GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE MISSISSIPPI STATE BOARD OF REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGISTS
The following questions and answers are offered as guidance to practicing geologists and other professionals who may interface with
the profession. They often address specific questions frequently asked of the Board. The guidance documents do not carry the
authority of official rules but rather express the collective judgment of the Board at the time it was considered. The judgments are
offered with the entire profession in mind and may not apply to certain specific cases.
Guidance Document 2000-2
June 19, 2000
Question/Issue:
1) Does Section 73-63-7(4) Mississippi Code 1972, annotated, require I seal and sign Open-File Report 99-103?
2) Does Section 73-63-33(4) Mississippi Code 1972, annotated, require I seal and sign Open-File Report 99-103?
3) Does Rule 10.0 of the Mississippi State Board of Registered Professional Geologists require that each copy of Open-File Report 99-103 be sealed and signed separately?
Background:
A number of registered professional geologists in Mississippi have expressed concern that some Mississippi governmental agencies have not implemented the provisions of the Registered Professional Geologists Practice Act of 1997. This concern was also expressed to the Board at the May 9, 2000, joint meeting with the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee meeting. Concern has also been expressed and guidance requested, in a more specific and applied situation by Mr. Steve Jennings (Mississippi Registered Professional Geologist No. 010) of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Mr. Jennings made the initial request via letter dated January 31, 2000. Mr. Jennings appeared at the March 16, 2000 Board meeting and discussed the issue with the Board members and the Board's legal counsel with the Attorney General's Office. He also brought copies of Open - File Report 99-103 for the Board to examine. He was requested to state his questions in a more concise form. He provided another letter to the Board dated March 29, 2000, which contained the questions listed above under theIssue heading.
Section 73-63-7(4) Mississippi Code 1972, annotated states a geologic report required by or supporting compliance with any federal, state, or local governmental law to be signed and sealed by a Mississippi Registered Professional Geologist (RPG). Section 73-63-33(4) states in part "Geologic reports, documents or other public records offered to or filed for the public and prepared or issued by a registered professional geologist, ... shall be stamped with the seal, signed and dated by the registered professional geologist."
Questions 1 and 2 involve the signing and sealing of reports produced by the Office of Land and Water Resources. Question 3 requests an opinion on how the sign and seal procedures should be applied to documents that are to be produced in quantity. Application of signing and sealing procedures are set forth in Rule 10 of the Board's "Rules and Regulations of Procedure", sections one and two.
Jurisdiction of the Board:
The Open-File Report authored by Mr. Jennings contains the interpretation of geological data, such as the identification of geological units and the assignment of these units to formations. The report contains the identification of aquifers and the interpretation of geologic data as it relates to groundwater characteristics. The interpretation of the Board is that this report contains the interpretation of original geological data and so comes under the jurisdiction of the Board.
The Open-File Report is produced by a public agency of the State of Mississippi. The content is clearly related to the well being of the general public (public groundwater supply) and it is anticipated to be made available to the general public. It is the Board's interpretation that this work effects the public health, safety, and welfare and is within the jurisdiction of the Board.
Mr. Jennings is employed by the State of Mississippi, Department of Environmental Quality. The Registered Professional Geologists Practice Act of 1997 exempts only the petroleum industry from the meeting the requirements of the law. The work that Mr. Jennings is presently engaged in is not exempt from the law due to his employment.
The report filed by Mr. Jennings is in support and compliance of the Department of Environmental Quality's enabling legislation. It is the Board's interpretation that Mr. Jennings is not exempt from the provisions of the laws due to his employment and the work represented by this Open-file report is in support of the legislated duties of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Mr. Jennings points the Board's attention to Section 73-63-33(4) which states that documents or records offered to the public or filed for the public must be signed and sealed. The Open-File Report was written as a document of the Office of Land and Water Resources and was assigned an Open-File number indicating the intent to distribute the document to the public. It is the Board's interpretation that Section 73-63-33(4) is applicable to this Open-file report.
Question 3 involves the rules and regulations of the Board. Board rules and regulations are, of course, within the jurisdiction of the Board.
Board Guidance Response:
Questions 1and 2 - It is the Board's opinion that several clauses of the law are applicable to the questions regarding the signing and sealing aspects of the law and the Board advises that Mr. Jennings should sign and seal reports produced by him on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Question 3 - All documents published under the conditions described above should clearly establish the geologist in responsible charge. The details of signing and sealing are presently being reviewed by the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee which is expected to relay its recommendations to the Board. The Board may then elect to review Rule 10 in light of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee's findings.
In the interim, the Board recommends to Mr. Jennings that documents be signed and sealed individually if the number of copies are limited (25 or less copies is a suggested number). Reports reproduced in large numbers may carry with the report a certifications page containing the signature, date and seal of the geologist in charge, as well as the statement contained in Rule 10.02. This certification page should then be reproduced and included in the printed report.