Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
Continuing education credit requirements. To maintain
certification, certified commercial manure brokers and commercial manure
haulers shall be required to obtain continuing education credits. The number of
continuing education credits required shall be based on the level of
certification. The Department will develop or may approve continuing education
credit courses for each level of certification.
(1)
Level 1 and 2 commercial manure
brokers and Level 3 commercial manure haulers. Every 3 calendar years,
Level 1 and Level 2 commercial manure brokers and Level 3 commercial manure
haulers, shall provide written documentation of completion of the required
number of continuing education credits. Continuing education credits shall be
received by attending and completing Department-developed or approved
continuing education courses in the competency requirements set forth in the
initial certification courses for the particular level at which the person is
certified. Competency requirements for Level 1 and Level 2 commercial manure
brokers are set forth in §
130e.11 (relating to determination
of competence) and competency requirements for Level 3 commercial manure
haulers are delineated in §
130e.41 (relating to determination
of competence). Continuing education credit courses and credits offered in
conjunction with the Department's nutrient management plan certification
regulations meet the requirements for continuing education credits under this
section.
(2)
Level 2
commercial manure haulers. Every 3 calendar years, Level 2 commercial
manure haulers shall provide written documentation of completion of the
required number of continuing education credits. Continuing education credits
shall be received by attending and completing Department-developed or approved
continuing education courses in the competency requirements for a Level 2
commercial manure hauler, which are set forth in §
130e.31 (relating to determination
of competence).
(3)
Level 1
commercial manure haulers. Every calendar year, Level 1 commercial
manure haulers shall complete an updated work sheet as set forth in subsection
(b)(2)(ii)(d).
(b)
Continuing education courses and credits.
(1)
Continuing education.
Continuing education credits shall be obtained through attendance at
Department- developed or approved courses. The Department will develop or
evaluate and approve continuing education courses for each level of commercial
manure broker and commercial manure hauler. The Department will publish
approved courses and the place, date and time for each course on the Department
website and in the Department's quarterly newsletter. The Department will also
notify certified commercial manure brokers and commercial manure haulers by
e-mail or by fax, or both, if the commercial manure broker or commercial manure
hauler has provided its contact information to the Department. The Department
will endeavor to hold continuing education courses in various regions across
this Commonwealth to assure reasonable access to certified commercial manure
brokers and haulers across this Commonwealth.
(2)
Continuing education
credits.
(i)
Rate of
accrual. Continuing education credits accrue at the rate of 1 credit
per hour of applicable instruction. Participants shall be required to sign in
and sign out of each continuing education course. Participants shall be
required to attend the entire continuing education course. A participant
leaving a continuing education course early shall receive no continuing
education credits. The sign in and sign out sheets will be provided by the
Department and shall be collected by the continuing education course provider
at the end of each day of the continuing education course and mailed to the
Department. The Department will record the name of each certified commercial
manure broker and certified commercial manure hauler attending the continuing
education course and assign the appropriate number of continuing education
credits to the broker's or hauler's file. Break periods such as coffee breaks,
lunches, visits to exhibits and the like will not be considered as part of the
instruction period and shall be excluded from the applicable instruction hours.
Question and answer sessions shall be considered part of the applicable
instruction hours. Early dismissal is not allowed and credits will not accrue
in any hour in which there was an early dismissal.
(ii)
Number of continuing education
credit hours required. Certified commercial manure brokers and
certified commercial manure haulers shall be required to obtain the following
amount of continuing education credits in Department-approved continuing
education courses:
(A) Level 1 certified
commercial manure brokers and Level 3 certified commercial manure haulers shall
be required to attain 9 continuing education credits every 3 years.
(B) Level 2 certified commercial manure
brokers shall be required to attain a total of 12 continuing education credits
every 3 years, with 3 of those 12 continuing education credits pertaining to
development of nutrient balance sheets.
(C) Level 2 certified commercial manure
haulers will be required to attain 6 continuing education credits every 3
years.
(D) Level 1 certified
commercial manure haulers shall not be required to attain continuing education
credits. Level 1 certified commercial manure haulers shall be required to
fill-out, sign and return an updated work sheet prior to the expiration of
their certification period. The Department will mail an updated work sheet to
each Level 1 certified commercial manure hauler at least 30 days prior to the
expiration of the Level 1 commercial manure hauler's certification. Upon
receipt of the completed and signed work sheet and the proper certification
fee, the Department will issue an updated certification.
(c)
Failure to
obtain continuing education credits. If a commercial manure broker or
commercial manure hauler allows his certification to expire and does not obtain
the required number and types of continuing education credits in accordance
with this chapter, the commercial manure broker's or commercial manure hauler's
certification shall have lapsed and that person's privilege to broker or haul
manure shall be suspended or revoked until the commercial manure broker or
commercial manure hauler obtains the required continuing education credits and
meets the recertification requirements of this chapter. If the commercial
manure broker or hauler has failed to obtain any of the required continuing
education credits, that person shall again satisfy the full certification
requirements established by this chapter for the level of certification sought
to be retained. The Department will send a written notice of the lapse and of
suspension or revocation of certification to the commercial manure broker or
hauler. The act requires maintenance of certification and, therefore, a
commercial manure broker or commercial manure hauler that has allowed his
certification to lapse shall refrain from brokering, hauling or land applying
manure until all delinquent continuing education credits are acquired or that
person has again completed the appropriate certification requirements and
received the Department's approval, has been removed from suspension and has
been reissued a commercial manure broker or hauler certification. Failure to
abide by the terms of this subsection is a violation of the act and this
chapter and shall subject the violator and his employer to the penalties
provisions in sections 6-9 of the act.
(d)
Revocation or suspension
. The Department's decision to revoke or suspend a commercial manure broker's
or commercial manure hauler's certification will be based on the gravity of the
offense. The Department will consider the willfulness of the violation,
previous violations and whether the person in question has continued to operate
despite not acquiring the required continuing education credits prior to lapse
of his current level of certification.
(1)
Suspended certification. A commercial manure broker or
commercial manure hauler whose certification has been suspended may not operate
until all continuing education credits have been met and approved by the
Department or that person has again completed the appropriate certification
requirements and received the approvals, as set forth in subsection
(c).
(2)
Revoked
certification. A commercial manure broker or commercial manure hauler
whose certification has been revoked, may not operate until the Department has
issued a new certification. To obtain certification again, the person whose
certification has been revoked shall again satisfy the full certification
requirements established by this chapter for the level of certification sought
to be obtained.
This section cited in 7 Pa. Code §
130e.61 (relating to denial,
suspension and revocation of
certificates).
