[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 133 (Friday, July 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 41560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14882]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Deprecation of the United States (U.S.) Survey Foot

AGENCY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the 
National Geodetic Survey (NGS), National Ocean Service (NOS), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce 
(DOC).

ACTION: Notice, delay in publication of final determination.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and 
the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), National Ocean Service (NOS), 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced 
collaborative action to provide national uniformity in the measurement 
of length in an October 17, 2019, Federal Register notice and 
anticipated conducting the public comment review and analysis, and 
publishing and publicly announcing the resulting decision to deprecate 
the use of the U.S. survey foot before June 30, 2020. It is necessary 
to announce a 90-day extension of the review and analysis period to 
address public comments. The final determination will be published by 
September 28, 2020.

DATES: Final determination to be published on or before September 28, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: NIST and NOAA have used the https://www.regulations.gov 
system for the electronic submission and posting of the seventy-two 
public comments received in this proceeding between October 17, 2019, 
and December 2, 2019. All comments submitted in response to the 
previous notice are accessible at https://www.regulations.gov, docket 
number NIST-2019-0003, under the ``Enhanced Content'' section of the 
Federal Register web page for that notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    U.S. survey foot deprecation resources: https://www.nist.gov/pml/us-surveyfoot.
    New Datums: Replacing NAVD 88 and NAD 83: https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/index.shtml.
    Information on standards development and maintenance: Elizabeth 
Benham, 301-975-3690, [email protected].
    Technical and historical information on usage of the foot: Michael 
Dennis, 240-533-9611, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 17, 2019, NIST/NOAA published a 
notice to deprecate the survey foot titled ``Deprecation of the United 
States (U.S.) Survey Foot'' in the Federal Register (84 FR 55562). In 
that notice, NIST/NOAA proposed to deprecate the ``U.S. survey foot'' 
and to require that its use in surveying, mapping, and engineering be 
discontinued. The intent of this action is to provide national 
uniformity of length measurement in an orderly fashion with minimum 
disruption, correcting a measurement dilemma that has persisted for 
over 60 years.
    Deprecation of the U.S. survey foot is associated with ongoing 
efforts by NGS to modernize the National Spatial Reference System 
(NSRS), originally planned to occur in 2022. However, operational, 
workforce, and other issues have arisen causing NGS to re-evaluate the 
timing of the modernized NSRS launch. NGS has conducted a comprehensive 
analysis of ongoing projects, programs, and resources required to 
complete NSRS modernization and will continue to provide regular 
progress updates that may be obtained by visiting the ``New Datums'' 
web pages (https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/index.shtml).
    NGS and the NIST Office of Weights and Measures continue to 
evaluate the seventy-two public comments received, identify issues, and 
develop appropriate solutions related to the deprecation of the U.S. 
survey foot. Although deprecation is associated with modernizing the 
NSRS, the planned effective date of December 31, 2022, provided in the 
October 17, 2019, notice remains the same and is independent from the 
NSRS modernization implementation timeline. The difference in timelines 
will have no effect on users of the existing NSRS, and it will ensure 
that deprecation of the U.S. survey foot occurs prior to the rollout of 
the modernized NSRS. The planned publication date of the notice 
summarizing public comment findings has been extended by 90 days from 
June 30, 2020, to September 28, 2020.

Kevin A. Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2020-14882 Filed 7-9-20; 8:45 am]
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