Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors’ Newsletter
The
Spring 2021
Pennsylvania
Surveyor Political Activity Is Necessary for Our Success As a Profession See inside….
PSLS President, Amy Hopkins, testifies in joint public hearing before the House & Senate’s Environmental Resources & Energy Committees.
Inside this issue 2021 Officers………………..………….…..3 President’s Message………………….....4 Biography of a Bill…...…..……………6-7 Member Benefits…..…………………….8 Sustaining Members…………………..10 New Members…………………………....11 2021 Virtual Events Info……..….12-14
The Biography of a Bill
2021 Webinar Schedule……………...15 Opening the Right of Entry…….18-20 PSLS’ Kids Pages………………………….21
Opening the Right of Entry
2021 PSLS Virtual Education Events July and August, 2021 (See information on pages 12-13)
Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors
PSLS Mission
Officers: Amy Hopkins, PLS, President Terry, McMillen, Jr., PLS, President-Elect Pete Brothers, PLS, Vice President Lawrence Leso, PLS, Secretary Richard Shewman, PLS, Treasurer Brian Yorkiewicz, PLS, Immed. Past President Michael Given, PLS, NSPS Director State Directors:
Allegheny Heartlands Chapter Joseph Hood, PLS & James Mostoller, PLS
The Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors, a statewide professional organization, exists for the purpose of supporting, improving and enhancing the profession, its members, and the practice of land surveying. To these ends, the critical work of the Society focuses on providing education, legislative involvement, enhancing the public awareness, and the promulgation of the ethics of the profession.
Bucks Chapter Robert Snyder, PLS & David Spellman Delaware Valley Chapter Jason Bertzos, PLS & Karl Kriegh, PLS Harrisburg Chapter John Clark III , PLS & James Hartman, PLS
2021 Board Meeting Dates Virtual—GoToMeeting 10:00 a.m.
Laurel Highlands Chapter Randall Myers, PLS & Troy Leighty, PLS Lehigh Valley Chapter Stephen Ombalski, PLS & Arthur Swallow, PLS Mid-State Chapter David Archibald, PLS & Gregory Shufran, PLS North Central Chapter
July 23 September 10 November 19
K Robert Cunningham, PLS Northeast Chapter Glenn Johnson, PLS & Vincent Stranch, PLS Northwest Chapter Ryan Courtney, PLS Pocono Chapter
Gregg Davis, PLS & William Senapedis, PLS Reading Chapter John Fuehrer, PLS & John Huck, PLS South Central Chapter Eric Gladhill, PLS & Timothy Rojahn, PLS Southwest Chapter Donald Groesser, PLS & Vincent Paparella, PLS Susquehanna Chapter Timothy Wentz, PLS & Robert Weaver, PLS
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The Pennsylvania Surveyor is published by the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors (PSLS). Articles or opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of PSLS, but are published as a service to its members, the general public, and for the betterment of the surveying profession. Articles may be reprinted with due credit given. We welcome submissions via e-mail in MS Word format. Please forward to psls@psls.org or call 717.441.6057.
Contact PSLS PSLS Office — PSLS@psls.org Amy Hopkins—PSLSPres@psls.org Terry McMillen, Jr. —PresidentElect@psls.org Pete Brothers—VicePresident@psls.org Lawrence Leso—PSLSSec@psls.org Richard Shewman—Treasurer@psls.org Michael Given—NSPSDir@psls.org Brian Yorkiewicz—PastPresident@psls.org Shaheed Smith—Foundation@psls.org
The Staff at Wanner Associates has been pleased to provide PSLS with lobbying and management services and event planning. Best regards.
2021 Officers
Amy Hopkins, President
Lawrence Leso, Secretary
Terry McMillen, Jr., President-Elect
Richard Shewman, Treasurer
Michael Given, NSPS Director
Pete Brothers, Vice President
Brian Yorkiewicz, Immed. Past President 3
Message from the President: Take Action, Political Action The worst of this pandemic is behind us and we are approaching the summer months as restrictions start to ease up. I hope your businesses have survived and maybe even prospered during these strange times. PSLS Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Chapters moved to virtual meetings with tremendous success. Government agencies, Townships and County review board meetings also went virtual. The State House and Senate was no exception. In April I had the opportunity to testify at a joint public hearing before the House & Senate’s Environmental Resources & Energy Committees. For any of you who have done a subdivision plan in a rural area without public sewer, this hearing affects you directly. One of the conditions of approval of a subdivision plan is approval from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the proposed method of sanitary sewage disposal. It was brought to my attention by soil scientists and sewage enforcement officers (SEO) with whom I work closely , that on March 2, 2021, DEP issued an “All SEO Letter” policy change that removed most septic systems that have previously been allowed and goes against Act 34 of 2020, an amendment to the Sewage Facilities Act, Act 537 of 1965. I immediately let our Legislative Committee and Lobbyists know what was happening. I wrote a letter as President of PSLS to Senator Kim Ward (R), majority leader of the PA Senate. With a push from lobbyists from multiple organizations affected by this issue, I was invited to testify before the ER&E committee hearing on April 27th. Deputy Secretary Aneca Atkinson from the DEP presented their side of the issue. Her testimony was virtual and was shown on multiple screens in the hearing room. The entire hearing was streamed live. PA State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Director of Government Relations Joseph H. Gerdes III testified strongly against DEPs policy change in person. Butler County Commissioner Kimberly Geyer testified virtually in opposition. The PA Septage Management Association (PSMA), PA Association of Sewage Enforcement Officers (PASEO), PA Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (POWRA), the PA Builders Association (PBA) and myself, President of PSLS, all testified in person. The entire experience was enlightening from the moment I was informed of the issue, the feeling of outrage invoked in me, preparing for my testimony, and walking into the State Capitol building for the first time. Prior to this, I followed which bills PSLS was supporting and wrote my legislators when asked, but never felt the passion for an issue until this. I will keep our members posted on the outcome. Our Legislative Committee and lobbyists are instrumental in efforts like these. HB609, formerly HB2101, amends the Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law (Act 367 of 1945). It passed the House with a 197-4 vote. Now its on to the Senate. A few members of the GIS community are fighting it, but our team is on it.
We are currently working on an amendment to the criminal trespass law, Section 3503, Title 18 giving Surveyors the authority to enter upon lands of another and not be subject to criminal liability. This is where our Political Action Committee (PAC) comes in and we need funds. Please consider a donation to the PAC fund. Donations forms are available on our website www.psls.org. Donations must be in the form of a personal check. Thank you.
Amy Hopkins, PLS PSLS President 4
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THE BIOGRAPHY OF A BILL By Bob Regola, PLS Legislative Committee Chairman, Lobbyist, & former State Senator A Senator introduces a bill by reading it in place (standing at his/her desk in the Senate). The title is read by the Chief Clerk and the bill is immediately referred to an appropriate committee by the President Pro Tempore. A House member files his/her bill with the Chief Clerk. At the end of each day the Chief Clerk delivers all bills which the members have filed with him to the Speaker, who refers them to the appropriate committees and reports his reference of each bill to the House at the next session day. Every bill, when introduced, is numbered, and printed for the members of the Senate, the House and public distribution. Once a bill is in committee, the committee has full control over it. Sometimes it is referred by the chairman to a sub-committee to study and make a report of its recommendations to the main committee. Organizations or people interested in a proposed bill may request the main committee, through its chairman, for a public hearing. After a committee has considered a bill, it may direct one of its members to report the bill to the Floor, either as committed (which means without change), as amended (with change), or, in rare instances with a negative recommendation. The committee may also decide not to report the bill. Should a committee favorably report a bill in the Senate it is given a first consideration. No debate or amendments are permitted from the Floor at this stage. (The Constitution of PA requires that each bill shall be considered on three different days in both the House and the Senate). After agreeing to the bill on first consideration it is advanced to the calendar of bills for second consideration. At this point Senators may propose amendments from the Floor of the Senate if they are germane to the subject of the bill. When a bill has been agreed to on the second consideration, it is then placed on the next day’s calendar for third consideration. The next step is considering and agreeing to the bill a third time and advancing it to final passage, at which time it may be debated. On third consideration a bill may be amended. At the conclusion of the debate, the roll of the Senators is called and, if a constitutional majority of twenty-six Senators votes in its favor, the bill passes the Senate. After the bill has passed the Senate it is transmitted to the House by the Message Clerk. The Chief Clerk of the House signs a receipt for the bill and it is then handed over to the Speaker of the House, who refers it to one of the House Committees. If the bill is reported from committee, it follows almost the same course of passage as in the Senate except in the area of first consideration. When the bill is reported from committee and given first consideration it is not automatically moved on to a second consideration but is laid on the table. It may be removed from the table
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by a motion of the Majority Leader, or the designee, acting on a report of the Rules Committee. Such report must be in writing and a copy thereof distributed to each Member. When the bill is so removed from the table it is placed on the second consideration calendar on the legislative day following such removal. This procedure does not prohibit any Member from asking a motion to remove the bill from the table. If the bill remains on the table for fifteen legislative days, it is automatically removed from the table and placed on the calendar for second consideration the next legislative day. If the bill is reported from committee in the period between the first Monday in June and the first Monday in September, it is, after first consideration, referred to the Rules Committee. After the first Monday in September, all bills so rereferred are automatically reported from the Committee, laid on the table and then they go through the procedure outlined above. Second consideration, third consideration, and final passage procedure is the same as in the Senate with one hundred and two votes being the constitutional majority required for final passage in the House. The House may amend a Senate bill, in which case it is returned to the Senate for concurrence in the House amendments. A constitutional majority is required to concur. The Senate may amend House bills in the same manner. Either house may defeat a bill of the other house, either in committee or on the floor. Should the Senate refuse to agree to the amendments made by the House, or vice versa, the bill usually goes to a Conference Committee, made up of three members from each house, appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, whose duty it is to resolve, if possible, the differences existing between the two houses on the bill, and report to their respective houses. A constitutional majority is required for the adoption of a Conference Committee Report. When a bill has finally passed in both houses, it is signed by the President or President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House in the presence of each house. It is then transmitted to the Governor for his consideration. If he approves, he signs the bill and it becomes a law. If he vetoes it, the bill is returned to the house of origin with the Governor’s reasons for the veto. The General Assembly has the power to pass a bill over the Governor’s veto by a constitutional vote of two-thirds of the Members elected to each house. If the Governor does not act upon the bill within ten calendar days after it has been received by him, while the General Assembly is in session, it automatically becomes law. After final adjournment of the General Assembly, the Governor has thirty days to act upon the remaining bills passed by both houses. Bills on which he takes no action automatically become law.
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Not yet a PSLS Member? JOIN NOW And receive these benefits
NSPS Membership Along with these benefits, PSLS members can also take advantage of these NSPS benefits. Using the NSPS PerksCard, members can get discount son everything from local merchants to Insurance. NSPS also has its own insurance program just for surveyors. Check them out at http://www.nsps.us.com/?page=Benefits
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SUSTAINING FIRM MEMBERS Thank you for your support! Civil Training, LLC Attn: John Cooke 5300 Wellington Branch Drive, Suite 100 Gainesville, VA 20155 P: 732-859-8353 F: 732-377-5454 john.cooke@civiltraining.com www.civiltraining.com Cooper Aerial Surveys Attn: Pete Priestner 412 East Street Rd. Trevose, PA 19053 P: 800-229-2279 pete@cooperaerial.com www.cooperaerial.com Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. Attn: Robert Quetot 369 East Park Drive Harrisburg, PA 17111 P: 330-726-4481 rquetot@hrg-inc.com https://www.hrg-inc.com/ Keystone Precision Solutions Attn: George Allport, Jr. 1670 East Race Street Allentown, PA 18109 P: 610-266-2699 georgejr@keypre.com www.keypre.com Klein Agency, LLC Attn: Mark Amirault PO Box 219 Timonium, MD 21094 P: 410-832-7600 F: 410-832-1849 mamirault@eakagency.com www.kleinagencyllc.com
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Packer Associates, Inc. Attn: Gary Packer 148 Holgate Road Honesdale, PA 18431 P: 570-224-4300 gary@packerassociates.com https://www.packerassociates.com Precision Laser & Instrument, Inc. Attn: Robert J. Barth 85 11th Street Ambridge, PA 15003 P: 724-266-1600 F: 724-266-8161 rjb@laserinst.com www.laserinst.com Rodriguez Consulting LLC Attn: Beth Spellman 100 W. Oxford Street, Suite E3100 Philadelphia, PA 19122 P: 267-832-8252 bspellman@rodriguezconsulting.biz Steckbeck Engineering & Surveying, Inc. Attn: Jason E. Chernich, PLS 279 N. Zinns Mill Road Lebanon, PA 17042 P: 717-272-7110 jchernich@steckbeck.net Szalankiewicz Engineering Attn: James Szalankiewicz Box 206 Elderton, PA 15736 P: 724-354-4852 sellc@windstream.net
Wetland Studies & Solutions, Inc. Attn: Eric Calladine 5300 Wellington Branch Dr., Suite 100 Gainesville, VA 20155 P: 703-679-5600 F: 703-697-5601 ecalladine@wetlandstusies.com www.wetlandstudies.com
to our New Members! Norman Voigt Allegheny Heartlands Chapter Michael McGuire Bucks County Chapter Robert Moncrief Bucks County Chapter Beth Spellman Bucks County Chapter Jason Haynes Delaware Valley Chapter
Cameron Forth Delaware Valley Chapter David Iangan Harrisburg Chapter Mark Maguire Harrisburg Chapter Robert Quetot Harrisburg Chapter Mark Saville Harrisburg Chapter Alan Turner Harrisburg Chapter
William Barlow Lehigh Valley Chapter Michael Gula Lehigh Valley Chapter Jeremy Klapper Member at Large Jess Kronenwetter North Central Chapter Corry Lambert Northwest Chapter Sam Hock Pocono Chapter Gary Packer Pocono Chapter Lee Wojcik Pocono Chapter
Brian Hockley Reading Chapter Keith Heindel South Central Chapter Michael Panek Southwest Chapter
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PSLS Education Opportunities Register soon!
Upcoming Virtual Education Events
July 12, 2021 Event Sponsor
Two Tracks of Sessions Each Day
Up to 6 PDH per Event 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
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August 2, 2021 Event Sponsor
July 12, 2021
PSLS Member— Single Day: $210 Other Prof. Assn. Members— Single Day: $210 (contact PSLS for registration code) Non-Member-Single Day: $275 Half day Member: $175 Half day Non-member: $225
701– Railroad Right-of-WaysPart 1 Gary Kent (3PDH) 702-Railroad Right-of-Ways Part 2 Gary Kent (3PDH)
801-Taking You “From the Field to the Finish Line” with Carlson Software Michael Hyman (3PDH) 802- Sewage System Topics: Planning Modules, Spatial Requirements, Alternate Systems Laurel Mueller (3PDH)
August 2, 2021 901-Clean and Green Subdivision Rob Davidson (3PDH)
Go to the PSLS website And click on the desired event(s) to register.
902 The New 2021 ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey Standards Gary Kent (3PDH) 1001-Trimble Business Center Part 1 Ken Fronheiser (3PDH) 1002-Remote Sensing Processing (Individual-Cloud-Based) Matthew Bainbridge, Rob Sinclair (3PDH)
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View Event Matrix
View session descriptions
View the speaker bios
View course credits.
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PSLS 2021 WEBINAR SCHEDULE MONTH
TOPIC
PRESENTER
June 23, 2021
Comparison of Survey Methods for Surface Change Estimation
Dimitrios Bolkas
July 21, 2021
Pennsylvania Boundary Commissions and Case Reviews
Michael Brinkash, Sr.
August 18, 2021
ALTA Titles
Erin Fagnili
September 15, 2021
Getting Kids into Surveying
Elly Ball, “Get Kids into Survey” in UK
October 20, 2021
Roadway Safety
Douglas Allwein
November 17, 2021
To be Announced
December 15, 2021
Locating Land Boundaries on Paper
Amy Hopkins
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Opening the Right of Entry Donald G. Groesser, PLS May 7, 2021 I started in surveying when I was 18. I was on (what I believed to be) a temporary sabbatical from college and took a job with a small local land surveying firm in my hometown of Huntley, Illinois. One of the first experiences that intrigued me was when my boss handed me a business card and said, “you’ll want this in case any homeowners ask you what you are doing.” At that point, I had no idea myself what I was doing, but the business card had the company logo and contact information of the owner. On the back of the card, this was printed … 225 Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) 330.45, Entry Upon Adjoining Land A Professional Land Surveyor, or persons under his/her direct supervision, together with his/her survey party, who, in the course of making a survey, finds it necessary to go upon the land of a party or parties other than the one for whom the survey is made is not liable for trespass and is liable only for any actual damage done to the land or property. Growing up I loved to play Monopoly, but I never imagined “Get Out of Jail Free” cards actually existed – but here I had one in my hand on my very first day as a survey technician. For almost 29 years, I enjoyed the freedom of going wherever I needed to in order to fulfill my professional duty. I was, after all, a protector of the general public, and establishing correct boundary lines required location of adjoining properties. Of course, we would (almost) always pay the courtesy of knocking on a neighbor’s door before we jumped their backyard fence – if for no other reason than to make sure they didn’t let the dogs out. We always wore safety vests, usually with the company name on the back, and we always provided a business card with the “Get Out of Jail Free” code. In 29 years, I never personally had an issue with a landowner refusing access to their property. Most people understood that if they see someone in their back yard wearing a safety vest, it was probably a surveyor. However, I heard numerous stories of landowners threatening to call the police on a trespassing surveyor. Once, another survey crew with my company had an irate homeowner call the police. The officer arrived and stood guard to protect the survey crew from the homeowner, until the surveyors were finished with their measurements. It was important that boundaries were correctly surveyed, and we had the freedom to accomplish that. Then I moved to Pennsylvania. On one hand, I love the challenge of surveying in a metes & bounds state. Coming from a sectional state, the jigsaw puzzle aspect of solving boundaries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is intriguing. But what if, when you are solving the jigsaw puzzle, someone prevents you from knowing the shape and size of the next piece? I understand that Right of Entry (ROE) legislation has been tried and failed in Pennsylvania; however, coming from a state that has ROE, I encourage you all to try again. ROE is not only in the best interest of your client or the subject property you are surveying, it is in the best interest of the adjoining owners and properties. When considering this topic, I recalled some research I completed early last year in response to the following email:
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Gentlemen, As you know, I’ll be PSLS president next year, so I’m laying the groundwork now for a new bill for Right of Entry for surveyors in PA. I’m licensed in NY and we have it up there, so I can pull their law easily enough. I’m looking for someone to research all states that have a Right of Entry law so we can compare and use their language to compose ours. PSLS has raised this issue a couple times over the years without success. If this issue is of interest to you, let me know if you have time to compile this data for us. I’d need it by March 12th at the very latest. BOD meeting is March 13th. Amy Hopkins, PLS, Owner Urban Terrain I referenced the NSPS Right of Entry Report, dated September 2006, and checked all of the states in the U.S. to see if there were any updates to the NSPS report. I then provided this information to Amy. During my research, I noted that 29 states give land surveyors ROE or exempts them from liability of trespass. Thirteen states grant ROE for specific types or surveys / situations. Only eight do not make provision for ROE.
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Of the 29 states that grant ROE: • 16 do not require any notification • 10 require a “reasonable effort” of notification or “where practical” • 6 require written notification by certified or first-class mail As the PSLS considers another attempt at crafting ROE legislation, I encourage all Professional Land Surveyors to fully support this critical right to perform our duty to the benefit of the general public. I do understand that, in the past, some PSLS members opposed notification requirements. I personally would not want liability for trespass to hinge on notification. In my opinion, when performing their duty, surveyors and their staff should have immunity from trespass liability with no equivocation. It is not always clear in the field, especially heavily wooded rural areas, where the boundaries of the property are. Especially with the terrain in much of Pennsylvania, an adjoiner of an adjoiner may need to be crossed in order to access boundary evidence, and that may not be obvious until the field crew is on site. Furthermore, in some cases, surveyors are asked to perform surveys for confidential purposes. Their ability to perform their professional duty should not be infringed upon in those circumstances. However, I would not let notification cause any PSLS member to fail to support efforts to legislate ROE. Whether or not required by the legislation, I would recommend that survey vehicles have identifying signage, that crews wear identifying safety vests, and carry identification with them that indicates that they are survey crews performing their duties. As Professional Land Surveyors, I believe we all agree that correct boundaries are in the best interest of our clients, adjoining landowners, and the general public. Accessing adjoining property is critical to ascertain how our puzzle piece fits with the rest of the puzzle. In any form it may take, regardless of any additional effort on our part, we should fully support ROE in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. To read the 2006 NSPS Right of Entry Report, go here: https://cdn.ymaws.com/nsps.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/Resources/ RIGHT_OF_ENTRY_CMT_REPORT_10.pdf To read my update research completed in February 2020, go here: Right of Entry Research
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