Frequently Asked Questions
June 5, 2020 2022-03-25 1:22Frequently Asked Questions
COVID-19
The regulators expect compliance to continue and. Pollution prevention is viewed as essential work. See our blog on COVID-19.
As of June 1, 2020, QISP 3rd Day In-Person is not. However, it may be available soon. Check back with us.
Construction General Permit
The expectation is that attendees have some prior experience with stormwater and erosion control. Still, anyone can register and attend the course.
You must pay the state exam fee and pass the exam(s). Additionally, you must provide your proof of possessing a recognized underlying credential or license. You can contact us anytime for more info. Also, read page 47 of the Fact Sheet in the CGP.
Some online information leaves people believing they must have an underlying credential first. Such a belief is erroneous. Your QSP/QSD process will remain incomplete if you have not submitted proof of an underlying credential.
Because you need to be trained. Certain trained individuals can be delegated by a project’s QSP to perform certain duties such as inspecting, reporting, sampling and more. Our courses are for training purposes. The underlying credential you will pursue is likely from a Certifying Body that is not allowed to train you; their function is to administer an exam and make sure you have ongoing education (training). Now is the time to start building your portfolio of training and experience. Successfully completing training courses improves your ability to pass your examinations, perform SWPPP duties onsite and to contribute to environmental compliance.
After completing a QSP/QSD course, you will pay to take an online, open book exam. You can schedule to do this 24/7.
California Professional Engineers and Professional Geologists can register as QSDs via the SMARTS website. After reviewing a series of PDFs provided by the State Water Board, the professional’s license is submitted and serves as the QSD number. This self-certification process requires no QSP/QSD training course, no exam and no renewal fees like the CASQA process does. The CASQA process, however, does include the advantage of being listed in the “Lookup Tool” by which the public can locate QSPs and QSDs via searching by zip codes etc. When a PE or PG self-certifies as a QSD, this means that person is also a QSP. All QSDs are always QSPs. Any belief to the contrary is erroneous.
We highly recommend that California PEs and PGs attend a 3-day QSP/QSD course and then afterwards, self-certify. California PEs and PGs who merely read the Construction General Permit and then act as QSPs or QSDs may be at risk for not knowing the enforcement policy that has been issued by regulators after the CGP went into effect. We frequently discover inaccurate NOIs, Risk Assessments, Receiving Water Assessments etc. during random searches in SMARTS. Not attending a QSP/QSD course may contribute to this problem. Attending training courses gets you better access to written and spoken messages released by the regulators. Additionally, you’ll gain industry-specific insight that is not often found in the licensing process for engineers and geologists.
Industrial General Permit
No, however completing the application process and 3 days of online and in-person training and exam is required.
The short answer is that New Dischargers (facilities) need a QISP during the Permit application process. Existing facilities need a QISP if NAL exceedances occur. Feel free to contact us anytime for more clarification.
Yes, we provide this course frequently.
Project Eddie
Course Registration Policy
Seating is limited and not guaranteed. Accidental over-enrollment may result in a registrant being moved to a future event. This is not common. If you cancel within 7 days of the start of a course, you may attend a future event but not receive a refund.
We reserve the option to reschedule an event. This is not common. We frequently deliver a course for only 1-2 students, but this is not guaranteed. If we reschedule an event, you may request a refund or attend a future event.
Certification
A certificate of attendance (or completion) simply means you attended a training event. The training event usually has no examination. If there’s an exam, it is probably optional.
On the other hand, being certified means a third-party certifying body has assessed your experience and knowledge and concluded you have met their standard. Your completed application form, which must be approved, will speak to your experience. Passing the exam, which is required, speaks to your knowledge.
Under a strict certification process, the certifying body is prohibited from training you, from delivering knowledge to you, from giving you the answers. An exam review course may be available for you to attend and it will review topics you can expect to encounter when you take the exam. As such, the exam review course is optional and may provide limited value.
There are many sources of information. You can do self-guided, online research. We provide training courses on stormwater management, erosion (soil loss) calculations, sampling, best management practices etc. Over the years, we’ve discovered what training points are important to deliver.
