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No – All current cultural resource laws and regulations provide for only for the consideration of significant cultural resources. Even if significant cultural resources are found to be present within your project area, you can potentially adjust your plans to avoid the resources, or if avoidance is not a possibility, undertake work to mitigate the negative impacts. Once avoidance or mitigation are completed, your project will be clear to proceed.

Time estimates will vary by the size of the project area, the amount of previous disturbance, depth of the testing necessary, and the complexity of the cultural resources potentially located within the project area. For large project areas or project areas containing significant resources you should plan more time into your project schedule for cultural resources work. For small project areas, project areas that may have been disturbed in large part in the past (like previously strip-mined areas), or project areas that after survey are confirmed to contain no cultural resources less time will be needed.

Project costs will vary by the amount of survey needed and the type of survey needed for your project area. The more testing needed, the more the survey will cost overall. Circumstances such as the need for deep testing, the use of specialized techniques or analysis, accommodation for contamination, or completion on an accelerated timeframe will also increase the overall project cost.

In general, archaeological testing is conducted by hand and will specifically work to avoid all in-place buried utilities within a project area. Above-ground survey work will not impact utilities.

Depth of testing within a project area is dependent upon the depth of potential archaeological resources and the potential vertical project effects. Testing should extend through to the maximum depth where any potential pre-contact archaeological remains may be found and below the depth of potential project impacts. In general, upland soils where sediments are slow to accumulate are shallower than soils found along creeks, streams, or rivers (alluvial soils) where flooding regularly deposits new sediments over the land surface. Only an assessment by a qualified archaeologist or geomorphologist can confirm the depth for testing within a specific project area. CDC employs a staff geomorphologist to aid our clients in identifying depth of testing within their project areas.