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Sept. 10, 2020

SPONSORED VIDEO

Surveyors Will Love this Comedy

Building America is a comedy about passing on the trades of land surveying and equipment sales to the next generation. An old-school father tries to instill his thrifty ways onto a son enamored with new technology while a new sales associate learns how (not) to sell survey gear.

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Consequences of NFIP Lapse Explored

NSPS

descriptionThe Congressional Research Service (CRS), an arm of the Library of Congress that provides support to members of Congress, issued a report providing a short overview of what would happen if the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) were not to be reauthorized and allowed to lapse. Unless reauthorized or amended by Congress, the following will occur on September 30, 2020: 1) The authority to provide new flood insurance contracts will expire. Flood insurance contracts entered into before the expiration would continue until the end of their policy term of one year; and 2) The authority for NFIP to borrow funds from the Treasury will be reduced from $30.425 billion to $1 billion. Other activities of the program would technically remain authorized, such as the issuance of Flood Mitigation Assistance Grants. However, the expiration of the key authorities listed above would have potentially significant impacts on the remaining NFIP activities. Property owners, both residential and commercial, are required to purchase flood insurance if their property is identified as being in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA, which is equivalent to having an estimated 1% or greater risk of flooding every year) and is in a community that participates in the NFIP. In most cases when the NFIP lapsed, Congress reauthorized the NFIP retroactively.

Disaster Relief

NSPS Foundation

A reminder that there are those among our peers who are in a desperate situation. The NSPS Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund was created to help those in need. With the most recent disasters in IA, LA and TX our funds could be depleted quickly. We are asking you, in this time of need, to consider making a donation to the Disaster Relief Fund. Please help! You can make a donation online or send in a check to NSPS Foundation, 5119 Pegasus Court, Suite Q, Frederick, MD 21704 and reference DR in the memo field. All donations are tax deductible. On behalf of those in need, Thank you!

If you would like to apply for assistance, please fill out an application.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

Surveyors Again Needed for DoL Statistics

NSPS

The O*NET Data Collection Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, is again seeking the input of expert Surveyors. As the nation's most comprehensive source of occupational data, O*NET is a free resource for millions of job seekers, employers, veterans, educators, and students at www.onetonline.org. The database, available to the public at no cost, is continually updated from input by a broad range of workers in each occupation.

NSPS members again have the opportunity to participate in this important initiative. Your participation will help ensure that the complexities of your profession are described accurately in the O*NET database for use by the American public. Simply use the attached announcement to provide your information to Jim Rose, Business Liaison, RTI International.

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

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NSPS Seeks House Committee Oversight and Repeal of AAM-212

NSPS

In response to an inquiry of the business community in identifying job killing regulations to roll back, NSPS urged the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), to conduct oversight and an investigation into the expansion and applicability of the Davis-Bacon Act to members of surveying crews working on federal financed construction projects. This expansion was initiated by All Agency Memorandum (AAM-212), issued by the Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division during the Obama Administration on March 22, 2013. NSPS Executive Director Curtis Sumner wrote, “We believe the classification of members of survey crews as “laborers and mechanics” is detrimental to our profession and an inappropriate demotion of valued and skilled employees … We respectfully recommend the immediate rescission/repeal of AAM 212 as you conduct oversight of this 2013 policy.”

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NSPS Lobbyist Meets with Wyoming Senate Candidate

NSPS

NSPS lobbyist John "JB" Byrd recently met virtually with former Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis (R), a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming. This is an open seat caused by the decision of current Senator Mike Enzi (R) to retire at the end of this Congress. First elected to the U.S. House in 2008, Lummis’s deep knowledge of public lands, energy, and natural resource issues led her to be considered for the position of Secretary of the Interior in the Trump Administration in 2017 and 2019. Prior to serving in Congress, she spent eight years as Wyoming State Treasurer and 14 years as a member of the Wyoming State House and Senate. She also worked as general counsel to Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer and Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments, as well as a law clerk at the Wyoming Supreme Court. Click here to learn more about the NSPS PAC, the Jefferson Club, and NSPS PAC Chairman Jon Warren's "Drive to 75" Campaign. Pictured here is NSPS Lobbyist John “JB” Byrd, Senator Enzi, and former Congresswoman Lummis and a campaign advisor.

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

The Smarter GNSS Solution for Surveyors

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Safety First: Using Small Drones to Map Unsafe Sites

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Traditionally, photogrammetry based on aerial images and stereo plotting, has been the realm of large mapping companies capable of affording the onerous ownership of planes and the high personnel cost of pilots, navigators and camera operators. The equipment used to convert the stereoscopic pairs into contour line maps cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and occupy large rooms with controlled environments and strict building codes.

COVID Impact: GIS Can Help Us Manage the Changes

Geospatial World

COVID has changed the safety and security mindset of the world. There has been this tension of managing the disaster of COVID and learning to manage the risk of living with COVID, and herein lies the tension between health experts and people interested in the economy. I don’t think the two are at odds; I think there are trade-offs.

Become a Certified Survey Technician (CST)

No matter what the future holds, prepare to meet challenges head on. Future-proof your resume by becoming a Certified Survey Technician (CST). This unique four-level certification program indicates official recognition by NSPS that a person can perform surveying tasks at a specific technical level. Show what you can do! Decide between the field or office track. Visit www.cstnsps.com for details.

Collaboration Aimed at GNSS Solution for IoT Modems

GPS World

Synopsys Inc. and Nestwave are collaborating to combine Nestwave’s geolocation software with the Synopsys DesignWare ARC IoT Communications Subsystem for a complete low-power GNSS solution for integration into IoT modems. The collaboration will provide designers with a power-efficient, high-accuracy GPS solution for battery-operated devices without the additional cost of a dedicated GNSS chip.

Japanese City Using GIS on iPads for Field Survey

Directions Magazine

The City of Tamba in Hyogo prefecture, Japan, performs field survey work using a mobile GIS application designed for Apple iPad tablet computers. The application, called Mobile Matilda, is developed by Osaka based GIS solution specialist, Tsukasa Consulting, using the TatukGIS Developer Kernel 11 (for Delphi edition) with the Embarcadero FireMonkey framework.

Off-Road Autonomy Solutions Introduced

Inside GNSS

Autonomy has become the new goal of off-road machine control. Collaboration between NovAtel and AutonomouStuff, both part of Hexagon, has produced sensing and positioning kits to accelerate autonomous development for off-road applications. Combining decades of expertise in GNSS positioning, autonomy and safety-critical applications, these positioning and sensing kits provide developers with technology bringing assured positioning to off-road autonomy.

NSPS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President, Mark Sargent (NH)

Director, Thomas Brooks (AL)

President-Elect, Tim Burch (IL)

Director, Bob Neathamer (OR)

Vice President, Amanda Allred (WA)

Director, Danny Martinez (NE)

Treasurer, Bob Miller (PA)

Director, Matt Morris (MT)

Secretary, Craig Amey (MI)

Executive Director, Curt Sumner (MD)

Immediate Past President, Lisa Van Horn (WI)

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