The duties of an Onsite Soil Evaluator (OSE) include the design of conventional and alternative onsite sewage systems, pursuant to 54.1-402 A.11.  The OSE is unique in that it is the only design profession regulated by the WWWOOSSP Board.  It is certainly difficult to account for the differences between evaluators/designers, installers, and operators in a single set of regulations.  But the differences between these professions are real and should be accounted for.  The unintended consequences of defining supervision of evaluators/designers, installers, and operators with a broad stroke could potentially have a negative impact on both regulants and the public.

The proposed text changes to "Direct supervision" and "Direct supervisor" do not articulate the degree of supervision and control necessary for design professionals (OSEs) to exersise in the design process.   This supervision and control protects the health, safety, and welfare of the public.  The APELSCIDLA Regulations, which regulate Professional Engineers, define "Direct control and personal supervision" as:
 

18VAC10-20-10. Definitions

"Direct control and personal supervision" shall be that degree of supervision by a person overseeing the work of another whereby the supervisor has both control over and detailed professional knowledge of the work prepared under his supervision and words and phrases of similar import mean that the professional shall have control over the decisions on technical matters of policy and design, and exercises his professional judgment in all professional matters that are embodied in the work and the drawings, specifications, or other documents involved in the work; and the professional has exercised critical examination and evaluation of a(n) employee’s, consultant’s, subcontractor’s, or project team members’ work product, during and after preparation, for purposes of compliance with applicable laws, codes, ordinances, regulations and usual and customary standards of care pertaining to professional practice. Further, it is that degree of control a professional is required to maintain over decisions made personally or by others over which the professional exercises direct control and personal supervision. “Direct control and personal supervision” also includes the following:

1. The degree of control necessary for a professional to be in direct control and personal supervision shall be such that the professional:
a. Personally makes professional decisions or reviews and approves proposed decisions prior to their implementation, including the consideration of alternatives, whenever professional decisions that could affect the health, safety, and welfare of the public are made; and
b. Determines the validity and applicability of recommendations prior to their incorporation into the work, including the qualifications of those making the recommendations.

2. Professional decisions which must be made by and are the responsibility of the professional in direct control and personal supervision are those decisions concerning permanent or temporary work that could affect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and may include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. The selection of alternatives to be investigated and the comparison of alternatives for designed work; and
b. The selection or development of design standards and materials to be used.

3. A professional shall be able to clearly define the scope and degree of direct control and personal supervision and how it was exercised and to demonstrate that the professional was answerable within said scope and degree of direct control and personal supervision necessary for the work for which the professional has signed and sealed; and

4. No sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, joint venture, professional corporation, professional limited liability corporation, or other entity shall practice, or offer to practice, any profession regulated under this chapter unless there is a resident professional for that service providing direct control and personal supervision of such service in each separate office in which such service is performed or offered to be performed.

My recommendations are twofold.  First, I recommend the following text amendments to the definitions of "Direct supervision" and "Direct supervisor" in 18VAC160-20-10:

"Direct supervision" means being responsible for the compliance with this chapter by any unlicensed individual who, for the purpose of obtaining the necessary competence to qualify for licensure, is engaged in activities requiring an operator, or installer, or evaluator license.

"Direct supervisor" means a licensed operator, or installer, or evaluator who undertakes the supervision of an unlicensed individual engaged in activities requiring a license for the purpose of obtaining the competence necessary to qualify for licensure and who. The direct supervisor shall be responsible for the unlicensed individual's full compliance with this chapter.

Second, I recommend amending 18VAC160-20-10 to define "direct control and personal supervision" specifically for OSEs overseeing the work of another.  Because licensed OSEs are granted the authority to design onsite sewage systems pursuant to 54.1-402 A.11, I recommend utilizing applicable language from the APELSCIDLA Regulations to craft this definition.