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By Greg Northcutt
The world’s premiere organization for verifying the qualifications of an individual for educational, scientific, and service activities in controlling erosion and sediment celebrates its silver anniversary in August. Twenty-five years earlier the fledgling forerunner of Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control Inc. awarded the first CPESC certificate to William Moldenhauer. He was president of the Soil Conservation Society of America (SCSA, now the Soil and Water Conservation Society or SWCS), one of the CPESC program’s founding partners.
The idea of a certification for those doing erosion and sediment control work began to form about four years earlier with three California soil conservationists—Jim Barrett (CPESC #2) and Rich Casale (CPESC #3), who both worked with the USDA Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) in Santa Cruz County, and Ward Hastings (CPESC #168), chairman of the Santa Cruz County Resource Conservation District. Members of the SCSA, they were concerned about the increasing impact of land development activities on soil and water quality. Poor implementation of erosion control practices were the norm in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
“There were no local controls on activities that disturbed land,” Casale recalls. “Developers only had to follow the California building code, which included just a few very general paragraphs concerning erosion control. Interpreting what kinds of erosion controls were needed was left up to the individual developers.”
In addition, a number of people in this and other areas of the United States who were doing erosion control work had little, if any, training in the proper techniques, he adds.
It was against this background that the idea of developing a certification program was spawned.
“In 1978, Jim and Rich brought their ideas for a certification program to the Conservation District Board,” says Hastings. “In fact, the three of us brainstormed the idea in the parking lot of the district office. Our District Board approved the concept and forwarded it to the California SCSA, Central Coast Section, which then passed it on to the national organization.”
In 1981, the SCSA agreed to sponsor the CPESC program. “At the time, we saw the CPESC certification mainly as a way to identify people within SCS who were qualified to do erosion and sediment control work,” says Barrett. “We had no idea the program would grow as big as it has.”
A Growing Program
Since 1982, more than 2,600 individuals have earned the CPESC certificate. Currently, the number of active registrants totals more than 2,100. While most are in Australia, Canada, and the US, CPESC numbers in other countries around the world continue to increase.
The growth in CPESC registrants reflects both an increased awareness of the importance of controlling erosion and increased regulation of soil-disturbing activities.
“Government agencies at all levels are requiring that erosion and sediment control plans be prepared and monitored by a qualified person,” says David Ward, executive director of CPESC Inc. “A CPESC certificate holder meets that qualification. Also, many erosion control project designers and contractors see the CPESC certificate as a good way to strengthen their credentials and build their business.” Last year alone, 466 applicants took the CPESC exam.
In 1998, CPESC Inc. added a second certification program, Certified Professional in Storm Water Quality (CPSWQ). The latest certification program, Certified Erosion, Sediment, and Storm Water Inspector (CESSWI), was established last year.
Growth of the CPESC program over the years has been aided, in part, by another founding partner, the International Erosion Control Association (IECA). In 1992, IECA formally agreed to help promote awareness of the CPESC programs and the organization’s value to the worldwide erosion control industry through its various conferences and publications. IECA also serves as the training arm of CPESC Inc. by providing courses at its annual conference and, just recently, in its Webinar series to prepare applicants for the CPESC, CPSWQ, and CESSWI written exams.
A Valuable Credential
The CPESC program has paid off many times for Earl Norton (CPESC #114) of Norton & Associates in Auburn, AL. He was awarded his certificate in 1983, when he worked for the SCS. He retired from that agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, in 1995 to set up his erosion and sediment control consulting business. “I quickly learned that my CPESC designation was more important to potential clients in the private sector than my 30 years of experience in erosion and sediment control work.
“Alabama’s construction stormwater regulations identify a CPESC as a Qualified Certified Professional. This designation permits the CPESC to prepare erosion and sediment control plans and inspect construction sites in Alabama. Since Phase II regulations were implemented in 2003 there has been a high demand in Alabama for CPESCs.
“The CPESC designation has opened many doors of opportunity for me. These include working with engineers and developers on commercial and residential development sites, consulting on transmission line issues, and, since 2001, coordinating the statewide erosion and sediment control program for the Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee, which provides the official Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook for Alabama.
“I see a great future in Alabama for those who are CPESC, CPSWQ, or CESSWI qualified.”
More information about CPESC Inc. and certification programs is available at www.cpesc.org.
EC - July/August 2007 |
