I am a licensed professional soil scientist. I have over 37 years of experience as a practicing soil scientist, and am now both a private consultant and a professor of soil science at Virginia Tech. I also served as a board member for DPOR. I am writing to ask you to oppose the elimination/deregulation of the Licensed Soil Scientist program in Virginia. Even though the General Assembly voted unanimously in 2011 to require licensure for soil scientists because of the potential risks due to a lack of regulation, it is now coming up for possible elimination. That would be bad for my profession as well as for the citizens of the Commonwealth and for the soil and water environmental quality in the Commonwealth. Some of the negative consequences of unqualified professionals practicing soil science include:

• Detrimental repair costs to homeowners from shrink-swell-soil damaged highways, roads, driveways and sidewalks, cracked foundations and walls, broken pipelines, and failed septic systems
• Expensive environmental cleanup costs from damages caused by poor land-use planning and construction design due to failure to get accurate on-site soils information from professionals
• Contaminated water, dead fish and vegetation, stained/ruined sidewalks, pitted concrete, and severely corroded highway infrastructure and rusted pipes as a result of a failure to identify acid-sulfate soils 
• Failure to identify suitable soils for their capacity of taking on and treating septic effluent from residential homes and commercial/industrial facilities
• Inability to protect onsite and offsite environmental resources (fish, animals, vegetation, and waters) from erosion of sediment and sediment laden waters due to failing erosion and sediment control measures and failed stormwater retention features

Professional soil scientists are needed to follow up the work of the NRCS soil scientists who made soil maps in Virginia. Those soil maps at 1:24,000 scale are not at the proper scale for construction and house and foundation and septic drain field and system design. The large scale (1:400) inspection, description, and interpretation of the soil and site properties must be conducted by knowledgeable, trained professionals. Their knowledge must be tested and confirmed by a licensing board such as DPOR. Licensed professionals in related fields of geology and engineering are not sufficiently trained to make the large-scale determinations. They rely on the work of soil scientists before beginning their planning and design.

In addition to the risks to the public, this bill will directly affect my ability to practice in Virginia and potentially hurt my livelihood. Corporations, businesses and localities hire me and trust me to work for them because I am licensed. Soil scientists do critical work in Virginia including designing stormwater management plans, serving as erosion and sediment control inspectors, doing nutrient management planning, training Virginia Dept. of Health environmental health specialists, and identifying Resource Protection Areas for the preservation of the Chesapeake Bay. If this work is unregulated and unskilled professionals are allowed to practice it, we will see devasting ramifications such as degraded water resources, failing roadways, cracked foundations, water contamination, failing sewer systems and drain fields, erosion and loss of vegetation. These effects are damaging to farmers, builders, developers, individual homeowners and the receiving waters of Virginia. The taxpayers of Virginia ultimately end up paying for these damages. 

As a member of the Virginia Association of Professional Soil Scientists and ex-officio board member, and liaison to NRCS, I recognize that the Professional Soil Scientist license protects the public welfare and encourages all qualified soil scientists to participate in licensure.   Our goals are to:

1. Advance the professional interests of soil science.
2. Promote the liaison and exchange of information between soil scientists and other disciplines.
3. Promote high standards of education and training in soil science
4. Enhance public awareness and appreciation of the profession.
5. Establish and maintain high standards of ethical conduct in all professional matters.

As such we encourage and request the Board recommend maintaining the license for professional soil scientists. 

Soil Scientists characterize and interpret soils for many various land uses.  USDA-NRCS published soil survey reports prepared by soil scientists, among others, form the basis of many investigations and designs for all types of projects important to the Commonwealth.  Building foundation integrity depends upon identification of stable soil, agricultural productivity depends upon identifying soil types that can grow food and fiber.   Soil scientists are also trained in many aspects of surveying, engineering, agronomy, building construction, chemistry, physics, microbiology and geology because they all relate to the use and management of our soil resources and the protection of human health and our soil and water resources within the Commonwealth of Virginia.   Professional soil scientists continue their training in soils and the application of various lands uses to soils as a way to garner a livelihood and to better guide sound management of this important natural resource.  

Professional soil scientists recognize that soils are natural bodies on the earth's surface, and that the environmentally responsible utilization of this natural non-renewable resource is of utmost importance to the Commonwealth.  They are also trained to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of published soil surveys- a trait not shared by many other disciplines.  The comment from page 18 of the JLARC report: “Soil scientists can help determine the suitability of a site for construction of a structure by performing site investigations and laboratory testing. However, the risk of incompetent practice leading to a problem with a structure appears remote because many other experts are involved in the process,” reflects a misconception.   Non soil scientist professionals often rely on the published soil survey data and mapping, mapping that’s  intended use was not specific at the scale of a building project.   The Mountain Valley Pipeline project, for example, never had a proper Order 1 Soil Survey (a survey conducted by professional soil scientists that is specific to the scale of a project) and instead relied on published data for routing and land management decisions.   It continues to be plagued with erosion control problems and landslides.   When the other experts are relying on data that is not site specific and extrapolating that to a specific site problems are bound to arise.    This will be a project that reflects the misconception that the “other” involved experts reduce the risk posed by improper soil characterization and interpretation.  Maintaining and expanding a licensed cadre of soil scientists who know the difference is vital.   

As licensees, our clients- including state and federal agencies know the persons being hired for a project are fully trained and tested in the field of soil science with expectations that the product of our work will meet the standards of other licensed professionals and protect the health of the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Sincerely,

Dr. John M. Galbraith, Professor of Soil and Wetland Science and Extension Specialist, Virginia Tech