal West, Santa Rosa, Pinal Central, Abel, and Dinosaur substations (ACC CEC Case No. 126). This report presents the results of Phase I data recovery (extent testing) and Phase II data recovery within a 40-m- (130-ft-) wide corridor at seven sites located on State Trust Land administered by the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) (ASLD ROW No. 16-112288) and at seven sites and nine loci on the Gila River floodplain that are on privately owned lands between Pinal Central and Dinosaur. The sites are situated in north-central Pinal County east of the town of Queen Creek, east of Coolidge; and southeast and south-south of Coolidge. Phase I data recovery investigations were undertaken at 14 sites: AZ AA:2:304 (ASM); AZ AA:2:305 (ASM), AZ AA:3:281, AZ U:10:20 (ASM), AZ U:14:417 (ASM), AZ U:15:1 (ASM)/Adamsville, AZ U:15:61 (ASM)/Frogtown, AZ U:15:97 (ASM), AZ U:15:264 (ASM), AZ U:15:276 (ASM), AZ U:15:296 (ASM), AZ U:15:432 (ASM), AZ U:15:559 (ASM), and AZ U:15:560 (ASM). The sites were previously recommended eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) (Henderson et al. 2009) and the investigations were undertaken to comply with the Arizona Antiquities Act, the State Historic Preservation Act, and as required by the Arizona Corporation Commission Certificate of Environmental Compatibility. Fieldwork methods followed those outlined in the treatment plans (Phase I and Phase II data recovery) developed to mitigate impacts to the sites (Lindeman 2009; Lindeman et al. 2009). Michael Foster, Ph.D. served as Principal Investigator, and field work was directed by J. Scott Courtright. This is Submittal 3 of the report.

This report presents the results of Class III cultural resources surveys conducted for the Palo Verde to Pinal West Transmission Line Project. The work was sponsored by Salt River Project (SRP) in support of two proposed 500 kV transmission lines that will connect the existing Hassayampa Switchyard, west of Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, and the proposed Pinal West Substation, western Pinal County, Arizona. The cultural resources studies described here include three previous archaeological surveys, which examined different portions of the transmission line corridor and the area of a proposed substation (Chapin-Pyritz and Hill 2002; Henderson 2005; Hill et al. 2003), and a fourth and final survey conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., of all remaining unsurveyed segments of the Palo Verde to Pinal West alignment and the proposed access road to Pinal West Substation. The surveys were undertaken to determine if significant cultural resources were present that might be adversely affected by construction of the proposed transmission lines and associated substation site. The effort was conducted to comply with the Arizona Antiquities Act of 1960 (as amended) and State Historic Preservation Act of 1982, as stipulated in conditions of a Certificate for Environmental Compatibility (Case No. 124, Docket No. L00000B-03-0124) issued by the Arizona Corporation Commission, and as required for right-of-way access across lands managed by the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD Right-of-Way Application No. 14-110986) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM EA No. AZ-020-2003-0045, Case File No. AZA-32057). In 2002, an initial Class III survey of the western portion of the proposed Palo Verde to Pinal West Transmission Line Project was completed by Chapin-Pyritz and Hill (2002). As a result of this work, 11 archaeological sites were documented within the transmission line corridor that ran from the Hassayampa Switchyard, south of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, to the Jojoba Substation. In the following year, a second cultural resources survey was completed that examined areas of the Palo Verde to Pinal West transmission line corridor located on Arizona State Trust and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands east of the Jojoba Substation (Hill et al. 2003). Seven sites were recorded during this survey. More recently, Desert Archaeology conducted a cultural resources inventory of a 60-acre parcel for the proposed Pinal West Substation (Henderson 2005). No archaeological sites or other significant cultural properties were located during the survey of the substation site.

GBPP (Gila Bend Power Partners) proposes to construct and operate a 500kV transmission line, which will deliver electrical power from the Hassayampa Switchyard south of Wintersburg, Arizona to the Jojoba Switchyard currently under construction in south-central Maricopa County, Arizona. The project will increase the transmission of electrical power into areas surrounding metropolitan Phoenix, and will promote economic development of benefit to the people of Arizona. GBPP retained EPG (Environmental Planning Group) to assist with the following: (1) preparation of an Environmental Assessment in support of a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) right-of-way grant, (2) an application to the Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee of the Arizona Corporation Commission for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility, (3) an application for an ASLD (Arizona State Land Department) right-of-way grant, and (4) an application for an USACE (U.S. Army Corp of Engineers) Section 404 permit. This report documents the results of the class I (records review) and class III (field inventory) cultural resource surveys conducted in support of the proposed transmission line project.

The following document presents the results of an intensive archaeological resources survey of construction access roads for the Mead to Phoenix 500kV Transmission Line Project (Mead to Phoenix Project). The survey constituted one phase of cultural resource compliance undertaken for this project by SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants (SWCA), for Salt River Project (SRP). Other phases include relocation and re-evaluation (Anduze and Sorrell 1995) of sites previously recorded during survey of the Mead to Phoenix right-of-way (Keller 1986); testing and data recovery at the Overkill Site (AZ M:7:48, ASM) (Anduze, Greenwald, and Walsh-Anduze 1994); surface collection at three sites (Purcell and Greenwald 1995); survey, instrument mapping, and archival studies (Purcell, Stein, and Greenwald 1993) and testing and data recovery at the Hackberry Townsite (Purcell, ed. 1995); and surveys for areas of expanded right-of-way to accommodate cable-pulling activities (Payton and Purcell 1995; Purcell 1994; Seymour and Purcell 1995). The survey was conducted as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as amended, and the Arizona Antiquities Act. Western Area Power Administration (Western) was the lead agency, necessitating the inventory of privately owned lands.

An intensive archeological survey of about 7.7 mi. of Salt River Project (SRP) Coronado-Silverking 500 KV transmission line easement extending from just east of the Sitgreaves National Forest to the APS-SRP Joint Corridor was conducted by Museum of Northern Arizona archeologists in December, 1977. The survey was requested by Bettina Rosenberg, SRP Archeological Administrator, in a letter dated December 12, 1977. The survey was conducted and this report prepared under the stipulations and guidelines of the Cultural Resources Plan developed by the National Forest Service NFS) for the Coronado Project (1977). At the time of the survey, tower locations had not been plotted; therefore, the survey area consisted only of the 200 ft. right-of-way corridor. After tower locations have been determined as a result of consultations between SRP and the NFS, an archeological team will return to the field and survey the access roads and a 200 ft. radius around each tower. Field collection was not permitted by the Forest Service during this survey, so that in-depth lab analysis of the sites was not possible. Also, site interpretation on the basis of survey alone is usually questionable. However, background material concerning the environment and culture history of the project area may be found in the Environmental Impact Statement for the Coronado Station (Dames & Moore 1976).

As a result of a meeting October 4, 1976, with representative from Arizona Public Service, the Southwestern Regional Office of the U.S. Forest Service, Tonto and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, and the Arizona State Museum, it was decided that portions of the Cholla to Saguaro 500 kV transmission line should be checked and, if necessary, resurveyed to insure that all archaeological resources within the transmission line corridor are identified. This report concerns the results of checking and the subsequent resurvey of that portion of the line between towers APS 96 to APS 123 and SRP 124. This resurvey was performed in accordance with the survey procedures outlined in the October 13, 1976 letter (2720/2360/File) by Martin McAllister. It states that "tower sites and a buffer zone consisting of the area within a radius of 200 feet around each tower site hub will be surveyed" (Survey Procedure 1b).The check and resurvey of this segment was conducted for the purposes of evaluating the adequacy of the initial survey and locating additional sites not covered by the initial survey. The nature of the survey, the findings of it, and recommendations are discussed below.

An intensive survey of approximately 67 km (42 mi) of transmission line right-of-way between Kyrene and the Tonto National Forest boundary was completed by a 3-man crew in 15 days. A total of 144 field numbers were assigned to cultural materials encountered, ranging from a single flake or sherd to a large site or component thereof. Material recovered is summarized in Table 1, and locations are plotted on accompanying aerial photos. Isolated artifacts and small scatters were collected; samples (1 m radius circles) were collected from larger sites in areas of maximum density of cultural material (MD). Two previously recorded sites and 15 newly designated sites are within or adjacent to the right- of-way. A clearance recommendation is conditional upon additional work at 9 of them. This work plan for additional investigations was prepared prior to completion of analysis of material collected on the survey and does not constitute a complete report of survey results. For example, no discussion of archaeological background or survey methodology is included. Specific proposals for further investigations are based largely on field evaluations of site significance and anticipated impact of construction. Results of both the survey and the additional investigation will be combined in a single report.

AZ U:11:23 is a small sherd and lithic scatter within the right-of-way of a 500 kV power transmission line planned by the Salt River Project. The right-of-way extends from the boundary of the Tonto National Forest northeast of Florence to the existing Kyrene substation south of Tempe, Arizona and was reported by Antieau (1977). This site was initially located during that survey and listed as Field Numher 128. Since the locus was on land belonging to the Bureau of Land Management, it was not collected by Antieau in compliance with the Bureau's regulation against surface collections during surveys. Subsequent to completion of Antieau's report, Bettina Rosenberg of the Salt River Project requested the Office of Cultural Resource Management, Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, to proceed with an investigation of the site. The work was conducted by Dave Batcho, a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology, on March 31, 1978, under an antiquities permit from the Bureau of Land Management. The findings of that research are reported here. A review of the archaeological background and region of the study area can be found in Antieau (1977:1-7).

In the spring of 1970, the Museum of Northern Arizona contracted with Arizona Public Service Company to provide archaeological investigations for the Navajo Project 500kV Southern Transmission Lines from Page to Phoenix, Arizona. The right-of-way, 330 feet wide and approximately 256 miles long, crossed four major environmental zones - plateau, mountain, transition, and desert - and portions of five prehistoric culture areas. Eighty-eight sites were recorded along the line, 20 of which were excavated. The excavated sites included two Kayenta Anasazi sites located in the northern portion of the transect, four Cohonina sites in the Williams-Flagstaff vicinity, two others of Cohonina affiliation near Prescott, nine atop Perry Mesa in the central part of the state, and three of Hohokam-like appearance below Perry Mesa toward Phoenix. The research in all five geographical culture areas was directed toward defining the ecological relationships between prehistoric peoples and their environments. Of particular interest were the investigations in the Cohonina and Perry Mesa areas, and a vessel function study which aided in inferring site organization and economy in all the culture areas. As all the sites excavated were small, the vessel study substantially supplemented the conclusions regarding site function derived from other analyses.