South Carolina Code 54-7-690. Intensive survey and data recovery licenses; waiver; applications
(B) An intensive survey license may be issued to an applicant to carry out an intensive survey for the purpose of delineating the boundaries of a specific location which the applicant believes may contain submerged archaeological historic property or submerged paleontological property.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 54-7-690
- Data: means any information related to the site of submerged archaeological historic property or submerged paleontological property which includes, without limitation, artifactual and/or paleontological material, remote sensing survey charts, magnetic tape records of positions, site maps, feature plans, photographs, measurements, and historical documentation. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Data recovery: means a systematic study carried out in accordance with a research plan which may include data collection, excavation, and artifact or fossil recovery. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Excavation: means the process of moving, removing, or disturbing bottom sediments to expose submerged archaeological historic property or submerged paleontological materials. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Field archaeologist: means a professional archaeologist selected by the licensee and approved by the institute to supervise operations under a license. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Historic property: means a district, site, building, structure, or object significant in the prehistory, history, upland and underwater archaeology, architecture, engineering, and culture of the State, including artifacts, records, and remains related to the district, site, building, structure, or object. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Institute: means the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Intensive survey: means a field and archival investigation of an area designed to gather and identify fully information about submerged archaeological historic properties sufficient to evaluate them in relation to National Register criteria of significance within specific historical contexts. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Paleontological property: means paleontological material or any site which contains paleontological material. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, organized group of persons, or any other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Preservation: means the identification, evaluation, recordation, documentation, curation, acquisition, protection, management, rehabilitation, restoration, stabilization, maintenance, and reconstruction of a submerged archaeological historic property or a submerged paleontological property. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Site: means :
(a) the location of an event, a prehistoric or historic occupation or activity, or a building or structure including a shipwreck, whether standing, ruined, or vanished, and its debris field where the location itself maintains historical or archaeological value regardless of the value of any existing structure;
(b) the location of an accumulation of paleontological material where the location itself maintains paleontological value. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620 - Submerged: means beneath or substantially beneath the territorial waters of the State or submerged at mean low tide. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Submerged archaeological historic property: means any site, vessel, structure, object, or remains which:
(a) yields or is likely to yield information of significance to scientific study of human prehistory, history, or culture; and
(b)(i) is embedded in or on submerged lands and has remained unclaimed for fifty years or longer; or
(ii) is included in, or has been determined, or may be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620 - Submerged paleontological property: means any object or assemblage of objects found in a paleontological context which yield or are likely to yield information of significance to the scientific study or educational potential of the past faunal diversity, past environments, geologic time, or other paleontological concerns. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Undertaking: means an activity by the institute or South Carolina Museum Commission that would otherwise require a license under this article. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
(C) A data recovery license may be issued to an applicant to conduct data recovery on submerged archaeological historic property or submerged paleontological property if the applicant has submitted positive results of an intensive survey license which was previously issued by the institute for the same location. The results must include, as applicable:
(1) documentary archival evidence, and if no documentary evidence is found, primary and secondary sources consulted must be listed;
(2) electronic remote sensing data; and/or
(3) artifactual or fossil specimen evidence recovered from a proven site context.
(D) A person who seeks to excavate or disturb submerged archaeological historic property or submerged paleontological property shall apply for a license from the institute. Upon receiving a report of a submerged archaeological historic property or submerged paleontological property, the institute shall, within sixty days of receipt of the report, assess the property to determine its significance.
(E) The institute may waive the requirement of a license under this article if the activity underlying the license is an undertaking that is subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the applicant is complying with the provisions of that law and any corresponding regulations.
(F) Applications for licenses must be made upon standard forms prescribed by the institute. Each application must include at least:
(1) the precise position of the project location including a map of sufficient detail to enable the location to be accurately depicted on a standard marine navigational chart;
(2) the depth of the project location;
(3) the applicant’s opinion based upon archival or archaeological research as to specific characteristics of the submerged archaeological historic property including, at a minimum and where applicable, size, age, type and identity, methods and materials of construction, and the general condition of the property. In the case of submerged paleontological property, the applicant’s opinion based upon archival or paleontological research as to specific characteristics of the submerged paleontological material including, at a minimum and where applicable, size, geologic time period, type and identity, and the general condition of the fossils. The institute may also require the applicant to submit pertinent archival, archaeological, paleontological, and other research data utilized by the applicant as the basis of the applicant’s opinion;
(4) a proposed research plan which must conform to the standards of underwater archeology established by the institute and designed to recover relevant scientific, historical, architectural, paleontological or other data as well as artifacts. It must be in a form prescribed by the institute and detail the proposed techniques and methods of excavation, recovery, conservation, inventory, recordation, storage of recovered materials, dissemination of data, and the proposed starting date and length of time expected to be devoted to the work. The proposed research plan must also consist of:
(a) a description of the proposed methodology, identification, documentation, or other treatment of submerged archaeological historic property or submerged paleontological property that identifies the project’s goals, methods, and techniques, expected results, and the relationship of the expected results to other proposed activities or treatments;
(b) a justification of the specific techniques and methods proposed to be used;
(5) information regarding the personnel who will be performing the work. This information must include at least the following:
(a) the name and address of the applicant;
(b) the name and address of the field archaeologist who will be immediately supervising the work;
(c) the names and addresses of all persons who will participate in the work; and
(d) a listing for each individual, including the field archaeologist, of his relevant experience, training, and certifications in maritime archeology or related fields.
(6) a listing of the proposed equipment to be used in the work or that will be available for use;
(7) a copy of the applicant’s most current financial statement and an explanation of the applicant’s proposed resources financially to support the work; and
(8) the appropriate license application fee.