From the city of Great Bend
The City of Great Bend is proud to announce Utilities Director Darren Doonan and Utilities Field Supervisor Dustin Ferguson successfully completed the Construction Stormwater Inspector certification through the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Certified Inspector Training (CIT) Program.
“Maintaining properly trained and certified staff is critical to protecting our infrastructure, waterways, environment and regulatory compliance,” said Doonan. “This certification improves our ability to conduct inspections, identify potential issues early and ensure construction projects within the community follow proper stormwater management practices. Having multiple certified personnel within the department allows us to perform inspections more efficiently and support continued development to keep Great Bend growing.”
A certification course recognized statewide, the KDOT CIT program took approximately four months to complete and consisted of 78 online training modules, followed by a 40-question proctored exam requiring a minimum passing score of 70%.
In addition, the course provided advance training for state and federal stormwater regulations through a field exercise component. Doonan and Ferguson attended a field exercise day in Salina that focused on hands-on construction site inspection techniques, evaluation of Best Management Practices (BMPs), erosion and sediment control measures, stormwater compliance documentation and regulatory enforcement scenarios related to construction stormwater management.
The course also covered the requirements for Water Pollution Control Management (WPCM) inspection and oversight responsibilities for construction projects that disturb more than one acre. This is essential for the utilities department to conduct inspections and govern activities impacting stormwater runoff throughout the community.
Following organizational and staffing changes within the City of Great Bend, the utilities department absorbed responsibility for the city’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) compliance obligations which this certification was necessary to support.
The City of Great Bend prioritizes investing in employee training and professional development to support safe operations, regulatory compliance, and long-term infrastructure protection for the community.