Inside this issue

President’s Message ...... …….……....2

NSPS Director’s Report .. …...………..3

New Members ............... ……………..7

Purple Law…………………………………..9

Mason and Dixon

Stone Inventory .......... …………….13

PA One Call Trainings………………….16

Sustaining Members …..………….…17

Advertise with PSLS……………18 & 19

Special Recognitions………………….20

Spring 2020

Pennsylvania

Surveyor

Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors’ Newsletter

The

GPS - IN THE BEGINNING By Andrew F. Kent, PLS (retired)

Charter member of the PSLS

When I became a topographic surveyor there were no reli-able walkie-talkies, no mobile or cell phones, no transistors or computer chips, and no calculators. There were only hand cranked adding machines. Calculations were made by hand utilizing the math times tables you learned in grade school, with the assistance of a slide rule to check the work, and a book with seven place trig tables.

On October 4, 1957, the Russians launched the first satel-lite and the Americans were playing catch up. I enlisted in the Army in 1960 to go to Engineering School and become a topographic surveyor. After graduation from the Engineer School in Ft. Belvoir, VA. I was sent with two other graduates to the Army Map Service in Washing-ton, D.C. After we completed training and secured security clearances, we were assigned to the new satellite division.

Our job was to plot the proposed satellite orbit on a map and research the available control data points along the path of the satellite for the purpose of establishing tracking stations. When the data gathering was completed, we flew to Los Angeles and picked up our equipment, as most of the proposed stations were in southern California, Nevada and Arizona. We were on a top secret mission, the Army even painted our vehicles black. However, the vehicles had “U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Betty” painted in large white letters on the doors. So much for secrecy. Army intelligence at its best.

Project Betty was the name of the project, it was later changed to SECOR, (Sequential Collation Of Ranges). The idea was to have four tracking stations to determine the satellite position and eventually to use the satellites to

Continued on page 6

From the President’s Pen….

Jonathan Tabas, PLS, PE

PSLS WAS THERE FOR YOU The Start of a New Era

It's amazing how much has happened during the several months I've been serving as President of PSLS. My term started at the Conference in January. As

I settled in, my goals were to get more, and younger, members involved in PSLS. I was extremely gratified by the positive response I received when I asked members to step up and take leadership positions on our com-mittees. Everything was moving along nicely when the Coronavirus pandemic broke loose in Pennsylvania the week after our first Executive Committee and Board of Directors meetings in March.

PSLS leadership and staff responded to the crisis with guidance for our membership, a waiver request on behalf of Surveyors working in the field, and direct communication with the Governor's office. Our position, affirmed by legal counsel and maintained consistently throughout the crisis, was clear and concise: 1) Surveyors have a responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public, 2) Read and follow the state's guidelines and mandates, 3) Follow CDC Guidelines and 4) Use good judgement when deciding when and how field personnel will work in the field.

During the crisis, we found that some businesses reduced or closed their field operations, laying off or furloughing their employees. Larger firms were able to deploy field personal to work crews in adjoining states where Surveyors were permitted to continue working. Some firms filed for waivers, with and without success, and others continued to work. I personally responded to 50 Surveyors who had questions about what they were allowed or not allowed to do in the field.

The clarity we were seeking was not evident from any of the state's directives that were issued throughout March and April. By mid-April, our focus shifted to making sure our profession was among the first to be allowed to return to work. We authored a new letter to the Governor and our "Top Ten List." Our lobbyists from Wanner Associates made sure these documents were transmitted to the Governor's Chief of Staff. Many of our members sent copies to their State Senators and Representatives. The Governor's order, allowing construction to resume in Pennsylvania, included all businesses in the construction industry as well as design-related field activities. We then authored suggested guidelines & safety protocols for Surveyors to follow as we went back to work on May 1, 2020.

PSLS continues to serve our members and meet throughout the ongoing crisis. We had our first virtual Board of Directors Meeting in May, and plan to meet again in July. I am proud to say that at this meeting the Board decided to donate $6,300 raised from the conference live auction to the scholarship fund. The South-west Chapter also hosted a virtual meeting and presentation in May and the Bucks Chapter has a meeting planned for June 25th. All chapters have access to our Go To Meeting license and are encouraged to use it to maintain a regular meeting schedule.

The Geospatial Committee, led by Michael Kreiger, PLS, took the lead for the 2022 modernization of the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), coordinating stakeholders across the state and submitting the PA Request/Proposal for implementation of the NGS 2022 Datum.

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PA NSPS Director’s Report

Michael Given, PLS

National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) Spring 2020 Meeting

The annual in-person NSPS Spring 2020 Meeting that was scheduled from

March 31 through April 4, 2020 in Arlington, VA was rescheduled as a series

of GoToMeetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Day on the Hill event

was cancelled. I attended several committee meetings during the week

including Public Relations, Government Affairs, Workforce Development,

Certified Floodplain Surveyor (CFS), Trig-Star, and Professional Standards. The following week on April 7,

2020 the Colonial States met and discussed in detail the need for a streamlined process of reciprocity and

a motion was prepared for the NSPS Board of Directors Meeting on April 17, 2020 as follows: The Coloni-

al States Committee requests that NSPS seek to promote a simplified application process for those pro-

fessional land surveyors who have their first license and wish to apply for licensure in another state. That

NSPS reach out to NCEES and State Licensing Boards for feedback on the feasibility of implementing said

process with a formal report to be provided for the Spring of 2021 NSPS Business Meeting. Additional

Committee reports from the 2020 Spring Meeting are available on the NSPS website at: https://

www.nsps.us.com/page/Reports

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Working Group Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity

and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States

Congratulations to Brent Birth for being appointed as the NSPS member to the FCC Task Force working

group on mapping for improved rural broadband mapping and connectivity issues on March 13, 2020.

Brent will serve on the Mapping and Analyzing Connectivity on Agricultural Lands Working Group. Click

here to review the complete public notice of Brent’s appointment as published in the NSPS News and

Views multibrief dated April 8, 2020.

Certified Floodplain Surveyor (CFS)

Two emails were sent to the President and Secretary of each Chapter on February 12th and 20th, 2020

with information about the Certified Floodplain Surveyor program currently being offered in North Caroli-

na, Tennessee, and New Jersey. Each Chapter is to discuss the Certified Floodplain Surveyor program and

take a vote to decide if Pennsylvania is in favor of offering the program. Each Chapter shall submit the

number of Yeas and Nays to Mike Given for a statewide decision. Some Chapters have been conducting

meetings online during the COVID-19 pandemic. To date we have only received the vote back from 7 of

the 18 Chapters. If your Chapter did not receive the information about the program, please contact Lori

Elliott and she can forward the information again.

Trig-Star Competition

The Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors (PSLS) purchased the statewide sponsorship, however we

requested a refund because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have received a refund from the National

Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS). NSPS has decided to cancel the national exam, however the

deadline for states to submit local exam results has been extended until June 15, 2020. Only one high

school has decided to proceed with the local exam during these difficult times.

Continued on page 6 3

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Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors

Officers:

Jonathan Tabas, PE, PLS, Presi-

dent

Amy Hopkins, PLS, President-Elect

Terry, McMillen, Jr., PLS, Vice President

Robert Nargoski, PLS, Secretary

Richard Shewman, PLS, Treasurer

Brian Yorkiewicz, PLS, Past President

Michael Given, PLS, NSPS Director

State Directors:

Allegheny Heartlands Chapter

Joseph Hood, PLS & James Mostoller, PLS

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

Laurel Highlands Chapter

Randall Myers, PLS

Lehigh Valley Chapter

Stephen Ombalski, PLS & Arthur Swallow, PLS

Mid-State Chapter

David Archibald, PLS & Gregory Shufran, PLS

North Central Chapter

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

Pete Brothers, PLS & Donald Housley, PLS

Susquehanna Chapter

Randall Hummer, PLS & Robert Weaver, PLS

PSLS Mission

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.

2020 Board Meeting Dates

Check website calendar for location.

10:00 a.m.

July 10, 2020

September 11, 2020

November 20, 2020

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.

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PSLS 2020 Officers

L to R: Michael Given, Brian Yorkiewicz, Amy Hopkins, Jonathan Tabas, Terry McMillen, Jr., Robert Nargoski

Not pictured is Richard Shewman

PSLS Staff

Lori Elliott,

Executive Director

Marcy Robey,

Financial Coordinator

Margaret Murphy,

Conference Coordinator

Shelly Dreese,

Membership and

Registrations Coordinator

Jason Tobias ,

Technology Coordinator

Kathy Clough,

Receptionist

Contact PSLS Phone: 717.441.6057

PSLS Office (Lori Elliott) — PSLS@psls.org

Jonathan Tabas—PSLSPres@psls.org

Amy Hopkins—PresidentElect@psls.org

Terry McMillen, Jr. —VicePresident@psls.org

Robert Nargoski—PSLSSec@psls.org

Richard Shewman—Treasurer@psls.org

Michael Given—NSPSDir@psls.org

Brian Yorkiewicz—PastPresident@psls.org

Shaheed Smith—Foundation@psls.org

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GPS - IN THE BEGINNING continued from page 1

determine the location of airplanes and artillery to precisely place bombs and rockets. Survey stations were usually monuments in the mountains that were established by triangulation. I was thrilled to set up on a monument that was originally placed there by the conquistadors. We measured between stations using a Tellurometer, (an early electronic distance machine invented by scientists in South Africa) and also triangulation using lights or mirrors. Many of the stations were 40 or 50 miles apart. At night we took star measurements to determine the geodetic position of our occupied stations. Communication was by US ARMY PRC 10 (unreliable) radios and mirrors or lights. We knew our tasks and did them with very little communication. We only turned on the radios to talk when we were finished or had a redo. Many times cloud cover would block out the stars we were using and we would have to take measurements again with new stars. As in most surveying projects there were no 9 to 5 jobs. We finished when the job was done. Most stations in the Rockies took a whole day to pack in the 100+ pounds of equipment needed so we didn't want to repeat the work a second day. The longest we continually occupied a station was two days with only a candy bar or two and a canteen of water. Once we were back in civilization, we had a day or two to verify the data and compute the positions. After our work was completed, we discovered the rocket blew up on the pad and we had to return to Wash-ington to lay out the new orbit collect the data, then head back to LA. The rockets kept blowing up or going into the wrong orbit so, and we repeated the process for the next three years.

One of the orbits was a polar orbit and we drove more than 8000 miles around the Midwest from Texas to Wisconsin setting our stations. The Bilby Survey Towers were no longer used and to get the elevation we needed, we relied on concrete farm silos from 90 to 110 ft. high and 12 feet in diameter. The twelve foot diameter was too narrow for the Tellurometer in its case, two automobile batteries sling psychrometer, a barometer, the lights and mirror setup and the survey instrument and tripod that took a 4 ft. circle of the 12 foot area. It became dangerously narrow in the day and horrible in the dark of night, we resorted to crawling around the equipment to keep from falling over the edge.

With the set up of multiple survey stations over the years, it was possible to establish GPS. Today my cell phone gives me a geodetic position to the nearest second thanks to SECOR and other military projects, both domestic and international. These projects, originally designed for war, became one of the best surveying tools of all time.

NSPS Director’s Report—continued from page 3

NSPS News and Views Multi-briefs

Additional information about what NSPS is working on at the national level is available to each member and

detailed in the NSPS News and Views Multi-briefs emails.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information.

Pennsylvania NSPS Director

Mike Given, Mike.Given@williams.com

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...to our New 2020 Members!

Donald Bara PLS

Timothy Bohn

Greg Caldwell PLS

Matthew Canzian

Jason Carroll

Joab Carter PLS

Clifford Culhane PLS, PSM

Robert Ewald PLS

Bruce Flora PLS

Paul Fritch

Bohen Henry

J. Henwood PLS

James Holliday PLS

Derek Horneman

Daniel Housley

Joseph Johnson PLS

Joseph Kaufman

Michael Klacik SIT

Scott Klotz PLS

Louis Laforest PLS

Jonathan Kwesi Liggie PLS

Ryan Little SIT

Scott Masciantoni PLS, PSM

Michael Packer PLS

Robert Regola PLS

Jose Ruiz PLS

Katherine Shewman

Jordan Sipos SIT

David Sweetland PLS

Crystal Thomas PE, PLS, CFM

Sheila Weaver

Alan Wiltfeuer

Joseph Wright PLS

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Please be reminded of the “purple law” , which means "No Trespassing". HB 1772 was signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf and is now in effect. While this is used for large parcels of land to discourage hunting, it can also be used for single family dwell-ings and other smaller properties. Purple paint marks on trees or posts on the proper-ty are: (A) vertical lines of not less than eight inches in length and not less than one inch in width; (B) placed so that the bottom of the mark is not less than three feet from the ground nor more than five feet from the ground; and (C) placed at locations that are readily visible to a person approaching the property and no more than 100 feet apart.

PURPLE LAW

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PA PLS with experience in Sub-division, LDP, NPDES, PCSM, E&S for Project Management

and to assist owner in mentoring young staff.

Contact Carl Bert cbert@carlbertassociates.com

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President’s Message—continued from page 2

Pete Brothers, PLS, and our Membership Committee are concentrating on members who neglected to renew their membership in the past and on newly licensed Surveyors in Pennsylvania. We should start seeing the fruits of their labors during the later half of 2020 and early 2021.

The Budget and Finance Committee, led by our Treasurer, Richard Shewman, PLS, put together a balanced budget for 2020-2021 which was approved at the Board of Directors Meeting on May 29th. Richard will be monitoring our financial status during the coming year, as it will certainly be affected by the aftermath of the pandemic.

I'm very impressed by the efforts of the Education Committee under the leadership of Scott Reeser, PLS. They increased the number of webinars during the virus crisis, offering two free webinars for members during the month of May. The Committee has an impressive lineup of course selections, nationally known speakers and activities for our Conference in Hershey, January 24-27, 2021. They are developing contingency plans for the Conference in case our attendance is limited by ongoing virus restrictions. Please respond to the survey you received by email so we can get a better idea of attendance for this event.

Don Groesser, PLS, is Chair of the Standards of Practice Committee. They are finalizing changes to our Standards of Practice, which hasn't been updated in 25 years. We should be able to adopt the revised standards before the end of 2020.

We are on the verge of a legislative triple-play this year, led by our Legislative Committee Chair Robert Nargoski, PLS. At the time I am writing this article, House Bill 2101, long overdue revisions to the Regis-tration Law for Engineers, Land Surveyors & Geologists, has been passed by the House and is awaiting final action from the Senate. We also supported Senate Bill 1030, Revisions to the PA Sewage Facilities Act 537, now known as Act 34 after being signed by the Governor on June 5th. We opposed Senate Bill 790 because it allowed property plats to be prepared without supervision of a licensed Land Surveyor. This bill was passed by the Legislature, but the Governor is expected to veto it. Robert has resigned from his positions as Secretary and Legislative Committee Chair since he will be relocating to Tennessee this summer. Thank you, Robert, for your years of service. Please keep in touch! We will miss you!

We have a lot of other activities in the works, including historical certification of Mason-Dixon survey markers (See Mason & Dixon Stone Inventory, page 13) and re-setting of the corner of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. Stay tuned for the announcements.

So, that sums up the last five months of my life and leads to my announcement. I will be resigning as President of PSLS to represent the Land Surveying profession on the PA Registration Board for Engineers, Land Surveyors & Geologists. My appointment was confirmed by the Senate on June 8, 2020. Looking back at my records, I see it was three years ago that the PSLS Board of Directors recommended me for this position. I really wanted to complete my term as President, but our profession needs another repre-sentative on the Registration Board, and it is not an easy task to obtain a political appointment of this nature. I leave the Presidency without regret, knowing that Amy Hopkins, PLS, is ready, willing, and able to lead PSLS into the future. Thank you, Executive Committee, and .... everyone, Lori, Ted and the Wanner staff included, for your help, support, and advice during my service to PSLS. I'll look forward to seeing you on my computer screen and in-person when circumstances allow.

Jonathan J. Tabas, PE, PLS acresurvey@hotmail.com

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Mason and Dixon Stone Inventory By Eric Gladhill, PLS

In the year of our Lord 1730 there was a property line boundary dispute happening in the American Colo-

nies. This was not the typical boundary dispute we might think of today with a disagreement over a foot or

two of property; this conflict was between the heirs of William Penn and George Calvert, 1st Baron Balti-

more, (aka Lord Calvert), which held about 4,000 square miles of territory in the balance. There were many

battles over where taxes were to be paid and where individual property boundaries were located; even to

the point where the violence erupted into a small war (The Cresap’s War).

The Mason and Dixon survey was conducted in the years between November 15, 1763 and September 11,

1768. The astronomers were sent over from the Greenwich Royal Observatory in England to perform the

world’s first geodetic survey and set stones along the agreed-upon line of demarcation between the land

grants from King Charles II to the Penns and Calverts. These five-feet tall limestones were quarried and

carved in England and brought to the “new world” to be set along the north latitude that was agreed upon.

The stones were carved with a “P” to face north on the side of Pennsylvania and an “M” to face the south on

the side of Maryland, and place at one-mile intervals. At each five-mile interval and “crownstone” was set,

featuring the coat of arms for the respective families carved into the stone.

Over the years since that line was established, the stones have

held up surprisingly well. There have been various resurveys,

reconnaissance and inventories of the stones. In 1990 group

called the Mason and Dixon Line Preservation Partnership

(MDLPP) was started by Todd Babcock and involved a number

of concerned surveyors who, using accurate survey-grade GPS,

obtained coordinates on every Mason and Dixon stone found.

They also documented the conditions of the stones and direc-

tions to find the stones. This established some valuable data

for surveyors to find these stones when performing a boundary

survey of a property that adjoined or crossed the state border

between Pennsylvania and Maryland. This group eventually

became somewhat defunct and financially solvent, but they

still maintain an active Facebook page and website with lots of

information.

In February of 2018, a joint meeting was held in Gettysburg be-

tween the Appalachian Chapter of the Maryland Society of Sur-

veyors (MSS) and the South Central Chapter of the

Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors (PSLS).

Richard Ortt, Director and State Geologist of the Maryland Geological Survey, (MGS) spoke to the 30-

something surveyors gathered there to tell them of the Maryland State mandate which requires his depart-

ment to inventory and maintain the state boundaries. He was looking for help with a large undertaking.

Continued on page 14

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Mason and Dixon Stone Inventory continued from page 13

He wanted to have an inventory performed and documented in order to submit the data to the Maryland

Historic Trust, who would then send this information along to the National Park Service to have the stones

placed on the National Historic Registry. This would ensure the preservation of these important monuments

in perpetuity. Patrick Simon, Professional Land Surveyor and Past-President of MSS, being somewhat of a

Mason and Dixon expert, and having worked with MDLPP on past inventories and surveys, presented some

history on the original survey and subsequent resurveys of the line.

After several more meetings and lots of work behind the scenes, including a special mobile application being

developed by Chris Connallon, a Geologist from MGS, to collect the data using a smart phone, tablet or other

mobile device. The app was beta-tested by several surveyors and found to be user-friendly. Connallon also

created an on-line sign-up sheet so that volunteers could assign themselves to be responsible for the

inventory of certain stones. A soft launch was made to start the inventory in February, 2020 with the actual

kick-off started this week in recognition of National Surveyor’s Week.

At this time, inventory has been completed on about 50 of the stones and about 100 or more have been

claimed by volunteers who will be responsible for the inventory of those stones. This is not a true resurvey

because the accuracy of the coordinates for the monuments is only required to be within 30 feet of the true

values. This will not change anything about the location of the state boundary but will assure that the location

will remain unchanged.

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SUSTAINING FIRM MEMBERS

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Cooper Aerial Surveys Attn: Pete Priestner 412 East Street Rd. Trevose, PA 19053 P: 800-229-2279 pete@cooperaerial.com www.cooperaerial.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

Maine Technical Source Attn: David Filipski 2634 James Street Syracuse, NY 13206 P: 800-322-5003 dfilipski@mainetechnical.com www.mainetechnical.com

Nor East Mapping, Inc. Attn: Ron Henry, CP PO Box 270 Kylertown, PA 16847-0270 P: 814-345-1167 F: 814-345-1176 noreastmapping@verizon.net www.noreastmapping.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: David Spellman 1301 N. 2nd St. Philadelphia, PA 19122 P: 215-839-8087 dspellman@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

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19

We honor these members

for their dedication and service to the

Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors.

Thank you.

Jonathan Tabas, PLS, PE

Robert Nargoski, PLS

John G. Fuehrer, II, P.E., P.L.S.