Current through February, 2024
Operators may obtain certification by the following methods
provided in this section:
(1)
Operator-in-training (OIT) certification.
(A)
An applicant may apply for OIT certification if the applicant meets the
following requirements:
(i) The applicant
meets the educational requirements of section
11-25-4
and,
(ii) The applicant is hired or
assigned to work at a WTP or DS, in order to gain experience to qualify for
certification at the Grade 1 level.
(B) No exam is required for OIT
certification.
(C) An OIT shall not
make process control or system integrity decisions about water quality or
quantity that effect public health. An OIT shall work under the direct
supervision of a certified Grade 1 or higher operator.
(2) Regular certification.
(A) An applicant meeting the educational and
experience requirements of section
11-25-4
may apply for certification with examination.
(B) An applicant already certified in the
State may apply for certification with examination in a higher grade if the
applicant meets the following requirements:
(i) The applicant shows proof that the
applicant obtained the continuing education units (CEUs) required in section
11-25-5
and maintained certification in the applicant's present grade; and
(ii) The applicant meets the educational and
work experience requirements noted in section
11-25-4
for the higher grade.
(C) The board may approve the issuance of a
regular DSO certification to an operator who has, by June 30, 2001, at least
one year of experience in operating a DS, has attended board-approved DSO
training^ and passed a board-approved DSO certification exam.
(3) Reciprocity certification. An
applicant currently certified by another state, territory, or possession of the
United States of America, or by another country or entity that is listed in the
"Certification Contacts" section in ABC's annual directory, may apply for
certification without an examination in the grade in which the applicant is
currently certified.
(4) Temporary
certification. When the board determines that there is a shortage of operators
at the Grade 2, 3, or 4 level, the board may approve issuance of temporary
certification for the shortage grade. The temporary certification grade may be
one grade higher than the operator's current grade. An operator's temporary
certification shall expire no later than twenty-four months from the issuance
date. The category of Grade 4 WTP temporary certification expired on October
31, 2000.
(A) Temporary certification without
an initial exam shall be requested by the water purveyor. The applicant shall
work at the purveyor's WTP or DS, under the direction of an operator with
regular certification at the same or higher level as the class of that WTP or
DS.
(B) The applicant shall be able
to meet the minimum educational and work experience requirements and pass the
exam for that grade level within twenty-four months of the certificate issuance
date.
(C) If the operator with
temporary certification does not pass one of the exams available at that grade
within twenty-four months, the temporary certification shall expire and shall
not be renewed.
(5)
Provisional certification for operators of new WTPs.
(A) Operators who operate new class 1 or 2
WTPs brought online after June 30, 2000, and who do not qualify for conditional
certification, may apply for provisional certification to operate the new
WTPs.
(B) Water purveyors shall
meet the following conditions in order to qualify operators for provisional
certification:
(i) The contractor or approved
agent for the water treatment equipment shall provide on-site training for the
operators in a manner approved by the director;
(ii) The operator shall pass a combined
written exam and hands-on exam, provided by the contractor or approved agent,
and approved by the director. The contractor or approved agent shall provide a
report on the qualification status of each operator; and
(iii)The manufacturer or approved agent shall
be available to provide on-call service to the water purveyor for a period of
not less than one year.
(C) The operator with provisional
certification shall have two opportunities to take the certification exam. If
the operator is unable to pass one of the next two examinations offered by the
board, the provisional certification is canceled.
(6) Conditional certification. Operators in
responsible charge of a DS, or a WTP treating ground water, and who had a
minimum of one year of such work experience in the State by June 30, 2001,
qualified for conditional certification. The category of conditional
certification expired on December 31, 2003. Applications for WTPO conditional
certification were accepted until June 29, 1993 for operators operating surface
water treatment plants. These conditional certificates expired on December 31,
1994, if not canceled earlier.
