Please continue to regulate via licensure Professional Soil Scientists in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Professional licensure insures practicing soil scientists have and maintain the education, experience and expertise to protect the citizens, environment, and public health of Virginians. 

I work in the onsite wastewater treatment and disposal industry in the Commonwealth - and for the Commonwealth - as a designer and an operator. I am licensed by DPOR as both a professional engineer and a licensed wastewater system operator. I rely upon licensed soil scientists to inform the work I do.

Licensure is critical in promoting professionalism in this growing industry. I would argue that this is more critical now than when licensure was originally mandated in 2011. Witness the increasing reliance on onsite wastewater disposal to foster development while simultaneously protecting the public health and the environment. Eliminating licensure effectively deprives the citizens of the Commonwealth of an opportunity to obtain professionals with proper credentials to assist them with prediction and the subsequent prevention of the adverse effects of scientific ignorance.  

I urge the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation of the Commonwealth of Virginia to reject any consideration to eliminate licensure. I have seen first hand the consequences of failure of judgement and expertise. Professional licensure is the best guarantee to minimize these types of failures and the resulting burden of expense that always falls on the citizen, either directly or indirectly.  

Thank you for the opportunity to provide my comments on this issue. 

Sincerely, 

Douglas F. Canody, PE

VA PE License # 0402012529 - (April 10, 1981)

VA MAOSSO License # 1942001370