TRAINING HELD TO PROTECT FLORIDA’S WATER

Florida DEP Banner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 20, 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~

ST. PETERSBURG – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is hosting a free Stormwater Erosion and Sedimentation Control Inspectors Class at Pinellas Technical Education Center’s Public Works Academy May 19 and 20. 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 can also benefit from this program.

“The sediment and erosion control program is an important public education tool which helps reduce nonpoint source pollution,” said Tom Frick, director of the Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration. “Encouraging construction personnel to implement these practices reduces the amount of polluted runoff reaching Florida’s waters.”

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.

A "Train the Trainer" workshop will be offered for interested parties who pass the proctored exam with a passing grade of at least 80 percent. These workshops are offered by the department throughout the 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 it 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, more than 30,500 inspectors have been certified throughout the state of Florida. The department approved instructors voluntarily teach the inspector training class throughout the year.

Interested parties can register for the class here.