OAR 820-040-0040: Geotechnical Engineering

(1) Geotechnical engineering is defined as the investigation and the evaluation of the physical and engineering properties of earth materials, such as soil and rock, including impacts of ground water and earthquakes, and their application to the design and construction of civil engineering works, such as foundations, earth dams, retaining walls, and similar, using soil and rock mechanics and earthquake engineering principles and related engineering laws, formula, and procedures. Further, the practice involves the application of soil and rock mechanics and related engineering laws and procedures to an evaluation of the performance of constructed civil engineering works as influenced by earth materials, groundwater, and earthquakes and to an evaluation of the performance, including stability, of natural and man-made slopes, including man-made fills and embankments, and for the design of mitigation measures to reduce risk and/or hazards as disclosed by the evaluation. (2) A "geotechnical engineer" is a registered professional engineer recognized by the Board to practice geotechnical engineering and who meets the other necessary qualifications for registration under ORS 672.002 to 672.325.