As a practicing Licensed Professional Geologist in Virginia, and having worked in both private and public sector fields in a number of states and industries, I strongly support continuing certification in Virginia.  I also recommend making licensure mandatory for providing professional geological services.  Geologists provide essential services protecting public safety and health, including ensuring adequate and safe water supplies, safe wastewater and solid waste treatment, evaluation of and protection from geohazards, ensuring sustainability and resiliency in the use of natural resources, and in numerous other areas.  I also support continuing education requirements for continued licensure, as other states require, and as Virginia does in other vital licensed occupations.

 

Licensure of geologists in Virginia, and in all other states where it is required (the large majority require it, and a few of those that do not regulate these services under other, similar or overlapping licenses) is rigorous and demanding, requiring education, experience under the supervision of a licensed geologist, and successful passage of two challenging exams.  The reason Virginia and other states have instituted these rigorous requirements is that they acknowledge the importance of geologists in protecting public safety and health.  Allowing licensure to lapse would result in inevitable hazard to public safety and health by very real measures.  While it is important to periodically reassess the value of licensure in certain fields, few of them have as direct importance to the public as the licensure of geologists.