Virginia Code 54.1-2206.2: Requirements for professional wetland delineator certification.
In order to be certified as a professional wetland delineator, an applicant shall achieve a score acceptable to the Board on an examination, which may include a field practicum, in the principles and practice of wetland delineation, provide three written references from wetland professionals with at least one from a certified professional wetland delineator, and satisfy one of the following criteria:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-2206.2
- Board: means the Board for Professional Soil Scientists, Wetland Professionals, and Geologists. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Geology: means the science encompassing those principles and methods related to (i) the earth and its history in general; (ii) the investigation, prediction, evaluation, and location of materials and structures that compose the earth; (iii) the natural processes that cause changes in the earth; and (iv) the application of knowledge of the earth, its processes, and its constituent rocks, minerals, liquids, gases, and other natural materials. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Practice of wetland delineation: means the delineation of wetlands by accepted principles and methods including, observation, investigation, and consultation on soil, vegetation, and hydrologic parameters; and preparation of wetland delineations, descriptions, 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
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Wetland delineation: means delineating wetland limits in accordance with prevailing state and federal regulatory guidance and describing wetland types. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Wetland science: means the science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological properties of wetland systems integrated through ecological and morphological relationships. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Wetlands: means the same as that term is defined in §§ Virginia Code 54.1-2200
1. Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education in a wetland science, biology, biological engineering, civil and environmental engineering, ecology, soil science, geology, hydrology or any similar biological, physical, natural science or environmental engineering curriculum that has been approved by the Board; have successfully completed a course of instruction, in state and federal wetland delineation methods, that has been approved by the Board; and have at least three years of experience in wetland delineation, the quality of which demonstrates to the Board that the applicant is competent to practice as a certified professional wetland delineator;
2. Have a record of at least six years of experience in wetland delineation, the quality of which demonstrates to the Board that the applicant is competent to practice as a certified professional wetland delineator; or
3. Have a record of at least three years of experience in wetland science research or as a teacher of wetlands curriculum in an accredited institution of higher education, the quality of which demonstrates to the Board that the applicant is competent to practice as a certified professional wetland delineator.