Government Affairs
Update
August 2007
IN THIS ISSUE …
1. Lobby Day 2007
2.
National Surveyor’s Week Update
3.
Federal Register Notice Regarding Fees for NFIP Floodmap
Changes
4.
NDGPS News
5.
COFPAES Federal Markets Conference Update
Lobby Day 2007. Lobby Day is fast approaching. This
year, it will be held on Thursday, September 27, right before the start of the
ACSM Fall Conference. There will be a pre-Lobby Day meeting on Wednesday,
September 26 to go over the Lobby Day issues and to answer any questions
associated with Lobby Day. Your participation on Lobby Day is needed! Members
of Congress need to hear from you, their constituents --- and this is your
opportunity to meet with them in Washington. If you have not already done so,
please contact ACSM and let us know that you will be joining us for Lobby Day
on September 27.
National Surveyor’s Week Update. Many people
have asked about the status of this year’s National Surveyor’s Week Resolution.
This year, we are asking for a Concurrent Resolution; this means that the
language in the House version of the Resolution will be exactly the same as the
Senate version. On the House side, Congressman Charlie Dent (R-PA) has already
agreed to sponsor the resolution and it appears that Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) will join him. On the Senate side, it appears
that Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) will once again sponsor the resolution. We
expect both resolutions to be introduced in September.
Federal Register Notice Regarding
Fees for NFIP Floodmap Changes. On July 31, the Federal Register
contained a Notice relating to Changes to the Fee Schedule for Processing
Requests for Map Changes, for Flood Insurance Study Backup Data, and for
National Flood Insurance Program Map and Insurance Products
The Notice
contains the revised fee schedules for processing certain types of requests for
changes to national Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) maps, for processing
requests for Flood Insurance Study (FIS) technical and administrative support
data, and for processing
requests
for particular NFIP map and insurance products. The changes in the fee schedules
will allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reduce further the
expenses to the NFIP by recovering more fully the costs associated with
processing conditional and final map change requests; retrieving, reproducing,
and distributing technical and administrative support data related to FIS
analyses and mapping; and producing, retrieving, and distributing particular
NFIP map and insurance products.
The revised
fee schedules are effective for all requests dated October 1, 2007, or later.
FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT: William Blanton Jr., CFM, Section Chief, Engineering Management Section, Risk
Analysis Branch, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472; by telephone at (202)
646-3151 or by facsimile at (202) 646-2787 (not toll-free calls); or by e-mail
at william.blanton@dhs.gov
NDGPS News. On August
1, the Federal Register contained a Notice relating to changes to the NDGPS and
a Request for Comments about the proposed changes.
The
Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), on behalf of the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), is assessing the current user needs and
systems requirements of the inland (terrestrial) component of NDGPS. This
assessment is in preparation for making a recommendation to the National Space-Based
Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT)
Executive Committee http://www.pnt.gov on the need to continue to operate the inland
component of the NDGPS system, and to make a decision on funding the NDGPS. The
assessment may recommend other funding sources for future maintenance or
enhancement of NDGPS, or shared sponsorship with other Federal and non-Federal
agencies and entities, including the private sector. If no transportation
requirements or other federal user requirements are identified as a result of
the needs assessment, and if there are no other Federal or other funding
sources willing to sponsor or partner in sponsoring NDGPS, DOT would develop a
decommissioning plan for NDGPS.
ACSM is in
the process of gathering information to make a comment about this issue on
behalf of its members.
COFPAES Federal Markets Conference
Update. In the July Government Affairs Update, we announced
the COFPAES Federal Markets Conference. This event, sponsored by COFPAES, will
feature federal agency purchasers of A/E services. Representatives from over 30
federal agencies will be on hand to discuss everything associated with their
purchase of A/E services, as well as the outlook for future purchases. This
will be a great opportunity to meet with the buyers of A/E services in the
federal government. The Conference will take place on Tuesday, October 23 from
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a networking reception to follow. The Conference is
being held in conjunction with the COFPAES Delegates Meeting, which will take
place on Monday, October 22 at 1:00 p.m. Both events will take place at the AIA
Offices. For more information, go to the COFPAES website at www.cofpaes.org