Environmental geology of abandoned lignitic- and bituminous-coal mines of Texas

Lignitic, canneloid, and bituminous coals have been mined in Texas since at least the early 1800's and possibly the 1750's. Inactive mining districts are located in most regions of the state and mining continues in several areas. The mined seams of coal lie within sedimentary sequences of the Upper Pennsylvanian, Upper Cretaceous, and lower and middle Eocene Series. Most of the production before 1924 was from underground mines, whereas all coal extracted since the late 1940's has come from surficial mines. Prior to the 1970's, few mines were reclaimed. Consequently, many sites of abandoned coal mines in the state exhibit a wide range of adverse, environmental-geologic conditions, varying both in type and intensity. Conditions at these sites include: subsidence and faulting; effects of combustion; production of toxic, geochemical leachates; erosion, sedimentation, and effects on drainage; and the presence of open mine shafts, structural and mechanical debris, large spoil mounds, and miscellaneous refuse. Quantitative assessments of these conditions at selected sites were qualitatively extrapolated to other areas to permit evaluation of conditions statewide. Some of the most severely affected sites have been reclaimed under the regulatory authority of the Railroad Commission of Texas and by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Of the more than 260 sites of abandoned coal mines in Texas perhaps one-fourth eventually may require some corrective attention.Geological Science

Cuatro Vientos- A Reconsideration Of Seven Prehistoric Sites In The Lower Rio Grande Plains Of South Texas Webb County

On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted testing investigations on seven prehistoric sites located within the Cuatro Vientos roadway project right-of-way in Webb County, Texas. The test excavations, conducted in June 2005, were performed in compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the Texas Antiquities Code. The work was designed to assess each site’s potential for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and for designation as State Archeological Landmarks (SAL). The work was performed under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 3755 with Kevin A. Miller serving as Principal Investigator. Field investigations were performed under TxDOT Work Authorization No. 573 26 SA007 of the SWCA/ TxDOT General Services Contract 573 XX SA007. The seven tested sites are distributed primarily within the drainage basin of San Idelfonso Creek, a tributary of the Rio Grande in south Texas. The sites, including 41WB441, 41WB572, 41WB577, 41WB578, 41WB621, 41WB622, and 41WB623, are all prehistoric open sites situated in both buried and surficial contexts on terraces and adjacent uplands. The sites principally consist of various prehistoric features and artifacts associated with lithic procurement locales and open occupations. According to the temporal data, the sites contain occupational components from the Middle Archaic through Late Prehistoric, though Late Archaic components are the most prevalent throughout the project area. Because of poor preservation and the lack of integrity, SWCA did not recommend any of the sites as eligible for the NRHP or as SALs. TxDOT, however, did not concur and recommended three as eligible, though all were effectively mitigated by the testing investigations. This difference of opinion formed the basis for developing a different approach to the assessment of the south Texas archaeological record. In essence, this project is a reconsideration of evaluations of significance and research potential of seven sites, specifically addressing the well-known problems with the regional archaeological record, namely erosional or stable settings that create mixed or incomplete assemblages. The proposed solution is the development of a contextual frame of reference, utilization of specific point-plotted data in addition to the site construct, and variable temporal scales

Cuatro Vientos- A Reconsideration Of Seven Prehistoric Sites In The Lower Rio Grande Plains Of South Texas Webb County

On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted testing investigations on seven prehistoric sites located within the Cuatro Vientos roadway project right-of-way in Webb County, Texas. The test excavations, conducted in June 2005, were performed in compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the Texas Antiquities Code. The work was designed to assess each site’s potential for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and for designation as State Archeological Landmarks (SAL). The work was performed under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 3755 with Kevin A. Miller serving as Principal Investigator. Field investigations were performed under TxDOT Work Authorization No. 573 26 SA007 of the SWCA/ TxDOT General Services Contract 573 XX SA007. The seven tested sites are distributed primarily within the drainage basin of San Idelfonso Creek, a tributary of the Rio Grande in south Texas. The sites, including 41WB441, 41WB572, 41WB577, 41WB578, 41WB621, 41WB622, and 41WB623, are all prehistoric open sites situated in both buried and surficial contexts on terraces and adjacent uplands. The sites principally consist of various prehistoric features and artifacts associated with lithic procurement locales and open occupations. According to the temporal data, the sites contain occupational components from the Middle Archaic through Late Prehistoric, though Late Archaic components are the most prevalent throughout the project area. Because of poor preservation and the lack of integrity, SWCA did not recommend any of the sites as eligible for the NRHP or as SALs. TxDOT, however, did not concur and recommended three as eligible, though all were effectively mitigated by the testing investigations. This difference of opinion formed the basis for developing a different approach to the assessment of the south Texas archaeological record. In essence, this project is a reconsideration of evaluations of significance and research potential of seven sites, specifically addressing the well-known problems with the regional archaeological record, namely erosional or stable settings that create mixed or incomplete assemblages. The proposed solution is the development of a contextual frame of reference, utilization of specific point-plotted data in addition to the site construct, and variable temporal scales

Cuatro Vientos: A Reconsideration of Seven Prehistoric Sites in the Lower Rio Grande Plains of South Texas

With this report, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) begins a reconsideration of approaches to the evaluation and treatment of those areas where surface lithic scatters are the main constituent of the archeological record. The reconsideration was inspired by the Cuatro Vientos project in Laredo, Webb County, Texas. The project and the ideas surrounding it developed slowly. The ideas continued to evolve through discussion between SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) and TxDOT as additional work on the project occurred. Because this project proceeded in an idiosyncratic fashion, some words of explanation might be helpful. The following discussion provides an account of how the project developed and where future work might be heading

Archeological Significance Testing at 41BX17/271, the Granberg Site: A Multi-Component Site along the Salado Creek in Bexar County, Texas

The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted archeological significance testing at 41BX17, the Granberg Site, from January to March 2006. The testing was conducted for the Texas Department of Transportation, Environmental Affairs Division (TxDOT-ENV). The Granberg Site sits on the eastern flood terrace of the Salado Creek south of Loop 410 in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. Planned road improvements including installation of a storm sewer line and a water main prompted the need to assess whether (1) cultural deposits including human remains still exist after previous testing and (2) if the deposits contribute to the site’s National Register of Historic Places eligibility. The archeological work was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4010. Steve A. Tomka served as Principal Investigator and Jennifer Thompson served as Project Archeologist. Fieldwork included mechanical auger boring and backhoe trenching to determine the horizontal extent of the site boundaries within the median of Loop 410 eastbound. Sixteen 1-x-1-m units were excavated to determine the distribution and integrity of the cultural deposits and to locate any possible burials that may still exist at the site. Materials recovered included burned rock features, chipped stone artifacts, animal bone, snail and mussel shell and charred plant remains. The distribution of the artifacts, the geomorphic investigations, the radiocarbon assays, and temporally diagnostic artifacts indicate the presence of Middle and Late Archaic archeological materials with good stratigraphic integrity. The Granberg Site was determined to be ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Following the completion of eligibility testing efforts, the TxDOT directed the CAR to develop a research design linking the data recovered from the various excavations at the Granberg Site with research goals. The CAR developed the research design (Munoz et al. 2007) under Work Authorization No. 57513SA005 with Cynthia M. Munoz serving as Project Archeologist. At roughly the time of the research design implementation, the CAR was the recipient of a donation of a collection of commingled human skeletal remains recovered from the Granberg Site. These remains were recovered from 41BX17/271 in 1962 by Harvey Kohnitz, an avocational archeologist, without knowledge or permission from the Texas Highway Department. The remains were stored at the Kohnitz home until his son, Mark Kohnitz, donated them to the CAR in 2007. An osteological analysis was conducted at the CAR laboratory during February 2008 for TxDOT, under Work Authorization No. 57513SA005 Supplemental Work Authorization No. 4. The results of this analysis are reported in Appendix H of this report. The commingled remains will be curated the CAR and all required documents, including an inventory, will be submitted to the National Park Service National NAGPRA Program to fulfill all obligations pertaining to the NAGPRA laws. All artifacts collected during this project and all project-associated documentation are permanently curated at the CAR according to Texas Historical Commission guidelines

Lineament analysis and inference of geologic structure : examples from the Balcones Ouachita trend of Texas

Tx Doc no. : Z, UA220.7, G292, 82-1. Reprinted from Transactions of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, Vol. XXXI, 1981UT Librarie

Flooding Along the Balcones Escarpment, Central Texas

High-magnitude floods occur with greater frequency in the Balcones Escarpment area than in any other region of the United States. Rates of precipitation and discharge per unit drainage area approach world maxima. The intensity of rainstorms is compounded by rapid runoff and limited infiltration. producing episodic flooding. Effects of urbanization may be superimposed on meteorologic and physiographic factors. thereby increasing flood hazards in metropolitan areas throughout the region

Flooding Along the Balcones Escarpment, Central Texas

High-magnitude floods occur with greater frequency in the Balcones Escarpment area than in any other region of the United States. Rates of precipitation and discharge per unit drainage area approach world maxima. The intensity of rainstorms is compounded by rapid runoff and limited infiltration. producing episodic flooding. Effects of urbanization may be superimposed on meteorologic and physiographic factors. thereby increasing flood hazards in metropolitan areas throughout the region