E. Engineer's As-Constructed Survey and Discharge of Duties E. Engineer's As-Constructed Survey and Discharge of Duties

E. Engineer’s As Constructed Survey and Discharge of Duties

After the drainage authority makes its final acceptance order, the engineer has one more responsibility. The engineer is to revise the plan, profiles, and design of structures to show the drainage project as actually constructed on the original tracings⁸²⁵. Such revised engineer’s final report is to be filed with the presiding auditor or watershed district secretary.⁸²⁶ The auditor is required to forward a copy of the revised engineer’s final report to the Director of the Division of Waters at the Department of Natural Resources.⁸²⁷

The legal effect of final acceptance is discharge of the contractor and the performance bond. That is, no one will successfully be able to make a claim against the performance bond of the contractor after the contractor has been discharged, except in those instances where the contractor has been required to guarantee the tile work for three years. In such case, any claim against the bond would be limited to failure of the tile work due to the fault or negligence of the contractor.

The same can probably be said about the engineer’s bond. The bond is conditioned on the payment of “any person or the drainage authority for damages and injuries resulting from negligence of the engineer while the engineer is acting in the proceedings or construction and that the engineer will diligently and honestly perform the engineer’s duties.”⁸²⁸ It would seem that once the project has been accepted, the engineer is no longer acting in the proceedings or construction. The engineer’s job is complete and the bond is discharged.

FOOTNOTES

⁸²⁵ Minn. Stat. § 103E.295 (2015).
⁸²⁶ Minn. Stat. § 103E.295 (2015).
⁸²⁷ Minn. Stat. § 103E.295 (2015).
⁸²⁸ Minn. Stat. § 103E.241, subd. 2 (2015).