PRE-CERTIFICATION GROUP 2 – ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Summer Chandler, Contracts Administration Manager 14 SEPTEMBER 2016
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
PRE-CERTIFICATION GROUP 2 – ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Summer Chandler, Contracts Administration Manager
14 SEPTEMBER 2016
Pre-Certification
Where does Pre-certification come from?
– TAC Title 43, Part I, Chapter 9, Sub-Chapter C, Rule §9.33
– The Texas Transportation Commission, by minute order, may add, revise, or delete a standard work category.
Who does this apply to?
– Any consultant that is a prime or sub-consultant under TxDOT Professional Services Contracts
– TxDOT pre-certifies individuals based on prior work experience. An employee demonstrates experience by describing the work done on past projects. Precertification is granted or denied based on this information. Precertification extends to the individual's firm.
Who manages the process?
– PEPS Division
– However, PEPS relies on ENV Subject Matter Experts to review qualifications in the Environmental Studies categories
2
Pre-Certification
Current Environmental Work Categories
– 2.1.1 thru 2.14.1
– Ex. 2.2.1: Air Quality Analysis
What’s Changing and Why?
– Environmental Studies are getting a REFRESHER
– The current categories are decades old
– TxDOT-ENV standards have changed since the categories were first created and we need them to better reflect how we do business today.
3
Pre-Certification
4
Who Will Be Affected By The Changes?
– It will vary
– Some categories were only tweaked.
• These categories will be “grandfathered”
– Some categories were consolidated or removed and new categories created
• These categories will require all new pre-certification for those individuals
– These changes will affect Natural Resource and Historical Studies professionals the most greatly.
Pre-Certification Old Vs. New *Preliminary – Subject to Change
5
Categories To Be Revised: – 2.1.1, Traffic Noise Analysis – 2.2.1, Air Quality Analysis
– 2.3.1, Wetland Delineation – 2.4.1, Clean Water Act §404 (Title 33, USC §1344) Permits – 2.4.3, US Coast Guard (Section 9) & USACE (Section 10) (Title 33, USC §403)
Permits – 2.5.1, Geological Assessment for Water Pollution Abatement Plan – 2.7.1, Parks, Recreational Areas, and Refuges §4(f) and/or §6(f) Evaluations – 2.12.1, Socio-Economic and Environmental Justice Analyses – 2.13.1, Hazardous Materials Initial Site Assessment – 2.14.1 Environmental Document Preparation Pre-certified individuals in the above categories will be “grandfathered” and remain certified. New individuals applying for pre-certification will need to meet the new requirements.
Pre-Certification Old Vs. New *Preliminary – Subject to Change
6
Categories To Expire: – 2.4.2, §404 (Title 33, USC §1344) Individual Permits (including mitigation and
monitoring)
– 2.6.1, Protected Species Determination (Habitat)
• This category is replaced by the new 2.15.1 category. Individuals that are pre-certified in 2.6.1 will have to apply to be pre-certified in the new category
– 2.6.2, Impact Evaluation Assessments
• This category is replaced by the new 2.15.2 category. Individuals that are pre-certified in 2.6.2 will have to apply to be pre-certified in the new category
– 2.6.3, Biological Surveys
– 2.8.1, Surveys, Research, and Documentation of Historic Buildings, Structures, and Objects
• This category is replaced by the new 2.16.1-2 category. Individuals that are pre-certified in 2.8.1 will have to apply to be pre-certified in the new category
– 2.9.1, Historic Architecture
– 2.11.1, Historic and Archival Research
Pre-Certification Old Vs. New *Preliminary – Subject to Change
7
New Categories : – 2.3.2, Conditional/Functional Assessment
– 2.7.2, Historic Sites §4(f) (Title 23, United States Code of Federal Regulations §771.135) Evaluations
– 2.15.1, Biological Evaluations/Assessments
– 2.15.2, Protected Species Surveys
– 2.16.1, Historical Research of Extant Historic Buildings, Structures, Landscapes, and Objects
– 2.16.2, Historical Surveys of Historic Buildings, Structures, Landscapes, and Objects
– 2.17.1, Develop and Update Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans
– 2.18.1, Mitigation Plan Development
– 2.19.1 Corrective Action
Pre-Certification – Improving Your Submissions
Employee General Information
Always submit enough information so the reviewer can quickly and easily verify you have the necessary qualifications.
– Example: 2.3.1 – Wetland Delineation
• Requirement: completion of a Wetland Training Institute or an equivalent one week wetland delineation class
8
The above example does not specify whether this certification was from the Wetland Training Institute, nor does it specify that the course was an equivalent one week class
Who issued this
certification?
Was it only a 1 day course?
Pre-Certification – Improving Your Submissions
Employee General Information
Always submit enough information so the reviewer can quickly and easily verify you have the necessary qualifications.
– Example: 2.16.1 – Historical Surveys & Documentation… • Requirement: • with a master’s degree in architectural history, historic preservation, or a closely related field, and must include course work
in American architectural history and direct experience performing research or documentation of historic buildings, structures, and objects; OR a bachelor’s with the above requirements and a minimum of two years of direct experience performing research or documentation of historic buildings, structures, and objects; OR a minimum of ten years of direct experience performing research, or documentation of historic buildings, structures, and objects, including substantial contribution through research and publication to the body of scholarly knowledge in the field of architectural history or a related field;
9
Related Field Indicated
Course work in American
architectural history
Pre-Certification – Improving Your Submissions
Previous Project Information
– What’s wrong with this submission?
10
Pre-Certification – Improving Your Submissions
Previous Project Information
– What’s wrong with this submission?
11
This is a personal
description of work, not
a project general
description
Your personal
description of work done
on the project goes
in the appropriate
category
Pre-Certification – Improving Your Submissions
Previous Project Information
– What’s wrong with this submission? • The requirements for approval are:
– a minimum applying of one year of experience in applying §4(f) and/or §6(f) requirements;
– completed a minimum of one successful evaluation; and – who has received FHWA or other federal agency approval
12
Coordinating is not
completing. Credit is given for
writing the evaluation
No indication
that it received approval
Pre-Certification – Improving Your Submissions
Previous Project Information
– What’s wrong with this submission? • The requirements for approval are:
– a minimum applying of one year of experience in applying §4(f) and/or §6(f) requirements;
– completed a minimum of one successful evaluation; and – who has received FHWA or other federal agency approval
13
Shows worked performed (doesn’t specify it’s a programmatic 4(f) which would be preferred; however does say
it is a historic bridge 4(f))
FHWA approved
Pre-Certification – Improving Your Submissions
The Details Matter
– Most pre-certification rejections are due to a lack of information provided
– All requirements within a category must be met in order to receive approval
– If you have questions about your rejection, ask for clarification
• SME reviewers have a small response field, so its hard to convey the full details of a rejection sometimes. PEPs can and does coordinate with the SME to get more information in these cases.
Any Questions?
14
Related Documents
