Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

inclusion in the INL cultural resource management project files (see Figure 31). These findings are also
summarized and included in INL CRM Office yearly activity reports. After documentation is complete,
the INL CRM Office provides written notification to the INL project manager with a recommendation
that the project can proceed. Clearance recommendations such as this always carry a standard stipulation
for stopping work if cultural materials (e.g., bones, obsidian flakes, “arrowheads” or other stone tools,
darkened soil horizons, rusty cans, and ceramics) are unexpectedly encountered at any time.
A similar set of procedures is followed when identification efforts reveal archaeological properties
that are not eligible for the National Register within the area of potential effect for the project. This
includes any of the following types of archaeological resources:
Isolated finds
Archaeological resources that have been previously determined through consultation with the Idaho
SHPO, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and other stakeholders and interested parties to be ineligible for
nomination to the National Register or of no significance to the specified cultural group.
These properties are considered to be ineligible for nomination to the National Register because they
exhibit no potential to yield additional information (as determined by the original identification effort or
some other type of previous archaeological investigation or consultation), setting has no bearing on their
significance, and they are not deemed important by the appropriate tribal or stakeholder parties.
Therefore, INL project activities will not significantly affect them, and they need not be avoided by
project activities. Once documentation of the identification efforts and a justification of the no-effect
finding are complete and permanently filed (see Figure 30), the INL CRM Office can recommend
clearance for these projects through written correspondence with the INL project manager. Reminders of
the INL Stop Work Authority and its applicability to unexpected discoveries of cultural material are also
included with each of these clearance recommendations.
Whenever possible, the INL CRM Office will endeavor to avoid impacts to all archaeological
resources as a result of INL activities. This is particularly true when identification efforts (i.e. new survey,
evaluation of resources recorded during a previous survey, and consultation) within a project's area of
potential effect reveal archaeological resources that may be eligible for nomination to the National
Register or are significant to a local cultural group. The INL CRM Office takes a very conservative
approach to significance evaluations in these, and all, situations. All archaeological sites are considered to
be potentially significant until test excavations and/or consultation have been completed to assess their
potential for yielding information of value in understanding research questions in history or prehistory
(See Appendix E) and/or their importance to local cultural groups. Techniques employed to avoid damage
to resources evaluated as potentially significant include, but are not necessarily limited to:
Physical relocation of project activities
Establishment of minimal buffer zones (30 to 50 meters), depending on the situation, between the
archaeological resource and the project activities
Placement of fences or other permanent markers around the perimeters of archaeological resources to
physically prevent unauthorized access or disturbance
Placement of signs in the project area advising that destruction, alteration, or collection of historic and
prehistoric archaeological materials is a federal crime
Placement of protective fill or other coverings over the surface of archaeological resources to act as a
physical buffer between the sensitive materials and the project activities
Requirements for all project personnel to successfully complete cultural resource awareness training
and specific project briefings provided through the INL CRM Office
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