New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Chapter I - State Sanitary Code
Part 5 - Drinking Water Supplies
Subpart 5-4 - Classification And Certification Of Community And Nontransient Noncommunity Water System Operators
Section 5-4.7 - Enforcement
Universal Citation: 10 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 5-4.7
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) Upon notice and opportunity of a hearing, the department may suspend or revoke a certificate of an operator. Revocation or suspension will be based on fraud or misrepresentation by the certified operator; gross incompetence or gross negligence on a particular occasion or negligence or incompetence on more than one occasion; or mental or physical incapacity of the operator to perform his or her operating duties.
(1) Suspension of
certificate.
(i) Grounds for suspension. A
suspendable offense may include but is not limited to:
(a) selective sampling -- operator
intentionally alters sampling period, in an attempt to collect samples that are
not truly representative;
(b)
sabotage of equipment -- intentional misuse or impairment of equipment
necessary to maintain treatment and/or distribution;
(c) bribery or extortion -- operator accepts
or offers bribes related to plant operations or uses his/her position as an
operator to extort money or services from others;
(d) dangerous acts -- failure to take
appropriate actions necessary to provide a safe and healthful workplace or
directs staff to perform activities without proper safety equipment or
training;
(e) misleads -- operator
gives misleading statements to government officials relative to the operation
of the treatment facilities and/or distribution system;
(f) lack of maintenance -- failure to
maintain the treatment facilities and/or distribution system to an acceptable
level despite having the resources and the means to properly maintain the
facility and/or distribution system;
(g) lack of process control -- failure to
utilize knowledge of process control techniques to optimize the operation of
the treatment facility; and
(h)
unauthorized modification of a facility and/or distribution system -- failure
to contact the State and obtain approval when any modification of the facility
and/or distribution system is made.
(ii) Suspension term. A suspension term will
last for a period not to exceed three years and will be based on factors such
as: number of acts committed, degree of physical or environmental harm
resulting from acts, degree of cooperation and other relevant information.
Three suspensions in any three-year period, time period starting with the
effective date of the first suspension, will result in an automatic
revocation.
(iii) Conditions of
reinstatement. A certificate may be reinstated upon request from the suspended
operator after the operator serves his/her suspension period and has completed
necessary training and/or other suspension conditions prescribed by the
State.
(2) Revocation of
certificate.
(i) Grounds for revocation. A
revocable offense may include but is not limited to:
(a) falsifying reports -- making false
statements or notations on legal or official records required by the
department;
(b) illegal bypassing
-- bypassing the entire treatment facility and sending untreated water to the
distribution system, without prior approval by the State;
(c) sample tampering -- knowingly collecting,
preparing, or analyzing a sample that will yield results that are not
representative of the actual water quality;
(d) coercion -- the operator uses his/her
position to force another employee to undertake an appropriate or illegal act
relating to treatment plant operation and/or distribution system;
(e) plant related criminal or civil charges
-- the operator pleads or is found guilty of criminal or civil charges related
to the operation of the treatment facility and/or distribution system;
and
(f) equipment damage and harm
to public -- the operator operates the facility in such a manner as to cause
harm to equipment or the public that the operator had reasonably available
means to avoid.
(ii)
Condition of reinstatement. A certificate may be reinstated upon request from
the revoked operator after the operator serves his/her revocation period and
has met the requirements outlined in sections
5-4.3 and
5-4.5 of
this Subpart, and other revocation conditions prescribed by the
department.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New York may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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