Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 25 - Water Resources, Flood and Erosion Control › 32 - Qualifications of Operators of Water Treatment Plants › Certification of Water Treatment Plant Operators › Section 25-32-9 - Qualifications for certified water treatment operators

Current through July 10, 2024
(a)
				Except as provided in subsections (e) and (f) of this section, every community
				water system and every non-transient non-community water system treatment plant
				shall have at least one operator who is certified at the plant's class or
				higher and who shall be designated by the system as the chief operator. The
				chief operator shall have direct responsible charge of the plant. In the event
				that the chief operator is not available, the system shall place an operator,
				who is certified at the plant's class or higher, in direct responsible charge
				to serve in the interim. All operators in direct responsible charge and any
				operators making process control/system integrity decisions about water quality
				or quantity, that affect public health, shall be certified at the plant's class
				or higher or certified as a conditional or provisional operator.
(b) To become certified as a water treatment
				plant operator a person must demonstrate the ability to responsibly operate a
				plant of the given classification applied for (I, II, III, IV) by passing a
				written examination. To qualify to take the examination, a person shall submit
				an application to the Department on a form provided by the
				Department.
(c) Minimum education
				and experience requirements to qualify for the written examination:
Class
Education (yrs.)
Experience in class (yrs.)
I
12
1
II
12
2
III
12
3
IV
12
4
The minimum education requirement shall be met by either a
				  high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma. Any amount of
				  educational training beyond high school (12 years) in a field of study
				  applicable to water treatment may be substituted for an equal amount of the
				  experience requirement; however, one year of experience is, for purposes of
				  this subsection, required for all classes. Experience in class means experience
				  gained in operating a particular class plant or the next lower class providing
				  that the operator has direct responsible charge.
(d)
Examination requirement for
				certification
- A written examination administered by the Department
				will be given to qualifying operator candidates. The examination will test the
				candidate's ability to responsibly operate a plant of the given classification
				applied for (I, II, III, IV). A passing score will be required for
				certification.
(e)
Existing
				operators
- If an operator having direct responsible charge of a plant
				as of February 9, 1989 is not certified, the department may certify that
				operator as a limited operator upon presentation of an application by the
				system by February 9, 1990. This certification is only granted for a specific
				plant and cannot be transferred to another plant, system or individual. A
				limited operator cannot be designated as a chief operator but can serve in
				direct responsible charge. If an operator has had direct responsible charge of
				a non-transient non-community water system water treatment plant for at least
				the one year prior to the effective date of the most recent revisions of
				sections
				25-32-7a
				to
				25-32-14,
				inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and is not
				certified, the Department may certify that operator as a conditional operator
				upon presentation of an application by the system within one year of the
				effective date of the most recent revisions of sections
				25-32-7a
				to
				25-32-14,
				inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. This certification
				is only granted for a specific plant and cannot be transferred to another
				plant, system or individual. The conditional certification is no longer valid
				if the plant classification changes to a higher level. A conditional operator
				shall meet all renewal requirements including training hour requirements for
				the operator class equal to the classification of the specific plant. The
				Department may certify a maximum of two conditional operators per non-transient
				non-community water system. A conditional operator can perform the functions of
				a certified operator.
(f)
Provisional operators
- If a system does not have a qualified
				operator as outlined in Section
				25-32-9(a)
				and if the department determines that this is due to reasons beyond the
				system's control, the Department may certify an operator as a provisional
				operator. The system must submit a request in writing, which indicates the
				reasons for not having a qualified operator and include an application. The
				provisional operator certificate would only be granted for a given plant and
				only be given to an operator who could qualify to take the appropriate class
				exam within 2 years. A provisional operator can perform the functions of a
				certified operator.
(g)
Operator-in-training
- A person who has received either a
				certificate of achievement in water management from a Connecticut
				Community-Technical College, or an equivalent as determined by the Department,
				may apply to take any class examination. After successful completion of the
				examination, the person will be an operator-in-training. After the
				operator-in-training has completed the education and experience requirements of
				the appropriate class, he may apply to become a certified operator.