4759128 Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Department of - Final Rulemaking - Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
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DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS
NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING
The Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, pursuant to the authority set forth in the Second Omnibus Regulatory Reform Amendment Act of 1999, effective April 20, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-261; D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.10(a)(12) (2012 Repl.)), and Mayor’s Order 2000-70, dated May 2, 2000, hereby gives notice of the adoption of the following amendments to Chapter 15 (Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors) of Title 17 (Business, Occupations and Professions) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
This rulemaking updates the engineering and surveying professional license regulations to facilitate upcoming changes to examination procedures by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), specifically, the implementation of computer-based testing in the fundamentals of engineering and surveying. NCEES prepares and furnishes the national examinations in engineering and surveying, which have been approved by the Board of Professional Engineering to meet the requirements for licensure or certification in the District.
In addition, the rulemaking requires credential evaluation for any engineering applicant who does not hold an accredited undergraduate engineering degree; clarify the educational requirements for engineering and surveying applicants; amend the required contents of the professional seals of engineers; and correct the definitions of engineering and land surveying.
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the D.C. Register on December 13, 2013 at 60 DCR 16856. No comments were received and no changes have been made.
The Director took final action on these rules on February 6, 2014. These rules will become effective upon publication in the D.C. Register.
Chapter 15, PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND LAND SURVEYORS, of Title 17, BUSINESS, OCCUPATIONS AND PROFESSIONS, of the DCMR, is amended as follows:
Section 1503, APPLICATIONS, is amended to read as follows:
1503 APPLICATIONS
1503.1 A person applying for licensure as a Professional Engineer or Professional Land Surveyor, or certification as an Engineer Intern or Land Surveyor Intern, shall present his or her qualifications to the Board on forms provided by the Board.
1503.2 All applications shall be completed as follows:
(a) All applications for licensure shall be submitted on forms provided by the Board, but if the space provided on a Board form is inadequate, supplementary sheets of standard size (8.5 x 11 inch) white printer or photocopy paper may be submitted;
(b) In order to allow sufficient time for processing and for scheduling examinations, all applications that require examinations shall be filed with the Board at least ninety (90) days before the date set for the appropriate examinations;
(c) Withholding information, providing statements that are untrue, or misrepresenting facts may be cause for denial of an application, or if discovered after a license has been issued by the Board, suspension, reprimand, or revocation of the license;
(d) An applicant shall supply correct addresses for all references. In the event that a reference fails to respond to a Board inquiry, the Board may delay processing an application until either the reference replies to the Board or the applicant provides another reference that replies to the Board; and
(e) In relating experience, the applicant must account for all employment and work experience since the beginning of the applicant’s experience record. If the applicant is not employed, or is employed in other kinds of work, this should be indicated in the experience record. A person who believes that he or she has the necessary qualifications for licensure according to the laws of the District of Columbia as a Professional Engineer or a Professional Land Surveyor, except for that of experience, may submit an application for certification as an Engineer Intern or a Land Surveyor Intern.
1503.3 For applicants for licensure by reciprocity or endorsement pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.12(b), the Board shall accept licensure records which have been compiled, verified, and submitted by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Copies of documents contained in the NCEES licensure record will be accepted in lieu of original or certified documents which would otherwise be required. Applicants remain responsible for providing any additional, required documentation or information.
Section 1504, APPLICATIONS FROM FOREIGN APPLICANTS AND PERSONS WITH DEGREES FROM FOREIGN SCHOOLS, is amended as follows:
Subsections 1504.3, 1504.4, and 1504.5 are amended to read as follows:
1504.3 An applicant who, for political or other reasons deemed valid by the Board, is unable to obtain his or her college transcript shall be required to supplement his or her application as directed by the Board.
1504.4 The Board shall evaluate foreign degrees in accordance with NCEES standards and recommendations on foreign engineering curricula. A transcript evaluation submitted pursuant to § 1508.7 of this chapter shall serve as the Board's guide for assessment.
1504.5 An applicant possessing a current Professional Engineer license or Professional Land Surveyor license issued by an appropriate licensing authority of a foreign jurisdiction may be permitted to obtain a license in the District of Columbia if the applicant proves, to the satisfaction of the Board, that he or she otherwise qualifies for licensure under this chapter, has passed an examination acceptable to the Board, and has completed education and training requirements for licensure in the foreign jurisdiction that were substantially equivalent, at the time they were received by the applicant, to the education and experience requirements of this chapter.
Section 1508, EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS, is amended to read as follows:
1508 EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
1508.1 An applicant for certification as an Engineer Intern must have obtained a four-year baccalaureate engineering degree from an engineering program approved by the Board in accordance with § 1508.2, or must be currently enrolled and within one (1) semester of completing a baccalaureate degree in engineering in an engineering program which has been approved by the Board. The current enrollment status of the applicant, if applicable, must be verified by the educational institution.
1508.2 An applicant for licensure as a Professional Engineer must have obtained a four-year baccalaureate engineering degree from an engineering program approved by the Board. The Board will approve baccalaureate degree programs that meet the following standards:
(a) The baccalaureate engineering degree program held accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology (EAC/ABET) at the time the applicant received the degree;
(b) The baccalaureate engineering degree program received accreditation from EAC/ABET within three years after the date that the applicant received the degree; or
(c) The baccalaureate degree program was not accredited by EAC/ABET, but the Board has determined, in accordance with EAC/ABET standards, that the program or combined coursework completed by the applicant is substantially equivalent to programs that are accredited by EAC/ABET. A transcript evaluation submitted pursuant to § 1508.7 of this section shall serve as the Board's guide for assessment.
1508.3 An applicant for certification as an Land Surveyor Intern must have obtained a four-year baccalaureate land surveying degree from a land surveying program approved by the Board in accordance with § 1508.4, or must be currently enrolled and within one (1) semester of completing a baccalaureate degree in land surveying in a land surveying program which has been approved by the Board. The current enrollment status of the applicant, if applicable, must be verified by the educational institution.
1508.4 An applicant for licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor, who is not licensed under the laws of another state, must have obtained a four-year baccalaureate land surveying degree from a land surveying program approved by the Board. The Board shall approve land surveying programs that meet the following standards:
(a) The college or university awarding the baccalaureate land surveying degree must be accredited by an accrediting agency or state approval agency located in the state or territory where the main campus of the college or university is located, which is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a "reliable authority as to the quality of postsecondary education" within the meaning of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA);
(b) The baccalaureate land surveying program was accredited by EAC/ABET, the Applied Science Accreditation Commission of ABET (ASAC/ABET), or the Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET (TAC/ABET) (collectively, the ABET Commissions) at the time the applicant received the degree;
(c) The baccalaureate land surveying program received accreditation from one of the ABET Commissions within three years after the date that the applicant received the degree; or
(d) The baccalaureate degree program was not accredited by one of the ABET Commissions, but the Board has determined, in accordance with ABET standards, that the program or combined coursework completed by the applicant is substantially equivalent to programs that are accredited by the ABET Commissions. A transcript evaluation submitted pursuant to § 1508.7 of this section shall serve as the Board's guide for assessment.
1508.5 An applicant for licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor who is licensed and in good standing under the laws of another state, and who does not hold a four-year baccalaureate land surveying degree from an approved program, must demonstrate the attainment of a minimum of 12 years of combined education and experience, having taken at least one course of land surveying at an institution which was accredited in accordance with § 1508.4(a). Acceptable courses are those courses in the various kinds and facets of land surveying that have been evaluated and approved by this Board as being substantially equivalent to those curricula that are accredited by the ABET Commissions. Acceptable experience must meet the requirements of § 1509 of this chapter.
1508.6 Applicants are responsible for verifying the approval status of degree programs used to satisfy the Board's education requirements, and may do so by contacting the Board.
1508.7 An applicant for licensure as a Professional Engineer or Professional Land Surveyor, or certification as an Engineer Intern or Land Surveyor Intern, with a baccalaureate degree from a program that is not accredited in accordance with this section, must submit an evaluation of his or her college transcript(s), including any post-baccalaureate coursework. The transcript evaluation must be conducted by an approved credential evaluation service which evaluates completed coursework in accordance with EAC/ABET and ABET Commissions standards.
Section 1509, EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS, is amended as follows:
Subsection 1509.2 is amended to read as follows:
1509.2 A person applying for licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor shall prove to the satisfaction of the Board that he or she has obtained no less than four (4) years of experience indicating that he or she may be competent to practice land surveying. In evaluating an applicant's experience, the Board shall consider the following:
(a) Experience on land surveying projects shall be progressive to indicate that it is of increasing quality and requiring greater responsibility on the part of the applicant.
(b) Experience shall not be obtained in violation of the Act.
(c) Experience gained in the armed services, to be creditable, must be of a character equivalent to that which would have been gained in the civilian sector doing similar work. The Board expects that the applicant, while in the armed services, served in a land surveying group.
(d) Experience should be gained under the supervision of a licensed Professional Land Surveyor or, if the experience was gained without supervision, an explanation should be provided showing why the experience should be considered acceptable.
(e) Teaching experience, to be creditable, must be at an advanced level in a land surveying curriculum approved by the Board.
(f) A substantial portion of the experience must be obtained in responsible charge of work related to property conveyance and/or boundary line determination.
(g) The applicant must demonstrate adequate experience in the technical field aspects of the profession.
Section 1511, EXAMINATIONS, is amended to read as follows:
1511 EXAMINATIONS
1511.1 Each applicant for licensure or certification must pass the applicable written examination(s) to be eligible for licensure by the Board.
1511.2 The following engineering examinations prepared and furnished by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) meet the requirements of the District of Columbia for licensure as a Professional Engineer:
(a) Examination in the fundamentals of engineering, known as the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination; and
(b) Examination in the principles and practice of engineering, known as the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) examination in the appropriate engineering discipline.
1511.3 An applicant for certification as an Engineer Intern shall submit verification that he or she has passed the FE examination. An individual seeking to sit for the FE examination must apply directly to NCEES.
1511.4 An applicant for licensure as a Professional Engineer shall be eligible to sit for the PE examination as follows:
(a) An applicant for licensure as a Professional Engineer will be permitted to sit for the PE examination upon satisfactorily fulfilling all application requirements.
(b) No applicant may register or sit for the PE examination until the Board has established that the applicant is eligible for the examination.
(c) An applicant for licensure as a Professional Engineer will not be permitted to sit for the PE examination until the FE examination has been passed.
(d) Professional Engineers are examined by discipline and shall select the discipline for examination on the application. Engineering specialties are listed in § 1512 of this chapter.
1511.5 The following examinations meet the requirements of the District of Columbia for licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor:
(a) Examination in the fundamentals of land surveying prepared and furnished by the NCEES, known as the Fundamentals of Land Surveying (FLS) examination;
(b) Examination in the principles and practice of land surveying prepared and furnished by the NCEES, known as the Principles and Practice of Land Surveying (PLS) examination; and
(c) Examination on the laws and procedures for the practice of land surveying in the District of Columbia, known as the District law examination.
1511.6 An applicant for certification as a Land Surveyor Intern shall submit verification that he or she has passed the FLS examination. An individual seeking to sit for the FLS examination must apply directly to NCEES.
1511.7 An applicant for licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor shall be eligible for the appropriate examination as follows:
(a) An applicant for licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor will be permitted to sit for the PLS and/or District law examination upon satisfactorily fulfilling all application requirements.
(b) No applicant may register or sit for the PLS or District law examination until the Board has established that the applicant is eligible for the examination.
(c) An applicant for licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor will not be permitted to sit for the PLS examination until the FLS examination has been passed.
1511.8 Examinations are offered on dates and times set by the NCEES and at locations designated by NCEES or the Board.
1511.9 Examinations will be given in English.
1511.10 The Board will not distribute copies of questions used on prior examinations.
1511.11 The Board may publish specifications for all written examinations, which may be obtained from the Board upon request by persons who have been approved by the Board to take the national and/or District examination.
1511.12 Instructions provided prior to each examination will declare an examination open or closed book. When an applicant sits for an open-book examination, any books, bound materials of any sort, and Board-approved calculators or computers that are self-powered and non-printing may be used. Examinees shall not loan or exchange materials with any other person.
1511.13 If an applicant fails to attend an examination for which he or she has been scheduled, the examination fee will be forfeited. In the case of illness, death in the family, or other unavoidable causes for absence the fee will be applied to the next test administration.
1511.14 Failure of an applicant to attend an examination for which he or she has been scheduled to attend does not count as a failure of the examination.
1511.15 An applicant who fails to pass the first or second PE or PLS examination will be granted a request to sit for a third offering of the examination. In the event the applicant fails to pass a third examination and wishes to retake the examination, the Board may require the applicant to wait a prescribed period of time before taking the examination again and/or appear before the Board with evidence to show that he or she has acquired additional knowledge.
1511.16 An initial applicant for the PE or PLS examinations must submit an application at least ninety (90) days before the examination date in order to sit for the examination. An applicant for re-examination must apply to take the examination at least sixty (60) days before the examination date in order to sit for the examination.
1511.17 Examination results, after review and approval of the passing score, will be supplied in writing to each examinee showing the applicant's score and the passing score. No results will be given in any other manner.
Section 1516, SEALS, is amended as follows:
Subsection 1516.4 is amended to read as follows:
1516.4 All seals shall contain the following information:
(a) District of Columbia;
(b) Licensee's name;
(c) License number;
(d) The words "Professional Engineer" or "Professional Surveyor", as appropriate; and
(e) Any other information requested by the Board.
Section 1599, DEFINITIONS, is amended as follows:
Subsection 1599.1 is amended as follows:
The definition of “engineering” is amended to read as follows:
Engineering:
(a) Engineer - A person who is qualified to practice engineering by reason of special knowledge and use of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences and the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, acquired by engineering education and engineering experience.
(b) Professional Engineer - A person who has been duly licensed as a professional engineer by the Board. The Board may designate a professional engineer, based on education, experience, and examination, as being licensed in a specific discipline or branch of engineering signifying the area in which the engineer has demonstrated competence.
(c) Engineer Intern - A person who has met the educational requirements, passed the required examination, and has been granted certification as an engineer intern or engineer-in-training by the Board, or a similar authority of another jurisdiction.
(d) Practice of Engineering - Any service or creative work, the adequate performance of which requires engineering education, training, and experience in the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences, provided in consultation, investigation, expert technical testimony, evaluation, planning, design and design coordination of engineering works and systems, planning the use of land, air, and water, teaching advanced engineering subjects, performing engineering surveys and studies, and the review of construction for the purpose of monitoring compliance with drawings and specifications, any of which embraces such services or work, either public or private, in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, work systems, projects, communication systems, transportation systems, and industrial or consumer products, or equipment of control systems, communications, mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, environmental, or thermal nature, insofar as they involve safeguarding life, health, or property, and including such other professional services as may be necessary to the planning, progress, and completion of any engineering services. Said practice includes the doing of such architectural work, as is incidental to the practice of engineering.
(e) Design coordination - The review and coordination of those technical submissions prepared by others, including as appropriate and without limitation, consulting engineers, architects, landscape architects, surveyors or land surveyors, and other professionals working under the direction of the engineer.
(f) Engineering surveys - All survey activities required to support the sound conception, planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of engineered projects, excluding the survey of real property for the establishment of land boundaries, rights-of-way, easements, configuration or contours of the Earth's surface, and the dependent or independent surveys or resurveys of the public land survey system.
(g) Consulting Engineer - A professional engineer whose principal occupation is the independent practice of engineering; whose livelihood is obtained by offering engineering services to the public; who is devoid of public, commercial, and product affiliation that might tend to imply a conflict of interest; and who is cognizant of his or her public and legal responsibilities, and is capable of discharging them.
(h) A graduate of an engineering curriculum - An individual who has been awarded a baccalaureate degree in engineering from an engineering program accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology (EAC/ABET), or a program that has been approved by the Board.
The definition of “land surveying” is amended to read as follows:
Land Surveying:
(a) Professional Surveyor or Land Surveyor - A person who has been duly licensed as a professional surveyor or land surveyor by the Board, and engaged in the practice of land surveying.
(b) Land Surveyor Intern - A person who has met the educational requirements, passed the required examination, and has been granted certification as a land surveyor intern by the Board, or a similar authority of another jurisdiction.
(c) Practice of Surveying or Land Surveying - Providing professional services such as consultation, investigation, testimony evaluation, expert technical testimony, planning, mapping, assembling, and interpreting reliable scientific measurements and information relative to the location, size, shape, or physical features of the earth, existing or proposed improvements on the earth, the space above the earth, or any part of the earth, and utilization and development of these facts and interpretation into an orderly survey map, plan, report, description, or project. The practice of surveying or land surveying includes, but is not limited to, any one or more of the following:
1. Determining the configuration or contour of the earth's surface or the position of fixed objects thereon by measuring lines and angles and applying the principles of mathematics or photogrammetry.
2. Performing geodetic surveying which includes surveying for determination of the size and shape of the earth utilizing angular and linear measurements through spatially oriented spherical geometry.
3. Determining, by the use of principles of surveying, the position for any survey control (non-boundary) monument or reference point; or setting, resetting, or replacing any such monument or reference point.
4. Creating, preparing, or modifying electronic or computerized data, including land information systems, and geographic information systems, relative to the performance of the activities in the above described items (1) through (3).
5. Locating, relocating, establishing, reestablishing, laying out, or retracing any property line or boundary of any tract of land or any road, right of way, easement, alignment, or elevation of any of the fixed works embraced within the practice of engineering.
6. Making any survey for the subdivision of any tract of land.
7. Determining, by the use of principles of land surveying, the position for any survey monument or reference point; or setting, resetting, or replacing any such monument or reference point.
8. Creating, preparing, or modifying electronic or computerized data, including land information systems, and geographic information systems, relative to the performance of the activities in the above described items (5) through (7).
(d) A Graduate of a Land Surveying Curriculum - An individual who has been awarded a baccalaureate degree in land surveying from a program approved by the Board.
(e) A Graduate of a Related Curriculum - An individual who has been awarded a baccalaureate degree in areas in which land surveying courses may be taught along with mathematics and the physical sciences from a program approved by the Board.
