JIM MATTOX Attorney General

Supreme Court Building P. 0. BOX 12548 Austin. TX. 78711. 2548 51Z4752501 Telex 9101874-1367 **Telecopier** 512/475-02SS

714 Jackson. Suite 700 Dallas, TX. 752024506 2141742.8944

4824 Alberta Ave.. Suite 160 El Paso, TX. 793052793 91515333484

1001 Texas. Suite 700 Houston, TX. 77002.3111 713(223-5886

606 Broadway, Suite 312 Lubbock, TX. 79401.3479 SOS,747-5238

4309 N. Tenth, Suite S McAllen, TX. 78501.1695 51219824547

2W Main Plaza, Suite 4M) San Antonio, TX. 78205-2797 512/225-4191

An Equal OppOrtUnitYI Affirmative Action Employer 

# The Attorney General of Texas

Dexmber 31, 1985

Mrs. Betty J. Pope, Executive Secretary Texas Board of Lar.dSurveying 1106ClaytonLane, Suite 21OW Austin, Texas 7E723 OpinionNo. .TM-418
Re: Whether plats required by RailroadCommission rule to accomP=Y applications for certain drilling permits must be prepared by registeredpublic surveyor
Dear Mrs. Pope:
On behalf of theTexas Board of Land Surveying,you askwhether a "plat" which accompanies an application form filed with the Texas Railroad Commissionmost be prepared by a public surveyor registered under article 5282c, V.T.C.S., the Land Surveying Practices Act of 1979. Form W-l, about which you inquire, was developed by the Railroad Commissicm. for operators of oil, gas, or geothermal resource wells to use in avljlying for permits to drill, deeper., or plug back a well, or in apply::ng for exceptions from the statewide spacing rules. See Railroad Commc:ssion Rules.codified at 16 T.A.C. 53.5 (application ibdrill or deep~l or plug back); 16 T.A.C. 03.37 (statewidespacing rule). The rule governing the applicationprocedure states that the application shallbe filed on a form approvedby the commission. 16 T.A.C. 93.5(a). This rule was promulgated pursuant to the commission's authority tomake rules toprevent thewaste of oil and gas, to require dry or abandonedwells to be plugged, and to provide for the issuance of permit!3necessary to enforce rules on the prevention of waste. Nat. Res. Code §§85.201,85.202, 86.042. The instructions on Form W-l state that the form must be accompaniedby a r,eat, accurateplat of the lease or unitwhich shows, among other items, the drilling unit boundary for the proposed location; surfact! location of the proposed site; perpendicular distance to the nearest intersecting lease/unit lines and survey/section lines; distance to the nearest applied for, permitted, or completedwell ,orthe lease or unit, and section,block, or lot. In particular cas~zs. much of this informationwill be available from surveys that have already been made. See generally Nat. Res. Code 123.054 (right to inspect county surveyor's plats, maps, and other records); §§34.020, 35.017, 36.016 (surveys and other records of leases on state l.endsfiled with General Land Office). Letters submittedin connectionwith your request state that the positionof a new well canbe dl?termlned by measurement from ai existingmarker and

p. 1908Mrs. Betty 3. Pope - Page i ~(.JM-418)

indicate that this location canbe recorded on a map based on a prior survey. The Railroad Commissit~n submitted the following informationabout FormW-l: Appended to the application is a plat or sketch of

the well area. , . . Note the instructions for plats on thebad: of this form.
These document:3are not used in the chain of title,but enable: Cosuuission

staff to determine if the proposed wc!l.llocation complies with the CommSssion's spacing rules. Once the application is approved, the Couanission'smapping section plots the proposssd well on the countymaps in the map room. . . . From time to time, the exact locationof awell may become a ptirotalissue in a contested case. The parties usua:L:Ly resort to a certified plat to settle this fact j.ssue.
In general p:actice. however, some operators submit certified plats, while others submit hand-drawn sketcheswhich conform to the instructions on thebacl:of FormW-l. Thus, the conm&ssionwill xcept a hand drawn sketch as the "plat" it requires tobe submittedw.t:h FormW-l. The request letter,however. expressesthe opinion that theplats tobe drawn on FormW-l arc! products of public surveyingand therefore may be prepared only by itperson registered, licensed, or exempted under the Land SurveyingPracticesAct of 1979. V.T.C.S. art. 5282c, 93. This statutedefines "public surveying"as

the practice fez,compensation of determining the boundaries or the topography of real property or of delineating routes, spaces, or sites in real property for public or private use b y relevant elements of law, research, measurement, analysis, comphation, mapping, and land description wrlt~~. Public surveying includes the practice for compensation of land, boundary, or property f,urveying or other similar professionalpractices. (Emphasisadded). Id. %2(l). The underlinei language, in our opinion, refers to those elements of law, measurement, computation, tipping, etc., which are

p. 1909f Mrs. Betty J. Pope - Page :I &W-418)

relevant to surveying. Those elementsand the term "public surveying" receive fuller definitionby reference to the history and purpose of regulating surveyors, statutes governing surveys, and custom and practice in the field. The first Texas stal:utesgoverning surveyors were enacted to ensure accurate measurement of land grants and public recording of legal title to oatented land. Board of Examiners of State Licensed Laid Surveyors, 'StaffRepclrtto Sunset Advisory Commission (February 20, 1978). In 1919 surveyzrsof unpatented landwere made subject to licensingby the Board of Enaminersof State Land Surveyors, and they eventuallywere authorized to file field notes on all public lands. Id. at 3-4. By 1955 increased subdivision of land and skyrocketing land values made additional accuracy in surveyingpractices necessary to protect owners and purchasers of land. Texas State Board of Registration for Public Surveyors, Report to the Sunset Advisory Commission at I-l (Octobsrr30, 1977). The Texas State Board of Registration for Public Surveyors was established to regulate surveying activities rehvant to subdividing land tracts and relocating property lines, boundaries, rights-of-way, easements or elevations. Texas State BtJardof Registration for Public Surveyors, Staff Report to the Suns~stAdvisory Commission at 5 (February 20, 1978). The definition in I?:he Registered Public SurveyorAct of 1955 reflectedthesepurposes:

Public Surveying is the science or practice of land measuremen: according to established and recognized methods engaged in and practiced as a profession or tierviceavailable to the public generally for #:ompensstion,and comprises the determinationby 'meansof survey, of the location or relocationof landboundaries and landboundary corners; the calculation of area and the preparation of field note description of surveyed land; the pre)sration of maps showing the boundaries and areas of the subdivisionof tracts of land into smaller tracts; the preparation of official plats or maps of said land and subdivisions in compliance with the laws of the State of Texas and the political subdivisions thereof; and such other duties as sound surveying practicewould di:rect.
Acts 1955, 54thLeg., ch. 328,92(b) (formerlycodifiedat art. 5282a, 52(b). The present defini;:Lon of "public surveying"was first adopted in 1977 to.provide a clearer definition of that term. Bill Analysis to S.B. No. 144, 65th Imeg., 1977, for Rouse Committee on State Affairs;Acts 1977, 65thLq3.. ch. 37 at 72.

p. 1910

.Mrs. Betty J. Pope - Page 4 (JM-418)

,

Historically, Texas h,%:, regulated surveyors to eusure that land would be correctlymeasured and boundaries correctlydeterminedwhere a high degree of accuracy is necessary to protect the public in laud transactions and to ensure the reliability of land titles. The definition of public surveying does not encompastiall measurements taken within defined boundaries or all graphic representations of those measurements. Cf. Reer v. Fee, 161 N.W. 545, 547 (Iowa 1917) - -- (distinguishesbetween surveying land and computingarea). The Railroad Commission developed Form W-l for its own use in implementing its rule. It apparently can make permit and spacing decisions based on measurenents that do not reach the high degree of accuracy achieved by surveying. The cornmission,in the exercise of seasonable determination, may decide that applicants can provide it sufficient information wli:hout surveying the well location or resurveying existing boundary lines. Although Form W-l refers to a "plat," this term does not refer to theprecise and detailedplat used to record property lines :.npublic records. See V.T.C.S. art. 974a (approval and recording of subdivision plats)."Plat" also means a plan, map, or chart. See a'ebsters Third New InternationalDictionary (1961). The referenceto"plat" in the instructionson Form W-l must be taken in the latter sd?nse. The "plat" filed with the Railroad Commission in connectionw:.t:h Form W-l is not required to be prepared by a public surveyor regist,ered under article 5282~.V.T.C.S. If in a given case, the required i:l:iormation cannotbe providedwithout doing a survey, or if an app1icar.t chooses tohave a surveydone, thesemust be performed consistently with the requirements of article 5282c, V.T.C.S.
SUMMARY

The sketches or "plats" of proposed well locations requiremito accompany applications to the Railroad C~xnmission for certain drilling permits need not be prepared by a public surveyor registeredunder article 5282c,V.T.C.S.

JIM MATTOX Attorney General of Texas
JACKHIGETOWER FirstAssistantAttorneyGt!neral
MARY KELLER ExecutiveAssistantAttorney General

p. 1911

.Mrs. Betty J. Pope - Page .j (JM-418)

ROBERT GRAY SpecialAssistantAttorney General
RICR GILPIN Chairman,Opinion Committee Preparedby SusanL. Garrison AssistantAttorney General

p. 1912