TRAINING HELD TO PROECT FLORIDA'S WATERS

Florida DEP Banner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  June 3, 2014

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

TRAINING HELD TO PROECT FLORIDA'S WATERS

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

DELAND - The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will be hosting a free Stormwater Erosion and Sedimentation Control Inspector's Class at the Florida Department of Transportation's DeLand Operations Center on June 4 and 5. 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.

WHAT:         Stormwater Erosion and Sedimentation Control Inspector's Class

WHEN:         Wednesday, June 4 – Thursday, June 5

WHERE:      DOT DeLand Operations Center

                    Sailfish Conference Room 1650 N. Kepler Road

                    DeLand, FL 32724

“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 three-day class, following curriculum provided in the Florida Stormwater, Erosion, and Sedimentation Control Inspector’s Manual. The first day is an outdoor portion of the class spent in the field observing various stormwater erosion and sedimentation control practices in use. Volunteer erosion sediment control vendors will be present. The rest of the class will be spent studying the Sedimentation Control Inspector’s Manual and listening to presentations from several knowledgeable guest speakers.

On the last day of the class, a Train the Trainer workshop will be offered to interested parties who pass the regular proctored exam with a grade of at least 80 percent. Train the Trainer workshops are offered by DEP throughout the year in order to enable new instructors to lead the inspectors’ training program. The workshop covers the guidelines that instructors are required to follow in order to teach the class and also allows future instructors time to work on 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 obtain additional class details and registration information here.