Cultural Resources Investigations Of The El Paso Electric Company Facilities Locator Project PDF Download

In the spring of 1984, El Paso Electric Company applied to the U.S. Army, Ft. Bliss, Texas, for a right-of-way for the construction of the 345 KV Caliente-Newman-Amrad power transmission system which would cross Maneuver Area I on Ft. Bliss. Prior to granting the right-of-way, the Ft. Bliss Directorate of Engineering and Housing (DEH) required that a program to assess the impact to historic properties within the proposed right-of-way be carried out. Of the 18 archaeological sites that might be impacted by the project, 12 could be completely avoided by relocating ground disturbing activities such as construction pads and access roads. Under the direction of a scope of work prepared by DEH, six sites that could not be avoided were subjected to surface collection and testing to determine the existence and/or extent of subsurface deposits. El Paso Electric contracted with the Cultural Resources Management Division of New Mexico State University to carry out the fieldwork. After consultation with Dr. Glenn DeGarmo (DEH-E), it was determined that five of the sites contained no subsurface deposits in the areas to be impacted. The sixth site (FB 3:1132) did have significant subsurface remains and therefore was avoided by all construction activities. Fieldwork was terminated at the conclusion of the surface collection and subsurface testing program without extensive data recovery being performed. Subsequently, El Paso Electric Company contracted with Batcho & Kauffman Associates to analyze and report on data recovered during the surface collection and testing program. This report presents the results of that analysis.