81-3453. Practice of engineering; exempted activities.

The provisions of the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act regulating the practice of engineering do not apply to the following activities:

(1) The construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of a detached single-family through four-family dwelling of less than five thousand square feet above grade finished space. Any detached or attached sheds, storage buildings, and garages incidental to the dwelling are not included in the tabulation of finished space. Such exemption may be increased by rule and regulation of the board adopted pursuant to the Negotiated Rulemaking Act but shall not exceed the Type V, column B, limitations set forth by the allowable height and building areas table in the state building code adopted in section 71-6403;

(2) The construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of a one-story commercial or industrial building or structure of less than five thousand square feet above grade finished space which does not exceed thirty feet in height unless such building or structure, or the remodeling or repairing thereof, provides for the employment, housing, or assembly of twenty or more persons. Any detached or attached sheds, storage buildings, and garages incidental to the building or structure are not included in the tabulation of finished space. Such exemption may be increased by rule and regulation of the board adopted pursuant to the Negotiated Rulemaking Act but shall not exceed the Type V, column B, limitations set forth by the allowable height and building areas table in the state building code adopted in section 71-6403;

(3) The construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of farm buildings, including barns, silos, sheds, or housing for farm equipment and machinery, livestock, poultry, or storage and if the structures are designed to be occupied by no more than twenty persons. Such exemption may be increased by rule and regulation of the board adopted pursuant to the Negotiated Rulemaking Act but shall not exceed the Type V, column B, limitations set forth by the allowable height and building areas table in the state building code adopted in section 71-6403;

(4) Any public works project with contemplated expenditures for the completed project that do not exceed one hundred thousand dollars. The board shall adjust the dollar amount in this subdivision every fifth year. The first such adjustment after August 27, 2011, shall be effective on July 1, 2014. The adjusted amount shall be equal to the then current amount adjusted by the cumulative percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics for the five-year period preceding the adjustment date. The amount shall be rounded to the next highest one-thousand-dollar amount;

(5) Any alteration, renovation, or remodeling of a building if the alteration, renovation, or remodeling does not affect architectural or engineering safety features of the building;

(6) The teaching, including research and service, of engineering subjects in a college or university offering an ABET-accredited engineering curriculum of four years or more;

(7) A public service provider or an organization who employs a licensee performing professional services for itself;

(8) The practice by a qualified member of another legally recognized profession who is otherwise licensed or certified by this state or any political subdivision to perform services consistent with the laws of this state, the training, and the code of ethics of such profession, if such qualified member does not represent himself or herself to be practicing engineering and does not represent himself or herself to be a professional engineer;

(9) The offer to practice engineering by a person not a resident of and having no established place of business in this state if the person is legally qualified by licensure to practice engineering in his or her own state or country. The person shall make application to the board in writing and after payment of a fee established by the board may be granted a temporary permit for a definite period of time not to exceed one year to do a specific job. No right to practice engineering accrues to such applicant with respect to any other work not set forth in the permit;

(10) The work of an employee or a subordinate of a person holding a certificate of licensure under the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act or an employee of a person practicing lawfully under subdivision (9) of this section if the work is done under the direct supervision of a person holding a certificate of licensure or a person practicing lawfully under such subdivision;

(11) Those services ordinarily performed by subordinates under direct supervision of a professional engineer or those commonly designated as locomotive, stationary, marine operating engineers, power plant operating engineers, or manufacturers who supervise the operation of or operate machinery or equipment or who supervise construction within their own plant;

(12) Financial institutions making disbursements of funds in connection with construction projects;

(13) Earthmoving and related work associated with soil and water conservation practices performed on farmland or any land owned by a political subdivision that is not subject to a permit from the Department of Natural Resources or for work related to livestock waste facilities that are not subject to a permit by the Department of Environment and Energy;

(14) The work of employees and agents of a political subdivision or a nonprofit entity organized for the purpose of furnishing electrical service performing, in accordance with other requirements of law, their customary duties in the administration and enforcement of codes, permit programs, and land-use regulations and their customary duties in utility and public works construction, operation, and maintenance;

(15) Work performed exclusively in the exploration for and development of energy resources and base, precious, and nonprecious minerals, including sand, gravel, and aggregate, which does not have a substantial impact upon public health, safety, and welfare, as determined by the board, or require the submission of reports or documents to public agencies;

(16) The construction of water wells as defined in section 46-1212, the installation of pumps and pumping equipment into water wells, and the decommissioning of water wells, unless such construction, installation, or decommissioning is required by the owner thereof to be designed or supervised by an engineer or unless legal requirements are imposed upon the owner of a water well as a part of a public water supply;

(17) Work performed in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas or before the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission; and

(18) Siting, layout, construction, and reconstruction of a private onsite wastewater treatment system with a maximum flow from the facility of one thousand gallons of domestic wastewater per day if such system meets all of the conditions required pursuant to the Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment System Contractors Certification and System Registration Act unless the siting, layout, construction, or reconstruction by an engineer is required by the Department of Environment and Energy, mandated by law or rules and regulations imposed upon the owner of the system, or required by the owner.

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