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October 1997
The Florida Erosion, Sediment and Stormwater
Control Training & Certification Program is a multi-media
educational program consisting of a reference manual, a set of
instructional videotapes, and a "live" review session
with an instructor.
The course has been developed by the Stormwater/NPS
Management Section at the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection using Section 319 grant funds from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. The objective of the program is to increase
compliance with state and federal stormwater permitting requirements
and to assure that erosion, sediment, and stormwater controls
achieve their intended benefits. The course will facilitate training
of new inspectors, assure that existing inspectors have a uniform
level of expertise and promote compliance with stormwater regulations
through training rather than fines.
The curriculum consists of eight chapters. The first three chapters
cover the fundamentals of erosion, soils, and stormwater management.
The next three chapters provide essential information about the
design, construction, inspection, and maintenance of the numerous
structural and nonstructural Best Management Practices (BMPs)
used to prevent erosion, control sediment and manage stormwater.
Chapter 7 pulls the basic knowledge and the toolbox together
in the form of the erosion control plan. The final chapter discusses
inspection practices and procedures.
The training program has been evolving over the past three years.
The initial draft of the manual was distributed for peer review
and revised. The second draft was evaluated during a three-day
trial class with over 40 participants from around the state.
Comments were received for several months, in addition to a thorough
in-house review. This resulted in the final draft, which has
been substantially complete for several months. The training
video is now roughly half way through the production process.
The anticipated completion date is mid-December, 1997.
Once the videos are ready, a "train the trainers" class
will be held at which perspective training coordinators will take
the course, become certified, and review various alternatives
for presenting the class around the state at the local level.
It is anticipated that staff from the DEP, WMDs, local governments
and private sector will become training coordinators. Hopefully,
classes will be available in each county.
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