The CQA plan should identify the required qualifications of the CQA officer and the CQA inspection personnel and describe their expected duties.

3.1   Construction Quality Assurance Officer

The CQA officer is assigned singular responsibility for all aspects of the CQA plan implementation. The CQA officer is responsible to the facility owner/operator, and should function independently of the owner/operator, design engineer, and the general contractor. The CQA officer's position within the project's overall organizational structure should be clearly described within the CQA plan.

The CQA officer should possess adequate formal academic training in engineering, engineering geology, or other closely related disciplines. He must also possess sufficient practical, technical, and administrative experience to successfully oversee and implement CQA activities for land disposal facilities. The responsibilities of a CQA officer may require his or her formal registration as a Professional Engineer or equivalent. Because a CQA officer must communicate at all project personnel levels, communication skills of a high order are essential.

3.2   CQA Inspection Personnel

CQA inspection personnel should possess adequate formal training and sufficient practical, technical and administrative experience to successfully execute and document inspection activities. Such personnel must demonstrate knowledge of specific field practices relating to techniques used in the construction of waste land disposal facilities, and of all codes/regulations concerning material and equipment installation, observation and testing procedures, equipment, documentation procedures, and site safety.

3.3   Consultants

Authorities in geology, geotechnical engineering, civil or environmental engineering, or other technical disciplines may be called in from external organizations in the event of unusual site conditions or inspection results. The CQA plan should stipulate in detail the qualifications of such consultants, in the event that it becomes necessary to obtain and use an outside opinion as the basis for a decision implicating construction quality assurance. Consultants should not be used to collect and interpret data when suitable objective observations and test procedures are readily available.