Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
(A) All facility
specific and professional operator certificates shall expire on December
thirty-first of the second year after the year in which the certification is
issued or renewed. The certificate will expire unless renewed in accordance
with this rule before the expiration date.
(B) The director shall send a renewal notice
to the certified operator's
latest physical or email address of record prior
to the expiration date of the certificate. Failure to receive such notice shall
not relieve the certified
operator of the responsibility to renew the certificate. The
certified operator shall notify the agency of changes
in contact information including, but not limited
to, phone number, email address and street
address.
(C) Requirements for
renewal.
(1) In
order to renew a certificate before it expires, a certified
operator shall submit a
complete application to the director by November thirtieth of the year the
certification expires. The submission shall include the following:
(a) A complete application for renewal, in a
format
accepted by the director.
(b) A nonrefundable, nontransferable fee as
set forth in section 3745.11 of the Revised
Code.
(c) When requested by the
director, any documentation necessary to prove attendance at appropriate
contact hour courses.
(d) Any other
form required by state law.
(2) For a holder of
multiple certificates within a category, the director shall only renew the
certificate representing the highest active
classification within the field.
(3) To renew a
certificate issued under this chapter, the certified operator shall complete the number of
director-approved contact hours required by paragraph (D) of this rule during
each renewal cycle.
(D)
Contact hours.
(1) Professional operators
holding a single certificate are required to complete the following contact
hours:
(a) For a class A or a limited class A
professional operator, a minimum of eight director-approved contact
hours.
(b) For a
class
I water
supply professional operator
, class I
water distribution professional operator ,
class II water distribution professional operator
, class I
water reclamation professional operator
, class I
wastewater collection system professional operator , or class II
wastewater collection system professional operator , a minimum of twelve director-approved contact
hours.
(c) For a
class
II water
supply professional operator
, class III water
supply
professional operator ,
class
IV water
supply professional operator
, class II
water reclamation professional operator
, class III
water reclamation professional operator
, or class
IV
water reclamation professional operator
, a minimum of twenty-four
director-approved contact hours.
(2) Professional operators holding multiple
certificates shall have the number of contact hours required for the renewal of
each certificate reduced by twenty-five per cent. The reductions shall be
granted as follows:
(a) For persons holding a
certificate as a class A water supply or limited class A water supply
professional operator and a class A water reclamation or a limited
class A water reclamation professional operator,
no less
than six hours of director-approved contact hours shall be completed for each
of these certificates.
(b) For
persons holding certificates as a
class I water
supply
professional operator ,
class I water distribution professional operator
, class II
water distribution professional operator , class I
water reclamation professional operator
, class I
wastewater collection system professional operator , or class II
wastewater collection system professional operator , no less than nine hours of director-approved contact
hours shall be completed for each of these certificates.
(c) For persons holding certificates as a
class
II water
supply professional operator
,
class III
water
supply professional operator
,
class IV water
supply
professional operator ,
class II
water reclamation professional
operator , class III
water reclamation professional operator , or class IV
water reclamation professional operator
, no less than
eighteen hours of director-approved contact hours shall be completed for each
of these certificates.
(3)
Facility specific
operators are required to complete the following contact hours:
(a)
A certified
operator holding only a facility specific certificate shall obtain the number
of contact hours as described in paragraphs (D)(1)(b) and (D)(1)(c) of this
rule.
(b)
A certified operator holding both a facility specific
and professional operator certificate is only required to obtain the number of
contact hours for the professional operator certificate as described in
paragraphs (D)(1) and (D)(2) of this rule.
(4) At
least half of a
certified operator's contact hours shall be those
determined by the director to be directly related to operations and
maintenance.
(5) The minimum
required number of director-approved contact hours shall be completed during
the two-year period preceding the expiration date of the certificate, except as
provided in paragraph (L) of this rule.
(6) A maximum of one
contact hour per renewal cycle may be earned if a certified
operator provides proof of
individual membership in a state or national trade organization related to the
field in which the professional operator holds a certificate.
(7) A
contact hour course may only be used once per renewal cycle for credit toward
the contact hour requirements established in this paragraph.
(8) A
certified operator holding multiple certificates may
not use a contact hour course for credit on more than one certificate, unless
that
certified operator has attended multiple sessions of
that course. However, a course's contact hours may be split among multiple
certificate renewals.
(9) In addition to the
contact hour requirements above, all certified operators shall acknowledge
completion of a review of the "Ohio EPA Operator Certification Training"
course. This course outlines rule requirements that are specific to
certified
operators.
(10) Upon request, an
applicant for renewal of a certificate shall submit documentation of attendance
at approved contact hour training to the director with the renewal
application.
(11) The holder of a
certificate expiring as the result of a failure to obtain the contact hours
required by this rule may apply for renewal, provided that the certificate will
not be renewed until the applicant has met the contact hour requirements and
submitted a late fee in accordance with division (O) of section
3745.11 of the Revised Code.
These contact hour requirements shall be met within six months after the
expiration date of the certificate or the certificate shall not be renewed.
(12)
If a
professional operator has not submitted a renewal application by the expiration
date of the certificate, the professional operator shall not be the
professional operator of record of a public water system, treatment works, or
sewerage system until such time as a renewal certificate is issued. Contact
hours accrued to meet the certificate renewal requirements pursuant to this
paragraph shall not count as contact hours for the next certificate
renewal.
(13)
If a facility specific operator has not submitted a
renewal application by the expiration date of the certificate, the operator
shall not act as a certified operator of a public water system, treatment
works, or sewerage system required by other provisions in this chapter, until
such time as a renewal certificate is issued. Contact hours accrued to meet the
certificate renewal requirements pursuant to this paragraph shall not count as
contact hours for the next certificate renewal.
(E) Contact hour course approval.
(1) All training for the purpose of obtaining
contact hours shall be approved by the director.
(a) Training providers shall submit requests
for approval of training prior to the training event or within thirty days
after completion of the training event. Training providers or professional
operators may request approval of college courses, out-of-state training, or
correspondence courses within thirty days of the completion of the training in
a format approved by the director.
(b) Approval of training shall be based on
the following:
(i) The amount of time an
operator receives active instruction. At a minimum, a course shall contain at
least 0.5 hours of active instruction.
(ii) Identification and qualifications of the
instructor, who shall have at least three years of experience in the subject
for which they are providing training, or equivalent experience as determined
by the director.
(iii) Content of
the training, which for courses over one hour in length, shall include an
agenda which distinguishes training time from breaks and syllabus which
describes the course. The syllabus shall include methods for verifying attendance.
The following methods may be used to verify attendance:
(a) Classroom and video-in-group
courses:
(i) A sign-in sheet with the
date, course name, time of course in military time, printed name of operator,
signed name of operator and core person ID of operator.
(ii) Completion certificate that includes the
course date, course name, agency course approval
number, name of training provider, signature of person verifying attendance,
name of operator and core person ID of operator.
(iii) Any other method for verification
accepted by the director.
(b) Correspondence course:
Completion certificate that includes the course date, course
name, agency course approval number, name of
training provider, signature of person verifying attendance and name of
operator.
(c) Web-based
course, which shall be interactive and not static or pre-recorded:
(i) Results of an interactive test given
during the course for comprehension.
(ii) A report of how long a student had the
course as their main screen. A student is considered in attendance for the
course if the report indicates ninety per cent of the time was spent with the
course as the main screen.
(iii)
Completion certificate that includes the course date, course name,
agency course approval number, name of training
provider, signature of person verifying attendance and name of
operator.
(d) Webinars:
(i) Documentation of periodic
interactivity.
(ii) Documentation
that an operator has spent a minimum of ninety per cent of the time with the
webinar as the active window on the computer or some other method for
verification
accepted by the director.
(iii) Completion certificate that includes
the course date, course name, agency course approval
number, name of training provider, signature of person verifying
attendance and name of operator.
(iv) Applicability and relevance of the
training to the operation or management of a public water system or treatment
facility, water distribution system, treatment works, or sewerage
system.
(c) Determination
of course credit:
(i) For classroom courses
and webinars, course credit shall be based on the amount of active instruction
during the course. A maximum of fifteen minutes of questions and answers may be
counted as active instruction.
(ii)
For correspondence and web-based courses, course credit shall be based on one
of the following:
(a) A standardized process
using two minutes of time per page of text, one minute of time for practice
problems or exercises and one minute of time for quiz or exam
questions.
(b) Documentation of
beta-testing of at least one hundred individuals to determine the average
length of time to complete the course.
(c) A method that provides equivalent
evaluation of instructional time as
accepted by
the director.
(d) Courses shall
expire three years following the last scheduled date of the course.
(e) Training providers shall maintain all
records associated with approved contact hour courses for a minimum of three
years from the date of the course.
(2) All training providers shall notify the
agency of subsequent sessions of an approved training course either prior to or
within thirty days of the training in a format approved by the director.
Failure to notify may result in the withdrawal of approval for the course.
Submission of a new training date shall extend the course expiration date by
three years from the date of the training.
(3)
All training providers shall electronically submit
attendance documentation in a format
accepted by
the director within sixty days of the completion of the course.
(4) The director may approve courses that
have been approved by other operator certification organizations, provided the
process is consistent with the agency's process as identified in this rule. After
the
agency verifies consistency, the training provider shall electronically
submit course applications and attendance data.
(5) In the event training providers or
professional operators, approved through the process described in paragraph (E)
of this rule, do not follow the provisions in paragraph (E) of this rule, the
director shall not approve new training courses for a period of up to two
years. The director may refuse to recognize an approved training course for
contact hour credit if a training provider fails to meet the criteria listed in
paragraphs (E)(1) and (E)(3) of this rule.
(F) Approval to issue trainer-specific
contact hour course approval numbers.
(1) As
an alternative to the process listed in paragraph (E) of this rule, training
providers may request approval to issue trainer-specific contact hour course
approval numbers on a form acceptable to the director, provided the training
providers do the following:
(a) Provide
training that is applicable to the operation or management of a public water
system, treatment works, or sewerage system.
(b) Use instructors who have at least three
years' experience in the subject for which they
are providing training, or equivalent expertise as determined by the
director.
(c) Have provided courses
approved by the agency in accordance with paragraph (E) of this rule for a
minimum of three years.
(d) Have
been previously approved to provide a minimum of twelve contact
hours.
(e) Assign each contact hour
course provided with a unique number that identifies the provider, field,
course number, and subject.
(f)
Maintain attendance records, an agenda which distinguishes training time from
breaks and lunches, a course syllabus and instructor qualifications for each
course given for a period of three years from the date of training.
(g) Assign contact hours only for the amount
of time spent on training. Training providers shall not issue certificates of
completion for a number of hours different than that assigned to an approved
training course.
(h) Assign a
subject to each course (i.e., operation and maintenance or other).
(i) Provide the director with a list of
scheduled training, in a format acceptable to the director, by the first day of
the month for each month that training is offered. This list shall include the
name of the course, the training provider's approval number, the instructor's
name, subject, date, and location of the training, along with the number of
contact hours assigned.
(j) Upon
request, be capable of providing a record of student training to the agency or
the student.
(2) Training
providers approved through the process described in paragraph (F)(1) of this
rule shall be designated green leaf training providers.
(3) In the event a green leaf training
provider does not provide a list of scheduled training by the first day of the
month, the green leaf training provider shall submit course approval
applications in accordance with paragraph (E) of this rule. If course approval
applications are not submitted, the training shall not be considered for the
renewal of a certificate.
(4) In
the event a green leaf training provider has given a trainer-specific contact
hour course number to a course that has not been given and the course changes,
due to adjustments in the length of the presentation or instructor, the green
leaf training provider shall notify the agency within two business days
of the change.
(5) When a green
leaf training provider course has been previously provided to operators and
changes due to adjustments in the length of the presentation, the green leaf
training provider shall create a new approval number and notify
the
agency in accordance with the requirements set forth in this
rule.
(6) Green leaf training
provider courses shall expire three years following the last scheduled date of
the course.
(7) Failure to meet any
of the criteria in paragraphs (E)(3) and (F) of this rule may result in
the withdrawal of the director's approval for all contact hour course training
given by the green leaf training provider for a period of up to two years. For
training providers who have not received approval in accordance with paragraph
(F) of this rule, the director shall not approve new contact hour course
training for a period of up to two years. The director may refuse to recognize
contact hour credit for approved courses if a training provider fails to meet
the requirements of paragraphs (F)(1) and (F)(2) of this rule.
(G) All training providers shall
allow agency representatives to attend courses at any time for the purpose of
reviewing the length of training, training content and other relevant aspects
of the training. Agency employees shall not use this provision to obtain
contact hours.
(H) The director
shall not renew
a facility specific professional operator certificate
of an applicant failing to meet the requirements of this rule.
(I) A renewal card indicating the valid dates
of the renewed operator
certificate shall be issued to all certified operators who have met the renewal
requirements of this rule.
(J) Upon
submission of a complete application, an expired
certified operator certificate can be renewed within
six months of the expiration date, subject to all the requirements and
conditions of paragraph (C) of this rule and division (O) of section
3745.11 of the Revised Code. In
all cases the expiration date of the professional operator certificate shall be the same as if the renewal
requirements had been met on or before the date of expiration. After the
expiration date and prior to renewal according to this paragraph, the
certified operator shall not perform those activities
requiring a certificate.
(K)
An operator's certificate that has not been renewed
within six months of the expiration date shall not be renewed. In such cases,
the former certificate holder shall apply for examination, pay all required
fees, and pass the examination in order to obtain certification.
(L)
If a
certified operator is not able to meet the contact
hour requirements of this rule due to a personal life-threatening illness or military service the
director may, upon request, grant an extension for achieving the required
contact hours. However, the professional operator shall not be the professional
operator of record of a public water system, treatment works, or sewerage
system until such time as the contact hour requirements are fulfilled and a
renewal certificate is issued.