3DEP in Maryland by the Numbers

Expected annual benefits $2.73 million 

Estimated total cost $3.46 million

Payback 1.3 years

Quality level 1 buy-up 

estimate

$2.20 million

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2014–3005 

February 2014

The 3D Elevation Program—Summary for Maryland

Introduction

Elevation data are essential to a 

broad range of applications, including 

forest resources management, wildlife and 

habitat management, national security, 

recreation, and many others. For the State 

of Maryland, elevation data are critical 

for agriculture and precision farming, 

natural resources conservation such as the 

Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, flood 

risk management, urban and regional planning, infrastructure and construction management, water supply and quality, coastal 

zone management, and other business 

uses. Today, high-density light detection 

and ranging (lidar) data are the primary 

sources for deriving elevation models 

and other datasets. Federal, State, Tribal, 

and local agencies work in partnership to 

(1) replace data that are older and of lower 

quality and (2) provide coverage where 

publicly accessible data do not exist. A 

joint goal of State and Federal partners is 

to acquire consistent, statewide coverage 

to support existing and emerging applications enabled by lidar data. 

The National Enhanced Elevation 

Assessment (NEEA; Dewberry, 2011) 

evaluated multiple elevation data acquisition options to determine the optimal data 

quality and data replacement cycle relative 

to cost to meet the identified requirements 

of the user community. The evaluation 

demonstrated that lidar acquisition at quality level 2 (table 1) for the conterminous 

United States and quality level 5 ifsar data 

(table 1) for Alaska with a 6- to 10-year 

acquisition cycle provided the highest 

benefit/cost ratios. The 3D Elevation 

Program (3DEP) initiative (Snyder, 

2012a,b) selected an 8-year acquisition 

cycle for the respective quality levels. 

3DEP, managed by the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), the Office of Management and Budget Circular A–16 lead 

agency for terrestrial elevation data, 

responds to the growing need for highquality topographic data and a wide range 

of other 3D representations of the Nation’s 

natural and constructed features.

3D Elevation Program Benefits 

for Maryland

The top 10 Maryland business uses 

for 3D elevation data, which are based 

on the estimated annual conservative 

benefits of the 3DEP initiative, are shown 

in table 2. The NEEA survey respondents 

in the State of Maryland estimated that 

the national 3DEP initiative would result 

in at least $2.73 million in new benefits 

annually to the State. The cost for such 

a program in Maryland is approximately 

$3.5 million, resulting in a payback period 

of 1.3 years and a benefit/cost ratio of 

6.3 to 1 over an 8-year period. Because 

monetary estimates were not provided 

for all reported benefits, the total benefits 

of the 3DEP to Maryland, especially for 

flood risk management, are likely much 

higher. On the basis of the NEEA survey 

results, all levels of government and many 

organizations in Maryland could benefit 

from access to statewide high-resolution 

elevation data.

3D Elevation Program

3DEP is a national program managed 

by the USGS to acquire high-resolution 

elevation data. The initiative is backed by 

a comprehensive assessment of requirements (Dewberry, 2011) and is in the 

early stages of implementation. 3DEP will 

improve data accuracy and provide more 

current data than is available in the National 

Elevation Dataset (NED). The goal of this 

high-priority cooperative program is to be 

operational by January 2015, and to have 

complete coverage of the United States 

by the end of 2022, depending on funding 

and partnerships. 3DEP can conservatively 

provide new benefits of $1.2 billion/year 

and has the potential to generate $13 billion/year in new benefits through improved 

government services, reductions in crop 

and homeowner losses resulting from 

floods, more efficient routing of vehicles, 

and a host of other government, corporate, 

and citizen activities (Dewberry, 2011). A 

shared, common elevation dataset would 

foster cooperation and improve decisionmaking among all levels of government and 

other stakeholders.

Benefits of a Funded National Program

• Economy of scale—Acquisition of 

data covering larger areas reduces 

costs by 25 percent.

• A systematic plan—Acquisition of 

data at a higher quality level reduces 

the cost of “buying up” to the highest 

levels needed by State and local 

governments.

• Higher quality data and national 

coverage—Ensure consistency for 

applications that span State and watershed boundaries and meet more needs, 

which results in increased benefits to 

citizens.

• Increase in Federal agency contributions—Reduces State and local partner 

contributions.

• Acquisition assistance—Provided 

through readily available contracts and 

published acquisition specifications.

Figure 1. Map of Maryland showing 

the areal extent and quality levels of 

planned and existing publicly available 

light detection and ranging (lidar) data in 

August 2013. Quality level 2 or better lidar 

data meet 3DEP requirements. See table 1 

for quality level information. 

EXPLANATION

Quality level 2

 or better data

Quality level 3

data

Quality level 4

or lower data

No publicly available

lidar data

0 40 Kilometers

0 20 Miles
Next Steps for Implementing 3DEP

Accomplishing the 3DEP initiative’s 

goal of national coverage in 8 years depends 

on the following factors:

• Increased partnerships among Federal, 

State, Tribal, and local governments. 

• Partnerships that acquire elevation data 

to the program’s specifications across 

larger project areas.

• Increased communication about and 

awareness of the program’s benefits 

and goals.

• Support for the program from government and other stakeholders.

For Further Information:

Mark DeMulder, Director, 

USGS National Geospatial Program

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 511

Reston, VA 20192

Email: mdemulder@usgs.gov

Roger A. Barlow, 

USGS Geospatial Liaison

12201 Sunrise Valley, MS 953

Reston, VA 20192

Email: rbarlow@usgs.gov

http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/

By William J. Carswell, Jr.

For Maryland, approximately 

65 percent of the identified business use 

requirements will be met in agriculture 

and precision farming, natural resources 

conservation, and flood risk management 

uses alone, as shown in table 2. The status 

of publicly available lidar data in Maryland is shown in figure 1. By enhancing 

coordination between 3DEP and various 

government and private organizations in 

Maryland, it may be possible to realize 

more than the cited conservative benefits 

and attain the higher potential benefits for 

many business uses.

 The following examples highlight 

how 3DEP data can support business uses 

in Maryland: (1) Enhanced elevation data 

could enable State, regional, and local 

governments to more effectively implement natural resources conservation practices by providing elevation models and 

by enhancing tools for decisionmaking 

while providing additional cost savings to 

the public. (2) If consistent high-resolution

lidar data were available regionally, 

Maryland public and private organizations 

would expand their use of lidar for planning and site-level engineering to reduce 

field work for conservation projects such 

as grade stabilization, ponds, grassed 

waterways, terracing, accurately calculating runoff, identifying historic wetlands 

(drained), and wetland restoration (fig. 2); 

for 3D structure modeling by combining lidar with Maryland statewide 6-inch 

resolution leaf-off orthoimagery; and for 

identifying previously unknown prehistoric and historic earthworks and mounds 

and other cultural and sensitive sites.

References Cited

Dewberry, 2011, Final report of the 

National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (revised 2012): Fairfax, Va., 

Dewberry, 84 p. plus appendixes, 

http://www.dewberry.com/Consultants/

GeospatialMapping/FinalReport-Nation

alEnhancedElevationAssessment.

Snyder, G.I., 2012a, National Enhanced 

Elevation Assessment at a glance: 

U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 

2012–3088, 2 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/

fs/2012/3088/.

Snyder, G.I., 2012b, The 3D Elevation 

Program—Summary of program 

direction: U.S. Geological Survey Fact 

Sheet 2012–3089, 2 p., http://pubs.

usgs.gov/fs/2012/3089/.

ISSN 2327-6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20143005

3D Elevation Program—Continued

The USGS and its partners will 

acquire quality level 2 or better (table 1) 

3D lidar data over the conterminous United 

States, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories. 

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar 

(ifsar) data are being collected at quality 

level 5 (table 1) in Alaska. The data will be 

acquired over an 8-year period and will be 

made available to the public. By using this 

acquisition scenario, a number of highquality elevation-data products can be created to serve a wide range of business uses 

in government and the private sector.

Figure 2. Enhanced elevation data aid in 

planning for and enhancement of natural 

resources conservation activities. Wetland on 

private property in a conservation easement 

(Snow Hill, Maryland); photograph courtesy 

of U.S. Department of Agriculture—Natural 

Resources Conservation Service.

Table 2. Conservative benefits for the top 10 business uses of the proposed 

3DEP data identified in the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment for Maryland 

(Dewberry, 2011).

Rank Business use Annual benefits

(millions)

1 Agriculture and precision farming $0.72

2 Natural resources conservation 0.55

3 Flood risk management 0.50

4 Urban and regional planning 0.21

5 Infrastructure and construction management 0.20

6 Water supply and quality 0.15

7 Coastal zone management 0.14

8 Sea level rise and subsidence 0.14

9 Aviation navigation and safety 0.05

10 Forest resources management 0.04

Other 0.04

Total 2.73

Table 1. Data quality levels used in the 

National Enhanced Elevation Assessment 

(Dewberry, 2011).

[≤, less than or equal to]

Quality 

level

Nominal pulse 

spacing

(meters)

Vertical 

accuracy 

(centimeters)

1 0.35 9.25

2 0.7 9.25

3 1–2 ≤18.5

4 5 46–139

5 5 93–185