ISLANDER EAST PIPELINE PROJECT
LONG ISLAND SOUND, CONNECTICUT AND NEW YORK
sub-bottom profilers, sidescan sonar, and cesium-vapor marine magnetometer. PAL’s analyses of the remote-sensing data set collected from the centerline corridor of the project area resulted in the identification of two sidescan sonar targets and 24 magnetic targets that were considered to be potentially significant and required inspection by archaeological divers. Subsequent Phase Ib inspection of these targets by PAL and project associates Panamerican Consulting, Inc. (PCI) revealed that none of the targets represented potentially significant submerged cultural resources.
PAL is completing a summary report with management recommendations for potentially significant historic submerged cultural resources identified during the remaining marine remote survey. PAL is also working with the office of the Connecticut State Geologist, the USGS, and researchers from the University of Connecticut and Danish National Museum's Center for Maritime Archaeology to prepare a predictive model and intensive underwater testing strategy for assessing the potential sensitivity for submerged ancient Native American cultural resources within the Islander East project area.
Date of Performance: 2001 - present
Client: Islander East Pipeline L.L.C.
POC: Ed Gonzales • 603-474-8188
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Duke Energy’s Islander East Pipeline Company (IEPC)
contracted PAL to provide submerged cultural resource management services
for a proposed 22.5-mile natural gas pipeline across Long Island Sound
between Branford, Connecticut and Wading River, New York. In support of
IEPC’s project, PAL coordinated with the Connecticut and New York SHPOs,
local Native American groups, and other interested parties to develop a
comprehensive survey program for determining the presence/absence of
potentially significant submerged cultural resources within the project's
offshore Area of Potential Effect.
PAL completed a comprehensive review of regional archival records, developed regional contexts and statements regarding types of known and expected archaeological sites in immediate proximity to the project area. Also, in cooperation with Ocean Surveys, Inc. (OSI), PAL is presently conducting Phase Ia geophysical remote-sensing survey of more than 1,100 linear miles of seabed (encompassing the pipeline's centerline corridor and anchor spread areas) using a 75-foot line spacing and instrumentation that includes differential global positioning system (DGPS), Hypack computer navigation software, digital depth sounder, seismic "boomer", CHIRPS
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