TRAINING HELD TO PROTECT FLORIDA'S WATER

Florida DEP Banner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 6, 2014

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us

TRAINING HELD TO PROTECT FLORIDA'S WATER

~DEP hosts free stormwater erosion and sedimentation control inspector class ~

KISSIMMEE – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is hosting a free Stormwater Erosion and Sedimentation Control Inspectors Class at the Osceola Heritage Park Extension Services Building in Kissimmee on May 7, 8 and 9. The goal of the program is to protect Florida’s waters by encouraging the proper design, construction and maintenance of erosion and sediment controls during construction and to assure the proper long-term operation and maintenance of stormwater systems after construction is completed. The class is primarily to provide training to private and public employees in various construction related fields, however, permit reviewers, public works personnel and engineers will also benefit from this program.

“The sediment and erosion control program is an important tool to control nonpoint source pollution,” said Tom Frick, director of the Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration. “Implementation of these best management practices ultimately brings the state closer to our water quality goals by reducing the amount of runoff that reaches our waters bodies.”

The program is a two-day class, following curriculum provided in the Florida Stormwater, Erosion and Sedimentation Control Inspector’s Manual. The first day is spent reviewing and studying the manual, while the second day is spent outside in the field observing various stormwater erosion and sedimentation control practices in use. Volunteer erosion sediment control vendors will be present. Upon completion of the class, a 2 -3 hour proctored examination is administered. In order to obtain DEP certification, a minimum passing score of 70 percent must be achieved.

A "Train the Trainer" segment will be offered immediately after the exam for interested parties who pass with at least an 80 percent. These workshops are offered by the department twice a year in order to prepare new instructors for implementation of the inspectors’ training program. The workshop covers the guidelines that instructors are required to follow in order to teach the class, and also allows instructors time to work on both their teaching skills and speaking abilities.

Implementation of the training program began in late 1997. To date, there are over 30,500 certified inspectors throughout the state of Florida. Department approved instructors voluntarily teach the inspector training class throughout the year.

Participants must pre-register. Interested parties can register for this and future class offerings here.