EPA's controversial "Waters of the United States" rule

EPA's controversial "Waters of the United States" rule will create increased demand for surveying, mapping and geospatial data and services, regardless of which side of the debate you're on. 

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/62295CDDD6C6B45685257E52004FAC97

2015 International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Working Week – Sofia, Bulgaria

The 2015 FIG Working Week was held this past week (May 16-21) in Sofia, Bulgaria.  Over 1000 attendees from over 80 countries participated. The NSPS Delegation included Robert Foster (ACSM Past President and FIG Honorary President), Steven Nystrom (NewStream Companies), Daniel Roman (NGS), Kenneth Swindaman (LSAW), Neil Weston (NGS), John Hohol (NSPS Head of Delegation, President- FIG Foundation and FIG Honorary Member). 

Some items directly related to NSPS included the establishment of a committee to nominate a date to establish and celebrate a Global Surveyor’s Day.  This is from the joint proposal of NSPS and CLGE (European Council of Geodetic Surveyors) made by John Hohol at the XXV FIG Congress last year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  The selection will be made at the 2016 FIG Working Week in Christchurch, New Zealand. 

In addition, Steven Nystrom was appointed as Chair of FIG Commission 9 (Valuation and Management of Real Estate).

 

Hanoi, Vietnam was selected as the venue for the 2019 FIG Working Week.  Other venues already selected include the 2017 FIG Working Week in Helsinki, Finland and the XXVI FIG Congress in 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey. 

A complete report with all the activities including the 10 FIG Commissions during the working week will follow.

Ask Vic Column

Question: We are thinking about purchasing a drone to collect data for our surveying operations. What are the issues that I need to consider?

Drones are coming to the surveying industry. They are not legally in use yet, but the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has been moving forward on granting exemptions, and there is a collective push from commercial entities to tap into the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In February, the FAA proposed safety rules for small drones used for non-recreational operations. The proposed rule would limit flights to daylight and the drone must be within visible sight of the operator. The public will be able to comment on the proposed regulation for 60 days.

You should be aware that the FAA currently authorizes the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial or business purposes on a case-by-case basis. You may not fly your UAS for commercial purposes without the express permission of the FAA. You should check with the FAA for further determination as to what constitutes a commercial or business use of small UAS. Unless you have received express permission from the FAA, you cannot currently use drones for your surveying operations.

You should also consider potential liability implications that could arise from drone use. Since this is an emerging practice we have not yet seen cases dealing with drones, but some of the issues that are foreseeable are damage to property or a person because of the improper use of a drone, the invasion of privacy resulting from drone observation, or the many other causes of action that could result from drone use. These exposures are not professional liability exposures. The use of a drone is not a professional service, but the interpretation of the information provided by the drone is a professional service. From a risk management perspective it is important that you carefully describe the scope of services that you are providing using the information provided by a drone.

Do you have a question regarding an insurance or practice management issue? Email your question to AskVic@Schinnerer.com and look for your answer in a future issue of the NSPS News & Views weekly newsletter. Victor O. Schinnerer & Company, Inc., is the underwriting manager for the CNA professional liability program, and has a longstanding relationship with NSPS.

NSPS-MAPPS day with Congress pays dividends

More than 120 NSPS and MAPPS members visited the U.S. Congress on April 15 as part of the two organizations' joint national conference held in Crystal City/Arlington, VA. More than 185 members of Congress were visited by surveying and mapping professionals from 39 states, providing a team that delivered a message about geospatial issues to 78 U.S. Senators, and more than 100 House members.

Thanks to the NSPS-MAPPS efforts on Capitol Hill, the Freedom from Government Competition Act was introduced April 28 with House Bill H.R. 2044 garnering 17 original cosponsors, and Senate Bill S. 1116 being offered by two U.S. Senators.

The Capitol Hill Day efforts also resulted in the soon to be introduced Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform (FLAIR) Act earning 7 commitments as cosponsors for the House bill, while 2 Senators are working to possibly introduce a version of the bill in that body.

Visits by the surveying and mapping delegation produced feedback that 5 House members and 2 Senators will be cosponsors for legislation to accurately locate pipelines and other underground infrastructure in utility and transportation corridors.

The day's activities also generated 38 commitments by members of Congress to urge the Appropriations Committees to fully fund the 3DEP program for national elevation data. See www.3DEP4America.com for more information.

During the visits to Congress, NSPS members from Washington State were photographed with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a member of the Senate Democrat Leadership who sits on the Appropriations Committee.

Get to know your 2015-2016 NSPS Leadership Team

Left to Right - Pat Smith, Robert Miller, Tim Burch, Jon Warren, Tony Cavell.
 Curt Sumner at Podium.  Not pictured: Jan Fokens

The recently installed officers of NSPS will serve from April 2015 until the date of the  2016 NSPS general membership meeting. This year’s leaders come from a variety of backgrounds in the surveying profession, and are indicative of the diversity of the NSPS membership in general, as have NSPS leaders since the organization’s beginnings in 1980. All are licensed professional surveyors with extensive experience in NSPS, either as NSPS Governors, Directors, or Officers.

President Jon Warren has a diverse background encompassing both the private and the public sectors. He currently serves as Land Survey Division Manager for the City of Bellevue, WA. Formerly, Jon has served as Snohomish County (WA) Surveyor, as Survey Business Line Manager for WH Pacific, and as Senior Associate and Puget Sound Region Survey Manager for David Evans and Associates, Inc.  

President-Elect Tony Cavell also has experience in both the private and public sectors, having worked in construction surveying, offshore, and has expertise in GNSS applications for surveying. Working with LSU, he was a manager for C4G, and helped establish CORS and develop GULFnet RTN for Louisiana. Tony is one of the initial Certified Federal Surveyors (CFedS) and has served as a Director for the Public Lands Survey System Foundation (PLSSF). 

Vice President Jan Fokens has owned Fokens Enterprises (a private practice land surveying/consulting firm in MI), served as a Business Consultant for the Michigan Small Business Technology Development Center at Mid-Michigan Community College, and as a Peer Review Consultant for Isabella and Gladwin Counties, MI Remonumentation Program. He is the Chairman of the City of Mt. Pleasant, MI Zoning Board of Appeals.

Treasurer Robert (Bob) Miller is Director of Land Surveying for Horizon Engineering, LLC in Pennsylvania where he is actively involved in project management and survey activities, including plan generation, field and office scheduling, and marketing. He also has served as an expert witness in numerous court proceedings. For the last 18 years he has been teaching workshops in Basic and Applied Survey Mathematics, Construction Surveying, Writing Legal Descriptions, and Boundary Survey Law.

Secretary Tim Burch has over 30 years’ experience, and is currently the Survey Department Manager for Chastain & Associates (IL) where his duties include establishing new markets and clients, and mentoring of surveying staff. In 2013 he participated in the Illinois Boundary Law book project written by Jeff Lucas. The publication was organized by the Northeast Chapter, and published by the IPLSA for its members. Tim also has been a contributor to the Illinois Surveyor newsletter.

Past President Pat Smith will continue as a member of the NSPS Executive Committee for 2014-2015 where he will share the expertise he gained serving as the 2013-2014 NSPS President. Pat is Senior Staff Surveyor at Surveying & Mapping, Inc. (SAM Inc.) in Austin, TX. 

The NSPS Executive Committee is comprised of its officers along with four members of its Board of Directors (representatives from the respective state surveying societies). The four Directors serving on the NSPS Executive Committee for 2015 are: David Holland (VA); Mike Maxwell (FL); Rick Howard (CT); Bob Akins (OH).