Working on a railway expansion project in Niland, Ca along the Salton Sea, we have a USGS Survey Disk that is in the new design area and is about to be wiped out. Who do I notify to get it moved or repositioned or just to notify them that it is about to be destroyed within a month or so...?
From my experience, the federal government does not have the resources to save or replace the point and no matter who you call, they will not be able to help you.
If it were me, I'd install a suitable permanent marker outside the construction zone and transfer the positional values using the best available equipment and methods. Then I'd start trying to find out if USGS has a records update capability to reflect the change.
If it's actually a USC&GS (now NGS) disk, you can contact your state advisor (if you have one) or use the Mark Recovery Form to provide an update.
Transfer the elevation to another point and file a Corner Record form.
For Western U.S. vertical and horizontal control information, contact the USGS in Denver, Colorado, by telephone at 303-202-4400 or by e-mail at [email protected].
For the Eastern U.S. vertical and horizontal control information contact the USGS in Rolla, Missouri, by calling 573-308-3500 or e-mailing [email protected].
I'm guessing that like NGS, there is going to be less and less support for saving or replacing terrestrial control monuments, but they can tell you better than I.
We are working on a project that will also involve wiping out an NGS vertical benchmark. I contacted NGS and was told to also contact my regional advisor which I have, just haven't heard back yet. There is a bench mark reset procedure on the NGS website that I (or the construction surveyor since I will not be the one destroying the monument) will need to abide by.
Section 8771(b) of the California Professional Land Surveyor's Act very clearly explains what is to be done and who is responsible for it:
It shall be the responsibility of the governmental agency or others performing construction work to provide for the monumentation required by this section.
The section specifically mentions monuments that provide horizontal or vertical survey control, not just boundary monuments. The procedures required by California Law are also very clearly spelled out in this section. It is not the responsibility of the USGS, NGS, or any other agency to perpetuate this monument, other than the agency contracting for the work and/or the contractor performing it.
http://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/licensees/pls_act.pdf
There is also a bench mark reset procedure section on the NGS website as mentioned above that defines how to do the work and report it to them.
> Working on a railway expansion project in Niland, Ca along the Salton Sea, we have a USGS Survey Disk that is in the new design area and is about to be wiped out. Who do I notify to get it moved or repositioned or just to notify them that it is about to be destroyed within a month or so...?
In CA a corner record is required for monument preservation due to construction activities. See Section 8771 of the PLS Act.
"8771(b) When monuments exist that control the location of subdivisions, tracts, boundaries, roads, streets, or highways, or provide horizontal or vertical survey control, the monuments shall be located and referenced by or under the direction of a licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer prior to the time when any streets, highways, other rights-of-way, or easements are improved, constructed, reconstructed, maintained, resurfaced, or relocated, and a corner record or record of survey of the references shall be filed with the county surveyor..."
There is a sample of a vertical corner record in the County Engineers Association of California "Guide to the Preparation of Records of Survey and Corner Records" at the link below.
ANOTHER...
OUTSTANDING example of the help that is to be found on this board. Thank you Wendell, for making this possible, and thanks to those of you who are always willing to offer assistance.
ANOTHER...
Probably 10's of C&GS or NGS marks are lost every month. Probably 100's for USGS marks. There really aren't the resources in government to deal with it. I think a lot of the NGS state monument preservation folks have gone the way of the dodo bird. NGS has probably been dealing with this by going to the new networks, GPS based primary stations and so forth.
I probably have 20 database monuments within 5 miles of me that have been destroyed. I have seen 5 or more within the past few years from one highway project.
I somehow doubt that any of the state statutes designed to protect them are ever considered or invoked.
It may be up to you and the local surveyors to get involved in the perpetuation of these marks.
- jlw
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> I somehow doubt that any of the state statutes designed to protect them are ever considered or invoked.
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> It may be up to you and the local surveyors to get involved in the perpetuation of these marks.
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> - jlw
You hit the nail on the head there jlw. It is up to us surveyors to report those that destroy monuments and more importantly we need to educate others. We especially need to educate the local municipalities, road district, and transportation agencies. Up in this neck of the woods things are getting better in that regards but ultimately we have to do a certain amount of self monitoring.