SECTION 26.4. Professional Qualifications and Requirements

Professional personnel means individuals who are appropriately-trained specialists required to perform archeological and architectural investigations and project work. These individuals must possess the professional qualifications in this section and will be required to perform certain responsibilities under the terms of an Antiquities Permit as identified in this section. Any additional professions not referenced in this section must meet Archeology and Historic Preservation: Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines (As Amended and Annotated).

(1) Principal investigator. A professional archeologist with demonstrated competence in field archeology and laboratory analysis, as well as experience in administration, logistics, personnel deployment, report publication, and fiscal management. In addition to these criteria the principal investigator shall:

(A) hold a graduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education in anthropology/archeology, or a closely related field such as geography, geology, or history, so long as the degree program also included formal training in archeological field methods, research, and site interpretation; have successfully completed investigations under an Antiquities Permit; and/or be registered as a professional archeologist by the Register of Professional Archeologists (RPA); and/or hold an active permit not in default;

(B) have at least twelve months of full-time experience in a supervisory role involving complete responsibility for a major portion of a project of comparable complexity to that which is to be undertaken under permit;

(C) have demonstrated the ability to disseminate the results of an archeological investigation in published form conforming to current professional standards;

(D) remain on-site a minimum of 25 percent of the time required for the field investigation, and whose name must appear on the project report;

(E) provide a field archeologist to supervise the field investigation in his or her absence; and

(F) testify concerning report findings in the interest of controversy or challenge.

(2) Professional archeologist. An individual who has a degree in anthropology, archeology or a closely related field if that degree also included formal training in archeological field methods, research, and site interpretation, conducts archeological investigations as a vocation, and whose primary source of income is from archeological work. Qualifications for specialized types of professional archeologists are listed in this paragraph.

(A) Prehistoric archeologist. An individual who is a professional archeologist and, in addition, meets the following conditions:

(i) has been trained in the field of prehistoric archeology;

(ii) has a minimum experience of two comprehensive archeological field seasons of three to six months in length on archeological site(s) that contain prehistoric (pre-16th century) archeological deposits; and

(iii) has published the results of those prehistoric archeological investigations.

(B) Historic archeologist. An individual who is a professional archeologist and, in addition, meets the following conditions:

(i) has been trained in the field of historical archeology;

(ii) has minimum experience of two comprehensive archeological field seasons of three to six months in length on archeological site(s) that contain historic (post-16th century) archeological deposits; and

(iii) has published the results of those historical archeological investigations.

(C) Underwater archeologist. An individual who is a professional archeologist and, in addition, is a competent diver with a minimum of two full seasons of underwater archeological testing or excavation projects. Training and experience sufficient for safe and proficient use of the specialized underwater remote sensing survey, excavation and mapping techniques, and equipment are required.

(D) Underwater archeological surveyor. An individual who has training and experience sufficient for safe and proficient supervision of appropriate remote sensing survey equipment operation, as well as for interpretation of survey data to identify anomalies and geomorphic features that may have some probability of association with submerged aboriginal sites and sunken vessels. This individual may represent the archeological interests on board the survey vessel in the absence of an underwater archeologist, as defined in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.

(3) Project architect. An individual who is a licensed architect and has had full-time experience in a supervisory role on at least one historic preservation project. The project architect must be involved, at a minimum, in 25 percent of the time required to develop plans and specifications and manage project work for a Historic Buildings and Structures Permit project and, when not involved with the project, must assign a qualified preservation specialist to supervise the preservation project. At the discretion of commission staff, other individuals may fulfill the role of project architect, as follows:

(A) A preservation specialist may serve in the place of the project architect if: all responsibilities of a project architect under this title will be fulfilled by the project preservation specialist; and all education and experience criteria for a preservation specialist are met.

(B) A project engineer may serve in the place of the project architect if: the scope of project work is limited to structural stabilization and repair; all responsibilities of a project architect under this title will be fulfilled by the project engineer; and all education and experience criteria for a project engineer are met.

(C) A landscape architect may serve in the place of the project architect if: the project scope is limited to landscape architecture; all responsibilities of a project architect under this title will be fulfilled by the project landscape architect; and all education and experience criteria for a project landscape architect are met.

(D) A project contractor may serve in the place of a project architect if: the project scope of work is limited to the demonstrated professional expertise of the contractor; all responsibilities of a project architect under this title will be fulfilled by the project contractor; and all the requirements for a project contractor are met.

(4) Preservation specialist. An individual who has a professional degree in architecture or a state license to practice architecture, plus one or more of the following:

(A) at least one year of graduate study in architectural preservation, American architectural history, preservation planning, or closely related field; or

(B) at least one year of full-time professional experience on historic preservation projects to include experience on projects similar to the project to be permitted; detailed investigations of historic buildings and structures; preparation of historic structures research reports; and preparation of plans and specifications for preservation projects.

(5) Project engineer. An individual who is a licensed civil or structural engineer and has had full-time experience in a supervisory role on at least one historic preservation project similar to the project to be permitted.

(6) Project landscape architect. An individual who is a licensed landscape architect and has had full-time experience in a supervisory role on at least one historic preservation project similar to the project to be permitted.

(7) Project contractor. An individual who has the appropriate training, certifications, and/or licenses for the type of project work specified in the permit application and at least one year of demonstrable full-time experience in applying the methods and practices of the proposed work on historic preservation projects similar to the project to be permitted.

(8) Historian. An individual who has a graduate degree in history or closely related field; or a bachelor's degree in history or a closely related field plus one of the following:

(A) at least two years of full-time experience in research, writing, teaching, interpretation, or other demonstrable professional activity with an academic institution, historical organization or agency, museum, or other professional institution; or

(B) substantial contribution through research and publication to the body of scholarly knowledge in the field of history.

(9) Geomorphologist or geoarcheologist. An individual who holds a graduate degree in geology, geomorphology, archeology, or other closely related field, and has had sufficient training to adequately evaluate the sedimentology, stratigraphy, and pedology of deposits in the field and be competent to describe and analyze the deposits using standard terminology and methods. This person should also have general archeological experience in the area in which the investigations are to occur.

Source Note: The provisions of this §26.4 adopted to be effective May 20, 2013, 38 TexReg 2980