Senate Bill No. 660
(By Senators McCabe, Rowe, Sprouse, Sharpe, Ross, Anderson,
Helmick, Edgell and Minard)
____________
[Introduced February 18, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Energy, Industry and Mining.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections one, two, four, five, five-a,
six, seven, eight, nine, eleven, twelve, fourteen, sixteen,
seventeen and eighteen, article thirteen-a, chapter thirty of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, all relating to the practice of land
surveying generally.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one, two, four, five, five-a, six, seven, eight,
nine, eleven, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen and eighteen,
article thirteen-a, chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13A. LAND SURVEYORS.
§30-13A-1. License required.
In order to provide for the regulation of land surveying in
this state, no person shall engage in, offer to engage in, or hold
himself or herself out to the public as being engaged in, the
practice of land surveying in this state (except for the persons
exempted under the provisions of section seven of this article),
unless and until he or she shall first obtain a license to engage
in the practice of land surveying in accordance with the provisions
of this article, which license remains unexpired, unsuspended and
unrevoked.
Any firm, association, partnership or corporation offering
surveying services or advertising as offering land surveying
services must maintain a licensee on their company staff by means
of majority ownership interest or full-time employee of the
company.
§30-13A-2. Definitions.
Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different
meaning, as used in this article:
(a) "Applicant" means any person making application for an
original or renewal license under the provisions of this article;
(b) "Licensee" means any person holding a license issued under
the provisions of this article;
(c) "Board" means the West Virginia state board of examiners
of land surveyors created under the provisions of this article;
(d) "Practice of land surveying" means the rendering or offering to render for a fee, salary or other compensation,
monetary or otherwise, for the public generally any of the
following services:
(1) The location, relocation, establishment, reestablishment
or retracement of any property line or boundary of any parcel of
land or of any road or utility right-of-way, easement or alignment;
(2) The performance of any survey for the division,
subdivision or resubdivision of any tract of land;
(3) The determination of the position of any monument or
reference point which marks a property line boundary or corner, or
setting, resetting or replacing any such monument or reference
point, by the use of the principles of land surveying;
(4) The determination of the configuration or contour of the
earth's surface or the position of fixed objects thereon or related
thereto, by means of measuring lines and angles, whether directly,
indirectly, by conventional methods or GPS, and applying the
principles of mathematics;
(5) The performance of cadastral surveying, underground
surveying, surface mine surveying or hydrographic surveying;
(6) The preparation of subdivision maps; and
(7) The preparation of maps or drawings showing any of the
above;
(e) "Professional surveyor" means any person who engages in
the practice of land surveying;
(f) "Direct supervision" means the responsible licensee shall
be in direct control of all field and office operations, including
research, evaluation of all data and decisions relative to the
final output data/material, i.e., plats, plans, descriptions, etc.,
that could affect the general public;
(g) "Global positioning system (GPS)" means any measurement of
elevations or positions either absolute or relative which utilizes
the observation of artificial satellites;
(h) "Mortgage/loan inspection survey" means a survey in which
property boundary retracement survey where structures and
improvements are platted with respect to deed property lines for
the purpose of title insurance.
(i) "Retracement survey" means a land survey where the
boundary lines and corners have not been established of a parcel of
land are established from an existing legal description.
(j) "Partition survey" means a land survey where a newly
created boundary line is established and the associated corners are
monumented, creating a new parcel.
§30-13A-4. Powers and duties of board; funds.
(a) The board shall have the power and duty to:
(1) Examine applicants and determine their eligibility for a
license to engage in the practice of land surveying;
(2) Prepare, conduct and grade an apt and proper written, oral
or written and oral examination of applicants for a license and determine the satisfactory passing score thereon;
(3) Promulgate reasonable rules implementing the provisions of
this article and the powers and duties conferred upon the board
hereby, all of which reasonable rules shall be promulgated in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code;
(4) Issue, renew, deny, suspend or revoke licenses to engage
in the practice of land surveying in accordance with the provisions
of this article;
(5) Investigate alleged violations of the provisions of this
article, reasonable rules promulgated hereunder and orders and
final decisions of the board and take appropriate disciplinary
action against any licensee for the violation thereof or institute
appropriate legal action for the enforcement of the provisions of
this article, reasonable rules promulgated hereunder and orders and
final decisions of the board or take such disciplinary action and
institute such legal action;
(6) Keep accurate and complete records of its proceedings,
certify the same as may be appropriate and prepare, from time to
time, a list showing the names and addresses of all licensees;
(7) Take such any other action as may be reasonably necessary
or appropriate to effectuate the provisions of this article; and
(8) Establish standards to evaluate surveying curricula as it
relates to the practice of land surveying under the provisions of this article and to determine the amount of experience required
under section five of this article which may be substituted for a
particular curriculum.
(9) Fine and/or otherwise issue cease and desist orders
against those individuals found in violation of the regulatory
requirements as set forth by the provisions of this article or as
prescribed by any rules adopted by the board.
(b) All moneys paid to the board shall be accepted by a person
designated by the board and deposited by him or her
with the
treasurer of the state and credited to an account to be known as
the "board of examiners of land surveyors fund". All of the
reasonable compensation of the members of the board, the
reimbursement of all reasonable and necessary expenses actually
incurred by such members and all other costs and expenses incurred
by the board in the administration of this article shall be paid
from
such the fund, and no part of the state's general revenue fund
shall be expended for this purpose.
(c) The Legislature finds that an emergency situation exists
and, therefore, the board is hereby authorized to establish by
emergency rule, pursuant to the provisions of article three-a,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, a rule to effectuate the
purpose of this article, including, but not limited to, continuing
education.
§30-13A-5. Qualifications of applicants for licenses; surveyor-in-training applications; fees;
examinations.
(a) To be eligible for a license to engage in the practice of
land surveying, the applicant must:
(1) Be at least eighteen years of age;
(2) Be of good moral character;
(3) Have been a resident of the United States for one year
immediately preceding the date of application;
(4) Not have been convicted of a crime involving moral
turpitude;
(5) On and after the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-five, six years or more of experience under the
direct supervision of a licensee or a person authorized in another
state or country to engage in the practice of Have completed at
least one of the following:
(A) A two-year degree in land surveying shall be required by
those applicants who are graduates of a surveying curriculum of two
scholastic years or more. Eight years of experience or related
field approved by the board, provided the degree shall either
include or be accompanied by the completion of at least thirty
credit hours of surveying or surveying related courses as approved
by the board, and obtained four years or more experience approved
by the board, under the supervision of a person authorized to
practice land surveying in this state, or a person authorized in another state or country to engage in the practice of land
surveying shall be required for those applicants who are not
graduates of a surveying curriculum; and or
(B) A four-year nonsurveying degree approved by the board,
provided the degree shall either include or be accompanied by the
completion of at least thirty credit hours of surveying or
surveying related courses as approved by the board, and obtained
four years or more experience as approved by the board, under the
supervision of a person authorized to practice land surveying in
this state, or a person authorized in another state or country to
engage in the practice of land surveying; or
(C) A four-year degree in land surveying approved by the
board, provided the degree shall either include or be accompanied
by the completion of at least thirty credit hours of board approved
surveying or surveying related courses, and obtained two years or
more experience approved by the board, under the supervision of a
person authorized to practice land surveying in this state, or a
person authorized in another state or country to engage in the
practice of land surveying; or
(D) Obtained eight years of experience approved by the board,
under the supervision of a person authorized to practice land
surveying in this state, or a person authorized in another state or
country to engage in the practice of land surveying. Any
individual desiring to pursue licensure based on the eight years' experience requirement must apprize the board on or before the
first day of January, two thousand four.
(6) Have passed the examination prescribed by the board, which
examination shall cover the basic subject matter West Virginia
laws, regulations and boundary laws of land surveying and land
surveying skills and techniques.
(b) Any applicant for any such license shall submit an
application therefor on the forms provided by the board. Such The
application shall be verified and shall contain a statement of the
applicant's education and experience, the names of five persons for
reference (at least three of whom shall be licensees or persons
authorized in another state or country to engage in the practice of
land surveying, who have knowledge of his or her work) and such any
other information as the board may from time to time by reasonable
rule prescribe.
(c) An applicant shall pay to the board with his or her
application an examination fee for the purpose of covering the cost
of the examination as determined by the board by rule.
(d) Examinations shall be held at least once each year at such
a
time and place as the board shall determine. The scope of the
examination and methods of procedure shall be determined by the
board. An applicant who fails to pass all or any part of an
examination may reapply at any time and shall furnish additional
information as requested by the board. The cost of reexamination will shall be based on the cost of the examination as determined by
the board by rule.
(e) The board shall offer a surveyor-in-training (SIT)
fundamentals of land surveying examination to applicants who meet
the requirements of subdivisions (1), (2), (3) and (4), subsection
(a) of this section, and are graduates of a surveying curriculum of
two or more years which has been any board approved applicant who
has acquired an associate degree in land surveying and one year of
experience, as approved by the board; of examiners of land
surveyors. The examination shall include an eight-hour portion of
fundamentals in science, mathematics and surveying or has acquired
a baccalaureate degree in a nonsurveying field and one year of
experience, as approved by the board, or has acquired a
baccalaureate degree in land surveying. A surveyor-in-training
(SIT) certificate shall be issued by the board to any applicant who
passes the fundamentals of land surveying examination. Applicants
must pass the other portions fundamentals of the surveyor-in-
training land surveying examination and complete the work
experience and other requirements of this section the board before
they are allowed to take the second eight-hour portion of the
examination which consists of the principles and practices of land
surveying and the West Virginia examinations.
§30-13A-5a. Underground surveying; additional requirements.
After the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred seventy, no person required to be licensed under the provisions of
this article shall engage in underground surveying until he or she
shall have first obtained a license under the provisions of this
article and in addition shall have received from the board, after
application therefor and payment of a ten dollar fee to be
determined by the board, a certificate to engage in underground
surveying, which certificate shall remain valid so long and only so
long as the license issued to such the
person under the provisions
of this article remains unexpired, unsuspended and unrevoked. In
order to be eligible for such the
certificate such the
person
shall, in addition to the requirements for a license, have three
years or more experience in the practice of underground surveying
and pass an examination on relevant material as may be prescribed
by the board. In the event an application for any such certificate
is denied, all of the provisions of sections nine and ten of this
article shall be as fully applicable as if the application denied
were an application for a license under the provisions of this
article.
§30-13A-6. Issuance of license; notice of expiration; renewal;
renewal fee; display.
Whenever the board finds that an applicant meets all of the
requirements of this article for a license to engage in the
practice of land surveying, it shall forthwith issue to such the
person such license; and otherwise the board shall deny the same. All licenses, whether original or renewal, shall expire on the
thirtieth day of June following the date of issuance or renewal.
The secretary-treasurer of the board shall mail to every licensee,
at least thirty days prior to the expiration of such the
license,
notice of the expiration date and the amount of the renewal fee.
A license may be renewed without examination upon application for
a renewal on a form prescribed by the board and payment to the
board of an annual renewal fee of forty dollars to be determined by
the board by rule. If a license is not renewed when due, the fee
shall increase one dollar per month for each month or fraction
thereof that such the
renewal fee is not paid, up to a maximum of
thirty-six months. No license shall be renewed after expiration of
said period of thirty-six months, and the fact that a license
cannot be renewed because of the expiration of said the
period of
thirty-six months shall not prevent such a
person from making
application for a new license. The board may deny any application
for renewal for any reason which would justify the denial of an
original application for a license. The board shall prescribe the
form of licenses and certificates, and each such license
certificate shall be conspicuously displayed by the licensee at his
or her principal place of practice. A duplicate license may be
issued upon payment of a fee of ten dollars to be determined by the
board.
§30-13A-7. Exemption from licensing.
The following persons are exempt from regulation and licensing
under the provisions of this article and any reasonable rules
promulgated hereunder and may engage in the practice of land
surveying without a license issued under the provisions of this
article: and any such reasonable rules
(a) Any professional engineer authorized to practice the
profession of engineering as provided in article thirteen of this
chapter may apply within one year after the effective date of this
section and if such person meets the requirements of subdivisions
(1), (2), (3) and (4), subsection (a), section five of this
article, he or she is eligible for a license without examination.
Any applicant for any such license shall submit an application and
proof of surveying experience as specified in said section;
(b) (a) Any employee of a proprietorship, partnership,
association, corporation or other business entity which is engaged
in the practice of land surveying in this state: Provided, That
the work of any such employee is done under the direct supervision
of and certified by a licensed professional surveyor who is an
employee or a majority owner of the proprietorship, partnership,
association, corporation or other business entity;
(c) (b) Any employee of a person, firm, association or
corporation, when such the
employee is engaged in the practice of
land surveying exclusively for the person, firm, association or
corporation by which employed, or, if a corporation, its parents, affiliates or subsidiaries, and such the
person, firm, association
or corporation does not hold himself or herself
or itself out to
the public as being engaged in the business of land surveying;
(d) (c) Any employee or officer of the United States, this
state or any political subdivision thereof, when such the
employee
is engaged in the practice of land surveying exclusively for such
a
governmental unit, except that after the first day of January,
two thousand five, any person elected as a county surveyor for any
county of this state may not be installed into the office of county
surveyor unless and until he or she shall first obtain a license to
engage in the practice of land surveying in accordance with the
provisions of this article, and which license remains unexpired,
unsuspended and unrevoked.
All boundary retracement work performed by exempted
individuals must comply with minimum standards and the rules as
prescribed by the board.
§30-13A-8. Suspension or revocation of license.
(a) The board may at any time upon its own motion and shall
upon the verified written complaint of any person conduct an
investigation to determine whether there are any grounds for
disciplinary action against the holder of a license or the
suspension or revocation of a license issued under the provisions
of this article.
(b) The board shall suspend or revoke the license of any licensee, put the holder of any such license on probation or and/or
impose a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars on the holder of
any such license when it finds the holder thereof has:
(1) Been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude;
(2) Obtained a license by means of fraud or deceit;
(3) Been incompetent, grossly negligent, or guilty of fraud,
deceit or other misconduct in the practice of land surveying as
defined by the board by reasonable rules; or
(4) Failed or refused to comply with the provisions of this
article or any order or final decision of the board.
(c) Any suspension of a license shall continue for the period
specified in the order of suspension. Revocation of a license
shall not preclude application for a new license, which application
shall be processed in the same manner and the application approved
or denied and the license issued or refused on the same grounds as
any other application for a license is processed, considered and
determined, except that any previous suspension and the revocation
may be considered in deciding whether to approve or deny such any
application and issue or refuse to issue such the
license.
§30-13A-9. Procedures for hearings.
(a) Whenever the board shall deny an application for any
original or renewal license or shall suspend or revoke any license,
it shall make and enter an order to that effect and serve a copy
thereof on the applicant or licensee, as the case may be, by certified mail, return receipt requested. Such The
order shall
state the grounds for the action taken and shall require that any
license suspended or revoked thereby shall be returned to the board
by the holder within twenty days after receipt of said the
order.
(b) Any person adversely affected by any such order shall be
entitled to a hearing thereon (as to all issues not excluded from
the definition of a "contested case" as set forth in article one,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code) if, within twenty days after
receipt of a copy thereof, he or she files with the board a written
demand for such a
hearing. A demand for hearing shall operate
automatically to stay or suspend the execution of any order
suspending or revoking a license or denying an application for a
renewal license. The board may require the person demanding such
the
hearing to give reasonable security for the costs thereof and
if such the
person does not substantially prevail at such the
hearing such the
costs shall be assessed against him or her and may
be collected by an action at law or other proper remedy.
(c) Upon receipt of a written demand for such a
hearing, the
board shall set a time and place therefore not less than ten and
not more than thirty days thereafter. Any scheduled hearing may be
continued by the board upon its own motion or for good cause shown
by the person demanding the hearing.
(d) All of the pertinent provisions of article five, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code shall apply to and govern the hearing and the administrative procedures in connection with and following
such the
hearing, with like effect as if the provisions of said
article five were set forth in this subsection.
(e) Any such hearing shall be conducted by a quorum of the
board. For the purpose of conducting any such hearing any member
of the board shall have the power and authority to issue subpoenas
and subpoenas duces tecum which shall be issued and served within
the time, for the fees and shall be enforced, as specified in
section one, article five of said chapter twenty-nine-a, and all of
the said section one provisions dealing with subpoenas and
subpoenas duces tecum shall apply to subpoenas and subpoenas duces
tecum issued for the purpose of a hearing hereunder.
(f) At any such hearing the person who demanded the same may
represent himself or herself or be represented by an attorney at
law admitted to practice before any circuit court of this state.
Upon request by the board, it shall be represented at any such
hearing by the attorney general or his or her assistants without
additional compensation.
(g) After any such hearing and consideration of all of the
testimony, evidence and record in the case, the board shall render
its decision in writing. The written decision of the board shall
be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions of law as
specified in section three, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code, and a copy of such the
decision and accompanying findings and conclusions shall be served by certified mail, return
receipt requested, upon the person demanding such the
hearing, and
his or her attorney of record, if any.
(h) The decision of the board shall be final unless reversed,
vacated or modified upon judicial review thereof in accordance with
the provisions of section ten of this article.
§30-13A-11. Seal or stamp.
Each licensee shall obtain a seal or stamp of the design
authorized by the board, bearing his or her name and the legend,
"Licensed Land Professional Surveyor." Plans, plats, maps,
drawings and reports issued by a licensee shall be stamped with the
their seal or stamp. It shall be unlawful for anyone to stamp or
seal any document with such the
seal or stamp unless the license of
the licensee named thereon remains unsuspended, unrevoked and
unexpired.
§30-13A-12. Duty of county clerks and public officials.
(a) No plat, survey, document, plan, map, drawing, exhibit,
sketch or pictorial representation intended to be used in the
transfer of real property shall be filed by any clerk of a county
commission or accepted by any public official of this state unless
the seal and signature required by section eleven of this article
has been affixed thereto by a licensee authorized to engage in land
surveying in the state of West Virginia, except that any survey,
document, plan, map, drawing, exhibit, sketch or pictorial representation, prepared by a person exempted from the regulation
and licensing requirements of this article, as provided in section
seven of this article, shall not be required to have the seal
required by section eleven of this article affixed thereto. If a
survey, document, plan, plat, map, drawing, exhibit, sketch or
pictorial representation has been altered from its original form,
it shall not be filed by any clerk of a county or accepted by any
public official of this state. Nothing in this section shall
prevent a survey, document prepared prior to the twenty-fifth day
of May, one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, from being recorded
without such seal. If a seal of such exempt person is not affixed
to said survey, document, plan, plat, map, drawing, exhibit, sketch
or pictorial representation, a certificate shall be placed thereon
by the exempt person, stating upon what the exemption is claimed.
Said certificate may shall be in a form similar to the following:
"I certify that I am engaged in surveying exclusively
for _____________________________________ and believe
I am exempt from regulations and licensing under
West Virginia Code 30-13A-7, and that I have
complied with all laws and rules governing surveying
in West Virginia as set out and prescribed by the
board.
___________________________
Signature"
(b) No land transfer for new property partitions or
subdivision thereof shall be recorded without a plat and
description of survey attached therewith.
§30-13A-14. Offenses, penalties and limitations.
(a) Any person, licensed or unlicensed, who violates any of
the provisions of this article, any of the reasonable rules and
regulations promulgated hereunder or any order or any final
decision of the board shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more
than three months or by a fine of not more than one hundred
thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment fined and
imprisoned.
§30-13A-16. Delivery of plat and description; recordation.
(a) When any land licensed professional surveyor makes a
property boundary retracement survey or partition survey as defined
in section two of this article, he or she
shall make a plat and
description thereof, and shall furnish a copy thereof to the client
or landowner. If the title to the land surveyed is conveyed, the
plat and description of survey prepared by a licensed professional
surveyor
shall be recorded simultaneously with the instrument
conveying title, except when such plat has already been recorded
and reference given in lieu of a second recording of said plat.
(b) No land transfer for new property partitions or
subdivision thereof shall be recorded without a plat and description of survey attached therewith.
§30-13A-17. "West Virginia Coordinate Systems"; definition, plane
coordinates, limitations of use.
(a) The systems of plane coordinates which have been
established by the national ocean survey/national geodetic survey
National Ocean Survey/National Geodetic Survey (formerly the United
States Coast Geodetic Survey) or its successors for defining and
stating the geographic position or locations of points on the
surface of the earth within the state of West Virginia are
hereafter to be known and designated as the "West Virginia
Coordinate System of 1927" and the "West Virginia Coordinate System
of 1983."
For the purpose of the use of this system the state is divided
into a "North Zone" and a "South Zone."
The area now included in the following counties shall
constitute the North Zone: Barbour, Berkeley, Brooke, Doddridge,
Grant, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Jefferson, Marion,
Marshall, Mineral, Monongalia, Morgan, Ohio, Pleasants, Preston,
Ritchie, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Wetzel, Wirt and Wood.
The area now included in the following counties shall
constitute the South Zone: Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay,
Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln,
Logan, McDowell, Mason, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Pendleton,
Pocahontas, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Roane, Summers, Upshur, Wayne, Webster and Wyoming.
(b) As established for use in the North Zone, the West
Virginia Coordinate System of 1927 or the West Virginia Coordinate
System of 1983 shall be named; and in any land description in which
it is used it shall be designated, the "West Virginia Coordinate
System of 1927 North Zone" or "West Virginia Coordinate System of
1983 North Zone."
As established for use in the South Zone, the West Virginia
Coordinate System of 1927 or the West Virginia Coordinate System of
1983 shall be named; and in any land description in which it is
used it shall be designated, the "West Virginia Coordinate System
of 1927 South Zone" or "West Virginia Coordinate System of 1983
South Zone."
(c) The plane coordinate values for a point on the earth's
surface, used to express the geographic position or location of
such a
point in the appropriate zone of this system, shall consist
of two distances, expressed in U.S. survey feet and decimals of a
foot when using the West Virginia Coordinate System of 1927, and
expressed in meters and decimals when using the West Virginia
Coordinate System of 1983. One of these distances, to be known as
the "x-coordinate," shall give the position in an east-and-west
direction; the other, to be known as the "y-coordinate," shall give
the position in a north-and-south direction.
These coordinates shall be made to depend upon and conform to plane rectangular coordinate values for the monumented points of
the North American Horizontal Geodetic Control Network as published
by the National Ocean Survey/National Geodetic Survey (formerly the
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey), or its successors, and
whose plane coordinates have been computed on the system defined by
this section. Any such station may be used for establishing a
survey connection to either West Virginia coordinate system.
(d) For purposes of describing the location of any survey
station or land boundary corner in the state of West Virginia, it
shall be considered a complete, legal, and satisfactory description
of such a
location to give the position of said survey station or
land boundary corner on the system of plane coordinates defined in
this section.
Nothing contained in this section shall require a purchaser or
mortgagee of real property to rely wholly on a land description,
any part of which depends exclusively upon either West Virginia
coordinate system.
(e) When any tract of land to be defined by a single
description extends from one into the other of the above coordinate
zones, the position of all points on its boundaries may be referred
to either of the two zones. The zone which is being used
specifically shall be named in the description.
(f)(1) For purposes of more precisely defining the West
Virginia Coordinate System of 1927, the following definition by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (now National Ocean
Survey/National Geodetic Survey) is adopted:
The "West Virginia Coordinate System of 1927 North Zone" is a
Lambert conformal conic projection of the Clarke Spheriod of 1866,
having standard parallels at north latitudes 39 degrees and 00
minutes and 40 degrees and 15 minutes, along which parallels the
scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the
intersection of the meridian 79 degrees 30 minutes west of
Greenwich and the parallel 38 degrees 30 minutes north latitude.
This origin is given the coordinates: x = 2,000,000 feet and y = 0
feet.
The "West Virginia Coordinate System of 1927 South Zone" is a
Lambert conformal conic projection of the Clarke Spheriod of 1866,
having standard parallels at north latitudes 37 degrees 29 minutes
and 38 degrees 53 minutes, along which parallels the scale shall be
exact. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the
meridian 81 degrees 00 minutes west of Greenwich and the parallel
37 degrees 00 minutes north latitude. This origin is given the
coordinates: x = 2,000,000 feet and y = 0 feet.
(2) For purposes of more precisely defining the West Virginia
Coordinate System of 1983, the following definition by the National
Ocean Survey/National Geodetic Survey is adopted:
The "West Virginia Coordinate System of 1983 North Zone" is a
Lambert conformal conic projection of the North American Datum of 1983, having standard parallels at north latitudes 39 degrees and
00 minutes and 40 degrees and 15 minutes, along which parallels the
scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the
intersection of the meridian 79 degrees 30 minutes west of
Greenwich and the parallel 38 degrees 30 minutes north latitude.
This origin is given the coordinates: x = 600,000 meters and y = 0
meters.
The "West Virginia Coordinate System of 1983 South Zone" is a
Lambert conformal conic projection of the North American Datum of
1983, having standard parallels at north latitudes 37 degrees 29
minutes and 38 degrees 53 minutes, along which parallels the scale
shall be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection
of the meridian 81 degrees 00 minutes west of Greenwich and the
parallel 37 degrees 00 minutes north latitude. This origin is
given the coordinates: x = 600,000 meters and y = 0 meters.
(g) No coordinates based on the West Virginia coordinate
system, purporting to define the position of a point on a land
boundary, shall be presented to be recorded in any public records
or deed records unless such point is within based on one kilometer
of a public or private monumented horizontal control station
established in conformity with the standards of accuracy and
specifications for first or second order or better geodetic
surveying as prepared and published by the Federal Geodetic Control
Committee (FGCC) of the United States department of commerce. The plat and description must bear the basis of control identified by
monument name and/or PID (point identifier) that the survey is
based on, the order of accuracy of that base monument and the
coordinate values used to compute the corner positions. Standards
and specifications of the FGCC or its successor in force on date of
said survey shall apply. The publishing of the existing control
stations, or the acceptance with intent to publish the newly
established control stations, by the National Ocean Survey/National
Geodetic Survey will shall constitute evidence of adherence to the
FGCC specifications. The above limitations may be modified by a
duly authorized state agency to meet local conditions.
(h) The use of the term "West Virginia Coordinate System of
1927 North or South Zone" or "West Virginia Coordinate System of
1983 North or South Zone" on any map, report of survey or other
document shall be limited to coordinates based on the West Virginia
coordinate system as defined in this section.
(i) Nothing in this section shall prevent the recordation in
any public record of any deed, map, plat, survey, description or of
any other document or writing of whatsoever nature which would
otherwise constitute a recordable instrument or document even
though the same is not based upon or done in conformity with the
West Virginia coordinate system established by this section, nor
shall such nonconformity with such system invalidate any deed, map,
plat, survey, description or other document which is otherwise proper.
§30-13A-18. Minimum standards for boundary surveys.
The purpose of these standards is to establish minimum
technical criteria to govern the performance of surveyors when more
stringent specifications are not required by other agencies,
contract, etc. Further, the purpose is to protect the inhabitants
of this state from dishonest or incompetent surveying, and
generally to protect the public welfare.
(a) The client discussion prior to the survey should cover the
purpose of survey, scope of services, disputes with adjoiners fees
and contract.
(b) The record search should include the record description
based on current and prior deeds, conveyance from common grantor,
or if necessary original survey or grant. It should also include
descriptions of adjoining properties, other sources of information
or resolution of conflicts in descriptions. All records of
information sources used will should be retained as a permanent
record.
(c) The field survey will shall consist of a reasonable
attempt at adjoiner notification, a field search for controlling
evidence, a discussion of evidence with the owner adjoiners and/or
client, or others having knowledge of the boundaries and the
location of evidence by traverse appropriate methods and
procedures. The surveyor will shall use methods and equipment suitable for the purpose of the survey and the field notes will
shall be retained as a permanent record.
(d) Distance will shall be measured reported in feet or
meters, or fractions thereof, and angles will directions shall be
measured reported in degrees or parts thereof. These will The
observations shall be measured made to a precision that will shall
produce the desired level of accuracy. Areas will Area of the
tract being surveyed shall be measured reported to a precision
consistent with the purpose of the survey. All measuring devices
will be checked periodically for accuracy and condition.
(e) Monumentation is required for all new or reestablished
corners, or reference monument for inaccessible corners, and is
encouraged at intervisible points between corners. Artificial or
Set monuments will shall be made of durable ferrous material and
set firmly in the ground. Pipes will shall have a minimum inside
diameter of one inch, while rebars will shall have a minimum
outside diameter of one-half five-eighths inch and both will shall
have a minimum length of thirty inches. All rebars and pipes shall
have caps bearing the surveyor's registration number or company
name. Other markers shall have a minimum cross-sectional area
of three-tenths one-half square inch and will shall be of durable
material, identifiable and unique. Natural objects chosen for
corners shall be durable, unique and easily identifiable.
(f) A plat will shall be prepared for all boundary surveys shall show showing the results of the field survey and will be
delivered to if contractual obligations between the surveyor and the
client have been satisfactorily met or completed, certified copies
of the plat shall be provided to the client, and the adjoiners, if
so requested by the client. Plats will shall be to a scale large
enough to show significant details. Information on plats will shall
include when applicable north arrows and basis of bearings, date of
survey, measured length and direction of each boundary line by
distance, bearing and quadrant and evidence of possession on or near
the property line and the acreage or square footage of the tract
being surveyed.
The description of all corners or reference monuments, and
whether found (fd) or set, area of the parcel and of significant
parts, including streets, alleys and nonlotted area of subdivision,
state, county and district or municipality will shall be shown on
the plat. The subdivision name, lot, block and plat reference will
shall also be shown on subdivision or lot surveys.
The tax map, tax parcel number, name of current and/or past
owners for subject property and adjoiners, current conveyance
reference for subject property and adjoiners will shall be shown.
Name, address, license number, signature, seal of surveyor, overlaps
and gaps in record lines, former deed or grant lines as needed, ties
to significant objects and general location information will shall
also be included.
(g) A description will shall be prepared for each boundary
survey and will shall be provided to the client. A description
shall include the state, county, district or municipality and
watershed or topographic location. Lot and block numbers will shall
be shown for new platted subdivisions, but retracement surveys for
lots and other surveys will shall require a metes and bounds
description. The description will shall also include the point of
beginning, the description of monumentation at each corner and
objects encountered along the line, the length and direction of each
line, and the radius, chord bearing and distance of a curved
boundary.
The description will shall also show the intent with regard to
adjoiner, physical evidence or record monument along the line. The
area of the parcel, reference to plat and surveyor preparing
description and the reference to conveyance by which the current
owner claims title, including grantor, grantee, date and place.
(h) The report of survey will shall be used when the plat and
description do not adequately address all matters considered by the
surveyor in performing the survey and will shall be provided to the
client with a plat and description and the adjoiners, if so
requested by the client.
The report will should include all unusual circumstances
surrounding the survey, weight given to conflicting evidence and
encroachments, overlaps or gaps, and how they were resolved and the names of adjoiners contacted and the information they supplied.
(i) A mortgage/loan inspection survey in which shall show
boundaries on of a property which have not been surveyed in
accordance with the methods set forth by the board then the plat
must be stamped "a mortgage inspection survey only, not a boundary
survey". The surveyor must notify a in this article, the plat shall
also show structures and improvements as requested by the landowner
or other person commissioning their services if a the survey. or
an inspection was performed
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the qualifications
for obtaining a license to engage in the practice of land surveying;
to allow the land surveying board to set certain fees; and to
provide minimum standards for boundary surveys.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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