21 NCAC 62 .0407 RENEWAL

(a) Applications for renewal shall be filed with the Board on a form provided by the Board and available from the Board website at: www.rsboard.com or from the Division of Public Health, 1931 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699- 1931. The renewal application shall be available by October 1 of each year. The renewal form may also be generated by the Registered Sanitarian Training and Authorization (RSTAS) computer system at: https://rstas.dhhs.state.nc.us/. The renewal application shall include the following information:

(1) registrant's name, REHS/REHSI number, home address, telephone, email;

(2) registrant's employer name, address, telephone, email, position title;

(3) continuing education completed by registrant in current year by course number, date, contact hours attended; and

(4) information regarding their completion of NC Public Health Law in accordance with Paragraph (e) of this Rule.

(b) The renewal application shall be completed and signed by the applicant.

(d) Registered environmental health specialists or registered environmental health specialists interns who fail to renew by December 31 shall be notified by the Board that their registration has expired and that they shall not practice as a registered environmental health specialist or a registered environmental health specialists intern until they have met the requirements for renewal.

(e) Environmental health specialist interns and other persons applying for new registrations with the board shall take an environmental health law course based on North Carolina laws and rules with at least 15 contact hours approved by the Board. This course shall be completed within the first four years of the date of most recent registration by the Board. This timeframe shall be extended by one additional year for anyone whose fourth year occurs in 2020.

(f) Registered environmental health specialists and registered environmental health specialists interns shall complete a minimum of 15 contact hours of continuing education acceptable to the Board each year, except the 15 hours shall not be required for the year ending December 31, 2020. Continuing education acceptable to the Board includes:

(1) the specialized training course required in Rule .0411 of this Section;

(2) District Environmental Health Section Educational meetings;

(3) professional association courses and educational meetings;

(4) seminars or courses offered by the North Carolina State of Practice Committee;

(5) completion of a job-related course offered by a college or university accredited by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation with the hours credited for the year that the course is completed;

(6) completion of a job-related course offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, or the Environmental Protection Agency;

(7) other practice-related training that:

(A) is technical in nature, related to the environment, environmental health or improving the practice of environmental health;

(B) is relevant to the actual job being performed by the participants or applicant;

(D) includes a method of documentation for verification of completion;

(E) is available to all registered environmental health specialists and environmental health specialist interns; and

(F) has been granted approval by the Board based upon this Subparagraph.

(g) Registrations that have expired may be renewed within 12 months after expiration upon submittal of application and payment of the renewal fee. The applicant shall provide verification to the Board that continuing education contact hours were obtained during the year since the expiration to comply with the requirements of this Section. Registrations that have expired for more than 12 months may not be renewed.

(h) Interns that are no longer employed in the field of environmental health in North Carolina shall not be eligible to renew.

(i) A registered environmental health specialist or a registered environmental health specialist intern in good standing whose active military service has impaired their ability to obtain the continuing education requirements in Paragraph (f) of this Rule are exempt from the continuing education requirement if written orders from their military unit are provided to the Board. In addition, the renewal fee is waived for each calendar year the environmental health specialist is on active duty.

(j) A registered environmental health specialist or registered environmental health specialist intern who is disabled may request a variance in continuing education hours during the period of the disability. The Board may grant or deny requests for variance in continuing education hours based on a disabling condition on a case by case basis, taking into consideration the particular disabling condition involved and its effect on the registered environmental health specialist or registered environmental health specialist intern's ability to complete the required hours. In considering the request, the Board may require additional documentation substantiating any specified disability.

(k) A maximum of five contact hours of approved continuing education, that is in excess of the required 15 contact hours, may be applied toward the continuing education requirements for the following year. For 2020, registrants who completed contact hours, even though continuing education was not required for that year, may carry forward a maximum of five hours.

History Note: Authority G.S. 90A‑57; 90A-63; 93B-15;

Eff. February 1, 1976;

Readopted Eff. December 22, 1978;

Amended Eff. July 1, 2010; November 1, 1994; May 1, 1990; April 1, 1989; February 1, 1983;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. January 13, 2015;

Emergency Amendment Eff. April 28, 2020;

Temporary Amendment Eff. June 26, 2020;

Amended Eff. July 1, 2021.