Further comments on the Virginia Register of Regulation

Alex. C. Blackburn, C.P.S.S. and AOSE

1) Pages 1747 and 1748 refer to the existing AOSE certification as a licensure.  It is, in fact, a certification and no different from the CPSS. Voluntary, same as a P.E. is voluntary.

2) As pointed out on page 1748, the approval of these proposed regulations will negatively impact the number of professional that enter this already strained field of work, decrease the value of existing businesses

3) Will negatively impact already stressed small businesses that currently are operating in the Commonwealth, including my small bussiness Blackburn Consulting Services, LLC.

4) Will prevent professionals such as myself and many others that have been serving the Commonwealth in the field of soil science from continuing to work in the profession we have been trained in and therefore impacting our ability to make a living without proving ourselves again and forcing us to practice engineering.

5) The regulations distinguish between a soil evaluator that can evaluate sites for conventional site and those to be used for alternative wastewater disposal. I have been a soil scientist for 34 years and can emphatically tell you that if an individual is not qualified to evaluate a site and the soils for an alternative septic system where treated wastewater is being introduced into the soil, then they are also not qualified to evaluate a conventional site where untreated effluent is introduced into the soil.

If it is the concern that the on-site soil evaluator is going to be “designing” the actual system then I understand the need to prove your ability and knowledge in the engineering design of the alternative system. However, where does that leave the professional such as myself that is an excellent soil scientist, understands how to adequately size the system in order to lay out sufficient site and then, works with a P.E. who further verifies the area is sufficient and actually designs the system. This appears to me to be the perfect answer but is not an option allowed in these proposed regulations.

6) To my knowledge, appropriate input in writing these regulations from the Soil Science Profession was not requested by either the Health Department or DPOR. In fact, although the Health Department has a contract with VA TECH for 4 Professional Soil Scientists, their input on these regulations was not requested. These Professional Soil Scientists contracted by the Health Department are responsible for evaluating problem sites/soils and provide the training that each Health Department employee working in wastewater must take. Why is it that they were not asked to provide input?

7) 18VAC160-20-96B.2. requires the “On-site Soil Evaluator” to be able to design (engineer) the system. The field of soil science and the field of engineering are two very different professions. If a Soil Scientist evaluates the site and soils, as they are trained to do, and an Engineer designs the system, as trained, does this not provide the greatest service to the Commonwealth?

Furthermore, the requirement to have “evaluated and designed 36 onsite sewage systems (12 of which must be alternative system permits approved by the VDH)” is ludicrous. I almost always lay out and design conventional drainfields. However, there are many sites that, based on the detailed soils evaluation or area limitations, were not sufficient for a conventional system and I had to lay out an alternative drainfield. That being said, I have never designed an alternative drainfield myself but have always worked with a professional engineer for that purpose. I am an AOSE submitting permits to VDH but have never had one of my permits denied by the Health Department. This combination of  efforts between the soils and engineering professions MUST be addressed in these regulations.

Thank you for your attention to these concerns and suggestions!

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