Virginia Code 54.1-2201: Exceptions
A. The certification program for wetland delineation set forth in this chapter shall be voluntary and shall not be construed to prohibit:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-2201
- Board: means the Board for Professional Soil Scientists, Wetland Professionals, and Geologists. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Department: means the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. See Virginia Code 54.1-2200
- Practice of soil evaluation: means the evaluation of soil by accepted principles and methods including, but not limited to, 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
- Practice of wetland delineation: means the delineation of wetlands by accepted principles and methods including, but not limited to, 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
- 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 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
- 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
1. The practice of wetland delineation by individuals who are not certified professional wetland delineators as defined in this chapter;
2. The work of an employee or a subordinate of a certified professional wetland delineator or of an individual who is practicing wetland delineation without being certified;
3. The work of any professional engineer, landscape architect, or land surveyor as defined by § 54.1-400 in rendering any of the services that constitute the practice of wetland delineation or the practice of soil evaluation; or
4. The practice of any profession or occupation that is regulated by another regulatory board within the Department.
B. The licensing program for professional soil scientists shall not be construed to prohibit:
1. The work of an employee or a subordinate of a licensed soil scientist;
2. The work of any professional engineer, landscape architect, or land surveyor as defined in § 54.1-400 in rendering any services that constitute the practice of soil evaluation; or
3. The practice of any profession or occupation that is regulated by another regulatory board within the Department.
C. Nothing in this chapter shall authorize an individual to engage in the practice of engineering, the practice of land surveying or the practice of landscape architecture, unless such individual is licensed or certified pursuant to Chapter 4 (§ 54.1-400 et seq.).
1987, c. 626, § 54-970; 1988, c. 765; 1993, c. 499; 2002, c. 784; 2009, c. 309; 2011, cc. 777, 859.