Deprecation of the United States (U.S.) Survey Foot, 55562-55565 [2019-22414]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 201 / Thursday, October 17, 2019 / Notices
Secretary for Antidumping and
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Department of Commerce, Room 18022,
1401 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20230.
Dated: October 9, 2019.
James Maeder,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Operations.
[FR Doc. 2019–22692 Filed 10–16–19; 8:45 am]
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[FR Doc. 2019–22620 Filed 10–16–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and
Technology
Deprecation of the United States (U.S.)
Survey Foot
The National Institute of
Standards and Technology and the
National Geodetic Survey (NGS),
National Ocean Service (NOS), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Department of
Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
AGENCY:
The National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) and
the National Geodetic Survey (NGS),
National Ocean Service (NOS), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), are taking
collaborative action to provide national
uniformity in the measurement of
length. This notice announces a
decision to deprecate the use of the
‘‘U.S. survey foot’’ on December 31,
2022. After that date, the ‘‘U.S. survey
foot’’ will be superseded by the ‘‘foot’’
(formerly known as the ‘‘international
foot’’), which is already in use
throughout the U.S. This notice
describes the plan, resources, training,
and other activities of NIST and NOAA
that will assist those affected by this
transition, and invites comments and
other information from land surveyors,
engineers, Federal, State and local
government officials, businesses, and
any other member of the public engaged
in or affected by surveying and mapping
operations.
DATES: Comments and other information
must be received by December 2, 2019.
SUMMARY:
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NIST and NOAA are using
the https://www.regulations.gov system
for the submission and posting of public
comments in this proceeding. All
comments in response to this notice are
therefore to be submitted electronically
through https://www.regulations.gov,
via the web form accessed by following
the ‘‘Submit a Formal Comment’’ link
near the top right of the Federal
Register web page for this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
U.S. survey foot deprecation
resources: https://www.nist.gov/pml/ussurveyfoot.
Information on standards
development and maintenance:
Elizabeth Gentry, 301–975–3690,
Elizabeth.Gentry@nist.gov.
Technical and historical information
on usage of the foot: Michael Dennis,
240–533–9611, Michael.Dennis@
noaa.gov.
ADDRESSES:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This action is designed to establish
national uniformity in length
measurements based on the foot. For
more than sixty years, two nearly
identical definitions of the foot have
been in use in the U.S. for geodetic and
land surveys. A Federal Register notice
published on July 1, 1959 (24 FR 5348)
by the National Bureau of Standards
(renamed the National Institute of
Standards and Technology in 1988) and
the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
(reorganized as the National Geodetic
Survey under the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration in 1970)
refined the definition of the yard in
terms of the International System of
Units (SI), commonly known as the
metric system. The 1959 notice was
issued after an international agreement
among six nations resolved a longstanding difference in the relationship
of the U.S. yard to the British yard. The
notice reported that there was a slight
difference (2 parts per million) between
the 1959 definition (i.e., one yard =
0.914 4 meter, exactly) and an 1893
definition (i.e., 1 yard = 3600/3937
meter, or approximately 0.914 401 83
meter).
The 1959 Federal Register notice then
adopted a revised value for the foot for
use throughout the U.S., and identified
it as the ‘‘international foot’’ to show
that it corresponded with the foot in use
by the United Kingdom and other
countries. The notice defined this
international foot as 0.304 8 meter (e.g.,
equal to 0.999 999 8 of the value for the
foot officially adopted in 1893).
Additionally, to avoid disrupting the
surveying practices at the time, the
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 201 / Thursday, October 17, 2019 / Notices
notice established an interim approach
that permitted the limited use of the
historic 1893 value of the foot
exclusively in the field of geodetic
surveys. It was identified as the ‘‘U.S.
survey foot’’ with the defined value of
0.304 800 61 meter (approximately). The
1959 notice specifically stated that the
‘‘U.S. survey foot’’ should be used
‘‘until such a time as it becomes
desirable and expedient to readjust the
basic geodetic survey networks in the
United States, after which the ratio of a
yard, equal to 0.914 4 meter, shall
apply.’’
As announced in a Federal Register
notice published on March 24, 1977 (42
FR 15943), NOAA officially adopted the
meter as the unit for length in the
National Spatial Reference System
(NSRS). However, U.S. surveying and
mapping practitioners continued to use
the ‘‘U.S. survey foot,’’ including when
they employed the NGS-defined State
Plane Coordinates System of 1927 and
1983 (SPCS 27 and SPCS 83,
respectively). Because the ‘‘international
foot’’ is the basis for all other length
measurements and calibrations in the
U.S., it is no longer necessary to
continue to maintain two unit values for
the foot.
Consequences for Surveying, Mapping,
and Engineering in the United States
Although the use of the ‘‘U.S. survey
foot’’ was intended to be an interim
measure, its use continues to be
prevalent in land surveying and
mapping in much of the U.S. Of the 50
U.S. jurisdictions that have legislated
SPCS 83 (48 States plus Puerto Rico and
Guam), the ‘‘U.S. survey foot’’ has been
specified for SPCS 83 in 40 States,
either through statute (28 States) or
Federal Register notices (12 States). Six
States have adopted the ‘‘international
foot’’ for SPCS 83, while two States
(plus Puerto Rico and Guam) have not
formally designated the type of foot to
be used. It is important to note that State
legislation and Federal Register notices
regarding the ‘‘U.S. survey foot’’ are
specifically associated with SPCS 83,
and therefore are not applicable to the
NSRS Modernization in 2022.
It is also important to note that while
the difference between the two
definitions is 2 parts per million, this
small discrepancy accumulates over
large distances and can result in
significant errors in surveying and civil
engineering projects, regardless of the
size of the project. For example, when
a one-mile distance is surveyed, the
difference is approximately 0.01 ft or
0.12 in. However, the impact becomes
substantial when longer distance
measurements or conversions are made,
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such as those involving rectangular
plane coordinates of SPCS 83. In these
cases, the difference between the two
definitions can also result in large
direction and position location errors, in
many cases reaching tens of feet for
SPCS 83 coordinates.
Because of this situation, there has
been a long history of
misunderstandings and confusion over
which definition of the foot was used to
carry out a specific land survey or civil
engineering project. There have been
many instances where software or
electronic surveying devices default to
one or the other foot definitions, but
users incorrectly assume the actual unit
of measure in use. This ongoing
ambiguity has resulted in professional
liability by the inadvertent violation of
State law, the introduction of systematic
errors in surveying and engineering
projects, misreported position and
location, land sale and project delays,
boundary disputes, additional costs
associated with correcting unit
mistakes, and other unintended
consequences. Because State
jurisdictions with different legal
definitions of the foot share borders,
mapping projects in these geographic
zones may experience elevated error
risks as a surveyor transitions between
a State that uses the ‘‘U.S. survey foot’’
and a State that uses the ‘‘international
foot.’’ This risk is exacerbated when
professional surveyors and engineers are
licensed to practice in multiple States
that use different versions of the foot,
and for large projects when the team
participants come from different States
and even different countries. In addition
to the cost due to errors, there is the cost
of inefficiency, since it is necessary to
keep track of the foot version, which
increases with the size, duration, and
complexity of projects.
Opportunity To Eliminate Confusion
Since the publication of the 1959
Federal Register notice, experience has
overwhelmingly revealed that national
uniformity cannot be ensured in this
critical industry field when users are
routinely confronted with two
definitions of the foot. The best
opportunity for eliminating the
redundancy in values for the foot will
occur with the NOAA program to
modernize the NSRS in 2022.
The only practical solution is to
deprecate the ‘‘U.S. survey foot’’ and to
require that its use in surveying,
mapping, and engineering be
discontinued. Allowing the continued
use of two definitions of the foot
undercuts the value and benefit of
national uniformity, and allows for
additional opportunities for confusion
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and unnecessary costs to the users, the
States, and professionals in the
surveying, mapping, and engineering
fields. No compelling justification to
maintain two definitions for the foot
exists.
Notice From the Director of the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology Regarding the Deprecation
of the ‘‘U.S. Survey Foot’’ on December
31, 2022
Under Article 1, Section 8 of the
United States Constitution, Congress
retains the power to ‘‘fix the Standard
of Weights and Measures.’’ Throughout
that section, the words ‘‘uniform
throughout the United States’’ are used
in conjunction with many of the other
duties and responsibilities that are
listed. The ‘‘fixing’’ or defining the
standards of weights and measures is
intrinsic to ensure uniform
measurement across the U.S., as well as
with the rest of the world. In 1866,
Congress acted to make the metric
system of measurement (now known as
the International System of Units (SI))
legal for use in the United States (15
U.S.C. 204). On May 20, 1875 the U.S.
signed the Meter Convention (known as
the ‘‘International Treaty of the Meter’’),
which established the International
Bureau of Weights and Measures, an
intergovernmental organization under
the General Conference on Weights and
Measures that oversees the International
Committee for Weights and Measures,
which is the organization that maintains
the SI to meet the measurement needs
of the world. On April 5, 1893, the
‘‘Mendenhall Order,’’ issued by the U.S.
Coast and Geodetic Survey with the
approval of the U.S. Secretary of the
Treasury, determined that the U.S.
Customary units of the yard and pound
would be defined in terms of the SI
units of the meter and kilogram. The
practice of defining the U.S. Customary
units of measurement in terms of the SI
continues today.
In 1988, Congress declared that the
metric system was the preferred system
of measurement for trade and commerce
in the United States (15 U.S.C. 205b).
The Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology is authorized
by statute ‘‘to develop, maintain, and
retain custody of the national standards
of measurement, and provide the means
and methods for making measurements
consistent with those standards’’ (15
U.S.C. 272(b)(2)), ‘‘to assure the
compatibility of United States national
measurement standards with those of
other nations’’ (15 U.S.C. 272(b)(9)), and
to ‘‘cooperate with the States in securing
uniformity in weights and measures
laws’’ (15 U.S.C. 272(c)(4)). Under this
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authority, the SI is interpreted or
modified by the Director of NIST for use
in the United States. The SI is used
exclusively to define, establish, and
maintain the U.S. national standards of
measurement and in securing
uniformity of their use in the laws of the
States.
‘‘Deprecation’’ is a term widely used
in the field of legal metrology and other
measurement science fields of study. It
describes a decision to discontinue the
use of a specific measurement unit or
method of sale. A unit of measurement
(e.g., the foot or gallon) though legal,
may be prohibited from being used in a
specific commercial application if, for
example, it has been identified as being
redundant or a source of confusion, or
if it could frustrate the ability of users
to make quantity and value
comparisons. For example, gasoline and
other engine fuels are permitted to be
sold from a retail service station by the
gallon but may not be sold by the fluid
pint or fluid ounce. As the situation
with multiple definitions for the foot
illustrates, measurement unit uniformity
is only possible when a single
measurement unit definition is used for
a specific application (e.g., land
surveying).
The deprecation process begins with
a notice to users that a unit of measure
is to be deprecated and that use of the
unit is to be avoided after a specific
date. The notice also prescribes the new
unit of measurement that will be
accepted for use. The notice period
allows users time to make the necessary
changes to their measuring practices,
processes, procedures, and devices. The
notice period also provides an
opportunity for education and training
for all of those involved in the
changeover and the identification of
unforeseen issues so that appropriate
preventive actions, exceptions, or
additional requirements can be
developed and implemented. After the
notice period ends, the deprecated
measurement unit is deemed obsolete,
its use is to be avoided, and it is
retained for historical purposes and
legacy applications only.
Deprecation of the Survey Foot, Survey
Mile, and Other Measures Derived
From the Survey Foot
On December 31, 2022, the 1893 ‘‘U.S.
survey foot,’’ as defined in a 1959
Federal Register notice (24 FR 5348,
June 30, 1959), will be deprecated as a
U.S. national standard of measurement
and its use is to be avoided. The 1893
definition of the ‘‘U.S. survey foot’’ will
be retained for historic reference but
will be deemed obsolete. This notice
also applies to the ‘‘U.S. survey mile’’
(equal to approximately 1609.347
meters), which is based on the ‘‘U.S.
survey foot,’’ the use of which should
also be avoided after December 31, 2022
and which will be retained for historical
purposes but will be deemed obsolete.
After December 31, 2022, any data
derived from or published as a result of
surveying, mapping, or any other
activity within the U.S. that is expressed
in terms of feet shall only be based on
the ‘‘foot’’ equal to 0.304 8 meter
(exactly), formerly known as the
‘‘international foot’’ in the 1959 Federal
Register notice.
Likewise, other measures previously
based only on the ‘‘U.S. survey foot’’
will be defined using the foot equal to
0.304 8 meter (exactly) after December
31, 2022. These measures are the
‘‘chain,’’ ‘‘link,’’ ‘‘rod’’ (also ‘‘pole’’ or
‘‘perch’’), ‘‘furlong,’’ and ‘‘fathom’’ for
length, and the ‘‘acre’’ for area. Decimal
SI equivalents for these measures are
given in Table 1 for both the ‘‘U.S.
survey foot’’ (approximate) and the
‘‘foot’’ (exact). For these measures, the
difference between the two types of feet
is usually of no practical consequence.
For example, the greatest precision
typically used for the chain in modern
land surveying practice is three decimal
places (or 0.1 link), and at that level of
significance both versions of the foot
give the same value. Similarly, the
difference in area for 1 acre is only
0.000 004 acre (0.17 ft2) for the two foot
versions.
TABLE 1—APPROXIMATE DECIMAL SI EQUIVALENTS FOR MEASURES COMMONLY GIVEN IN ‘‘U.S. SURVEY FEET’’ AND
EXACT EQUIVALENTS FOR THE ‘‘FOOT’’ THAT WILL BE ADOPTED AFTER DECEMBER 31, 2022 IN NIST SP 811, THE
NIST GUIDE FOR THE USE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS
Unit of measure based on feet
Type of quantity
‘‘U.S. survey foot’’
(approximate)
foot (ft) ................................................
mile (mi) ..............................................
chain (ch) ............................................
link (li) .................................................
rod (rd), pole, perch ............................
furlong (fur) .........................................
fathom .................................................
acre (ac) ..............................................
length .................................................
length .................................................
length .................................................
length .................................................
length .................................................
length .................................................
length .................................................
area ....................................................
0.304 800 6 . . . m ...........................
1609.347 . . . m ...............................
20.116 84 . . . m ..............................
0.201 168 4 . . . m ...........................
5.029 21 . . . m ................................
201.168 4 . . . m ..............................
1.828 804 . . . m ..............................
4046.872 609 9 . . . m2 ...................
In keeping with the terms of this
notice, the ‘‘U.S. survey foot’’ will no
longer be supported by NOAA in the
modernized NSRS after 2022, including
the State Plane Coordinate System of
2022 (SPCS2022), elevations, and all
other components of the system.
However, the ‘‘U.S. survey foot’’ will be
permanently maintained in NOAA
products and services for legacy
applications, for example the
computation of SPCS coordinates in
States where it was specified for SPCS
83, and for all zones of SPCS 27.
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Comments and Future Action
The Director of NIST and the Director
of the National Geodetic Survey (NGS)
solicit comments and suggestions from
land surveyors, engineers, Federal, State
and local officials, equipment
manufacturers, and the public at large
who are engaged in or affected by
surveying and mapping operations for
ways that the two agencies can help
facilitate an orderly transition to a single
definition for the foot. Throughout the
notice period, NGS and the NIST Office
of Weights and Measures will work
together to provide opportunities for
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‘‘foot’’
(exact)
0.304 8 m
1609.344 m
20.116 8 m
0.201 168 m
5.029 2 m
201.168 m
1.828 8 m
4046.856 422 4 m2
education and training for all of those
involved in the changeover. After the
public comments are evaluated, any
unforeseen issues identified, and
appropriate solutions developed, a
second Federal Register notice
addressing those issues will be
published and publicly announced in
other media as appropriate before June
30, 2020.
This action is being taken in
conjunction with the NGS program to
improve the National Spatial Reference
System (NSRS), as described at https://
geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/
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index.shtml. In 2022, NGS will replace
the North American Datum of 1983
(NAD 83) and the North American
Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) with
new geometric reference frames and a
geopotential datum. The new reference
frames and datum will rely primarily on
Global Navigation Satellite Systems
(GNSS), such as the Global Positioning
System (GPS), as well as on a
gravimetric geoid model resulting from
the NGS Gravity for the Redefinition of
the American Vertical Datum (GRAV–D)
Project. These new reference frames and
datum will be easier to access and
maintain than NAD 83 and NAVD 88,
which rely on physical survey marks
that deteriorate over time.
On April 18, 2018, NGS issued a draft
Federal Register notice (83 FR 17149)
for public comment on draft policy and
procedures for the State Plane
Coordinate System of 2022 (SPCS2022),
which will be referenced to the 2022
reference frames. In those draft
documents, it was specified that
SPCS2022 parameters will be
exclusively defined using metric (SI)
values. However, in addition to metric
values, the documents stated that output
coordinates could also optionally be
provided in either ‘‘international’’ or
‘‘U.S. survey feet,’’ and that by default
the type of foot would be the same as
currently used for SPCS 83. The official
version of SPCS2022 Policy, effective
April 23, 2019 (https://
geodesy.noaa.gov/INFO/Policy/files/
SPCS2022_Policy_NGS_2019-121401.pdf), states that NGS has not yet
determined whether or what type of foot
will be supported for output coordinates
(Section II.E.1). The policy will be
updated after NIST and NOAA co-issue
a Federal Register notice by June 30,
2020, announcing adoption of the ‘‘foot’’
equal to 0.304 8 meter (exactly) as the
official definition for all applications in
the U.S. after December 31, 2022.
Kevin A. Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2019–22414 Filed 10–16–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Notice Requesting Nominations for the
Advisory Committee on Commercial
Remote Sensing (ACCRES)
Request for membership
nominations.
ACTION:
The Department of Commerce
is seeking highly qualified individuals
SUMMARY:
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who are knowledgeable about the
commercial space-based remote sensing
industry and uses of space-based remote
sensing data to serve on the Advisory
Committee on Commercial Remote
Sensing (ACCRES). The Committee is
comprised of leaders in the commercial
space-based remote sensing industry,
space-based remote sensing data users,
government, and academia. The
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this notice provides committee and
membership criteria.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ACCRES
was established by the Secretary of
Commerce on May 21, 2002, to advise
the Secretary, through the Under
Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and
Atmosphere, on matters relating to the
U.S. commercial remote sensing
industry and NOAA’s activities to carry
out responsibilities of the Department of
Commerce as set forth in the National
and Commercial Space Programs Act of
2010 (the Act), Title 51 U.S.C. 60101 et
seq (formerly the Land Remote Sensing
Policy Act of 1992, 15 U.S.C. Secs.
5621–5625).
Committee members serve in a
representative capacity for a term of two
years and may serve additional terms, if
reappointed. No more than 20
individuals at a time may serve on the
Committee. ACCRES will have a fairly
balanced membership consisting of
approximately 9 to 20 members.
Nominations are encouraged from all
interested U.S. persons and
organizations representing interests
affected by the regulation of remote
sensing. Nominees must represent
stakeholders in remote sensing, space
commerce, space policy, or a related
field and be able to attend committee
meetings that are held usually two times
per year. Membership is voluntary, and
service is without pay. Each nomination
that is submitted should include the
proposed committee member’s name
and organizational affiliation, a brief
description of the nominee’s
qualifications and interest in serving on
the Committee, a curriculum vitae or
resume of the nominee, and no more
than three supporting letters describing
the nominee’s qualifications and
interest in serving on the Committee.
Self-nominations are acceptable. The
following contact information should
accompany each submission: The
nominee’s name, address, phone
number, and email address.
Nominations should be sent to Tahara
Dawkins, Director, Commercial Remote
Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office, 1335
East West Highway, G–101, Silver
Spring, Maryland 20910 or email
tahara.dawkins@noaa.gov. Nominations
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must be postmarked or emailed no later
than 30 days from the publication date
of this notice. The full text of the
Committee Charter and its current
membership can be viewed at the
Agency’s web page at: https://
www.nesdis.noaa.gov/CRSRA/
accresHome.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tashaun Pierre, Commercial Remote
Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office,
NOAA Satellite and Information
Services, 1335 East West Highway,
Room G101, Silver Spring, Maryland
20910; telephone (301) 713–7077, email
Tashaun.pierre@noaa.gov.
Stephen M. Volz,
Assistant Administrator for Satellite and
Information Services.
[FR Doc. 2019–22660 Filed 10–16–19; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
Defense Health Board; Notice of
Federal Advisory Committee Meeting
Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness, Department of
Defense (DoD).
ACTION: Notice of Federal Advisory
Committee meeting.
AGENCY:
The DoD is publishing this
notice to announce that the following
Federal Advisory Committee meeting of
the Defense Health Board will take
place.
SUMMARY:
Open to the public Monday,
November 4, 2019 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00
p.m.
ADDRESSES: The address of the open
meeting is Madigan Army Medical
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Conference Room 2–68–4, Tacoma, WA
98431. Registration is required. (Premeeting screening for base access and
registration required. See guidance in
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, ‘‘meeting
Accessibility.’’)
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Captain Gregory Gorman, Medical
Corps, U.S. Navy, (703) 275–6060
(Voice), (703) 275–6064 (Facsimile),
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Mailing address is 7700 Arlington
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Virginia 22042. Website: https://
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
meeting is being held under the
provisions of the Federal Advisory
E:\FR\FM\17OCN1.SGM
17OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 201 (Thursday, October 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55562-55565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22414]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Deprecation of the United States (U.S.) Survey Foot
AGENCY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the
National Geodetic Survey (NGS), National Ocean Service (NOS), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce
(DOC).
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and
the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), National Ocean Service (NOS),
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are taking
collaborative action to provide national uniformity in the measurement
of length. This notice announces a decision to deprecate the use of the
``U.S. survey foot'' on December 31, 2022. After that date, the ``U.S.
survey foot'' will be superseded by the ``foot'' (formerly known as the
``international foot''), which is already in use throughout the U.S.
This notice describes the plan, resources, training, and other
activities of NIST and NOAA that will assist those affected by this
transition, and invites comments and other information from land
surveyors, engineers, Federal, State and local government officials,
businesses, and any other member of the public engaged in or affected
by surveying and mapping operations.
DATES: Comments and other information must be received by December 2,
2019.
ADDRESSES: NIST and NOAA are using the https://www.regulations.gov
system for the submission and posting of public comments in this
proceeding. All comments in response to this notice are therefore to be
submitted electronically through https://www.regulations.gov, via the
web form accessed by following the ``Submit a Formal Comment'' link
near the top right of the Federal Register web page for this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
U.S. survey foot deprecation resources: https://www.nist.gov/pml/us-surveyfoot.
Information on standards development and maintenance: Elizabeth
Gentry, 301-975-3690, [email protected].
Technical and historical information on usage of the foot: Michael
Dennis, 240-533-9611, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This action is designed to establish national uniformity in length
measurements based on the foot. For more than sixty years, two nearly
identical definitions of the foot have been in use in the U.S. for
geodetic and land surveys. A Federal Register notice published on July
1, 1959 (24 FR 5348) by the National Bureau of Standards (renamed the
National Institute of Standards and Technology in 1988) and the U.S.
Coast and Geodetic Survey (reorganized as the National Geodetic Survey
under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1970)
refined the definition of the yard in terms of the International System
of Units (SI), commonly known as the metric system. The 1959 notice was
issued after an international agreement among six nations resolved a
long-standing difference in the relationship of the U.S. yard to the
British yard. The notice reported that there was a slight difference (2
parts per million) between the 1959 definition (i.e., one yard = 0.914
4 meter, exactly) and an 1893 definition (i.e., 1 yard = 3600/3937
meter, or approximately 0.914 401 83 meter).
The 1959 Federal Register notice then adopted a revised value for
the foot for use throughout the U.S., and identified it as the
``international foot'' to show that it corresponded with the foot in
use by the United Kingdom and other countries. The notice defined this
international foot as 0.304 8 meter (e.g., equal to 0.999 999 8 of the
value for the foot officially adopted in 1893). Additionally, to avoid
disrupting the surveying practices at the time, the
[[Page 55563]]
notice established an interim approach that permitted the limited use
of the historic 1893 value of the foot exclusively in the field of
geodetic surveys. It was identified as the ``U.S. survey foot'' with
the defined value of 0.304 800 61 meter (approximately). The 1959
notice specifically stated that the ``U.S. survey foot'' should be used
``until such a time as it becomes desirable and expedient to readjust
the basic geodetic survey networks in the United States, after which
the ratio of a yard, equal to 0.914 4 meter, shall apply.''
As announced in a Federal Register notice published on March 24,
1977 (42 FR 15943), NOAA officially adopted the meter as the unit for
length in the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). However, U.S.
surveying and mapping practitioners continued to use the ``U.S. survey
foot,'' including when they employed the NGS-defined State Plane
Coordinates System of 1927 and 1983 (SPCS 27 and SPCS 83,
respectively). Because the ``international foot'' is the basis for all
other length measurements and calibrations in the U.S., it is no longer
necessary to continue to maintain two unit values for the foot.
Consequences for Surveying, Mapping, and Engineering in the United
States
Although the use of the ``U.S. survey foot'' was intended to be an
interim measure, its use continues to be prevalent in land surveying
and mapping in much of the U.S. Of the 50 U.S. jurisdictions that have
legislated SPCS 83 (48 States plus Puerto Rico and Guam), the ``U.S.
survey foot'' has been specified for SPCS 83 in 40 States, either
through statute (28 States) or Federal Register notices (12 States).
Six States have adopted the ``international foot'' for SPCS 83, while
two States (plus Puerto Rico and Guam) have not formally designated the
type of foot to be used. It is important to note that State legislation
and Federal Register notices regarding the ``U.S. survey foot'' are
specifically associated with SPCS 83, and therefore are not applicable
to the NSRS Modernization in 2022.
It is also important to note that while the difference between the
two definitions is 2 parts per million, this small discrepancy
accumulates over large distances and can result in significant errors
in surveying and civil engineering projects, regardless of the size of
the project. For example, when a one-mile distance is surveyed, the
difference is approximately 0.01 ft or 0.12 in. However, the impact
becomes substantial when longer distance measurements or conversions
are made, such as those involving rectangular plane coordinates of SPCS
83. In these cases, the difference between the two definitions can also
result in large direction and position location errors, in many cases
reaching tens of feet for SPCS 83 coordinates.
Because of this situation, there has been a long history of
misunderstandings and confusion over which definition of the foot was
used to carry out a specific land survey or civil engineering project.
There have been many instances where software or electronic surveying
devices default to one or the other foot definitions, but users
incorrectly assume the actual unit of measure in use. This ongoing
ambiguity has resulted in professional liability by the inadvertent
violation of State law, the introduction of systematic errors in
surveying and engineering projects, misreported position and location,
land sale and project delays, boundary disputes, additional costs
associated with correcting unit mistakes, and other unintended
consequences. Because State jurisdictions with different legal
definitions of the foot share borders, mapping projects in these
geographic zones may experience elevated error risks as a surveyor
transitions between a State that uses the ``U.S. survey foot'' and a
State that uses the ``international foot.'' This risk is exacerbated
when professional surveyors and engineers are licensed to practice in
multiple States that use different versions of the foot, and for large
projects when the team participants come from different States and even
different countries. In addition to the cost due to errors, there is
the cost of inefficiency, since it is necessary to keep track of the
foot version, which increases with the size, duration, and complexity
of projects.
Opportunity To Eliminate Confusion
Since the publication of the 1959 Federal Register notice,
experience has overwhelmingly revealed that national uniformity cannot
be ensured in this critical industry field when users are routinely
confronted with two definitions of the foot. The best opportunity for
eliminating the redundancy in values for the foot will occur with the
NOAA program to modernize the NSRS in 2022.
The only practical solution is to deprecate the ``U.S. survey
foot'' and to require that its use in surveying, mapping, and
engineering be discontinued. Allowing the continued use of two
definitions of the foot undercuts the value and benefit of national
uniformity, and allows for additional opportunities for confusion and
unnecessary costs to the users, the States, and professionals in the
surveying, mapping, and engineering fields. No compelling justification
to maintain two definitions for the foot exists.
Notice From the Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology Regarding the Deprecation of the ``U.S. Survey Foot'' on
December 31, 2022
Under Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution,
Congress retains the power to ``fix the Standard of Weights and
Measures.'' Throughout that section, the words ``uniform throughout the
United States'' are used in conjunction with many of the other duties
and responsibilities that are listed. The ``fixing'' or defining the
standards of weights and measures is intrinsic to ensure uniform
measurement across the U.S., as well as with the rest of the world. In
1866, Congress acted to make the metric system of measurement (now
known as the International System of Units (SI)) legal for use in the
United States (15 U.S.C. 204). On May 20, 1875 the U.S. signed the
Meter Convention (known as the ``International Treaty of the Meter''),
which established the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, an
intergovernmental organization under the General Conference on Weights
and Measures that oversees the International Committee for Weights and
Measures, which is the organization that maintains the SI to meet the
measurement needs of the world. On April 5, 1893, the ``Mendenhall
Order,'' issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey with the approval
of the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, determined that the U.S.
Customary units of the yard and pound would be defined in terms of the
SI units of the meter and kilogram. The practice of defining the U.S.
Customary units of measurement in terms of the SI continues today.
In 1988, Congress declared that the metric system was the preferred
system of measurement for trade and commerce in the United States (15
U.S.C. 205b). The Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology is authorized by statute ``to develop, maintain, and retain
custody of the national standards of measurement, and provide the means
and methods for making measurements consistent with those standards''
(15 U.S.C. 272(b)(2)), ``to assure the compatibility of United States
national measurement standards with those of other nations'' (15 U.S.C.
272(b)(9)), and to ``cooperate with the States in securing uniformity
in weights and measures laws'' (15 U.S.C. 272(c)(4)). Under this
[[Page 55564]]
authority, the SI is interpreted or modified by the Director of NIST
for use in the United States. The SI is used exclusively to define,
establish, and maintain the U.S. national standards of measurement and
in securing uniformity of their use in the laws of the States.
``Deprecation'' is a term widely used in the field of legal
metrology and other measurement science fields of study. It describes a
decision to discontinue the use of a specific measurement unit or
method of sale. A unit of measurement (e.g., the foot or gallon) though
legal, may be prohibited from being used in a specific commercial
application if, for example, it has been identified as being redundant
or a source of confusion, or if it could frustrate the ability of users
to make quantity and value comparisons. For example, gasoline and other
engine fuels are permitted to be sold from a retail service station by
the gallon but may not be sold by the fluid pint or fluid ounce. As the
situation with multiple definitions for the foot illustrates,
measurement unit uniformity is only possible when a single measurement
unit definition is used for a specific application (e.g., land
surveying).
The deprecation process begins with a notice to users that a unit
of measure is to be deprecated and that use of the unit is to be
avoided after a specific date. The notice also prescribes the new unit
of measurement that will be accepted for use. The notice period allows
users time to make the necessary changes to their measuring practices,
processes, procedures, and devices. The notice period also provides an
opportunity for education and training for all of those involved in the
changeover and the identification of unforeseen issues so that
appropriate preventive actions, exceptions, or additional requirements
can be developed and implemented. After the notice period ends, the
deprecated measurement unit is deemed obsolete, its use is to be
avoided, and it is retained for historical purposes and legacy
applications only.
Deprecation of the Survey Foot, Survey Mile, and Other Measures Derived
From the Survey Foot
On December 31, 2022, the 1893 ``U.S. survey foot,'' as defined in
a 1959 Federal Register notice (24 FR 5348, June 30, 1959), will be
deprecated as a U.S. national standard of measurement and its use is to
be avoided. The 1893 definition of the ``U.S. survey foot'' will be
retained for historic reference but will be deemed obsolete. This
notice also applies to the ``U.S. survey mile'' (equal to approximately
1609.347 meters), which is based on the ``U.S. survey foot,'' the use
of which should also be avoided after December 31, 2022 and which will
be retained for historical purposes but will be deemed obsolete. After
December 31, 2022, any data derived from or published as a result of
surveying, mapping, or any other activity within the U.S. that is
expressed in terms of feet shall only be based on the ``foot'' equal to
0.304 8 meter (exactly), formerly known as the ``international foot''
in the 1959 Federal Register notice.
Likewise, other measures previously based only on the ``U.S. survey
foot'' will be defined using the foot equal to 0.304 8 meter (exactly)
after December 31, 2022. These measures are the ``chain,'' ``link,''
``rod'' (also ``pole'' or ``perch''), ``furlong,'' and ``fathom'' for
length, and the ``acre'' for area. Decimal SI equivalents for these
measures are given in Table 1 for both the ``U.S. survey foot''
(approximate) and the ``foot'' (exact). For these measures, the
difference between the two types of feet is usually of no practical
consequence. For example, the greatest precision typically used for the
chain in modern land surveying practice is three decimal places (or 0.1
link), and at that level of significance both versions of the foot give
the same value. Similarly, the difference in area for 1 acre is only
0.000 004 acre (0.17 ft\2\) for the two foot versions.
Table 1--Approximate Decimal SI Equivalents for Measures Commonly Given in ``U.S. Survey Feet'' and Exact
Equivalents for the ``Foot'' That Will Be Adopted After December 31, 2022 in NIST SP 811, The NIST Guide for the
use of the International System of Units
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``U.S. survey
Unit of measure based on feet Type of quantity foot'' ``foot'' (exact)
(approximate)
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foot (ft)........................ length.............. 0.304 800 6 . . . m 0.304 8 m
mile (mi)........................ length.............. 1609.347 . . . m... 1609.344 m
chain (ch)....................... length.............. 20.116 84 . . . m.. 20.116 8 m
link (li)........................ length.............. 0.201 168 4 . . . m 0.201 168 m
rod (rd), pole, perch............ length.............. 5.029 21 . . . m... 5.029 2 m
furlong (fur).................... length.............. 201.168 4 . . . m.. 201.168 m
fathom........................... length.............. 1.828 804 . . . m.. 1.828 8 m
acre (ac)........................ area................ 4046.872 609 9 . . 4046.856 422 4 m\2\
. m\2\.
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In keeping with the terms of this notice, the ``U.S. survey foot''
will no longer be supported by NOAA in the modernized NSRS after 2022,
including the State Plane Coordinate System of 2022 (SPCS2022),
elevations, and all other components of the system. However, the ``U.S.
survey foot'' will be permanently maintained in NOAA products and
services for legacy applications, for example the computation of SPCS
coordinates in States where it was specified for SPCS 83, and for all
zones of SPCS 27.
Comments and Future Action
The Director of NIST and the Director of the National Geodetic
Survey (NGS) solicit comments and suggestions from land surveyors,
engineers, Federal, State and local officials, equipment manufacturers,
and the public at large who are engaged in or affected by surveying and
mapping operations for ways that the two agencies can help facilitate
an orderly transition to a single definition for the foot. Throughout
the notice period, NGS and the NIST Office of Weights and Measures will
work together to provide opportunities for education and training for
all of those involved in the changeover. After the public comments are
evaluated, any unforeseen issues identified, and appropriate solutions
developed, a second Federal Register notice addressing those issues
will be published and publicly announced in other media as appropriate
before June 30, 2020.
This action is being taken in conjunction with the NGS program to
improve the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), as described at
https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/
[[Page 55565]]
index.shtml. In 2022, NGS will replace the North American Datum of 1983
(NAD 83) and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) with
new geometric reference frames and a geopotential datum. The new
reference frames and datum will rely primarily on Global Navigation
Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS),
as well as on a gravimetric geoid model resulting from the NGS Gravity
for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) Project.
These new reference frames and datum will be easier to access and
maintain than NAD 83 and NAVD 88, which rely on physical survey marks
that deteriorate over time.
On April 18, 2018, NGS issued a draft Federal Register notice (83
FR 17149) for public comment on draft policy and procedures for the
State Plane Coordinate System of 2022 (SPCS2022), which will be
referenced to the 2022 reference frames. In those draft documents, it
was specified that SPCS2022 parameters will be exclusively defined
using metric (SI) values. However, in addition to metric values, the
documents stated that output coordinates could also optionally be
provided in either ``international'' or ``U.S. survey feet,'' and that
by default the type of foot would be the same as currently used for
SPCS 83. The official version of SPCS2022 Policy, effective April 23,
2019 (https://geodesy.noaa.gov/INFO/Policy/files/SPCS2022_Policy_NGS_2019-1214-01.pdf), states that NGS has not yet
determined whether or what type of foot will be supported for output
coordinates (Section II.E.1). The policy will be updated after NIST and
NOAA co-issue a Federal Register notice by June 30, 2020, announcing
adoption of the ``foot'' equal to 0.304 8 meter (exactly) as the
official definition for all applications in the U.S. after December 31,
2022.
Kevin A. Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2019-22414 Filed 10-16-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P
