How to read a land report before choosing a site
A first screen is useful when it tells you what to investigate next. It becomes misleading when a nearby power line, a high score, or an empty map is treated as approval. This walkthrough uses the site's Coleman County example to show the difference.
The example was checked on October 20, 2026 at 31.50000, -99.30000. These are the dated findings displayed in the homepage's sample, not a current appraisal, a sale listing, or a recommendation to pursue that property. Run the same point again to obtain today's available responses. Agency services and records can change, so a fresh report may differ.
1. Read unknowns before the score
The sample says FEMA's digital flood map is unavailable at that location. That is a missing answer. It does not mean the land is outside a flood hazard area. This distinction matters because an apparently quiet map can be the result of missing coverage, an unavailable service, or a check that has not finished.
Start a follow-up list with every item labeled Unknown, Not checked, or Could not check. Keep those items open until an appropriate agency record or a qualified site investigation answers them. A screening report should not turn a failed request into a favorable finding.
| Displayed finding | What it supports | What to verify next |
|---|---|---|
| FEMA: no digital map here | The sample cannot provide a mapped flood-zone answer. | Confirm available mapping with the local floodplain administrator and FEMA's Map Service Center. |
| Four mapped wetland areas within about 1,000 feet | Mapped wetlands occur in the nearby search area. | Compare the potential footprint and access route with the Wetlands Mapper; a map is not a field delineation or jurisdictional decision. |
| Prime farmland soil | The soil layer identifies a farmland classification at the checked point. | Review the complete footprint and the applicable land-use requirements. The classification does not establish current farming activity or prohibit a project by itself. |
| Nearest mapped line: 1.2 miles, 345 kV | The federal map identifies a nearby transmission feature and its listed voltage. | Confirm the operator, an acceptable connection point, the actual route, and the operator's study requirements. |
| 429.02 acres in the parcel record | A public parcel record supplies a gross acreage figure. | Confirm the parcel boundary and title, then calculate usable acreage after exclusions and setbacks. |
| Approximately 1.1% slope | The point samples indicate relatively gentle terrain around the selected location. | Evaluate the full layout, drainage, access, and grading; one point cannot describe the entire property. |
2. Separate a point from a project footprint
The pin represents a location. A project includes a wider footprint: equipment, roads, drainage work, construction staging, and a connection route. A favorable result at one point does not establish that every part of that footprint has the same conditions.
Before drawing a conclusion, check another point near each apparent constraint and along the likely access and connection routes. Record why you checked each point. Keep the public findings separate from assumptions about land control, buildable acreage, or permission to cross another property.
3. Treat line proximity as a question to investigate
The sample's 345 kV label is a map attribute, not a capacity offer. The 1.2-mile measurement is a straight-line map distance, not a surveyed route or a construction estimate. A route may need additional land rights, and the nearest visible line may not be the connection point an operator would accept.
For this example, the next grid question is: which operator can evaluate a connection, and what information does it need? Use the point-of-interconnection guide to organize candidate connections, then the market guide and utility directory to find the relevant process. Nearby queue requests provide context; they do not reserve capacity for a new project.
4. Turn findings into a short investigation plan
Use three columns in your notes: the finding and its date, the question it leaves open, and the person or record that can answer it. For the sample, flood mapping is an unanswered question, nearby wetlands need layout attention, and the transmission feature needs an operator-led connection assessment. None of those questions is resolved by the acreage or slope figures.
Do the inexpensive record checks first. Verify property identity and the source records, identify the applicable utility and local offices, and then scope the professional work needed to answer the remaining questions. The Texas approvals guide explains how separate approvals fit together; it is not a permit determination for this example.
5. Compare alternatives without hiding missing answers
Run the same checks for each candidate and compare the same fields. If one report has a completed wetlands response and another has an unavailable response, those are different levels of information. Do not rank the unavailable result as cleaner. Also check the report dates: a comparison of snapshots from different dates is not a simultaneous survey.
Saved comparisons exist only in the current tab's memory. Leaving, closing, or refreshing clears the shortlist. Print or download a copy if you need to retain your notes. A deliberately copied report link contains the report snapshot, including its location, and anyone who receives that link can read it.
6. Keep the evidence and the limits together
Keep the report date, source links, the points checked, and unresolved questions with any saved copy. The Desktop CIA reorganizes the same available findings into an investigation outline; it does not add fieldwork or turn unknowns into answers. Its useful output is a clearer scope for the next investigation.
This is an explanation of how to use the screening tool, not a site recommendation, survey, environmental determination, capacity assessment, or legal advice. See sources and publishing standards and contact the editor to report a correction.