> But there was no agreement for Google to turn over their arial scans back to the USGS.
That was poor negotiation by USGS Solicitor's Office. Libraries participating in google digitization programs negotiated to keep copies of their scanned materials in the Hathi Trust Digital Library https://www.hathitrust.org
You act like the Director of the USGS was acting in good faith. It's pretty likely that Eric Schmidt, or similar, already worked things out with high-level officials within the government and the USGS Director was not given any real decision making capabilities.
That was poor negotiation by USGS Solicitor's Office. Libraries participating in google digitization programs negotiated to keep copies of their scanned materials in the Hathi Trust Digital Library https://www.hathitrust.org