II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1417

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for training

and certification of individuals in the operation of wastewater treatment

works, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 6 (legislative day, JUNE 30), 1993

Mr. WOFFORD (for himself and Mr. BAUCUS) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and

Public Works

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for training and certification of individuals in the

operation of wastewater treatment works, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wastewater Treatment

5 Operator Training and Certification Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. OPERATOR TRAINING.

7 Section 109 of the Federal Water Pollution Control

8 Act (33 U.S.C. 1259) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 109. OPERATOR TRAINING.

2 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL PROGRAM.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall

4 develop and implement a national program to train

5 individuals in the operation of municipal and indus6 trial wastewater treatment works and other facilities

7 with a water pollution control purpose.

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAINING PRO9 GRAM.—The training program under this section

10 shall include—

11 ‘‘(A) the preparation of undergraduate stu12 dents enrolled in institutions of higher edu13 cation to enter an occupation that involves the

14 design, operation, and maintenance of

15 wastewater treatment works;

16 ‘‘(B) inservice training to improve and ad17 vance the knowledge and skills of individuals

18 employed in fields related to the design, oper19 ation, and maintenance of wastewater treat20 ment works; and

21 ‘‘(C) preservice training to be provided to

22 high school graduates who are not employed to

23 carry out the operation and maintenance of a

24 wastewater treatment works at the time the

25 training is provided.

26 ‘‘(b) TRAINING PROGRAM GRANTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall

2 make grants to, or offer to enter into contracts with,

3 the appropriate officials of institutions of higher

4 education, or combinations of the institutions, and

5 State agencies to support the development and im6 plementation of wastewater treatment training pro7 grams pursuant to this section.

8 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after

9 the date of enactment of paragraph (5), the Admin10 istrator shall publish guidance that specifies the

11 minimum elements of the wastewater training pro12 grams referred to in paragraph (1). The guidance

13 shall indicate the relative emphasis that shall be

14 given to—

15 ‘‘(A) facility design, operation, and mainte16 nance;

17 ‘‘(B) undergraduate, inservice, and

18 preservice training; and

19 ‘‘(C) training for industrial and municipal

20 facilities.

21 ‘‘(3) SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS.—Not later

22 than 18 months after the date of enactment of para23 graph (5), the Administrator shall solicit proposals

24 from institutions of higher education, or combina-
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1 tions of the institutions, and State agencies to pro2 vide training services.

3 ‘‘(4) TRAINING GRANTS.—The Administrator

4 shall, to the extent adequate funds are available,

5 award training grants to institutions of higher edu6 cation, or combinations of the institutions, and State

7 agencies for each fiscal year.

8 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERATIONS FOR AWARDING

9 GRANTS.—In awarding a training grant under this

10 subsection, the Administrator shall consider—

11 ‘‘(A) the demonstrated capability of the

12 applicant to provide training services;

13 ‘‘(B) the degree to which the proposed pro14 gram is consistent with the guidance published

15 pursuant to paragraph (2);

16 ‘‘(C) the results of any evaluation con17 ducted pursuant to paragraph (7); and

18 ‘‘(D) the degree to which the geographic

19 area to be served by the program that is the

20 subject of the grant proposal will, in combina21 tion with other programs funded pursuant to

22 this section, ensure the reasonable availability

23 of training programs throughout the United

24 States.
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1 ‘‘(6) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS.—In allocating

2 available grant funds among training programs, the

3 Administrator shall consider the need for training in

4 the area served, as reflected in the report to Con5 gress issued pursuant to section 112(b).

6 ‘‘(7) REVIEW AND EVALUATION.—The Adminis7 trator shall provide for the review and evaluation of

8 each training program that receives funding pursu9 ant to this section not later than 3 years after the

10 program initially receives the funding, and every 3

11 years thereafter.

12 ‘‘(c) TRAINING NEEDS.—The Administrator shall de13 velop and maintain a system for forecasting the supply

14 of, and demand for, various professional and other occupa15 tional categories needed for the prevention, reduction, and

16 elimination of water pollution in each region, State, or

17 area of the United States.’’.

18 SEC. 3. OPERATOR CERTIFICATION.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 110 of the Federal Water

20 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1260) is amended to

21 read as follows:

22 ‘‘SEC. 110. OPERATOR CERTIFICATION.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

24 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Chief Operator of a

25 publicly owned treatment works that has a permit is-
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1 sued pursuant to section 402, and such additional

2 personnel as may be designated by the Adminis3 trator, shall be required to be certified as proficient

4 pursuant to this section by a State that has a cer5 tification program that is approved by the Adminis6 trator.

7 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirement re8 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall become effective on

9 the date that is 4 years after the date of enactment

10 of paragraph (4), unless the Administrator extends

11 the effective date pursuant to paragraph (3).

12 ‘‘(3) EXTENSION.—The Administrator may ex13 tend the effective date of the requirement referred to

14 in paragraph (1) for a period of not to exceed 3

15 years on a facility-specific basis if the Administrator

16 determines that, with respect to a facility, adequate

17 opportunity to seek certification did not exist during

18 the period described in paragraph (2).

19 ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION GRANTED TO INDIVID20 UAL.—Each certification of proficiency issued by the

21 appropriate official of a State under this section

22 shall be granted to the individual that receives the

23 certification and shall not be granted to the treat24 ment works where the individual is employed.
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1 ‘‘(5) PERIOD OF CERTIFICATION.—A certifi2 cation of proficiency issued under this section shall

3 be effective during the 5-year period beginning on

4 the date of certification. An individual may be

5 recertified on termination of the 5-year period (and

6 on termination of each subsequent 5-year period) if

7 the individual complies with inservice training and

8 related education requirements for the certification.

9 ‘‘(6) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

10 this section is intended to be construed to prevent a

11 State from requiring more frequent certification

12 than is specified in paragraph (5).

13 ‘‘(b) GUIDELINES.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

15 the date of enactment of this subsection, the Admin16 istrator shall publish guidelines specifying minimum

17 standards for certification of operators by a State

18 pursuant to this section.

19 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR GUIDELINES.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The guidelines de21 scribed in paragraph (1) shall specify minimum

22 standards for a Chief Operator of a publicly

23 owned treatment works and for such additional

24 personnel as the Administrator determines ap25 propriate for proficiency certification.
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1 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL STANDARDS.—In addi2 tion to the standards referred to in subpara3 graph (A), the guidelines shall establish such

4 additional standards as the Administrator de5 termines necessary to ensure proficiency in the

6 operation of large, complex treatment systems.

7 The guidelines may provide for onsite assess8 ment in any case in which the assessment is

9 necessary to determine proficiency.

10 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT WORKS OPERATOR’S MAN11 UAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact12 ment of this subsection, the Administrator shall pub13 lish a treatment works operator’s manual that de14 scribes essential knowledge and skills of—

15 ‘‘(A) a Chief Operator; and

16 ‘‘(B) such additional personnel as the Ad17 ministrator determines appropriate to receive

18 operator proficiency certification.

19 ‘‘(c) STATE PROGRAMS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of

21 publication of the guidelines under subsection (b),

22 the Governor of a State may submit to the Adminis23 trator, in such form as the Administrator may re24 quire, a certification program under this section.

25 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM APPROVAL.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

2 shall review and approve or disapprove a pro3 gram submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) not

4 later than 90 days after the submittal of the

5 application. The Administrator shall approve

6 the application on the basis of a determination

7 that—

8 ‘‘(i) the State certification program

9 will be consistent with the guidelines pub10 lished pursuant to subsection (b);

11 ‘‘(ii) the State has committed to im12 plement the program by not later than 1

13 year after the date of approval of the ap14 plication; and

15 ‘‘(iii) the State agrees to provide to

16 the Administrator such information con17 cerning the program as the Administrator

18 may request.

19 ‘‘(B) PROGRAMS IN EFFECT BEFORE THE

20 SUBMITTAL OF AN APPLICATION.—With respect

21 to any State that submits an application pursu22 ant to this subsection concerning a State certifi23 cation program that was implemented before

24 the date of submittal of the application, in mak25 ing a decision whether to approve the applica-
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1 tion, the Administrator may consider the effec2 tiveness of the program in effect on the date of

3 submittal of a program pursuant to this sub4 section.

5 ‘‘(3) DISAPPROVAL OF PROGRAM.—In any case

6 in which the Administrator disapproves a program,

7 the Administrator shall provide to the State a writ8 ten statement of the reasons for disapproval. The

9 State may, not later than 90 days after receipt of

10 the statement of the Administrator, submit to the

11 Administrator such modifications to the application

12 as may be necessary. Not later than 30 days after

13 receipt of the revised application, the Administrator

14 shall approve or disapprove the revised application.

15 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—A State

16 may establish a certification requirement in addition

17 to the requirements established pursuant to this

18 section.’’.

19 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 309(g)(1)(A) of such

20 Act (33 U.S.C. 1319(g)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting

21 ‘‘110(a),’’ after ‘‘violated section’’.

22 SEC. 4. SCHOLARSHIPS.

23 (a) RELATIONSHIP TO TRAINING GRANT PRO24 GRAM.—Section 111(3) of the Federal Water Pollution

25 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1261(3)) is amended by striking
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1 subparagraph (C) and inserting the following new sub2 paragraph:

3 ‘‘(C) that the institution is participating in, or

4 has participated in, the training grant program

5 under section 109(b); and’’.

6 (b) REPRESENTATION OF MINORITIES AND

7 WOMEN.—Section 111(3)(D) of such Act (33 U.S.C.

8 1261(3)(D)) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i);

10 and

11 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert12 ing ‘‘, and (iii) the institution will make reasonable

13 efforts to ensure representation of minorities and

14 women in the program.’’.

15 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS AND AUTHORIZATIONS.

16 Section 112 of the Federal Water Pollution Control

17 Act (33 U.S.C. 1262) is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting after the

19 first sentence the following new sentence: ‘‘The term

20 shall include any community college, technical col21 lege, or State environmental agency.’’;

22 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the

23 following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(b) The Administrator shall, not later than 2 years

25 after the date of enactment of the Wastewater Treatment
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1 Operator Training and Certification Act of 1993, and not

2 less frequently than every 2 years thereafter, submit a re3 port to Congress concerning the implementation of train4 ing, certification, and scholarship programs under sections

5 109, 110, and 111. Each report submitted to Congress

6 under this subsection shall include a forecast of the supply

7 of, and demand for, water pollution control profes8 sionals.’’; and

9 (3) in subsection (c)—

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and

11 (B) by adding at the end the following new

12 paragraph:

13 ‘‘(2) There are authorized to be appropriated to the

14 Environmental Protection Agency to carry out sections

15 109 and 111, $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1994

16 through 2000.’’.

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