Online Choice Act eLearning

Reconstruction Standards for Historic Buildings Overview This (two-hour) course will be specifically based on the portion of those standards and guidelines, which concern "Reconstruction" of historic buildings. Reconstruction is defined as the act or process of depicting, by means of new construction, the form, features, and detailing of a non-surviving site, landscape, building, structure, or object for the purpose of replicating  more...

Reduction of Radon Levels in Schools and Other Large Buildings Overview Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas in ambient air. It can also accumulate in varying amounts in enclosed buildings. Radon is estimated to cause many thousands of lung cancer deaths each year. In fact, the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. today. Our increased understanding of the risks posed by indoor radon has  more...

Preservation Standards for Historic Buildings Overview The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for establishing professional standards and providing advice on the preservation and protection of all cultural resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, apply to all proposed development grant-in-aid  more...

Rehabilitation Standards for Historic Buildings Overview The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for establishing professional standards and providing advice on the preservation and protection of all cultural resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, apply to all proposed development grant-in-aid  more...

Restoration Standards for Historic Buildings Overview Rather than maintaining and preserving a building as it has evolved over time, the expressed goal of the Standards for Restoration and Guidelines for Restoring Historic Buildings is to make the building appear as it did at a particular-and most significant-time in its history. As opposed to other treatments, the scope of work in Restoration can include removal of features from other  more...

Energy Policy Act of 2005 - Title I - Energy Efficiency This 4-hour course reviews Title I of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Title I of the Act concerns energy efficiency improvements in the United States. Title I of the Act amends many existing programs related to energy efficiency in Federal buildings, State energy efficiency programs, and programs that address the energy efficiency of commercial products. This is the portion of the Title that  more...

Principal-Agency Issues and the Engineer-Manager Overview Agency theory applies to all aspects of the licensed professional engineer in describing that person?s motivation, their interaction with other engineers and other disciplines, and in dealing with external non-engineer decision makers such as political office-holders. The course applies centuries-old theories developed in economics and finance and behavioral sciences, which are still  more...

Preparing to Succeed - Charting Your Own Self-Development The US Army used to have this slogan: ? Be All You Can Be? as a recruiting enticement because it knew many young people really did not have an idea of what their future held - or what they wanted it to hold for them. Many people feel it is the obligation of their employer to help them develop their career. Human Resource professionals know that employers with strong employee development programs  more...

Supervising Difficult People Overview A fact of work life for everyone in a supervisory role (this also includes the terms ?management? and ?leadership?) is that at some point, you will have to deal with difficult people. Unfortunately, their behavior is rarely difficult enough that you have reason to terminate them on the spot and be finished with the problem. No, they seem to do just enough to become a constant irritation  more...

Lateral Earth Pressure for Non-Geotechnical Engineers Overview This course is intended for a wide range audience and in particular, the non-geotechnical engineer and is not intended as an exhaustive review of the subject. The objective of the course is to discuss the three types of lateral earth pressure (at rest, active and passive) that apply to a wall or bulkhead and describe how each is calculated. The course also describes other types of  more...

Highways in the Coastal Environment Overview There is an estimated 60,000 road miles in the United States that can be called coastal highway. The highways in the coastal environments have unique challenges than highways located far inland. These challenges can be attributed to storm surges, high tides, and bridge scour, among others. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) describes Coastal engineering as the planning,  more...

Design of Small Water Systems - Water Quality Requirements The National Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) specifies maximum permissible levels of contamination and minimum monitoring frequencies for public water systems. Mandatory adherence to the specified maximum contaminant level (MCL) is dependent on whether the water system serves a community (year-round residents) or a transient population (such as parks, campgrounds and restaurants). The MCLs are  more...

UV or Dechlorination of Wastewater - Eliminating Residual Chlorine Concerns Overview Chlorination has been widely used as a germicidal agent in the final treatment of wastewater since the passage of the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Act-FWPA. Recent changes in regulations are mandating reduced chlorine levels in wastewater outflows since studies have indicated that chlorine can be toxic to aquatic life and harmful to the shellfish industry. This course will introduce  more...

Disinfection Methods for CSO Treatment Overview Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) occur when flows exceed the hydraulic capacity of either the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) or the collection system that transports the combined flow of storm water and sanitary sewage to the WWTP. When an overflow occurs, the excess flows tend to be discharged into a receiving body of water. CSOs typically discharge a variable mixture of raw sewage,  more...

Taking Toxics Out of the Air Overview Air toxics are those air pollutants that are know or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health problems. Each year, millions of tons of air toxics are released into the air. The Clean Air Act has provided the primary framework for protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution. In this course the student will learn about what air toxics are,  more...

Pedestrian Signal Configuration Overview This four hour course will discuss Pedestrian Signal configurations used to provide pedestrian indications at intersections for the safe crossing of pedestrians with conflicting traffic movements, that conforms to the latest 2003 Edition to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (USDOT MUTCD). It is necessary to conduct a pedestrian count across all approaches to the  more...

Nitrogen Oxides - Abatement and Control Overview Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are a very important family of air polluting chemical compounds. This course explains why NOx are important air pollutants and how NOx are formed and react in the atmosphere. This course also includes the principles on which all NOx control and pollution prevention technologies are based, available NOx technologies for various combustion sources, and performance  more...

Controlling VOCs Using Carbon Adsorbers Overview In air pollution control, adsorption is employed to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from gas streams, when a stringent outlet concentration must be met and/or recovery of the VOC is desired. Although there may be several types of adsorbants used, this course is oriented toward the use of activated carbon, a commonly used adsorbent for VOCs. Of the various types of adsorption  more...

Introduction to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NPDES Construction Site General Permit This four hour online course introduces the reader to the NPDES construction general permit (CGP). This course is intended for practicing engineers, contractors, developers, regulators, and all other personnel involved with construction sites. Environmental Effects of Construction Construction inevitably causes some degree of disturbance and compaction of the soil, the loss of vegetation  more...

ADA Title II - Simplified Overview Title II of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers programs, activities, and services of public entities. A public entity covered by title II is defined as: Any State or local government Any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or local government Certain commuter authorities, as well as AMTRAK As defined, the term  more...

Particulate Control - Baghouses and Filters Overview Fabric filter units are used in industry as an effective pollution control device for removal of particulate material within a captured air stream. This course presents the process descriptions of various styles of baghouses and air filter systems. Design and operating parameters are analyzed. The applicability of filter materials and operating principles are explained for a variety of  more...

Wet Scrubbers for Particulate Matter Control Overview Wet scrubbers are a pollution control devise used in the industry for removal of particulate material within a captured air stream. There are numerous types of wet scrubbers which remove both acid gases and particulate mater (PM). This course describes the commonly applied scrubber designs used to remove PM from stationary sources. Design and operating parameters are presented. Various  more...

Radionuclides in Drinking Water - Regulations Treatment and Residual Disposal Overview The revised Radionuclides Rule came into effect on December 8, 2003. U.S. EPA's revisions to the Rule provide standards that, if met, ensure that all customers served by community water systems (CWSs) receive water that meets the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for radionuclides in drinking water. In accordance with the Rule, all CWSs must complete initial compliance monitoring  more...

Electrostatic Precipitators for Air Pollution Control Overview An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a pollution control device that uses electrical forces to move the particles out of the flowing gas stream and onto collector plates for particulate emission control. There are different configurations and types of ESPs designed and operated for removal of particulate mater (PM). This course describes the commonly applied ESP designs used to  more...

ADA Standards for Accessible Design Overview The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is a public law enacted July 26, 1990 to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability. The ADA ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunication. Many business  more...

Design of Small Water Systems Overview In this course the student will review EM 1110-2-503, "Design of Small Water Systems" published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This course is particularly relevant to engineers involved in designing both public and private water systems. Although the publication's title suggests coverage of only small water systems, much of the discussion applies to large systems as  more...

Water Treatment Techniques for Contaminant Removal Overview The Safe Drinking Water Act provides maximum limits for contaminants that must be met by public and private drinking water systems. Various conventional treatment technologies and alternative treatment technologies have been determined suitable by USEPA to meet these limits. These treatment technologies have been designated as optimum technologies for specific water contaminants by  more...

UV Disinfection Evaluation - Technology Options for Wastewater Treatment Overview Chlorination has been the preferred disinfection method used for treating WWTP effluent, but concerns about worker and public safety and the potential for chlorinated effluent to be toxic to aquatic life have called its use into question. Although chlorine, sometimes followed by dechlorination, continues to be used at most municipal WWTPs, use of other means, such as UV disinfection,  more...

Filter Backwash Recycling Rule - Practical Guidance Overview The Filter Backwash Recycling Rule (FBRR) under the Safe Drinking Water Act establishes regulatory provisions governing the way that certain recycle streams are handled within the treatment processes of conventional and direct filtration water treatment systems. The FBRR also establishes reporting and recordkeeping requirements for recycle practices that will allow States and EPA to  more...

Electricity Modernization Act of 2005 This 4-hour course reviews Title 12 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This portion of the Act is also known as the Electricity Modernization Act of 2005 (EMAct? 05) and concerns reliability of the electric utility grid in the United States. EMAct? 05 amends the Federal Power Act to address reliability, transmission upgrades, transmission operations, alternative fuel sources, and other items  more...

Hazardous Waste Identification Simply defined, hazardous wastes are liquid, solid, contained gas, or sludge wastes that contain properties that are dangerous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment. Of course, industries and institutions must use more detailed criteria for determining if a waste is ?hazardous? in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Indeed, correctly identifying a  more...

Plumbing ADA Accessibility Guidelines Overview In today's complex building structures there is a need to take into account the American Disabilities Act that sets guidelines for plumbing fixtures and installations of those fixtures. The U.S. Department of Justice enforces guidelines that require nondiscrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and in commercial facilities. This course provides an overview  more...

Energy Independence Act This 2-hour course reviews The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This is a new law that is intended to complement and expand on the Energy Policy Act, which was passed in 2005. The course gives a brief overview of all 16 sections of the Energy Independence and Security Act. The Act includes new CAFE standards, renewable fuel standards, improved standards for appliances and lighting,  more...

Boiler Fuel and Emissions Overview Fuel type and emissions control are two very important considerations in the design of a boiler. The type of fuel selected will not only impact emissions, but will also greatly influence the design of the boiler and the operating costs. This course covers key properties and design considerations for each of the major boiler fuels available, including coal, natural gas, oil, wood and  more...

Energy Policy Act of 2005 - Title II - Renewable Energy This 3-hour course reviews Title II of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Title II of the Act concerns renewable energy in the United States. Title II modifies and expands many existing Federal programs such as the Energy Conservation and Production Act, Energy Policy Act of 1992, The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, and the Federal Power Act, to name a few. It includes plans for increased use of  more...

Filtration and Air Cleaning Systems Overview The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 Public Law 91-596 assures, so far as possible, safe and healthful working conditions for every employed man and woman in the Nation. The Act charges the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) with conducting research and making science-based recommendations to prevent work-related illness, injury, disability, and  more...

Fire Protection Fundamentals Overview The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 Public Law 91-596 assures, so far as possible, that every working man and woman in the nation has safe and healthful working conditions. The Act charges the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) with conducting research and making science-based recommendations to prevent work-related illness, injury, disability, and  more...

Project Performance Secrets This course is designed for new, ? seasoned? or potential project managers who are willing to consider a fresh way of looking at project execution in a search for improving performance. This course can help them avoid many traditional problems that impact a project? s performance while learning tips on decreasing the time-to-productivity time gap of new team members. The potential benefit to the  more...