169.4—Permission to survey.
Anyone desiring to obtain permission to survey for a right-of-way across individually owned, tribal or Government owned land must file a written application therefor with the Secretary. The application shall adequately describe the proposed project, including the purpose and general location, and it shall be accompanied by the written consents required by § 169.3, by satisfactory evidence of the good faith and financial responsibility of the applicant, and by a check or money order of sufficient amount to cover twice the estimated damages which may be sustained as a result of the survey. With the approval of the Secretary, a surety bond may be substituted in lieu of a check or money order accompanying an application, provided the company issuing the surety bond is licensed to do business in the State where the land to be surveyed is located. The application shall contain an agreement to indemnify the United States, the owners of the land, and occupants of the land, against liability for loss of life, personal injury and property damage occurring because of survey activities and caused by the applicant, his employees, contractors and their employees, or subcontractors and their employees. When the applicant is an agency or instrumentality of the Federal or a State Government and is prohibited by law from depositing estimated damages in advance or agreeing to indemnification, the requirement for such a deposit and indemnification may be waived providing the applicant agrees in writing to pay damages promptly when they are sustained. An application filed by a corporation must be accompanied by a copy of its charter or articles of incorporation duly certified by the proper State official of the State where the corporation was organized, and a certified copy of the resolution or bylaws of the corporation authorizing the filing of the application. When the land covered by the application is located in a State other than that in which the application was incorporated, it must also submit a certificate of the proper State official that the applicant is authorized to do business in the State where the land is located. An application filed by an unincorporated partnership or association must be accompanied by a certified copy of the articles of partnership or association, or if there be none, this fact must be stated over the signature of each member of the partnership or association. If the applicant has previously filed with the Secretary an application accompanied by the evidence required in this section, a reference to the date and place of such filing, accompanied by proof of current financial responsibility and good faith, will be sufficient. Upon receipt of an application made in compliance with the regulations of this part 169, the Secretary may grant the applicant written permission to survey.