Workers Environmental Awareness Protection (WEAP) training is conducted by biologists to educate on-site employees without an environmental or biological professional background, such as construction crews. WEAP training is typically informal and brief – 10 to 15 minutes – and serves as an educational baseline for project teams regarding protected biological resources, including federally or state-protected species; or sensitive natural communities such as wetlands or riparian habitat.
During a presentation, biologists distill information from the project’s CEQA document (e.g., Environmental Impact Report (EIR), Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (ISMND)) to ensure all on-site personnel understand how to best avoid any impacts to protected wildlife and plant species that may occur within the proposed work area. WEAP training is not necessary for all projects; for instance, if no regulatory permits are needed and no protected species are located at the site, WEAP training may not be needed. They are used to ensure compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other regulatory requirements if species or other environmental resources are known in the area. In projects where WEAP training is required, all on-site employees are required to complete the training (through either the live presentation or a recording) before starting any work on-site. Training completion and attendance is monitored through a mandatory attendance sheet which all employees must sign after completing the training.
The training session can include recorded video or verbal presentations that discuss awareness of environmental resources, as well as provide background of on-site habitats. .
In the state of California, WEAP training is often conducted in both English and Spanish and can be offered to groups of any size. While they are a helpful educational tool, these training sessions also remind on-site workers that the biological team is a resource for them. While construction crews may be concerned with potential consequences of accidental noncompliance, WEAP training can quell concerns and reassure the crew that the biologists are there to educate, and that everyone is working toward a common goal – to protect on-site environmental resources.
To learn more about how our Biological Resources Management team can be a resource, read here.
