F. Inclusions and exclusions to the practice
of surveying.
Land surveying does not encompass work products which
represent only a generalized location of a feature, object, or boundary upon
which the public would not reasonably rely as the precise location of that
feature, object, or boundary.
(1)
Activities included within the practice of surveying activities that must be
accomplished by or under the responsible charge of a professional surveyor
(unless specifically exempted in Subsection B of this Section) include, but are
not limited to, the following:
(a) The
creation of maps and georeferenced databases representing authoritative
locations for boundaries, the location of fixed works, or topography. This
includes maps and georeferenced databases prepared by any person or government
agency where that data is provided to the public as a survey product.
(b) Original data acquisition, or the
resolution of conflicts between multiple data sources, when used for the
authoritative location of features within the following data themes: geodetic
control, orthoimagery, elevation and hydrographic, fixed works, private and
public boundaries, and cadastral information.
(c) Certification of positional accuracy of
maps or measured survey data.
(d)
Adjustment or authoritative interpretation of raw survey data.
(e) Geographic information system (GIS)-based
parcel or cadastral mapping used for authoritative boundary definition purposes
wherein land title or development rights for individual parcels are, or may be,
affected.
(f) Authoritative
interpretation of maps, deeds, and other land title documents to resolve
conflicting data elements.
(g)
Acquisition of field data required to authoritatively position fixed works or
cadastral data relative to geodetic control.
(h) Analysis, adjustment or transformation of
cadastral data of the parcel layers with respect to the geodetic control layer
within a geographic information system (GIS) resulting in the affirmation of
positional accuracy.
(2)
Activities excluded from the practice of surveying. A distinction must be made
in the use of electronic systems between making or documenting original
measurements in the creation of survey products, versus the copying,
interpretation, or representation of those measurements in such systems.
Further, a distinction must be made according to the intent, use, or purpose of
measurement products in electronic systems to determine a definitive location
versus the use of those products as a locational reference for planning,
infrastructure management, and general information. The following items are not
to be included as activities within the definition of the practice of
surveying:
(a) The creation of general maps:
(i) Prepared by private firms or government
agencies for use as guides to motorists, boaters, aviators, or
pedestrians.
(ii) Prepared for
publication in a gazetteer or atlas as an educational tool or reference
publication.
(iii) Prepared for or
by education institutions for use in the curriculum of any course of
study.
(iv) Produced by any
electronic or print media firm as an illustrative guide to the geographic
location of any event.
(v) Prepared
by laypersons for conversational or illustrative purposes. This includes
advertising material and user guides.
(b) The transcription of previously
georeferenced data into a geographic information system (GIS) or land
information systems (LIS) by manual or electronic means, and the maintenance
thereof, provided the data are clearly not intended to indicate the
authoritative location of property boundaries, the precise definition of the
shape or contour of the earth, and/or the precise location of fixed works of
humans.
(c) The transcription of
public record data, without modification except for graphical purposes, into a
GIS- or LIS-based cadastre (tax maps and associated records) by manual or
electronic means, and the maintenance of that cadastre, provided the data are
clearly not intended to authoritatively represent property boundaries. This
includes tax maps and zoning maps.
(d) The preparation of any document by any
federal government agency that does not define real property boundaries. This
includes civilian and military versions of quadrangle topographic maps,
military maps, satellite imagery, and other such documents.
(e) The incorporation or use of documents or
databases prepared by any federal agency into a Geographic information system
(GIS)/ land information systems (LIS), including but not limited to federal
census and demographic data, quadrangle topographic maps, and military
maps.
(f) Inventory maps and
databases created by any organization, in either hard-copy or electronic form,
of physical features, facilities, or infrastructure that are wholly contained
within properties to which they have rights or for which they have management
responsibility. The distribution of these maps and/or databases outside the
organization must contain appropriate metadata describing, at a minimum, the
accuracy, method of compilation, data sources and dates, and disclaimers of use
clearly indicating that the data are not intended to be used as a survey
product.
(g) Maps and databases
depicting the distribution of natural resources or phenomena prepared by
foresters, geologists, soil scientists, geophysicists, biologists,
archeologists, historians, or other persons qualified to document such
data.
(h) Maps and georeferenced
databases depicting physical features and events prepared by any government
agency where the access to that data is restricted by statute. This includes
georeferenced data generated by law enforcement agencies involving crime
statistics and criminal activities.
