340-230-0375 Municipal Waste Combustors, Small Municipal Waste Combustion Unit: Operator Certification (1) Types of operator certification: (a) Each chief facility operator and shift supervisor must obtain and keep a current provisional operator certification from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers or a current provisional operator certification from the State certification program. (b) Each chief facility operator and shift supervisor must obtain a provisional certification by December 19, 2004. (c) Each chief facility operator and shift supervisor must take one of three actions: (A) Obtain a full certification from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers or a State certification program in the State; (B) Schedule a full certification exam with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; or (C) Schedule a full certification exam with the State certification program. (d) The chief facility operator and shift supervisor must obtain the full certification or be scheduled to take the certification exam by June 19, 2004 for Class I units and by December 19, 2004 for Class II units. (2) Who is allowed to operate the municipal waste combustion unit. After the required date for full or provisional certification, no person may operate the municipal waste combustion unit unless one of the following four employees is on duty: a fully certified chief facility operator, a provisionally certified chief facility operator who is scheduled to take the full certification exam, a fully certified shift supervisor, or a provisionally certified shift supervisor who is scheduled to take the full certification exam. (3) Who can temporarily operate the unit: (a) If the certified chief facility operator and certified shift supervisor both are unavailable, a provisionally certified control room operator at the municipal waste combustion unit may fulfill the certified operator requirement. Depending on the length of time that a certified chief facility operator and certified shift supervisor are away, one of the following criteria must be met: (A) When the certified chief facility operator and certified shift supervisor are both offsite for 12 hours or less and no other certified operator is onsite, the provisionally certified control room operator may perform those duties without notice to, or approval by, the Department. (B) When the certified chief facility operator and certified shift supervisor are offsite for more than 12 hours, but for 2 weeks or less, and no other certified operator is onsite, the provisionally certified control room operator may perform those duties without notice to, or approval by, the Department. However, the owner or operator must record the periods when the certified chief facility operator and certified shift supervisor are offsite and include the information in the annual report as specified under OAR 340-230-0395(4)(b)(L). (C) When the certified chief facility operator and certified shift supervisor are offsite for more than 2 weeks, and no other certified operator is onsite, the provisionally certified control room operator may perform those duties without prior notice to, or approval by, the Department. However, the owner or operator must take two subsequent actions: (i) Notify the Department in writing. In the notice, state what caused the absence and what is being done to ensure that a certified chief facility operator or certified shift supervisor is onsite. (ii) Submit a status report and corrective action summary to the Department every 4 weeks following the initial notification. If the Department notifies the owner or operator that the status report or corrective action summary is disapproved, the municipal waste combustion unit may continue operation for 90 days, but then must cease operation. If corrective actions are taken in the 90-day period such that the Department withdraws the disapproval, municipal waste combustion unit operation may continue. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 468.020 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 468A.025 History: DEQ 4-2003, f. & cert. ef. 2-06-03