Section 15.017 - Approval of Soil Evaluators(1) Any person who meets the criteria of 310 CMR 15.017(2) and who passes a standardized examination prepared and administered by the Department or an agent of the Department shall be approved as a Soil Evaluator by the Department.(2) Eligibility for the examination described in 310 CMR 15.017(6) may be demonstrated to the Department, or an agent authorized by the Department, by people with the following qualifications: (a) Massachusetts Registered Sanitarians;(b) Massachusetts Registered Professional Engineers;(c) Engineers in Training (EIT certificate) with a concentration in civil, sanitary or environmental engineering;(d) Massachusetts Registered Land Surveyors;(e) Certified Health Officers;(f) Board of Health Members or Agents;(g) Employees of the Department involved in the administration of 310 CMR 15.000; (h) Those with a Bachelor of Arts or Sciences degree, or more advanced degree in Soil or Geological Sciences from an accredited college or university; or(i) Those successfully completing a minimum of 15 semester credits in soil science courses from an accredited institution. At least three of the 15 credits must be in Soil Genesis, Classification, Morphology and Mapping. The remaining soil science credits must be in at least three of the following six categories: Introductory Soil Science; Soil Chemistry/ Fertility; Soil Physics; Soil Microbiology/Biochemistry; Soil Survey Interpretations/Soils and Land-use/Soils and the Environment; and Independent Study/Seminar/Geology.(3) The Department or an agent authorized by the Department shall maintain a list of approved Soil Evaluators. Any person who is denied approval as a Soil Evaluator based on failure to pass the examination required in 310 CMR 15.017(6) may request, within 90 days of receiving the results of the examination, and is entitled to receive from the Department or its agent, a written statement of the Department's basis for denial.(4) The Department may revoke or suspend the approval and/or listing of a Soil Evaluator approved pursuant to 310 CMR 15.017, for a time specified by the Department, during which time the Soil Evaluator may not reapply to become a Soil Evaluator, after opportunity for a hearing conducted pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, when it determines that the Soil Evaluator has failed to comply with 310 CMR 15.000 with respect to one or more soil evaluations or has violated the provisions of 310 CMR 15.018 or has falsified, substantially misinterpreted or misrepresented a soil evaluation in the evaluator's certification, or has failed to perform a soil evaluation as required pursuant to 310 CMR 15.100 through 15.107. Reinstatement following revocation shall be by written and field examination only. Based on a Soil Evaluator's non-compliance with 310 CMR 15.000, the Department, by issuance of an order, may require the Soil Evaluator to, among other things, attend or repeat the training course referred to in 310 CMR 15.017(5) and/or to retake the examination referred to in 310 CMR 15.017(1).(5) A training course provided by the Department or an agent authorized by the Department is highly recommended for any person meeting the criteria of 310 CMR 15.017(2) in order to prepare for the standardized examination required pursuant to 310 CMR 15.017(6).(6) A standardized written and field examination shall be prepared and administered by the Department or an agent authorized by the Department to the applicant meeting the criteria of 310 CMR 15.017(2). The examination shall consist of at least the following elements: (a) principles of on-site sewage treatment and disposal;(b) geology and soils of Massachusetts;(c) soil profile descriptions;(d) estimating high ground-water elevations using soil morphology;(e) principles of ground-water hydrology;(f) methods for documenting site conditions;(g) important reference materials; and(h) field training in soil evaluation and logging. The passing score shall be correctly answering 70% of all the questions on the written examination and successful completion of the field examination.
(7) Soil Evaluators initially approved by the Department prior to January 1, 2005, shall apply to the Department to renew their approval by January 1, 2007. Soil Evaluators initially approved after January 1, 2005, shall apply to the Department or an agent authorized by the Department to renew their approval at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the three years following their initial approval date. Provided that a Soil Evaluator timely files a complete renewal application, the Soil Evaluator's approval shall not expire until the Department issues a final determination on the renewal application. A fee established by the Department shall accompany each renewal application; any application that does not include payment of the fee shall be deemed incomplete. The approval of a renewal application shall expire three years from the date of its issuance. Each Soil Evaluator thereafter shall file a complete renewal application at least 90 days prior to the expiration date of his/her most recent approval.(8) Beginning in 2010, at the time of filing any subsequent renewal application in accordance with 310 CMR 15.017(7), a Soil Evaluator shall demonstrate that he or she has earned ten Training Contact Hours in the previous three years that improve the Soil Evaluator's abilities in the following areas: (a) safely and accurately conducting soil evaluations according to the requirements of 310 CMR 15.000;(b) the principles of on-site sewage treatment and disposal;(c) the geology and soils of Massachusetts;(d) soil profile descriptions;(e) accurately estimating high groundwater elevations using soil morphology;(f) the methods of documenting site conditions; and(g) field training in soil evaluation and logging.