In the world of stormwater, certain “qualified” professionals have hefty responsibilities, such as conducting facility inspections, monitoring, and developing and certifying the stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP). But, what does it really mean to be a qualified professional?
Often, in National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permits, there is language referring to a qualified person, qualified professional, and even qualified personnel. In most instances it is a singular role, but the differing language and requirements can easily cause confusion for the regulated community.
To make matters worse, some states have authorization to implement and enforce their own stormwater programs and use similar but not identical language. For example, in California, there are qualified industrial stormwater practitioners (QISPs) as well as qualified stormwater practitioners (QSPs). These roles are similar to the qualified person but are identified differently.
