The North Carolina Environmental Health State of Practice (NCEHSOP) Committee started in 1981 as a joint venture of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Since January 2012, the NCEHSOP has become an incorporated non-profit, who works cooperatively with NC DHHS/Environmental Health Section and EAHEC.

The State of Practice Committee plans and administers continuing professional education and workforce development to Environmental Health personnel and related public health professionals across North Carolina. The NCEHSOP, state and local agencies and institutions, including Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) and the NC Division of Public Health (DPH), sponsor or cosponsor these courses. Each year over 100 volunteer instructors from universities and local, state, and national agencies teach nearly 10,000 participant hours in over 20 programs to more than half of North Carolina’s 900 environmental health specialists.

The NCEHSOP Committee is also responsible for statutorily required training for North Carolina Environmental Health Specialists in environmental health law. Additionally, it shares responsibility for training in authorization programs, including lead. (ONLY LEAD auth.)

Since the program receives no outside funding, registration fees continue to support this training. The NCEHSOP Committee designs courses as “Training by Specialists, for Specialists”. The North Carolina State Board of Environmental Health Specialist Examiners approves all programs as professional environmental continuing education for Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) credit.

The State of Practice Committee has won several awards, including the prestigious National State Health Directors’ Association award for innovative and cooperative work between state and local agencies.

The NCEHSOP committee and its partners, DPH/EH Section, AHECs, the NC Registered Environmental Health Specialist Board, and local health departments, appreciate everyone who has supported and continues to support our grassroots efforts to provide Environmental Health training for authorization, accreditation, and professional development.