North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 08 - WATER POLLUTION CONTROL SYSTEM OPERATORS CERTIFICATION COMMISSION › Subchapter G - AUTHORITY: ORGANIZATION: STRUCTURE: DEFINITIONS › Section .0100 - GENERAL PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS › Section 08G .0102 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
In addition to the definitions in
					 G.S.
					 90A-46, the following definitions shall apply
					 throughout this Subchapter:
(1)
				  "Activated sludge" means a biological wastewater treatment process in which
				  biodegradable pollutants in wastewater are absorbed, or adsorbed, by living
				  aerobic organisms and bacteria in an aerated suspension that is separated from
				  the treated wastewater.
(2) "Actual
				  experience" means the time working as a water pollution control system operator
				  or operator in responsible charge. An operator is an individual whose job
				  responsibility is the physical operation of process equipment and systems at a
				  water pollution control system. Job responsibilities such as laboratory
				  testing, facility and equipment maintenance, administrative support, or direct
				  or indirect supervision do not qualify as actual experience.
(3) "ATU" means aerobic treatment unit and
				  refers to a treatment component that utilizes oxygen to degrade or decompose
				  wastewater with or without mechanical means. The term is used to describe
				  proprietary devices that use direct introduction of air into wastewater by
				  mechanical means to maintain aerobic conditions.
(4) "Approved training" means any training
				  required for examination eligibility or to meet continuing education
				  requirements as established in accordance with
				  15A NCAC
				  08G .0400 and
				  15A NCAC
				  08G .0701.
(5) "Back-up ORC" means Back-up Operator in
				  Responsible Charge and refers to the operator who is designated to act as
				  surrogate for the Operator in Responsible Charge (ORC) when the ORC is absent
				  from his or her professional duties as set forth in
				  G.S.
				  90A-44.
(6) "Basic sciences" means courses in
				  agronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, engineering, environmental health and
				  sciences, geology, math, physics, soil science, and zoology offered by a
				  college or university accredited by an agency recognized by the United States
				  Department of Education.
(7)
				  "Chemical process" means a water pollution control system process consisting of
				  the addition of chemicals to treat wastewaters.
(8) "Collection system" means a connection of
				  pipelines, conduits, pumping stations, and other related constructions or
				  devices used to conduct wastewater to a water pollution control
				  system.
(9) "Commission" means the
				  Water Pollution Control System Operators Certification Commission created by
				  G.S.
				  143B-300.
(10) "Contact Hour" means one hour of
				  Commission-approved operator instruction in accordance with
				  15A NCAC
				  08G .0701.
(11) "Contract operations firm" means any
				  commercial water pollution control system operations firm that contracts with
				  the owner of a water pollution control system to provide operational services
				  for the system pursuant to
				  G.S.
				  90A-45(a).
(12) "Contract operator" means any certified
				  water pollution control system operator who contracts with the owner of a water
				  pollution control system to provide operational and other services for the
				  system pursuant to
				  G.S.
				  90A-45(a).
(13) "Electrodialysis system" means a system
				  utilizing a selective separation of dissolved solids process that is based on
				  electrical charge and diffusion through a semipermeable membrane.
(14) "GED" means general educational
				  development in reference to a high school diploma equivalency.
(15) "Media filter" means a device that uses
				  materials designed to treat effluent by reducing biochemical oxygen demand and
				  removing suspended solids in an unsaturated environment. Biological treatment
				  is facilitated via microbial growth on the surface of the media.
(16) "Operator in Training (OIT)" means the
				  certificate issued with Commission approval to an individual prior to the
				  completion of the experience requirements for that level of
				  certification.
(17) "Operator in
				  Responsible Charge (ORC)" means the individual designated by a person, firm, or
				  corporation (municipal or private) owning or having control of a water
				  pollution control system as the operator of record of the water pollution
				  control system and who has primary responsibility for the operation of such
				  system as defined in
				  G.S.
				  90A-46
(18) "Owner" means the person, firm, or
				  corporation (municipal or private) owning or having control of a water
				  pollution control system as defined in
				  G.S.
				  90A-44.
(19) "Passing score" means earning 70 percent
				  of the available points on an examination administered by the
				  Commission.
(20) "Physical/Chemical
				  system" means any water pollution control system that utilizes a physical or a
				  chemical process or both.
(21)
				  "Physical process" means any water pollution control system process consisting
				  of electrodialysis, adsorption, absorption, air stripping, gravimetric
				  sedimentation, flotation, or filtration as the means of treatment.
(22) "Reciprocity certificate" means a
				  certificate issued of the appropriate type and grade to an applicant certified
				  in another state and who meets all other requirements set forth in Rule .0410
				  of this Section.
(23) "Regional
				  office" means one of the seven local offices of the Department of Environmental
				  Quality located across the State.
(24) "Residuals" means any solid, semisolid,
				  or liquid waste, other than effluent or residues from agricultural products and
				  processing, generated from a water pollution control facility, water supply
				  treatment facility, or air pollution control facility permitted under the
				  authority of the Environmental Management Commission or the Commission for
				  Public Health.
(25) "Reverse
				  osmosis system" means a system that utilizes solutions and semipermeable
				  membranes to separate and treat wastewaters.
(26) "Submerged fixed growth" means a
				  biological wastewater treatment system in which the wastewater is treated by
				  contact with a biological growth that is fixed to submerged support media and
				  includes systems such as rotating biological contactors and sequencing batch
				  reactors.
(27) "Successful
				  completion" means the attendance of 80 percent of the approved training for
				  examination eligibility and 100 percent of training for continuing
				  education.
(28) "Temporary
				  certificate" means a certificate issued of an appropriate type and grade,
				  without examination, to any person employed as a water pollution control system
				  operator when the Commission finds that the supply of certified operators, or
				  persons with the training and experience necessary for certification, is
				  inadequate and the situation meets the requirements set forth in
				  G.S.
				  90A-40(e).
(29) "Ultrafiltration system" means a system
				  that utilizes a membrane filter process to remove pollutants from
				  wastewater.
(30) "Valid
				  certificate" means the certificate of an operator that has all required renewal
				  fees paid, all required continuing education training completed, and has not
				  been revoked, relinquished, invalidated, or suspended.
(31) "Water pollution control system" means
				  any system for the collection, treatment, or disposal of wastewater and is
				  classified under the provisions of
				  G.S.
				  90A-37.
Authority
					 G.S.
					 143B-300;
Eff. April 1,
					 1999;
Amended Eff. December 1, 2006;
Readopted Eff.
					 September 1, 2018.