The Academy,the Association,and the Society Advancing Environmental Engineering Training and Credentialing

Abstract

As the lead society for environmental engineering and similarly named programs accredited by ABET (formerly the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology, Inc.), the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientist (the Academy) welcomes a conversation on the training and credentialing of environmental engineers. Faculty of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (the Association) and the Environmental Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (the Society) have a vested interest in this conversation. We encourage you to engage in this conversation and contribute your views as we refresh our shared definition of the environmental engineering body of knowledge and explore how our self-regulating process of licensure and credentialing may best protect the safety, health, and welfare of the public.

Introduction

Many—perhaps all—professions share a number of defining characteristics, including: a knowledge base acquired through formal training at an accredited program offered through an institution of higher education, a self-regulating code of ethics that may include credentialing such as licensure by a governmental body, and a professional association (Larson, 1978). Environmental engineering shares all of these defining characteristics. For example, the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) has a mission, “to foster members' professional development and success in the creation and dissemination of knowledge in environmental engineering and science” (Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, 2021). The American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES) has a mission, “to protect public health and the environment by recognizing leadership and excellence through Board Certification of environmental engineers and scientists” (American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, 2021a). The Environmental Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) has a mission, “to advance innovation, excellence, and access at all levels of education for the engineering profession” (American Society for Engineering Education, 2021).

The purpose of this editorial is to invite your participation in an ongoing discussion of two important questions. The first question is, “What is the body of knowledge of environmental engineering, and how do we ensure affordable access to this material for teaching?” The second question is, “What are the minimum credentials to ensure public safety, health, and welfare in the practice of environmental engineering, and how do these compare to advanced credentials demonstrating excellence in specialized practice?”

A Brief History of Environmental Engineering

Although the practice of environmental engineering may be traced to antiquity (Boyce, 1963; Hendricks and Baumann, 1990; Anderson, 2005; Hendricks, 2005), a modern description of environmental engineering may be found in the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system published in 2000. The SOC states that “[environmental engineers] [d]esign, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental health hazards utilizing various engineering disciplines. Work may include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology” (Office of Management and Budget, 1999).

In 1993, the first Principles and Practice of Engineering examination specializing in environmental engineering was administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Science (NCEES) providing an opportunity for independent licensing boards to recognize a Professional Engineer (PE) in Environmental Engineering. For example, Table 1(i) provides a summary of items needed to pursue licensure as a PE in the District of Columbia.

Table 1.

Excerpts from Various Documents: A Summary of Items Needed to Pursue Licensure as a Professional Engineer in the District of Columbia (i) or Recognition as a Board Certified Environmental Engineer by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (ii)

(i) “Undergraduate Engineering Degree from an Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. Four (4) years of progressive experience in the engineering field … gained under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer” (Government of the District of Columbia, 2021).

(ii) “Hold a valid license of registration to practice professional engineering issued by the lawfully constituted registration board of any State, territory, possession or district of the United States. Candidates applying for certification by written examination and peer review shall have had at least eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience following receipt of a baccalaureate degree or license, whichever occurs first, of which four (4) years shall have been in responsible charge of work … in one or more of the designated environmental engineering specialties” (American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, 2021b).

(iii) “A diverse group of environmental engineers has developed a Body of Knowledge which defines the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to practice environmental engineering at the professional level. The BOK includes 18 outcomes grouped as Fundamental, Enabling Knowledge and Skills, and Professional Outcomes. Bloom's Taxonomy enhanced by the Daggett Rigor/Relevance Framework TM was used to estimate the appropriate cognitive rigor and applicative relevance level expected for each outcome at the baccalaureate, masters (or equivalent) and after the masters plus 4 years of professional experience” (American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, 2009).

(iv) “The curriculum must include: a) Mathematics through differential equations, probability and statistics, calculus-based physics, chemistry (including stoichiometry, equilibrium, and kinetics), earth science, biological science, and fluid mechanics; b) Material and energy balances, fate and transport of substances in and between air, water, and soil phases; and advanced principles and practices relevant to the program objectives; c) Hands-on laboratory experiments, and analysis and interpretation of the resulting data in more than one major environmental engineering focus area, e.g., air, water, land, environmental health; d) Design of environmental engineering systems that includes considerations of risk, uncertainty, sustainability, life-cycle principles, and environmental impacts; e) Concepts of professional practice and project management, and the roles and responsibilities of public institutions and private organizations pertaining to environmental policy and regulations. [Additionally] the program must demonstrate that a majority of those faculty members teaching courses that are primarily design in content are qualified to teach the subject matter by virtue of professional licensure, board certification in environmental engineering, or by education and equivalent design experience” (ABET, 2021b).

The executive summary of the Environmental Engineering Body of Knowledge (iii). Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology Program Criteria for Environmental Engineering and similarly named programs (iv).

The online records of the ABET (formerly the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology) document that the oldest accredited programs include the MS in Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the MS in Environmental Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both initially accredited on October 1, 1962, and the BS in Environmental Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute initially accredited on October 1, 1965 (ABET, 2021a). The first “environmental engineers” were recognized as Diplomates (now known as Board Certified Environmental Engineers) by the American Sanitary Engineering Intersociety Board (now known as the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, 2021b) in October of 1955. For example, Table 1(ii) provides a summary of items needed to pursue recognition as a Board Certified Environmental Engineer by the AAEES.

How Do Environmental Engineers Self-Regulate?

In 2009, the AAEES published the “Environmental Engineering Body of Knowledge” (EEBoK), which “describes the core competencies important for the understanding and practice of environmental engineering” (American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, 2009). Table 1 (iii) provides an excerpt from the Executive Summary of the EEBoK. Using the EEBoK and other stakeholder input, the Education Committee of the AAEES develops the Program Criteria for Environmental Engineering and similarly named engineering programs, which is then published and maintained by ABET (ABET, 2021b). Table 1(iv) provides the current program criteria. Each year, the Education Committee of AAEES updates the “Commentary on the ABET Program Criteria for Environmental Engineering Programs” (American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, 2021c).

Both the Program Criteria and Commentary are essential reference documents for environmental engineering programs seeking accreditation from ABET. Program evaluators use these two documents as bases for evaluating environmental engineering programs that are seeking accreditation from ABET. Faculty at individual ABET-accredited degree-granting programs participate in a regular process of continuous improvement, which is documented in a self-study report that serves as an essential component of ABET's evaluation process. Graduates of ABET-accredited programs are qualified to pursue steps toward licensure as a PE, and ultimately to pursue Board Certification in Environmental Engineering by AAEES.

Two Important Questions and Initial Thoughts on Proposed Answers

In 2019, the National Academies Press published “Environmental Engineering for the 21st Century: Addressing Grand Challenges,” which “identified five grand challenges that environmental engineers are uniquely poised to help advance” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019). In addition to naming five challenges, the report raises the question of how to improve the education of environmental engineers to meet these challenges. One possible answer is to evaluate and refresh, as necessary, the EEBoK. A working group, co-chaired by Allison MacKay and Sharon Jones, engaged with a variety of stakeholders to produce an internal Phase One report for AAEES in October 2018 (pers comm). The report suggested raising awareness of the EEBoK and enhancing and streamlining the EEBoK content in a more extensive Phase Two process.

In addition to this preparatory work on a revised EEBoK, throughout the 2020–2021 academic year, an ongoing conversation on Twitter raised the question about access to open-source environmental engineering teaching content (i.e., see results for #AEESPteach hashtag on https://www.twitter.com). A series of discussions among the chairs (and members) of the AEESP education committee, the AAEES education committee, and the ASEE environmental engineering division raised the possible answer of leveraging the double-blind peer review and publication process of the ASEE annual conference. Such as system would use the online ASEE PEER Document Repository (i.e., https://peer.asee.org) to provide a commonly formatted, curated-repository of regularly updated, freely accessible content for teaching environmental engineering.

In addition to the question of the EEBoK and affordable access to quality content for teaching environmental engineering, a second question has been regularly raised during conversations of members of the AAEES. The second question is “what are minimum credentials to ensure public safety, health, and welfare in the practice of environmental engineering, and how do these compare to advanced credentials demonstrating excellence in specialized practice?” Possible answers to this question will benefit from the input of diverse stakeholders, including those practicing environmental engineering in corporations and consulting firms, in the government sector, in academic research, in private practice, and in pro bono practice such as in the Community Engineering Corps domestically and in Engineers Without Borders overseas.

Conclusion

The profession of environmental engineering is expected to be one of the fastest growing professions over the coming decades due to the combined influence of restoring aging infrastructure throughout the United States, rapid urbanization in developing countries that will need expanded infrastructure to maintain public health, and the increasing importance of climate change and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, where feasible. Refreshing our shared definition of the environmental engineering knowledge base, and exploring how best to protect the safety, health, and welfare of the public through our self-regulating code of ethics are urgent questions that each of us should consider. This editorial is intended to raise awareness of these ongoing conversations, and to invite and encourage you to actively participate through contacting the authors of this editorial or publishing your own views on these important subjects. We all share the responsibility and the opportunity to advance environmental engineering training and credentialing.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the Environmental Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education for sponsoring a panel discussion on the topic of this editorial during the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education, which occurred online from July 26 through July 29, 2021. All authors contributed to the panel discussion.

References

ABET. (2021a). Find Programs. Available at: https://www.abet.org/accreditation/find-programs/ (accessed July 31, 2021).

ABET. (2021b). Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs 2021–2022. Baltimore, MD: ABET. Available at: https://www.abet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/E001-21-22-EAC-Criteria.pdf (accessed July 31, 2021).

American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. (2009). Environmental Engineering Body of Knowledge. Annapolis, MD: American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. Available at: https://www.aaees.org/publications (accessed July 31, 2021).

American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. (2021a). About. Available at: https://www.aaees.org/aboutaaees/ (accessed July 31, 2021).

American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. (2021b). Become Board Certified. Available at: https://www.aaees.org/becomeboardcertified/ (accessed July 31, 2021).

American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. (2021c). Commentary on the ABET Program Criteria for Environmental Engineering Programs 2021. Annapolis, MD: American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. Available at: https://www.aaees.org/_downloadcenter/education/2021ABETCriteriaforEEPrograms.pdf (accessed July 31, 2021).

American Society for Engineering Education. (2021). Our mission. Available at: https://www.asee.org/about-us/the-organization/our-mission (accessed July 31, 2021).

Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. (2021). Mission. Available at: https://aeesp.org/about/mission (accessed July 31, 2021).

Anderson

W.C.

(2005). A history of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers: Part 1: 1955 to 1984. Environ. Eng. 41, 10.

10.

Boyce

(1963). The American Sanitary Engineering Intersociety Board. Am. J. Pub. Heal. 53, 1127.

11.

Government of the District of Columbia. (2021). Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs: Professional Licensing: Professional Engineers. Available at: https://dcra.dc.gov/engineers (accessed July 31, 2021).

12.

Hendricks

D.W.

(2005). A history of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers: Part 2: 1985 to 2005. Environ. Eng. 41, 26.

13.

Hendricks

D.W.

, and Baumann

E.R.

(1990). AEEP—25 Years. Washington, DC: Association of Environmental Engineering Professors; 1990. Available at: https://www.aeesp.org/sites/default/files/AEEP-25-Years.pdf (accessed July 31, 2021).

14.

Larson

(1978). The Rise of Professionalism: A Sociological Analysis. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

15.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2019). Environmental Engineering for the 21st Century: Addressing Grand Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.17226/25121 (accessed July 31, 2021).

16.

Office of Management and Budget. (September 30, 1999). 1998 Standard Occupational Classification. 2 Fed. Reg. 53, 136.