The Society of Brownfield Risk Assessment (SoBRA) has developed this registration scheme in order to recognise and reward the technical skills associated with land contamination risk assessment. Other schemes already exist for recognising other, wider skills required for the management of land affected by contamination, which can be numerous and multi-disciplinary. Our scheme is designed to complement these.
The SoBRA scheme does not demonstrate that an individual is an expert but it shows that the individual possesses the critical technical, scientific and communication skills required to design, perform and critically evaluate land contamination risk assessments.
The scheme is focused on the technical detail associated with such risk assessment but also requires that Applicants have a broader understanding of the context and impact of risk assessment on the management of land affected by contamination and the skills to communicate the effect of the risk assessment conclusions, uncertainty and implications of these.
SoBRA can assess risk assessors in the following four practice areas: Human Health, Controlled Waters/Water Environment, Permanent Gases and Vapour Intrusion. Applicants may apply to be assessed in a maximum of two practice areas per application window. Each of these practice areas can be assessed at either of the two grades.
The two grades of registration are:
A webinar giving an overview of SoBRA accreditation can be viewed here.
A webinar which provides further information on the requirements for RSoBRA can be viewed here.
Accreditation for Regulators
SoBRA is pleased to offer two free applications (worth £200 each) to Regulators in each application window. Please note that if our total quota of nine applications has been reached for a particular application window, or if more than two applications are received from Regulators, SoBRA reserves the right to roll your free application over to the next window. There are two application windows per year (February and August). This bursary only covers your application fee, and if awarded RSoBRA or ASoBRA, there will still be an annual Not for Profit Accredited membership renewal fee of £35 per year. See ‘Accreditation for Regulators‘ page here.
RSoBRA – Registered as a Risk Assessor with SoBRA
A person who is registered as a Risk Assessor with SoBRA is someone who is capable of undertaking and/or reviewing routine risk assessments without supervision. More complex risk assessment situations are likely to require research and/or guidance from a more senior risk assessor.
A list of the attributes required is provided in the ‘Assessment Framework & Guidance’ and further, detailed guidance on the skills required is provided in the Core Level Skills in Appendix B.
A Registered SoBRA Risk Assessor is likely to meet the definition of “competent person” under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in relation to Generic Quantitative Risk Assessment (GQRA).
It is also envisaged that a Registered SoBRA Risk Assessor would be able to support a Suitably Qualified Person (SQP) under the Land Forum’s National Quality Mark Scheme, by undertaking or reviewing GQRAs.
If successful, an applicant would be entitled to use RSoBRA as a post-nominal.
ASoBRA – Fully Accredited Member of SoBRA
A person assessed to be a Fully Accredited Member of SoBRA is someone with a thorough understanding of land contamination risk assessment, with experience of carrying out and/or reviewing both GQRA and Detailed Quantitative Risk Assessments (DQRA). They are likely to be either (a) senior staff who supervise others and review risk assessment reports, as well as having experience of performing risk assessments themselves or contributing to the development of risk assessment best practice; or (b) senior regulators or others with in-depth experience of providing detailed technical review of reports which rely on the appropriate use of derived site specific assessment criteria (SSAC), presented alongside a DQRA.
A list of the attributes required is provided in the ‘Assessment Framework & Guidance’ and further, detailed guidance on the skills required is provided in the Core Level Skills in Appendix B. It is noted that the attributes listed in Section 4.5 and the Core Level Skills provided in Appendix B are relevant to all applicants, with the Additional Skills also being required to be met for ASoBRA.
It is also envisaged that a Fully Accredited Member of SoBRA would be able to support a SQP under the Land Forum’s National Quality Mark Scheme, by undertaking or reviewing both GQRAs and DQRAs.
If successful an applicant would be entitled to use ASoBRA as a post-nominal.
Accreditation Mentoring
Dr Naomi Earl has kindly agreed to provide mentorship to applicants who are uncertain about the strength of their application. Naomi is a SoBRA Scrutineer with a wealth of risk assessment experience, and SoBRA would like to thank Naomi for providing this role, which she does on a voluntary basis. If you would like to ask Naomi questions about your application prior to submission then please email your request for us to contact her to [email protected].
Please note that this offer of assistance only relates to an application for SoBRA Accreditation, and is not for other professional advice. Receiving advice from Naomi also does not guarantee that your application will be successful.