Current through Register Vol. 18, September 20, 2024
(1)
"Accuracy" may refer to expressed accuracy or implied accuracy.
(a) "Expressed accuracy" means designating a
numerical value for spatial accuracy or spatial relationships between objects
or data.
(b) "Implied accuracy"
means designating things such as equipment, equipment operating procedures,
field procedures, analysis, methodologies, etc. to support a spatial accuracy
expectation.
(2)
"Authoritative" means certifiably accurate, based on the expertise of one who
is sanctioned by an established governmental authority.
(a) The following are examples of
authoritative activities:
(i) the collection
and evaluation of evidence with the intent to determine land boundary
locations;
(ii) the collection,
analysis, and evaluation of measurements, with the intent to certify the
positional relationship of data sets to property boundaries, an elevation
datum, or a geodetic control network;
(iii) the collection, analysis, and
subsequent publication of positional information related to geodetic control;
and
(iv) meeting or offering to
meet a contractual spatial accuracy requirement, expressed or
implied.
(b) Each of the
authoritative activities identified as an example in (2)(a) must be performed
by a professional land surveyor, with the following exceptions:
(i) activities that may be performed by a
person other than a land surveyor, under the laws of this state or of the
United States;
(ii) a geodesist
recognized as an expert in the field of measurement science may perform
activities described in (2)(a)(iii); and
(iii) a professional engineer may perform
activities described in (2)(a)(iv).
(3) "Certification" means a written
assurance, warranty, guarantee, or official representation that some act has or
has not been done, or some event has occurred, or some legal formality has been
complied with. Persons or entities providing certifications do so utilizing
specific authority, licensure, or jurisdiction granted by law. Certification
requires special knowledge, expertise and/or authority, generally held by a
responsible official. The following are examples of certification:
(a) the certification that a professional
land surveyor applies to a certificate of survey; and
(b) the certification of the locational
accuracy of a Geographic Information System (GIS) product.
(4) "Control" may refer to geodetic control,
mapping control, or survey control.
(a)
"Geodetic control" means a set of permanently monumented control points, also
commonly referred to as "stations," whose coordinates are established by
geodetic surveying methodology.
(i) Geodetic
control work may only be performed by a professional land surveyor or a federal
agency designated to perform such surveys.
(ii) Geodetic control provides a common,
consistent, and accurate reference system for establishing coordinates from
which supplemental surveying, engineering, and mapping work is performed and to
which any geographic data may be tied.
(iii) All National Spatial Data
Infrastructure (NSDI) framework data and users' applications data require
geodetic control to register spatial data.
(iv) The official national common reference
system is designated the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). Mapping and
surveying works may be connected to the NSRS by tying new projects to
previously established control points that are part of the NSRS. The
fundamental geodetic control for the United States is provided through the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geodetic Survey
(NGS) managed by NSRS. Geodetic control includes horizontal and vertical
control monuments that are part of the NSRS (the NGS database).
(b) "Mapping control" means any
horizontal or vertical coordinate position used to control maps that are not
included in the definitions of geodetic or survey control.
(i) Mapping control provides the framework
for the spatial placement of nonauthoritative products such as aerial
photography, parcel mapping, and Geographic Information Systems
(GIS).
(ii) Mapping control may or
may not require a professional land surveyor, depending upon the intended use
of the products.
(iii) Mapping
control is typically, though not necessarily, based on an official reference
system or geodetic datum.
(iv)
Mapping control may be accomplished with various levels of accuracy and by
various methods depending upon the intended use of the products.
(v) Control for georeferencing GIS data, some
aerial photography, resource mapping, and inventory mapping may not require
supervision by a professional land surveyor.
(vi) Control for aerial photography for use
in functions included in the practice of land surveying or engineering
surveying (i.e. boundary determination or engineering design) must be performed
under the direct supervision of a professional land surveyor.
(c) "Survey control" means any
horizontal or vertical coordinate position used to control fixed works of
engineering or legal land boundaries. Survey control may only be performed by a
professional land surveyor (or a federal agency designated to perform such
surveys). Survey control may or may not be based upon any official reference
system or geodetic datum. Survey control may be based on assumed coordinates,
or geodetic control, or property corners, or Public Land Survey System (PLSS)
corners, or randomly selected points. Survey control may be accomplished in
various levels of accuracy and by various methods depending upon the use of the
finished product. The following are examples of survey control:
(i) control for construction
projects;
(ii) control for
subdivision platting;
(iii) control
for boundary surveys;
(iv) control
created or tied for cadastral surveys for the Bureau of Land
Management;
(v) control created or
tied for geodetic ties for plats or surveys;
(vi) control created or tied for boundary
surveys;
(vii) control created or
tied for subdivision design or staking;
(viii) control created or tied for
construction staking; and
(ix)
control created or tied for American Land Title Association surveys.
(5) "Geomatics" means
the science and technology dealing with the character and structure of
geospatial information, its methods of capture, organization, classification,
qualification, analysis, management, display, and dissemination, as well as the
infrastructure necessary for the optimal use of this information.
(6) "Photogrammetry and remote sensing" means
the art, science, and technology of obtaining reliable information from
noncontact imaging and other sensor systems about the earth and its
environment, and other physical objects and processes through recording,
measuring, analyzing, and representation.
(7) "Spatial data" means information that
identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or
constructed features and boundaries on the surface of the earth. This
information may be derived from, among other things, remote sensing, mapping,
and surveying technologies. Spatial data may also be known as geospatial
data.
37-1-131,
37-67-202,
MCA; IMP,
37-1-131,
37-67-101,
37-67-301,
MCA;
