Surveyor Duties

By State Statute, the Hancock County Surveyor:

Supervises the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of regulated drains.

Regulated drains, previously referred to as "legal drains," are open waterways, tiled drains or both that serve agricultural, residential and commercial development by draining low lying areas. The County Surveyor establishes standards for and supervises the annual maintenance of these drains. The County Surveyor's Annual Report assesses the condition and discusses the needs of the county's regulated drainage system.

Perpetuates the locations of survey section corners.

Sections corners are the official survey marker locations established by the original surveyor working for the U.S. Congress. The County Surveyor perpetuates the monuments and records their locations for use by land surveyors. Almost all private property in Hancock County is tied to section corners by legal descriptions that can be reproduced by land surveys.

Investigates alleged obstructions of drains and natural watercourses.

When a property owner alleges the obstruction of tiled or natural drainage, he or she must request the person on whose property the obstruction exists to remove the blockage. If the condition persists, the affected party may petition the Drainage Board to order the removal of the obstruction. The County Surveyor investigates the allegation and makes a report at the Drainage Board hearing.

Serves on the Area Plan Commission Technical Committee.

The Hancock County Surveyor serves as a voting member of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to the Area Plan Commission. The TAC is a committee that advises the county plan commission and the County Commissioners with regard to appropriateness of rezoning and land use.

The Hancock County Surveyor serves in the following capacities:

County Drainage Board - Technical Advisor

The County Surveyor serves as technical advisor to the County Drainage Board regarding regulated drains and subdivision drainage plans.

The County Surveyor serves as the investigator for the County Drainage Board when a property owner petitions the board to order the removal of an alleged obstruction of a natural surface watercourse or mutual drain.

Advisor to Planning Commission Technical Committee

As a part of planning development of Hancock County, the county surveyor serves in a technical and advisory capacity on the Planning Commission Technical Committee.

More About the County Drainage Board
The Hancock County Drainage Board consists of the three (3) elected County Commissioners and two (2) public members appointed by the County Commissioners. The Board may be reached through the Surveyor’s Office at 317.477.1150.

The County Drainage Board holds regular meetings on the 1st Thursday of each calendar month unless that Thursday is an official County holiday. With proper notification the board may convene special meetings, or it may extend or continue regular meetings to a specific day.

Unless otherwise declared by the drainage board, meetings are held at or about 7:30 a.m., local time. All Drainage Board meetings are open to the public in the County Commissioners hearing room, on the first floor of the Courthouse Annex, Room 101 at 111 S. American Legion Place, Greenfield, Indiana, 46140.

Hancock County has a joint Drainage Board with Madison or Rush Counties that convenes only when necessary to conduct business of mutual interest.

Donna Copeland, Administrative Assistant to the County Surveyor, serves as recording secretary for the County Drainage Board, and publishes the minutes.

Regulated Drains are large open waterways or pipes (tile) that originally were designed to serve agricultural and some residential areas. They facilitate agricultural, residential, commercial and industrial land uses.

The Hancock County Surveyor and Drainage Board maintain and operate approximately 500+ miles of regulated drain with money collected through a special drainage assessment on lands served by those regulated drains.

The County Surveyor determines the standards for regulated drains and publishes a report on their condition.

In 2003, federally mandated storm water control and pollution prevention rules require parts of Hancock County to institute new guidelines to minimize pollution of public waterways caused by hazardous household wastes, lawn chemicals, automotive waste products, soil sediment, and other organic and chemical pollutants.

This unfunded federal mandate, commonly known as Phase II Storm Water Pollution Controls, will result in stricter permitting procedures, higher user fees, and more intense monitoring of water quality in our regulated drains.

Click IDEM for more information on the Phase II Storm Water program.