Cultural Resources Investigations for the Westbank Hurricane Protection Project, Plaquemines and Jefferson Parishes, Louisiana

Archeological investigations of three parcels and two previously recorded archeological sites (16PL40 and 16PL41) were conducted in Westbank Metropolitan New Orleans, in Plaquemines and Jefferson Parishes, Louisiana. These investigations were conducted by R. Christopher Goodwin and Associates, Inc., for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, as part of the Westbank Hurricane Protection Project. Approximately 350 acres were surveyed for cultural resources. The three previously unsurveyed parcels included Area A, a parcel adjacent to the Harvey Canal: Area B, a planned borrow area north of Hero Canal; and, Area C, a proposed levee alignment near Oakville. Areas A and B were located within drained backswamp, while Area C was situated at the distal edge of the Mississippi River natural levee, adjacent to swamp. No archeological sites or historic standing structures were located within any of these three areas. The two tested archeological sites, 16PL40 and 16PL41, were located adjacent to the Alternate Route of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (Algiers Canal). Field investigations demonstrated that both sites consisted of modern shell deposits associated with construction of the Algiers Canal. Neither site is an archeological resource. Based on field investigations, no archeological sites of historic standing structures that possess the quality of significance are located in the five project areas. No additional archeological testing is recommended for these areas.