A Phase 1A and 1B archeological survey was conducted for the Stagecoach Natural Gas Storage Facility located south of the Susquehanna River in rural New York State.
The survey area covered an irregularly shaped tract of agrarian upland measuring approximately 8.2 miles (13.2 km) east-west, and 3.8 miles (6.1 km) north-south. Prefield research included a literature review and sensitivity assessment for the project area. Sites identified both within and around the survey tract guided the development of an archeologically sensitive probability model and influenced pipeline and power right of way layout. Transects spaced at 15 meter intervals were the subject of systematic shovel testing and controlled walkover inspection along the right of ways. Further testing of the 250 foot (diameter) circular pads that were to be the location of injection/withdrawal wells involved 25 shovel test probes in a grid pattern to insure that no culturally relevant sites of the historic or prehistoric period would be impacted by construction. Sites were identified within the project area as a consequence of archaeological field testing and segments of right of way were rerouted as part of the State and the oil and gas industry’s commitment to environmental and cultural preservation.