Draft Environmental Impact Report - East Bay Municipal Utility District

Estates Reservoir Replacement Draft Environmental Impact ReportCultural Resources5020.1(k) of the Public Resources Code), or identified in an historical resourcessurvey (meeting the criteria in Section 5024.1(g) of the Public Resources Code)does not preclude a lead agency from determining that the resource may be anhistorical resource as defined in Public Resources Code sections 5020.1(j) or5024.1.The Public Resources Code, Section 5024.1, Title 14 CCR, Section 4852 provides specialconsiderations for determining eligibility for listing in the California Register, including:1. Historical resources achieving significance within the past fifty (50) years. In orderto understand the historic importance of a resource, sufficient time must havepassed to obtain a scholarly perspective on the events or individuals associated withthe resource. A resource less than fifty (50) years old may be considered for listingin the California Register if it can be demonstrated that sufficient time has passed tounderstand its historical importance.In order to meet one or more of the criteria listed above, a cultural resource must possessintegrity to qualify for listing in the CRHR. Integrity is generally evaluated withreference to qualities including location, design, materials, workmanship, setting, feeling,and association. A potentially eligible site must retain the integrity of the values thatwould make it significant. Typically, integrity is indicated by evidence of thepreservation of the contextual association of artifacts, ecofacts, and features within thearchaeological matrix (Criterion 4) or the retention of the features that maintaincontextual association with historical developments or personages that render themsignificant (Criteria 1, 2, or 3). Evidence of the preservation of this context is typicallydetermined by stratigraphic analysis and analysis of diagnostic artifacts and othertemporal data (e.g., obsidian hydration, radiocarbon assay) to ascertain depositionalintegrity or by the level of preservation of historic and architectural features that associatea property with significant events, personages, or styles.Integrity refers both to the authenticity of a property’s historic identity, as shown by thesurvival of physical characteristics that existed during its historic period and to the abilityof the property to convey its significance. This is often not an all-or-nothing scenario(determinations can be subjective); however, the final judgment must be based on therelationship between a property’s features and its significance.Section 15064.5 of the CEQA Guidelines indicates a project may have a significantenvironmental effect if it causes "substantial adverse change" in the significance of an"historical resource" or a "unique archaeological resource" as defined or referenced inCEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5[b, c] (revised October 26, 1998). Such changesinclude "physical demolition, destruction, relocation, or alteration of the resource or itsimmediate surroundings such that the significance of an historical resource would bematerially impaired" (CEQA Guidelines 1998 Section 15064.5 [b]).Archaeological resources that do not meet the criteria for “historical resources” definedabove, may meet the definition of “unique archaeological resources” as defined insb09_001.doc 3-5.14 7/22/2009