Charles County, Maryland recently outsourced archeology services to implement long-standing cultural resource review requirements. Now, any proposed land development project will be charged a Cultural Resources Review fee ranging from $45 to $450. The fee was established on July 1, 2015 and offsets the cost of the contractor’s review of potential impacts to archeological and historic resources.
Before this, the Charles County Historic Preservation Commission completed cultural resources reviews for proposed development projects. Cultural resource review requirements were established in the 1996 Subdivision Regulations: “applicants for active and proposed Preliminary Plans of Subdivision and Final Plats of Subdivision must identify all historic resources included on the National Register of Historic Places and the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties, and all cemeteries, burial grounds, and archaeological resources on or adjacent to the subject property.”1 However, the responsibilities incumbent on the land developer for complying with this mandate were unclear until March 26, 2013 when the County published Green Notice # 13-04. The Notice clarified that the first step in compliance is completion of a preliminary archeological assessment (a Phase IA archeological investigation), consistent with the Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations in Maryland. Further cultural resource investigations could be required, depending on the results.
Thunderbird Archeology, a division of Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., can assist developers in meeting all cultural resources needs for land development projects in Charles County.
To discuss how these requirements may impact your project in Charles County, Maryland, please contact Boyd Sipe, or John Mullen, Mike Klebasko or Dan Lucey.
11996 Charles County Zoning Ordinance. Per Section 55 and Appendix A, 19b of the Charles County Subdivision Regulations
