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./ GEORGE DEVKMElIAN, Goriemor STATE OF CALIFORNIA NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE COMMISSION 915 CAPITOL MALL, ROOM 288 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 95814 (91 G) 322-7791 November 8, 1988 Ms. Kerry Sullivan, Assistant Planner RECEIVED San Joaquin County Planning Department 1810 East Hazelton Avenue NOV P; 1988 Stockton, California. 95205 re: SCH # 87072123-Morada Meadows Supplemental EIR SAN IN COUNTY Alternative Site Analysis (ER-88-1) PLANNING DIVISION Dear Ms. Sullivan: A record search of the sacred lands file maintained at this office failed to disclose the presence of Native American cultural resources in the immediate area of the proposed development. The sacred lands file is comprised of site information supplied by local Indians, tribal groups and elders and is separate and apart from other collections and repositories of cultural resource information or data. The information in the file is clas- sified and is employed in the review of environmental documents.. i The concern of the Native American Heritage Commission is in those places where the prehistoric sites underlie areas which have been previously developed and thought to be free of cultural resources. Sites have been covered by natural causes, s flooding would be one example, over a period of centuries. The alluvial buildup has provided a buffer zone between the present surface and the prehistoric site. Struc- tures have been placed on some, the soil covering others has been cultivated over many years, or used for orchards as in this case. When an older structure is replaced ., with a modern building, or an old underground water or sewer line is upgraded to meet present needs is when the problem of impacting such a location takes place. When a foundation is dug to comply with the building codes and requirements of to day, or utility lines are buried to meet health and.safety standards, previously undis- turbed soil becomes impacted. When an orchard is place over underlying cultural sites, midden mounds, burial sites r or villages, the root structure penetrates those resources. When the trees are cut down and the stumps and roots are removed, midden soil, artifacts, and at times, human skeletal remains are also removed at the same time. The likelihood of discovering previously undetected cultural resources is a possibility which should be addressed in any environmental document from that portion of the San Joaquin Valley. The California Environmental Quality Act, Appendix K, deals with the discovery of archaeological sites and the procedures to follow. It also contains the instructions to follow when human remains are found during any phase of develop- ment. 1t