A carbon storage contract is an agreement where a landowner has committed property to certain practices or activities which will work to sequester additional carbon into the soil (carbon sequestration).  Carbon sequestration is simply the capture and storage of carbon dioxide, rather than the emmission of it into the atmosphere where it remains.  The contract defines what can and/or cannot occur on the lands in order to achieve the carbon sequestration or emission reduction goals.

Financial Benefits:

The landowner entering the carbon storage contract receives carbon credits for the activities it is undertaking.  These credits are a financial benefit to the landowner that can be sold for cash.  An intermediary is used to market/sell these carbon credits to companies with a high volume of carbon emmisons.

In order for the land to be useful, it will have to be able to consistently perform the activities listed in the contract to either reduce or sequester carbon.

What Type of Activities:

Activities on the property must be for either the purpose of reducing carbon emissions or for sequestering carbon, or both.

Activities can be:

– Conservation farming. These include no-till or low-till farming practices to reduce soil erosion.  This is done by leaving crop residue on the surface.  This type of farming means lower fuel usage, less labor, and less equipment use.

– Grass or cover crop planting.  This includes crops that allows the soil to stay in place with less disruption and maintenance.

– Grazing practices.  Rotational grazing that prevents overgrazing and allows waste to be mixed into the soil.

What Are The Negative Impacts:

Carbon storage contracts run with the land, similar to easements, and therefore any sale is subject to the contract.  A carbon storage contract is a long-term commitment.  Thus any activities committed to by the landowner should be able to be sustained for the period of time identified under the contract.  The contract specifies key terms as to who is responsible for what, how long, notices and payments.

While solar panel or wind turbine field leases prevent the use of the surface for grazing cattle or goats and do not allow hunting, carbon storage contracts do not have these limitations.

The carbon storage contracts do require some form of monitoring, such as entry on the property to take measurements of the carbon in the soil and monitoring to ensure the practices to ensure capture of carbon are being followed.

It should be noted that carbon storage contracts are to reduce or capture rather than produce or generate something like oil, gas and other mineral or solar and wind leases.

If you have a property and think you might be interested in carbon storage, then you should consult an attorney to be sure that the property is suitable and help you find and negotiate with the right intermediaries.

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It is very important to have a good legal description of the property when performing a title exam. A street address or Tax I.D. number are not usually adequate. While the property may be located by these, if this is the only description given, it usually adds time to providing the exam. This is because the Deed Records or Official Public Records do not use street addresses or tax I.D. numbers. The title company needs a description that is based on markers on the ground of the property and that includes distances, directions, and angles.

A survey is the process of locating and identifying the objects on and boundaries of a piece of property by measuring land and reviewing public records. The term is often used to refer to the resulting drawing of the surveyor’s findings. However, the drawing is only a portion of the surveyor’s work and is often called the Plat. A surveyor also prepares what is called a Metes and Bounds description which is a written descriptive information with the course, distance, calls, monuments and objects that have been surveyed. The written legal description is used to distinguish the property from all other real property.

The competency and training of the surveyor performing the survey is essential, as any land survey will be influenced by the analysis and evaluation of recorded information and field evidence. A proper survey involves not only work at the surveyor’s desk, but also in the courthouse and field. A surveyor should be impartial and simply record what is found in the records and on the ground. The Texas Board of Professional Land Surveyors is the licensing agency for land surveyors in Texas.

Normally, a title company reviews a survey as part of the transaction they are insuring. This review is of both the plat and metes and bounds description. This review is necessary to verify the public information identified by the surveyor matches what the title company has found of record. Additionally, the title examiner is verifying the distance calls are complete and there is no gap left. With the computer age, these “gaps” are less frequent.

There are several types of surveys and which one is right for your particular needs depends on the circumstances of your transaction. These types are as follows:
1A. Land Title Survey;
1B. Standard Land Survey;
2. Route Survey;
3. Locative Survey;
4. Reclassified Survey;
5. Construction Survey;
6. Topographic Survey;
7. Horizontal Control Survey;
8. Vertical Control Survey;
9. Investigative Survey; and
10. GIS/LIS Survey and Products.
When might you need a Survey?
• When buying or selling land, the location of which is not clearly defined on the ground.
• Before land is divided,
• If a lending institution requires a survey.
• If a line or corner is not defined.
• Before building close to a line.
• Before a lot is conveyed from a larger tract.
• When you believe someone has built on your property.

If you are purchasing or refinancing real property, do not forget to ask if a survey exists. Your lender may allow you to use the previous survey if you sign a sworn statement that there have been no alterations to the property since the date of the survey.

Fees of Surveyors are on a level with other professions. The Surveyor’s fees are dependent upon the type of survey, size of the tract and other factors, including the terrain and vegetation, accessibility, and if reliable survey monuments exist in the area. Therefore, the Surveyor will estimate the approximate cost of the survey for you prior to commencing the work.
I hope the information provided here provides some clarity as to the purpose of a survey and when one is necessary. However, if you have a question regarding a survey, you should contact the surveyor who prepared the survey, a local surveyor, or an attorney familiar with real estate.
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Sam A. Moak is an attorney with the Huntsville law firm of Moak & Moak, P.C. He is licensed to practice in all fields of law by the Supreme Court of Texas, is a Member of the State Bar College, and is a member of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. www.moakandmoak.com.

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The record owner of real property (i.e., land and generally whatever is erected or growing upon or affixed to land) owns the property to its boundary lines. It would be difficult to find anyone who would disagree with this statement, but frequently it is not difficult to find people who disagree about where the boundary lines of a parcel of real property are located.
A boundary line is the dividing line of two contiguous properties. When instruments are ambiguous or conflicting with respect to the location of a boundary line, the owners of the affected parcels must resolve, amicably or otherwise, where the boundary is located. To be effective against a subsequent purchaser for value, they should document the location of the resulting boundary line in an instrument filed of record in the official public records of real property of the county where the properties are located.

There are three general sources of information for resolving ambiguities and conflicts in the location of a boundary line: seniority of property rights, priority of calls in a metes and bounds description of the boundaries of the parcels, and the intention of the parties as determined from direct and indirect evidence.

Depending upon the ambiguity or conflict, it may be necessary to look to conveyances which are prior or senior in time to establish the boundary lines, possibly going back in time to the point where there was common ownership. All parcels of land exist in relation to the parcels which surround them. When there are conflicts in descriptions of adjacent parcels of land, senior property rights contained in senior deeds or surveys control over junior deeds or surveys. Descriptions of adjoining parcels which are senior in origin control over all descriptions of these parcels in junior deeds.

When a survey is prepared there are two resulting documents. One is the plat which is a map of the specific land area showing the location of the boundaries. The second is what is called a “metes and bounds” description of the property. This is a description of the land listing the compass directions and distances of the boundaries. Within a single metes and bounds description, conflicts are resolved by certain guidelines typically referred to as the “priority calls” or “rules of dignity of calls.” Ordinarily the calls in a metes and bounds description will have the following priority:
1. Calls for natural objects
2. Calls for artificial objects
3. Calls for adjoiner
4. Calls for course
5. Calls for distance
6. Calls for quantity or acreage.

If the conflict cannot be resolved by an examination of the prior instruments and surveys or the priority of calls within a metes and bounds description, the intention of the parties will control. The intention of the parties is a fact question to be determined by a jury.

In 1997, the Texas Legislature passed a bill that allows property owners to mark their boundary lines with purple paint instead of “No Trespassing” signs. The Texas Penal Code Section 30.05 can be used to enforce these purple marks and provides for the use of purple paint to mark property boundaries. Purple markings are required to be vertical lines, 8 inches long and 1 inch wide. The bottom of the markings must be between 3 – 5 feet above the ground. Purple markings can be spaced no more than 100 feet apart in wooded areas and no more than 1000 feet apart in open areas. Markings must be placed in areas visible to anyone approaching the property. Posted signs are still recommended at all access points and gates.

If you find yourself in a dispute with your neighbor over your boundary lines, first try to work the matter out amicably with your neighbor. If you cannot work the dispute out between yourselves, then you should seek the assistance of a surveyor and attorney who deal with real estate.

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