In Reply Refer To: April 14, 2004 Mail Stop 415 Memorandum Office of Surface Water Technical Memorandum No. 2004.03 Subject: Revision of Agreement Forms for Gaging Station Transfers The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you of a revision made to form 9-3107-- Agreement for Gaging Station Transfer and to form 9-3107a -- Agreement for Gaging Station Transfer to a Federal Agency. After these forms were announced on September 17, 2003 in the Office of Surface Water (OSW) Technical Memorandum No. 2003.08, OSW received further comments from the Western Region Solicitor and a Department of Justice Attorney from Sacramento. On their recommendation, we have revised the forms to now state that the transferee will provide U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with a copy of the transferee's engineering report. The underlying policy on gaging station transfers is given in Water Resources Discipline Memorandum 92.12 -- Policy for the Transfer of a Gaging Station Structure to a State or Local Government Agency (December 6, 1991) [see: /admin/memo/WRD/wrdpolicy92.012.html]. The policy was established to provide Districts with a legal basis upon which to transfer infrastructure assets no longer needed by the USGS to a cooperating State or local agency. There are several conditions that must be met, such as the Transferee must obtain its own property agreement with the landowner, no USGS equipment can be transferred, and the transfer must be approved by the Regional Hydrologist. In addition, the forms state that relevant safety policies and procedures are provided to the transferee, and the transferee must conduct an independent evaluation to identify and acknowledge any design, structural, or maintenance deficiencies associated with the gaging station, and provide the District with a copy of the report. The forms can be accessed through the USGS forms page, https://gsvaresa01.er.usgs.gov/Welcome.nsf?Open. Form 9-3107 should be used to transfer a gaging station to state, local, or tribal government agency or Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensee. Form 9-3107a should be used to transfer a gage to another federal agency. It is recommended that a memorandum be written to the record stating: (1) why the gaging station was transferred; (2) that no equipment was transferred with the gaging station; (3) that a list of safety policies and guidelines pertaining to the gaging station were provided to the Transferee; (4) the date that permission for the transfer was obtained from the Region; and (5) that an independent engineering evaluation of the gaging station was made by the Transferee. A copy of the signed transfer agreement, the Transferee's landowner permission agreement, and a copy of the Transferee's engineering report shall be filed with this memorandum in the District office. It is very important that this documentation be available in case it is ever needed for litigation at some time in the future. /signed/ Stephen F. Blanchard Chief, Office of Surface Water Distribution Code: A, B, DC, CD, District SW Specialists, FO, OSW Staff, District AO
Added 01/14/2014
Form 9-3107
Form 9-3107a
********************************************************************* Steve Blanchard Chief, Office of Surface Water U.S. Geological Survey Phone: 703-648-5629 415 National Center Fax: 703-648-5722 Reston, VA 20192 Cell: 571-216-1423 sfblanch@usgs.gov *******************************************************************