ARE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS QUALIFIED TO DEVELOP, SIGN, AND REVIEW SEDIMENT AND EROSION CONTROL PLANS?

摘要

When reviewing regulatory policy for developing S&EC plans, one often finds that they must be completed using "good engineering practices." To assess what is meant by "good engineering practices" requires having a definition for the engineering profession, which the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET) provides as:"Engineering is the profession in which knowledge of mathematics and natural sciences gained by study, experience, and practice is applied with judgment to develop ways to utilize economically, the materials and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind."While the ABET definition provides an excellent description for engineering professionals, it also describes many other technical professions. For example, environmentalist, hydrologists, agronomist, biologists, soil scientists, geologists and many otherprofessionals also apply their knowledge of mathematics and natural science "for the benefit of mankind."Sheppard et. al, (2006) provide three excellent postulates for "good engineering practices:"1. The integration of process and knowledge to some end.2. A social activity of teams working in concert towards a common goal.3. A variety of forms of communication, from written to oral, and from formal to informal.While the above are associated with engineering, they also represent practices utilized by all competent professionals. Essentially, the above postulates represent "good professional practices" for those that apply their expertise and knowledge of mathematics and natural science for the benefit of mankind.