Virginia Code 54.1-2205: License required; application; requirements for licensure; continuing education.
A. No person shall engage in, or offer to engage in, the practice of soil evaluation in the Commonwealth unless he has been licensed under the provisions of this chapter.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-2205
- Board: means the Board for Professional Soil Scientists, Wetland Professionals, and Geologists. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Practice of soil evaluation: means the evaluation of soil by accepted principles and methods including, observation, investigation, and consultation on measured, observed, and inferred soils and their properties; analysis of the effects of these properties on the use and management of various kinds of soil; and preparation of soil descriptions, maps, reports, and interpretive drawings. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Soil: means the groups of natural bodies occupying the unconsolidated portion of the earth's surface which are capable of supporting plant life and have properties caused by the combined effects, as modified by topography and time, of climate and living organisms upon parent materials. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Soil evaluation: means plotting soil boundaries, describing and evaluating the kinds of soil, and predicting their suitability for and response to various uses. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Soil science: means the science dealing with the physical, chemical, mineralogical, and biological properties of soils as natural bodies. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Soil scientist: means a person having special knowledge of soil science and the methods and principles of soil evaluation as acquired by education and experience in the formation, description, and mapping of soils. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
B. In order to be licensed as a professional soil scientist, an applicant shall:
1. Submit satisfactory evidence verified by affidavits that the applicant:
a. Is 18 years of age or older;
b. Is of good moral character; and
c. Has successfully completed such educational and experiential requirements as are required by this chapter and the regulations of the Board.
2. Achieve a score acceptable to the Board on an examination in the principles and practice of soil evaluation and satisfy one of the following criteria:
a. Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education in a soils curriculum which has been approved by the Board and have at least four years of experience in soil evaluation, the quality of which demonstrates to the Board that the applicant is competent to practice as a professional soil scientist; or
b. Hold a bachelor’s degree in one of the natural sciences and have at least five years of experience in soil evaluation, the quality of which demonstrates to the Board that the applicant is competent to practice as a professional soil scientist; or
c. Have a record of at least eight years of experience in soil evaluation, the quality of which demonstrates to the Board that the applicant is competent to practice as a professional soil scientist; or
d. Have at least four years of experience in soil science research or as a teacher of soils curriculum in an accredited institution of higher education which offers an approved four-year program in soils and at least two years of soil evaluation experience, the quality of which demonstrates to the Board that the applicant is competent to practice as a professional soil scientist.
C. The Board shall establish by regulation requirements for continuing education as a prerequisite to the maintenance and renewal of a license issued under this chapter, not to exceed eight contact hours per year.
D. Individuals applying for a license as a professional soil scientist between July 1, 2013, and July 1, 2015, who (i) have been certified as professional soil scientists by the Board or (ii) have achieved a score set by the Board on the examination required by this section shall be licensed by the Board if all other requirements of this chapter or Board regulations have been met, unless an applicant is found by the Board to have engaged in any act that would constitute grounds for disciplinary action.
1987, c. 626, § 54-975; 1988, c. 765; 1991, c. 181; 2011, cc. 777, 859.