The words and phrases defined below shall when used in this Article have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1)        “Board” means the Board of Environmental Health Specialist Examiners.

(2)        “Certificate of registration” means a document issued by the Board as evidence of registration and qualification to practice as a registered environmental health specialist or a registered environmental health specialist intern under this Article. The certificate shall bear the designation “Registered Environmental Health Specialist” or “Registered Environmental Health Specialist Intern” and show the name of the person, date of issue, serial number, seal, and signatures of the members of the Board.

(2a)      “Environmental health practice” means the provision of environmental health services, including administration, organization, management, education, enforcement, and consultation regarding environmental health services provided to or for the public. These services are offered to prevent environmental hazards and promote and protect the health of the public in the following areas: food, lodging, and institutional sanitation; on-site wastewater treatment and disposal; public swimming pool sanitation; childhood lead poisoning prevention; well permitting and inspection; tattoo parlor sanitation; and all other areas of environmental health requiring the delegation of authority by the Division of Public Health of the Department of Health and Human Services to State and local environmental health professionals to enforce rules adopted by the Commission for Public Health. The definition also includes local environmental health professionals enforcing rules of local boards of health for on-site wastewater systems and wells.

(2b)      “Environmental health specialist” means a public health professional who meets the educational requirements under this Article and has attained specialized training and acceptable environmental health field experience effectively to plan, organize, manage, provide, execute, and evaluate one or more of the many diverse elements comprising the field of environmental health practice.

(3)        Repealed by Session Laws 2009-443, s. 2, effective August 7, 2009.

(4)        “Registered environmental health specialist” means an environmental health specialist registered in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

For purposes of this Article the following are not included within the definition of “registered environmental health specialist” unless the person is working as an environmental health specialist:

a.         A person teaching, lecturing, or engaging in research.

b.         A person who is a sanitary engineer, public health engineer, public health engineering assistant, registered professional engineer, industrial hygienist, health physicist, chemist, epidemiologist, toxicologist, geologist, hydrogeologist, waste management specialist, or soil scientist.

c.         A public health officer or public health department director.

d.         A person who holds a North Carolina license to practice medicine, veterinary medicine, or nursing.

e.         Laboratory personnel when performing or supervising the performance of sanitation related laboratory functions.

(5)        “Registered environmental health specialist intern” means a person who possesses the necessary educational qualifications as prescribed in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90A-53, but who has not completed the experience and specialized training requirements in the field of public health sanitation as required for registration. ?(1959, c. 1271, s. 1; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1274, s. 2; 1989, c. 545, s. 1; 2009-443, s. 2; 2011-145, s. 13.3(ii).)