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Hire Certified Contractor to Handle Moving of Earth

May 21, 2008 - Are you having some earth moving done around your home or business? Then you should get a certified contractor. A what? A contractor certified in erosion and sediment control practices. Using a certified contractor will help protect nearby rivers, streams and ponds and will help you comply with Maine's environmental laws. Why a certified contractor?

Just imagine your vehicle breaking down in a strange place. As you check the yellow pages under automotive repair, you see an ad for a local repair shop with the ASE certification insignia. You think, "These guys are certified just like my mechanic back home; I'll give them a try."

ASE stands for automotive service excellence. To be certified, a mechanic must pass exams pertaining to the service of various motor vehicle components. Using an ASE certified mechanic provides some confidence that work on your vehicle will be done properly.

This same level of confidence can be obtained when you undertake a project at your home or business that requires earth-moving or excavation work. Earth-moving and excavation work exposes soil to the action of wind and rain, a process called erosion. Eroded soil is recognized as the biggest pollutant on earth and has harmed many of Maine's waterbodies because the nutrient phosphorus is attached to every soil particle, and our lakes are very sensitive to the addition of too much phosphorus. The issue prompted the Maine Legislature to pass the State's Erosion and Sediment Control Law in 1996.

Under that law landowners are responsible to insure that adequate erosion control practices are used if earth-moving work is occurring on our property. Hiring contractors who are certified in erosion and sediment control practices by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) provides some assurance that proper erosion control techniques will be used in compliance with the state's erosion and sediment control law.

Depending on the site of a project, erosion control can sometimes be tricky. Certified contractors have been trained in a number of effective techniques to prevent eroded soil from leaving a project. They have also been trained on the requirements of various environmental laws. To remain certified, they must also take a continuing education course related to erosion control every three years.

In addition, as a benefit to certification, they have the ability to obtain certain environmental permits more quickly than non-certified contractors. What this means to you as a property owner is that certified contractors can help protect our lakes and streams and assist you in efficiently meeting the requirements of environmental laws affecting your project site.

Where can you find these contractors? There are hundreds of them throughout the state from Kittery to Madawaska. You can obtain a list by going to MaineDEP.com and entering the keyword "contractor" or by contacting the DEP's Nonpoint Source Training and Resource Center toll free at 1-800-452-1942.

Just like ASE certified mechanics, certified contractors armed with their knowledge of erosion control techniques can help to insure that the job is done right!

By WILLIAM LAFLAMME, May 15, 2008

WILLIAM LaFLAMME is an environmental specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Land and Water Quality. E-mail your environmental questions to infoDEP@maine.gov or send them to In Our Backyard, Maine DEP, 17 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333.


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