| (a) Field note filing for a deed of acquittance for uplands: (1) Before corrected field notes of a survey can be approved for the issuance of deed of acquittance under the provisions of Texas Natural Resources Code §51.246, the surveyor must furnish satisfactory evidence to the Surveying Division of the General Land Office that he or she has located the patented boundaries of the survey. (2) The surveyor must submit a plat, corrected field notes, and a report to the Surveying Division of the General Land Office for filing in the Archives and Records Division of the General Land Office. (b) Field note filing for a deed of acquittance when the survey is crossed by a navigable stream: (1) If a resurvey reveals excess acreage, and it is determined that the survey crosses a navigable stream, then, under the provisions of Texas Civil Statutes, Article 5414a, commonly referred to as the "Small Bill", the owner is entitled to the acreage for which the survey is patented, even though a part or all of the stream bed may be included in this acreage. However, if more than the patented acreage lies outside of the stream bed, the state will hold title to all of the stream bed and the land owner may make application to purchase such excess not included in the stream bed. (2) Under the conditions outlined in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the surveyor must first locate the patented boundaries of the survey, then survey the gradient boundary of both banks of the navigable stream within the survey. The corrected field notes must follow the meanders of the stream excluding the stream bed from the survey. (3) The surveyor must submit a plat, corrected field notes, and a report to the Surveying Division of the General Land Office for filing in the Archives and Records Division of the General Land Office. (4) In surveys where the state retains only a part of the stream bed acreage, the state's part of the stream bed will be taken from the entire length of the stream bed, using the thread of the stream bed as the center of the state's acreage. |
