Geoscience Licensing & Compliance in Oregon Water Resources

1. Just the Facts: Licensing, Compliance, & the Role of the State Board of GeologistsApplications to the Water ResourcesProfession in Oregon Steve Taylor, ChairOregon State Board of Geologist ExaminersAssociate Professor GeologyWestern Oregon University

2. Introduction • Oregon Geologist Licensure • Ethics and Professional Practice • Water Resources Connections • Conclusion

3. Introduction

4. Geoscience in the U.S. • Scientific history rooted in the study of natural resources, river systems are a traditional focus • John Wesley Powell: 1869 tour of Grand Canyon • 1881 appointed second director of USGS • Geologic studies and topographic mapping • Investigations of rivers and water resources • Georef Citations: Keywords “river or fluvial” >198,000 entries dating back to 1801 (AGI, 2007)

5. Focus Questions • What is the role of geoscience in the water • resource professions? • What are the licensing requirements for • professional registration? • What are examples of unethical or poor • professional practice? • What are the ethical considerations associated • with “overlap practice” on multidisciplinary • water resource projects?

6. Oregon GeologistLicensure

7. Purpose of Professional Licensing: To provide 3rd party validation of the qualifications of an individual practitioner to perform work-related tasks • Establish minimum levels of competency and knowledge • Set standards of practice in the community • Promote ethics and accountability

8. Oregon Board of Geologist Examiners • Licensing laws enacted in 1977 (ORS 672.505 to 672.991) • Board mission: to “safeguard the health and welfare and property of the people of Oregon” • “…safeguards are in the fields of geology as related to engineering, ground water, land use planning, mineral exploration, geologic hazards, and other matters of the state”

9. Who Are We? • Semi-independent board / Governor-appointed • Fee supported / self-sustaining • 4 professional members, 1 community member, State Geologist serves non-voting ex officio

10. Board Objectives • To license professionals engaged in the public practice of geology • To respond to complaints from the public and profession • To educate the public and communicate with regulatory agencies • To cooperate with related Boards and Commissions • To promote professional ethics • To provide systematic outreach to counties, cities, and registrants.

11. 2009 Board Members • Steve Taylor, PhD, RG, Chair (Western Oregon Univ.) • Christopher Humphrey, RG, CEG, Vice Chair (USACE) • Rodney Weick, RG, CEG (Oregon DEQ) • Mark Yinger, RG (Yinger and Associates) • Richard Heinzkill, Public Member (Retired UO Librarian) • Vicki McConnell, PhD, RG, State Geologist (ex officio) Susanna Knight, Administrator

12. Organizational Functions • License Registrants and Screen Applicants • Experience & Education • Standardized Examinations • Compliance • Interpret Statutes (ORS) • Promulgate Rules (OAR) • Consult with Attorney General’s Office

13. Certifications • Geologist-in-Training (GIT) • Registered Geologist (RG) • Certified Engineering Geologist (CEG)

14. Licensing Requirements Geology-related degree or 45 quarter hrs of geoscience Minimum: 70% passing score on nationally standardized exam (ASBOG Exam) GIT 5 years post-bac. experience Minimum: 70% passing score (ASBOG Exam) RG CEG

15. Standardized TestingAssociation of State Boards of Geology WA-OR-ID • 29 States and Puerto Rico • Oregon founding member • since 1990 • Nationally standardized exams • Council of Examiners meets • twice annually to review • Fundamental and Practice • Exams

16. Who must be licensed?Individuals engaged in the public practice of geology: “performance for another of geological service or work” Exemptions: • Individuals preparing reports of existing documents and acting as scriveners • Federal employees working on employment-related projects • University professors working on employment-related teaching and research • Private citizens providing testimony at public hearings as part of their free-speech rights

17. Compliance • Common Complaints • Practice without a license • Unstamped work products • Poor quality workmanship • Fraud, negligence, deceit • Avg. ~8-10 cases/year • Enforcement Actions • Letter of concern • Peer review and mentoring • Civil penalties (max $1,000 per violation) • License revocation

18. Who files complaints? • Peer professionals, reporting from within community; “the geologist shall report” • Regulatory/permit managers (e.g. DEQ, BLM) • Disgruntled clients; opposing public • Anonymous tips, internal board investigations

19. Ethics and Professional Practice A clash of ego, competitive markets, and profits…

20. Key Ethical Concepts • “public practice of geology” • “geology”, “engineering geology” • “false impersonation” • “false or forged evidence” • “deceit: portraying something as true that is untrue: • “fraud: intentional perversion of the truth” • “negligence: failure to exercise care, skill, and diligence” • “gross negligence: reckless disregard for exercising care” • “incompetence: unsuitability for effective action” • “misconduct – violation of laws, rules, or code of ethics • “threat to the public health, welfare, or property”

21. License Revocation Case Study • Involves geologic consulting work in Salem area, addressing the “Marion County Sensitive Groundwater Overlay (SGO) Zoning ordinance • Goals of SGO: to demonstrate sustainable quantities of groundwater and to avoid adverse impacts to the resource • Property development in SGO Zones (e.g. south and west Salem) < 5 acres - “hydrogeology review” required > 5 acres - no demonstration of water supply required • SGO Hydrogeology Review (“level 1” review of existing data) • Property maps, well locations, aquifer characterization, prepare supporting geologic maps and cross-sections, prepare a groundwater budget using existing published recharge rates • If >90% of projected recharge will be used after development, a “level 2” Hydrogeology Study” is required before permitting • If <90% of projected recharge calculated, no further action needed

22. South Salem Hills Domestic Groundwater Supply Marine Sedimentary Rocks • Hydrogeologic Setting • Hillslope surface terrain • Valley-margin slopes characterized by landslide terrain and colluvium • Precipitation = elevation controlled • Miocene Columbia River Basalts (CRB) over Early Tertiary Marine Sedimentary Strata (Ts) • CRB = “good aquifer” • Ts = “poor quality aquifer” • Aquifer supply and recharge rates a function of precip. inputs + CRB • polygon area Columbia River Basalt South Salem Hills CRB “Marine Sedimentary” Qal “Willamette Aquifer”

23. Complaint and Investigation Process • RG conducted Hydrogeology Review for client, determined <90% of aquifer recharge would be effected by development • Neighbors opposing development filed a complaint of inaccurate work and unethical behavior by RG. • Geology Board conducted investigation with peer reviewers; results of investigation: • Hydrogeology Review did not include adequate geologic map • Not all wells in area were identified and included in analysis • RG allowed the clients to compile well log information • RG skewed precipitation data to achieve the <90% threshold result • RG altered published geologic maps to change map polygon areas • SGO Hydrogeology Review was intentionally biased to favor a positive outcome for the developers (i.e. “geolgist for hire”) • Board Action: License Revocation

24. Other Recent Compliance Examples • Consulting soil scientists practicing engineering geology • Unregistered “environmental consultant” conducting subsurface contamination assessments • RG making geotechnical recommendations • Former USFS employee completing BLM mine permits • Colleagues stamping work with the seal of an RG who was out of the office • Office manager using a photocopy of an RG stamp • Web sites of unlicensed environmental consultants claiming expertise with geologic work in the state of Oregon • Experienced out-of-state geologists practicing in Oregon without a license

25. Water Resources Connections:Case Example “River Restoration”

26. Census of U.S. River Restoration Projects • Oregon Plan (OWEB) Outcomes • >90 assessments since 1999 • ~$180,000,000 in restoration • 65 projects/1000 km river length • (K. Bierly, (OWEB); Bernhardt et al., 2005) National River Restoration Synthesis Database

27. Philosophical Questions in Areas of “Overlap Practice” • What is the “practice of geology”? • What is engineering geology? • What is engineering? • How do hydrology and physical geography fit in? • What about “environmental science”?

28. More questions for thought… • Is applied fluvial geomorphology part of the geoscience profession? civil engineering? geography? • Is log placement for habitat restoration in stream channels applied fluvial geomorphology? engineering geology? civil engineering? or a combination of all of the above? • Where does ecological engineering fit in? What about water resources engineering?

29. Watershed Systems • Characterized by geology, landforms, and climate • Affected by local biotic and abiotic influences • Comprised of multivariate subsystems with • interdependent process-response mechanisms • Watershed Assessment Objectives • Identify features and processes important to fish habitat • Determine the influence of natural processes • Understand human activities and evaluate effects of • land management River management projects require a multi-disciplinary team approach OWEB (1999) Watershed Assessment Manual

30. Watershed Project Activities Involving the Practice of Geology • Map / air photo interpretation of geologic features • Geologic and geomorphic mapping • Geomorphic analysis (processes and landforms) • Interpretation of the geologic record • Hydrogeology and aquifer characterization • Engineering geology (erosion and slope stability) • Evaluation of geologic hazards

31. Strategy for Upholding State Licensing Laws • Build Collaborative Multidisciplinary Teams • Registered Geologists • Professional Engineers • Ecologists / Biologists • Hydrologists / Geographers • Barriers to Collaboration • Small projects with team-size limitations • Low profit margins, limited markets • Ego, long-standing divisions amongst the professions

32. Conclusion • Water resource projects require a multi- disciplinary team approach with a diverse array of specialists (represented here today) • Under Oregon state law, geologic components of watershed projects require a registered geologist or engineering geologist • Given the inherent overlap between natural resource disciplines, OSBGE recognizes the need for professional alliances to ensure public welfare … outreach and discussion is a key component

33. Contact OSBGE For more information: Susanna Knight, Administrator Oregon State Board Geologist Examiners 1193 Royvonne Avenue SE #24 Salem OR 97302 Phone: 503-566-2837 Fax: 503-485-2947 E-mail: osbge.info@state.or.us Web: www.oregon.gov/osbge