Current Page: In The Know

In 2000, South Carolina passed a law that requires individuals to maintain a Surveyor’s license to use global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS) tools. In addition, manipulation of elevation and aerial imaging data now requires surveyor licensure. Richland County has been active in attempting to limit the negative impact of this law on County operations since its origin as a bill in 1999. In doing so, the County submitted several questions related to the impact of the law long before it went into effect in July of 2004. Although the Board of Registration for Engineers and Surveyors acknowledged receipt of an early query in 2001, submitted questions have yet to be answered. Since 2001, the State Mapping Advisory Committee (SMAC) asked Dr. Patrick Bresnahan to summarize the history and potential impact of the law for its membership. In working with SMAC members and other GIS professionals over the past few years, the County has organized an additional list of questions to be answered that will help minimize activities that could violate this state law.

This page contains correspondence on this issue and includes links to the law, its regulations, and other related information.
 

Link to SC Surveyor Law Microsoft Word Document

Link to SC Surveyor Law HTML Format

Link to SC Surveyor Law Code of Regulations

"Licensed to Practice" - Dr. Patrick Bresnahan

March 31, 2005: Carolina URISA President Andrew Shore invited SC Board member to participate in the annual conference jointly held by Carolina URISA and Carolina GITA to help clarify requirements of the new SC GIS Surveyor license.

April 19. 2005: With assistance from State Senator Joel Lourie, Dr. Patrick Bresnahan was invited to speak during the quarterly Board meeting in Charleston. We also requested status on the list of question concerning licensure submitted to the Board in 2001 and 2004. The materials presented to the Board can be viewed online or downloaded here.

June 26, 2005: At the quarterly Board meeting in Columbia, Dr. Bresnahan asked the status of the list of question concerning licensure submitted to the Board in 2001 and 2004. During this meeting, a Tier A Land Surveyor (Boundary) asked the Board questions regarding the use of GPS and CAD/GIS by other surveyors. It was interesting that the Board told the Surveyor:

"Anyone can make maps" and that boundary and geodetic surveyors have always had the right to use CAD and GIS tools and always "will have" that right. Mr. Gillette (Board Member) told the surveyor that as a licensed boundary and geodetic surveyor, he could produce plats and maps from CAD and GIS. In attempting to clarify when a GIS Surveyor license would be needed, Mr. Gillette stated that a SC GIS Surveyor license would be required when a map is "produced using the National GIS Map Standard." Thus, all surveyors, regardless of discipline, can create, prepare, and modify electronic data from their survey disciplines using computer mapping tools such as CAD and GIS as long as they do not produce a 'GIS Map' adhering to the "National GIS Map Standard."

We are currently following up on this item and are trying to figure out if all surveyors can perform work using GIS without being licensed specifically to use the tools (except printing maps to the "National GIS Map Standard"). We will keep you posted.

40-22-20(23) "A land surveyor may be licensed in one or more of the disciplines and practice is restricted to only the discipline or disciplines for which the land surveyor is licensed."

40-22-20(23)(c) "A geographic information systems/land information systems mapper creates, prepares, or modifies electronic or computerized data including land information systems and geographic information systems relative to the performance of the activities described in subitems (a) and (b) above."

July 1, 2005: Answers to some questions submitted to the Licensure Board received by Richland County. Although not all questions were answered, some of the answers provide clarification as to what does NOT require licensure. There were also some surprises. Read the questions and answers carefully at your convenience. The reply was scanned and is located here for your use.

July 11, 2005: Dr. Patrick Bresnahan forwarded the request by Carolina URISA for Board participation at the September conference to Board Administrators. We will keep you posted as to the status of any upcoming conference session on this item.
 

Patrick J. Bresnahan, Ph.D.
GIO

SC Board of Registration
For Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Koger Office Park, Kingstree Building
110 Centerview Drive
PO Box 11597
Columbia, South Carolina 29211-1597

August 14, 2001

As SC Code of Laws Title 40 Chapter 22 has changed dramatically during the past legislative session, Richland County must seek clarification on practices addressed in the new statute. To avoid any misunderstanding of the County's ability to provide improved technological services to the community, I respectfully request that the Board review the following questions and respond with a ruling or opinion. With an official response to these questions, Richland County will be able to avoid any activity that may violate State law.

40-22-20(23) Upon what date does the statute applied to discipline-specific professional practice take effect?

40-22-20(23)(a)(2) Can a county government employee, holding no professional license, establish a reference or survey monument for the exclusive use of local government employees in the maintenance of a GIS?

40-22-20(23)(b) Can a licensed civil engineer calculate surface contours from horizontal and vertical points acquired by commercial aircraftborne lidar equipment?

40-22-20(23)(b) Can a licensed Land Boundary Surveyor calculate surface contours from horizontal and vertical points acquired by commercial aircraftborne lidar equipment?

40-22-20(23)(b) and 40-22-290(9) Can a county government employee, holding no professional license, calculate surface contours from horizontal and vertical points acquired by commercial aircraftborne lidar equipment?

40-22-20(23)(b) and 40-22-290(9) Can a county government employee, holding no professional license, calculate surface contours using both elevation data submitted by a licensed engineer or surveyor and point data acquired by commercial aircraftborne lidar equipment?

40-22-20(23) and 40-22-20(23)(c) Is the proper licensed title, referred to in 40-22-20(23)(c), a GIS/LIS Surveyor or a GIS/LIS Mapper?

40-22-225(C)(1) Does a list of board-approved bachelor of science degrees exist? If so, does the list identify specific educational institutions?

40-22-225(C)(1) For licensure, will the board accept bachelor of arts degrees in Geography?

40-22-225(E)(2) Can the board provide a practical example of a 'method' and a 'procedure' as required in a submitted report?

40-22-225(E)(3) If there are currently no licensed GIS Surveyors (mappers), must all applicants to be licensed as a GIS Surveyor (mapper) submit three letters of reference from Land Boundary Surveyors?

40-22-290(6) Can a private or public utility or cooperative share GIS-based customer/citizen property boundary layers with a local government?

40-22-290(9) Can a county government employee, holding no professional license, utilize remotely sensed imagery and/or data acquired from an aircraft platform for digital mapping and analysis?

40-22-290(9) Can a county government employee, holding no professional license, distribute survey monumentation data to the public?

40-22-290(9) Can a county government employee, holding no professional license, distribute surface contours that he/she has calculated from horizontal and vertical points acquired by commercial aircraftborne lidar equipment?

Respectfully,

Patrick J. Bresnahan, Ph.D.

Cc Mr. Tony McDonald, Assistant County Administrator
Mr. Larry Smith, Richland County Attorney
Mr. Timothy Winslow, SCAC

Patrick J. Bresnahan, Ph.D.
GIO

SC Board of Registration
For Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Koger Office Park, Kingstree Building
110 Centerview Drive
PO Box 11597
Columbia, South Carolina 29211-1597

Re: Surveyor licensure questions

December 15, 2004

Since amendments to SC Code of Laws Title 40 Chapter 22 in 2000, numerous questions regarding the implications of the law remain unanswered. As this law impacts operations of many government geographic information systems (GIS), it is important for government employees to understand the limitations now enforced on the tools of geospatial technologies. With this in mind, in 2001 Richland County submitted to the Board a series of questions in hopes of clarifying the language of the newly passed law (copy enclosed). Although the Board acknowledged receipt of these questions (copy of reply letter enclosed) and several years have passed, the original questions have yet to be addressed. Additional attempts, through communications by legal staff, to have these questions answered have also failed. I respectfully request the status of any action on the original questions submitted to the Board in August, 2001.

County operations regarding several technologies have been halted pending written responses to questions on SC 40-22. Furthermore, as technology and its implementation have increased dramatically since 2000, professionals continue to ask new questions as to implications of SC 40-22. Considering the impact on government operations and practicing geospatial professionals, Richland County has solicited and coordinated a list of more recent questions regarding the surveyor licensing law. The attached list reflects questions collected during professional meetings and conferences in SC over the past two years. I respectfully request the Board review the attached questions and respond with a written ruling or opinion to clarify specific sections as noted. Again, with an official response to these questions, Richland County personnel and other professionals will be able to avoid any activity that may violate State law

Respectfully,

Patrick J. Bresnahan, Ph.D.

Cc Mr. Tony McDonald, Assistant County Administrator
Mr. Larry Smith, Richland County Attorney
Ms. Kathy Williams, SC Association of Counties
 

1. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) Can a local government employee, holding no professional license, install and position a continuously operating geodetic reference station for use in local government operations?

2. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) Can a local government employee, holding no professional license, install and position a continuously operating geodetic reference station for use in local government operations and distribute location and correction data derived from the reference station to persons/users holding no professional licensure regardless of the intended use?

3. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) By verifying proof of licensure specific to geodetic surveying by external users of a local government geodetic reference station, is the local government absolved of liability from actions related to the application of geodetic reference data?

4. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) Must an individual or company hold professional licensure in geodetic surveying to access and apply geodetic correction data from any terrestrial reference station while recording location information using GPS?

5. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) Can any individual or private enterprise, holding no professional license, install and position a geodetic reference station for use in personal or private business activities that are not marketed to the public as surveying activities?

6. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) Can a licensed engineer access and apply geodetic correction data from any terrestrial reference station while recording location information using GPS?

7. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) Can a licensed engineer install and position a continuously operating geodetic reference station for use in engineering practices?

8. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) Can university faculty and/or students, holding no professional licenses, record feature locations for local, state, or federal governments for use in their GIS?

9. 40-22-20(23)(b) Can university faculty and/or students, holding no professional licenses, calculate contours from aircraft-borne lidar data to be used by local, state, or federal governments in their GIS?

10. 40-22-20(23)(c) Can university faculty and/or students, holding no professional licenses, record feature locations using surveying, GPS, or photogrammetric methods in a GIS for use by local, state, or federal government operations?

11. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) Can any individual or private enterprise, holding no professional license, use GPS technologies to record property information for use in marketing or sales?

12. 40-22-20(23)(c) Can university faculty and/or students, holding no professional licenses, record feature locations using surveying, GPS, or photogrammetric methods in a GIS for dissemination to the public?

13. 40-22-20(23)(c) Can a local government employee, holding no professional license, conflate attribute information to feature locations in GIS?

14. 40-22-20(23)(c) Can a licensed engineer conflate attribute information to feature locations in GIS?

15. 40-22-20(23)(c) Can a local government employee, holding no professional license, adjust surveyed features such as property lines or contours to enforce topological relationships?

16. 40-22-20(23)(c) Can a licensed engineer adjust surveyed features such as property lines or contours to enforce topological relationships?

17. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) Can a private enterprise, holding no professional license, record locational information using GPS technologies, package, and license those data in retail software or data holdings available to the public for navigation and reference?

18. 40-22-290(9) As this section exempts "…distribution of mapping grade GIS data..." from licensure, can a local government distribute location information derived from geodetic monuments and reference stations operated by the local government without licensed surveyor supervision?

19. 40-22-20(23)(a)(3) What accuracy and precision constitutes the practice of geodetic surveying described in this item?

20. 40-22-290(9) What is the definition of "mapping grade" as applied to positioning technologies and GIS data?

21. 40-22-20(23)(b) Can a local government employee, holding no professional license, create contours from data acquired by commercial aircraftborne lidar equipment for use only within government operations?

22. 40-22-20(23)(b) Can a local government distribute surface information calculated, by individuals not holding professional licensure, from data acquired by commercial aircraftborne lidar equipment to the public?

23. 40-22-20(23)(b) Is this item data model specific? For example, can a local government distribute to the public surface information stored in a triangulated irregular network (TIN), derived by individuals not holding professional licensure, from data acquired by commercial aircraftborne lidar equipment? If the TIN is derived by a licensed photogrammetric surveyor, can a local government distribute these data to be converted to point elevations to calculate surface contours by any individual?

24. 40-22-290(6) Can a private utility, without supervision of a licensed surveyor, collect authoritative location information representing features outside of its own property, easement, or right-of-way, using GPS?

25. 40-22-290(6) Can a private utility, without supervision of a licensed surveyor, enter authoritative location information representing features outside of its own property, easement, or right-of-way into a GIS database?

26. 40-22-290(6) Can a private utility share authoritative location information of features, collected without supervision of a licensed surveyor, with a local government?

27. 40-22-20(23)(b) Can an individual, holding no professional license, digitize authoritative location information from aerial imagery for personal use by the individual?

28. 40-22-20(23)(b) Can an individual, holding no professional license, digitize authoritative location information from aerial imagery use by other individuals or the public?

29. 40-22-20(23) Can an individual, holding no professional license, testify in court as to the distance between two locations or businesses (ie. contested no-compete clauses)?

30. 40-22-225(C) Are the terms "good character" and good "reputation" tied to any quantifiable legal parameters or are they related to subjective definitions related to morals as defined by individuals of a particular faith-based belief system such as christianity? Can the board give an example in which this item could exclude a person from licensure?

31. 40-22-225(C) Is there a defined quantifiable threshold for achieving effective communication in the English language?

32. 40-22-225(C)(1) Can the board provide a documented list or reference source of ABET accredited curricula specific to (1) Geodetic surveying, (2) Photogrammetric Surveying, and (3) GIS/LIS Surveying (or GIS/LIS Mapping)?

33. 40-22-225(C)(1) Currently, are their any ABET accredited curricula within South Carolina specific to (1) Geodetic surveying, (2) Photogrammetric Surveying, and (3) GIS/LIS Surveying (or GIS/LIS Mapping)?

34. 40-22-225(C)(1) Can the board provide a list of currently approved bachelor of science programs in South Carolina specific to (1) Geodetic surveying, (2) Photogrammetric Surveying, and (3) GIS/LIS Surveying (or GIS/LIS Mapping)?

35. 40-22-225(C)(1) As 'geographic information systems' or the term 'geographic' are not included in the NCEES Model Law (latest revision August 2004) and GIS/LIS Surveying is not included in that Model Law, what is the source of examination questions for GIS/LIS Mapping in this section? What is the source of examination questions related to Geodetic Surveying and Photogrammetric Surveying as defined in 40-22-20(23)?

36. 40-22-225(C)(1) If examination questions related to (1) Geodetic surveying, (2) Photogrammetric Surveying, and (3) GIS/LIS Surveying (or GIS/LIS Mapping) do not come from any recognized national licensure organization, what procedure is used to assure the accuracy of questions and appropriateness as applied to practice in South Carolina?

37. 40-22-225(C)(1) What are the educational background, experience, accomplishments, and licensure status of individual(s) responsible for creating examination questions related to (1) Geodetic surveying, (2) Photogrammetric Surveying, and (3) GIS/LIS Surveying (or GIS/LIS Mapping)?

38. 40-22-225(C)(1) Are GIS/LIS Mapper specific examination questions recognized by any national professional licensure organization?

39. 40-22-225(C)(1) Can the board identify the source of GIS/LIS Surveyor/Mapper examination questions for the following common geospatial topics?

Spatial database structures:
Spatial data models:
Database development and maintenance procedures:
Database indexing:
Primary and secondary key assignment:
Topological relationships:
Feature class assignment and rule-based relationships:
Appropriate projection use and conversion:
System design:
Metadata development and maintenance:
Task-specific accuracy and precision:

40. 40-22-20(23) Can a licensed engineer, holding no professional surveyor license, register development drawings to a specified geographic coordinate system using ground control points provided by a licensed surveyor and submit those drawings (preliminary or record) to a governmental permitting agency as compliance for land development, construction, or the authoritative delineation of boundaries required for such permits?

41. 40-22-20(23) Can a licensed engineer, holding no professional surveyor license, register development drawings to a specified geographic coordinate system using ground control points provided by an individual holding no professional licensure and submit those drawings (preliminary or record) to a governmental permitting agency as compliance for land development, construction, or the authoritative delineation of boundaries required for such permits.

42. 40-22-225(E)(4) Can the board provide a definition for "remote sensing surveyor" and the requirements for licensure as used in SC Code of Laws?

43. Can the board provide a list of licensed surveyors with their specific discipline, disciplines, and subdisciplines (Land Boundary, Geodetic, Photogrammetric, GIS/LIS Mapper) to be used by government agencies to assure professional licensure compliance when contracting for professional services?

44. The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) revised their Model Law in August 2004 to reflect concerns highlighted in a 2002 Task Force report regarding licensure of the GIS tool. Because the Model Law, as amended, does not include reference to GIS, are there any plans to amend SC 40-22-20 to bring South Carolina in line with the Model Law and the rest of the country?