Something I hear quite often from people working in various facets of the erosion control industry is an intention to pursue a professional certification—someday.
Not all of us are P.E.s, and there seems to be a fairly strong consensus that professional engineers are not necessarily the ones best qualified to sign off on erosion and sediment control plans or stormwater plans for a project—even though some local regulations still require it. In many areas, though, other certifications are also recognized.
Do you already have the experience and expertise those certifications indicate, but you need the designation to show that you’ve been independently tested and have demonstrated your knowledge? There are now several widely recognized certifications available, and which one is most appropriate for you depends on the projects you most often are involved in and which designations your local authorities recognize. And many people, of course, have more than one certification.
At StormCon in San Antonio this August, exams for five different certifications will be offered. Most are preceded by review/refresher courses (and in most cases it’s possible to sit in on the course without actually taking the exam, if you’d like to get a sense of what the exam will cover and what areas you might need to brush up on).
These are the five exams that will take place in San Antonio:
CPESC (Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control): The oldest and most firmly established of the certifications in our field.
CPSWQ (Certified Professional in Storm Water Quality): The focus is specifically on stormwater quality.
CISEC (Certified Inspector of Sediment and Erosion Control): The focus is on inspection of sediment and erosion controls.
CESSWI (Certified Erosion, Sediment, and Storm Wat6er Inspector): The focus is also on inspection; see www.stormcon.com and the individual CESSWI and CISEC web sites for thorough descriptions of the two certifications.
APWA CSM (American Public Works Association Certified Stormwater Manager): The exam only—not a preliminary review course—will be offered.
To take most of these exams, you have to have applied and received prior approval from the certifying agency—you can’t just show up at the conference and decide to take the exam on a whim, in other words—so now is the time to begin the application process. You can find details and links to the various organizations at www.stormcon.com.