Alabama Land Surveyors Professional Development Courses

In this course, students will take a deep dive into the Alabama Standards of Practice for Land Surveyors, and national standards that provide greater context and comparison. Learners will explore the general provisions of Alabama law as they relate to surveyors, and outline certificate issues and violation consequences. Learners will identify the professional conduct required of land surveyors, as well as activities and behaviors considered to be out of bounds. Finally, learners will take a deep dive into the processes that exist within the standards or practice and ultimately the individual component requirements of the practices themselves.

The safe treatment and disposal of wastewater are critically important actions to protect the public from disease-causing germs and parasites. Approximately 21% of United States home use and an unknown percentage of other non-residential users rely on onsite wastewater treatment systems to provide safe disposal of their wastewater. We will present a brief history on the growth of onsite wastewater treatment from pit privies to today’s advanced wastewater treatment systems and the role of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states when it is proposed for use. We will explain in detail the different components, types, and methods of onsite wastewater treatment systems. There will be a detailed explanation of the importance of in-situ soil to the safe operation of onsite systems, along with some of the evaluation practices used to determine soil characteristics. The importance of the proper operation, maintenance, and planning in protecting groundwater from onsite effluent will also be covered.

It is an age of litigation, and we live in a country where lawsuits are a daily occurrence, so judicial preparation is vital for the surveying professional. This course will introduce you to the basics of the legal process including courtroom proceedings, evidence, exhibits, and testimony. Discussions include the aspects of being a ‘Forensic Surveyor’, sample cases, ‘expert’ vs. ‘layperson’ testimony, do’s and don’ts of testimony and a conversation of the professional impacts of being a professional expert witness.

 

 

 

 

 

Surveyors often find there is more than one opinion as to the location of interests and boundary lines between adjoiners. This course addresses such disagreements and some of their legally prescribed resolutions, including adverse possession, quiet title actions, estoppel, boundary line commissions, and boundary line agreements.

This two-hour course is designed to enhance the survey professional’s understanding of the benefits of habitual documentation. The class discusses liability, contrasts contracts vs, agreements and reviews the legal rules of evidence. Each topic is discussed using actual court cases to demonstrate how documentation can provide protection and defense in litigious world.

This course is intended to be of benefit to both surveyors and engineers by removing one of the most common roadblocks to effective collaboration, communication. The class will dissect a design project considering both engineer and surveyor perspectives and discuss specific issues that can (will) arise. Although this class examines a land development project the subject matter and lessons learned are applicable to any surveyor/engineer interactions. 

The leaning objectives are threefold: 

1) understand survey criteria – what is and is not included; 

2) examine the needs of the engineer; 

3) understand how to make the two compatible.

This course will offer information, observations, insight, and scenarios where you will be required to make ethical decisions.

 

 

 

 

 

This course assumes knowledge and understanding of the regulations guiding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the relevant insurance requirements as examined in the course ‘Understanding the NFIP.’ With that information as background, we move forward into the mapping of floodplains. Since the earliest days of the NFIP there has been a need to revise, update, and correct issues and mistakes on flood maps. Since the federally issued Flood Insurance Rate Map is a legal document, we must understand how to modify that document when we find errors or when conditions represented on the map have changed.
Because they are updated periodically, application forms for revising, modifying, and correcting maps are identified in this course but not discussed in any detail. Instead, this course integrates both technical and legal aspects of mapping, to provide an understanding of the technical and regulatory basis for appropriate mapping and map change application approvals.

This course is a detailed examination of the process and procedure of preparing a FEMA elevation certificate. The class discusses the steps of researching and collecting information from Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), along with an explanation of other necessary data. It demonstrates the process of downloading and completing the elevation certificate, while supplying a completed example and supplementary advice.

A detailed investigation of the costliest and deadliest of natural hazards in the United States. Topics covered include types of rain events that produce flooding, the different types of floods and examples of each. Dangers associated with floods, obvious and hidden are examined as are methods of predicting floods including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow data, and concluding with a brief discussion of floodplains.

In this course, students will take a deep dive into the Alabama Standards of Practice for Land Surveyors, and national standards that provide greater context and comparison. Learners will explore the general provisions of Alabama law as they relate to surveyors, and outline certificate issues and violation consequences. Learners will identify the professional conduct required of land surveyors, as well as activities and behaviors considered to be out of bounds. Finally, learners will take a deep dive into the processes that exist within the standards or practice and ultimately the individual component requirements of the practices themselves.

The safe treatment and disposal of wastewater are critically important actions to protect the public from disease-causing germs and parasites. Approximately 21% of United States home use and an unknown percentage of other non-residential users rely on onsite wastewater treatment systems to provide safe disposal of their wastewater. We will present a brief history on the growth of onsite wastewater treatment from pit privies to today’s advanced wastewater treatment systems and the role of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states when it is proposed for use. We will explain in detail the different components, types, and methods of onsite wastewater treatment systems. There will be a detailed explanation of the importance of in-situ soil to the safe operation of onsite systems, along with some of the evaluation practices used to determine soil characteristics. The importance of the proper operation, maintenance, and planning in protecting groundwater from onsite effluent will also be covered.

It is an age of litigation, and we live in a country where lawsuits are a daily occurrence, so judicial preparation is vital for the surveying professional. This course will introduce you to the basics of the legal process including courtroom proceedings, evidence, exhibits, and testimony. Discussions include the aspects of being a ‘Forensic Surveyor’, sample cases, ‘expert’ vs. ‘layperson’ testimony, do’s and don’ts of testimony and a conversation of the professional impacts of being a professional expert witness.

Surveyors often find there is more than one opinion as to the location of interests and boundary lines between adjoiners. This course addresses such disagreements and some of their legally prescribed resolutions, including adverse possession, quiet title actions, estoppel, boundary line commissions, and boundary line agreements.

This two-hour course is designed to enhance the survey professional’s understanding of the benefits of habitual documentation. The class discusses liability, contrasts contracts vs, agreements and reviews the legal rules of evidence. Each topic is discussed using actual court cases to demonstrate how documentation can provide protection and defense in litigious world.

This course is intended to be of benefit to both surveyors and engineers by removing one of the most common roadblocks to effective collaboration, communication. The class will dissect a design project considering both engineer and surveyor perspectives and discuss specific issues that can (will) arise. Although this class examines a land development project the subject matter and lessons learned are applicable to any surveyor/engineer interactions. 

The leaning objectives are threefold: 

1) understand survey criteria – what is and is not included; 

2) examine the needs of the engineer; 

3) understand how to make the two compatible.

This course will offer information, observations, insight, and scenarios where you will be required to make ethical decisions.
 

This course assumes knowledge and understanding of the regulations guiding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the relevant insurance requirements as examined in the course ‘Understanding the NFIP.’ With that information as background, we move forward into the mapping of floodplains. Since the earliest days of the NFIP there has been a need to revise, update, and correct issues and mistakes on flood maps. Since the federally issued Flood Insurance Rate Map is a legal document, we must understand how to modify that document when we find errors or when conditions represented on the map have changed.
Because they are updated periodically, application forms for revising, modifying, and correcting maps are identified in this course but not discussed in any detail. Instead, this course integrates both technical and legal aspects of mapping, to provide an understanding of the technical and regulatory basis for appropriate mapping and map change application approvals.

This course is a detailed examination of the process and procedure of preparing a FEMA elevation certificate. The class discusses the steps of researching and collecting information from Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), along with an explanation of other necessary data. It demonstrates the process of downloading and completing the elevation certificate, while supplying a completed example and supplementary advice.

A detailed investigation of the costliest and deadliest of natural hazards in the United States. Topics covered include types of rain events that produce flooding, the different types of floods and examples of each. Dangers associated with floods, obvious and hidden are examined as are methods of predicting floods including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow data, and concluding with a brief discussion of floodplains.