11-04 ASRP Archaeological Inspection Plan.pdf

Coleman A. Young Municipal Center 2 Woodward Avenue. Suite 908 Detroit, Michigan 48226

Phone: 313.224.6380 Fax: 313.224.1629 www.detroitmi.gov

Archaeological Inspection Plan CDBG-DR Citywide Alley Sewer Repair Program

Project Overview The City of Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department (HRD) is serving as the Responsible Entity for the use of HUD CDBG-DR funding. Once authorized, the proposed project will be carried out by the Detroit Water and Sewage Department (DWSD).

DWSD will assign qualified contractors to reconnect privately owned sewer lateral connections to the public sewer main that have either fallen off of the public main line, or that have collapsed altogether. The Project involves several discrete steps:

• Inspection of the public sewer by means of remote-operated closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

• Once damaged lateral sewer connections are identified, DWSD’s contractors will replace residential sewer services, install new cleanouts at property lines, and replace and repair public sewers by open-cut excavation.

• After repairs at a location are complete, all properties will be restored to their original condition, including surface restoration of pavement, curbs, sidewalks, driveways, and lawns.

All Project activities will take place in the public right-of-way, with work areas including alleyways and green spaces throughout the city of Detroit. Alleys will be selected by district with about 1500 alleys affected per district.

HRD’s Archaeological Compliance Specialist has determined that the undertaking has a risk of affecting buried archeological sites across the city. The phasing of the project means that the locations of ground disturbing activities will be determined after Step 1 of the project, indicating that project approval must come before the specific locations of ground disturbance can be known. Based on the recommended 30-meter spacing of test transects, testing the entire APE would require approximately 23,000 test locations, which is economically and logistically unfeasible. Thus, HRD is proposing a sensitivity zone approach to Section 106 compliance for this project and has prepared this Archaeological Inspection Plan to be employed for the duration of the Alley Sewer Repair Program’s ground disturbing activities in order to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects to buried National Register of Historic Places eligible historic resources during project implementation. HRD has utilized the available data to create a two zones, an Avoidance or Monitoring Zone and an Inspection Zone. If ground disturbing activities take place in the Avoidance or Monitoring Zone, they should be monitored by a qualified archaeologist working under a Monitoring Plan that has been approved by HRD’s Archaeologist. Any ground disturbing activities conducted within the Inspection Zone will comply with the following Inspection Procedure.

Archaeological Inspection Plan – CDBG-DR Citywide Alley Sewer Repair Program

Inspection Procedure HRD’s Environmental Review Team will ensure that a qualified archaeologist (the “Archaeologist”) conducts regular field visits of work crews conducting ground disturbing activities in areas of moderate and high archaeological sensitivity.

Archaeologist Responsibilities

• Communicating with contractors and staying up to date on crew work locations and activities;

• Complying with the specific applicable requirements of Owner’s and Contractor’s safety programs of which they have been informed;

• Conducting inspections of work locations and activities at required intervals;

• Responding to any unanticipated discoveries of cultural material or human remains;

• Documenting field visits in Survey123; and

• Documenting any cultural material discovered during the project.

Field Visit Activities The Archaeologist will inspect and document spoil piles and open trenches, looking for evidence of impacts to intact buried soils, disturbance of previously undisturbed sediments, or exposed cultural material. They will also elicit the observations of the work crews. The Archaeologist will document any exposed trench profiles and describe observed sediments. Observations, including photographs and sketches, will be recorded using standardized forms in Survey123 and FieldMaps. Any Precontact period or diagnostic Postcontact period artifacts encountered will be collected. Postcontact period artifacts will be donated to the Grosscup Museum of Anthropology at Wayne State University following the Memorandum of Agreement in place between the museum and HRD. The final disposition of Precontact period artifacts will be subject to Tribal consultation.

Impact to Previously Undisturbed Sediments or Unanticipated Discoveries

• Should the Archaeologist observe evidence impacts to intact buried soils or disturbance of previously undisturbed sediments, they will monitor further ground disturbing activities in that location.

• Should the Archaeologist observe or receive a report of archaeological materials being discovered, they will immediately proceed to Step Two of HRD’s Procedures for the Post-Review Discovery of Archaeological Materials.

• Should the Archaeologist observe or receive a report of human remains being discovered, they will immediately proceed to Step One of HRD’s Procedures for the Unanticipated Discovery of Human Skeletal Material.

Prepared by Samuel Burns, Archaeological Compliance Specialist, October 8, 2025 https://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/2025-09/WSU_COD_MOA-Archaeology%20MOA.pdf