Monday, September 21, 2026

• Morning: Golf & Disc Golf Outings

• 6:00pm - 7:00pm: Welcome Reception (Sponsored by SSMC)

• 9:00pm: Hospitality Suite Open (Sponsored by LSW Land Services, LLC)

 

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

• 6:50am - 7:50am: Breakfast (Sponsored by WSP)

• 8:00am - 8:15am: Welcome Remarks

• 8:15am - 8:45am: Before You Dig Australia Conference SUE

  • Presenter: Nick Zembillas, Subsurface Utility Engineering, LLC​

• 8:45am - 9:30am: Finding Value in the Unknown: How Dry Holes and Unknown Utilities Improve Project Outcomes

  • Presenter: Andrew Clark, SAM​

  • Description: In Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE), success is often measured by what is found, but some of the most valuable outcomes are what is confirmed. This presentation challenges common misconceptions surrounding unknown utilities and dry holes, demonstrating how these findings reduce uncertainty, improve design decisions, and prevent costly construction impacts. Through real-world examples and practical guidance, attendees will discuss how proper investigation, documentation, and communication transform uncertainty into actionable information that strengthens project delivery.

• 9:30am - 10:15am: Advanced Multi-Channel GPR for Live As-Built Verification

  • Presenter: Daniel Broekhove & Patrick Baldwin, Screening Eagle​

  • Description: This presentation will explore how advanced multichannel Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology from Proceq is transforming subsurface utility investigations through live as-built verification. Attendees will learn how high-density multichannel GPR data can be combined with existing design files, utility records, and as-built drawings to verify underground infrastructure in real time. The session will highlight practical workflows for utility mapping, quality assurance, conflict detection, and project risk reduction while demonstrating how cloud-based data sharing, visualization, and advanced imaging technologies are improving confidence in subsurface investigations and supporting more informed field decisions.​​

• 10:15am - 11:00am: Who Owns Utility Risk? The Emerging Role of the Board-Certified Project Utility Engineer

  • Presenter: Lawrence Arcand, 4Sight Utility Engineers​

  • Description: Utility risk often falls between project stakeholders, creating gaps in accountability and decision-making. This presentation examines the evolving role of the Board-Certified Project Utility Engineer (BC.PUE) and how the certification provides a structured framework for managing utility risk from planning through construction. The session will highlight the knowledge domains, competencies, and professional responsibilities that support successful project delivery.  It will also highlight next steps in the process including potential for additional non P.E. certifications.

• 11:00am - 11:45am: Reveal-Undermaps

  • Presenter: Sam Wiffen​, Reveal

  • Description: SUE has traditionally focused on delivering accurate investigations at a point in time. However, as infrastructure owners seek greater certainty and projects become increasingly digital, the industry is evolving towards integrated underground intelligence. This presentation explores how AI, spatial data platforms, and collaborative workflows are transforming the way existing utility records, survey data, and engineering information are managed and utilised. Attendees will see how AI can automate the extraction and structuring of legacy utility records into a current digital model, while the same platform supports a digital-first approach for capturing, sharing, and managing new underground information. Through practical examples, the session will demonstrate how bringing historical and newly acquired data together enables better engineering decisions, reduces uncertainty, and delivers greater long-term value from SUE investigations across the infrastructure lifecycle.​

• 12:00pm - 1:00pm: Lunch (Sponsored by SAM)

• 1:15pm - 2:30pm: I Think I Can, I Think I Can: Panel Discussion on Incorporating SUE into Rail Projects

  • Presenters: Mark Mentele, UPRR; Alex Saar, CSX; Jeremy Tyson, HDR; & David Ferguson, Texas 811​

  • Description: Join industry leaders Mark Mentele (UPRR), Alex Saar (CSX), Jeremy Tyson (HDR), and David Ferguson (Texas 811) for an engaging panel discussion on how Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) is integrated into rail projects across diverse scope types. Featuring key perspectives from Class I railroads, engineering design, and damage prevention representatives, this session explores the unique operational challenges of conducting utility investigations within railway rights-of-way and highlights how stakeholders leverage SUE data to maximize project value. Attendees will gain essential insights into working on rail properties to better inform future scopes of work, improve safety, and mitigate utility risks.

• 2:30pm - 3:30pm: Annual Meeting

• 3:30pm - 4:00pm: Time with Exhibitors

• 4:00pm - 4:45pm: Defining Demonstrable Need: A Practical Framework for Requesting and Sharing Sensitive Utility Infrastructure Data

  • Presenter: Dan Colby, Utility Mapping Services, P.C.​

  • Description: As demand for utility infrastructure data increases to support engineering, design, construction, and digital delivery initiatives, infrastructure owners and operators face growing pressure to balance data accessibility with security, regulatory compliance, and risk management. Federal frameworks such as DHS Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII), NERC CIP, PHMSA guidance, and emerging infrastructure security practices consistently emphasize the concept of demonstrable need as a prerequisite for accessing sensitive infrastructure information. However, the industry lacks a clear, practical definition of what constitutes demonstrable need and how to document it in a consistent, defensible manner. This presentation introduces a structured, federal-aligned definition of Demonstrable Need and outlines a practical checklist organizations can use to evaluate and document legitimate data requests. Attendees will learn how to align data requests with federal expectations related to authority, purpose limitation, data minimization, safeguards, accountability, and controlled redistribution. The session will also demonstrate a real-world Sensitive Security Information (SSI) Request Generator Tool that standardizes request documentation, improves transparency, and reduces risk for both data requesters and data owners.

• 5:30pm - 8:00pm: Dinner (Sponsored by Diversified Underground Inc.)

• 9:00pm: Hospitality Suite Open (Sponsored by LSW Land Services, LLC)

 

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

• 7:00am - 8:00am: Breakfast

• 8:00am - 8:45am: NAPUA Life Cycle Model

  • Presenters: Grant Piraine, North American Private Utility Association (NAPUA); Lawrence Arcand, 4Sight Utility Engineers; & Tina Sanders, Texas 811​

  • Description: Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) has established a structured approach to identifying and managing buried utility infrastructure during the design phase. However, as projects transition into construction, the quality and interpretation of subsurface data changes, and risk is often reintroduced at the point of ground disturbance. Despite the use of Quality Level B data and supporting records, most field decisions are still made under conditions of uncertainty. This presentation examines the gap between SUE deliverables and field execution, focusing on how buried utility infrastructure is managed once design assumptions meet real-world conditions. Drawing on operational experience across commercial and industrial sites, it highlights the limitations of geophysical locating methods, the variability of records, and the challenges associated with private buried facilities that fall outside traditional SUE and One Call frameworks. The session introduces a lifecycle-based perspective that aligns SUE, public locate systems, and private locating practices within a single framework. Emphasis is placed on the role of the field as the final point of verification, where data must be validated, discrepancies resolved, and risk actively managed before ground disturbance begins. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of how to extend SUE principles into construction workflows, improve coordination between design and field teams, and apply practical strategies that strengthen due diligence and reduce the likelihood of utility damage.

• 8:45am - 9:30am: Reality Capture of Above Ground Utility Features to Support QLC and QLB Data

  • Presenters: Matt Wolf, ImpulseRadar & Clifford Meis, UMS

  • Description: The power of a UAV’s equipped with LiDAR and High-Resolution Photogrammetry systems to build a digital twin of the above ground sphere to support 3D MCGPR and other ASCE 38-22 activity is proven. However, UAV missions may not be permissible at all sites due to regulatory constraints.  Project sites may also be too small, or areas under canopy are not suited to the UAV data capture method. Rapid advancements in handheld reality capture to survey grade fill the gaps where UAV data is not feasible. These methods combined with smaller MCGPR units provide SUE professionals with unprecedented digital data of the QLC and QLB conditions.

• 9:30am - 10:15am: Designing Stronger SUE Agreements in 2026

  • Presenter: Mark Amirault, Foundation Risk Partners​

  • Description: Do professional service contracts matter? If you've ever navigated a project dispute, you know the answer to that is a resounding yes. In this session, we'll review three brief examples of costly mistakes, and show how contract improvements can help prevent these issues.

• 10:15am - 11:00am: Locate Performance Management: Measuring the Quality of a Utility Locate

  • Presenters: Gary Schafer, Core & Main LP/Green Equipment/Eastcom Associates & Peter Mann, Radiodetection​

  • Description: The ability to measure the quality of each individual locator and locate mark that identifies underground utilities provides an extra layer of protection and assurance against damage. The data collected to present a performance scorecard drives accountability & quality improvement across this critical damage prevention discipline.

• 11:00am - 11:45am: Legislative Update

  • Presenter: John Palatiello, SUE Association​

  • Description: Congress and state legislatures pass bills into law and Federal agencies implement policies and regulations that affect SUE firms, their clients, and their projects. Some create business opportunities, while others impose burdensome new government mandates on firms. The SUE Association is the only national association that monitors and provides advocacy on such bills and policies. This session will provide an update and overview of such measures and present the association’s activities.

• 12:00pm - 2:00pm: Lunch and Board Meeting