South Carolina Code 40-65-30. Licensure as professional soil classifier; certification as soil-classifier-in-training; qualifications
(B) To be eligible for licensure as a professional soil classifier or to be certified as a soil-classifier-in-training, an applicant must be of good character and reputation and shall submit a written application to the department containing information the department may require.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 40-65-30
- Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. See South Carolina Code 40-65-20
- professional soil classifier: means a person who, by reason of his special knowledge of the physical, chemical, and biological sciences applicable to soils as natural bodies and of the methods and principles of soil classification as acquired by soil education and soil classification experience in the formation, morphology, description, and mapping of soils, is qualified to practice soil classifying, who has been licensed by the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and who has passed an examination in the fundamental soil and related subjects as provided for in this chapter. See South Carolina Code 40-65-20
- Soil: means all of the groups of natural bodies occupying the unconsolidated portion of the earth's surface capable of supporting plant life and having properties due to the combined effect of climate and living organisms, as modified by topography and time, upon parent materials. See South Carolina Code 40-65-20
- Soil classification: means plotting the boundaries and describing and evaluating the kinds of soil as to their behavior and response to management under various uses. See South Carolina Code 40-65-20
- Soil-classifier-in-training: means a person who complies with the requirements for education and character and who has passed an examination in the fundamental soil and related subjects as provided for in this chapter. See South Carolina Code 40-65-20
(C) To be licensed as a professional soil classifier an applicant must have:
(1) fifteen or more semester hours of approved soil courses as recognized by the department;
(2) successfully passed an examination in the principles and practice of soil classifying as prescribed by the department;
(3) completed two or more years of training under the supervision of a registered or licensed soil classifier or someone who meets the minimum academic and experience requirements of a licensed soil classifier; and
(4) one of the following additional qualifications:
(a) a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a curriculum approved by the department and two years or more of experience of a grade and character which indicates to the department that the applicant is competent to practice soil classifying;
(b) a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in one of the natural sciences and six years or more of experience in soil classifying work of a character and grade which indicates to the department that the applicant is competent to practice soil classifying;
(c) a soil-classifier-in-training certificate with two years’ or more experience as a soil-classifier-in-training of a grade and character which indicates to the department that the applicant is competent to practice soil classifying; or
(d) employment as an extension specialist, researcher, or teacher of soils in a college or university and has two or more years of soil classifying experience of a character and grade which indicates to the department that the applicant is competent to practice soil classifying.
(D) To be certified as a soil-classifier-in-training, which certification is valid for two years, an applicant must have:
(1) a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a curriculum approved by the department and have passed an examination in the fundamentals of soil classification; or
(2) completed a curriculum not approved by the department, have passed an examination in the fundamentals of soil classification, and have four years of soil classification experience, of which two years must be under the supervision of a registered or licensed soil classifier or someone who meets the minimum academic and experience requirements of a licensed soil classifier.