Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 150 - Water Resources › Subchapter 10 - Wastewater And Storm Water › Part 5 - Rules and Regulations for Wastewater Treatment Facility Operators › Section 250-RICR-150-10-5.11 - Certification

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Upon satisfactory fulfillment by an
				  applicant of the provisions of the rules and regulations adopted by the Board,
				  the Board shall issue a suitable Certificate designating competency. This two
				  (2) year Certificate shall expire at the end of every other calendar year and
				  may be renewed thereafter for additional two (2) year periods. The Certificate
				  shall indicate the grade of treatment facility for which the operator is
				  qualified. The Certificates for Superintendent and Assistant Superintendents
				  shall be prominently displayed in the office of the Wastewater Treatment
				  Facility.
B. A newly issued
				  Certificate shall expire at the end of odd-numbered calendar years and may be
				  renewed for additional two (2) year periods thereafter.
1. Licensees who are no longer employed at a
				  Rhode Island Wastewater Treatment Facility may continue to renew their
				  Certificate.
2. Licensees will be
				  notified at their address of record as to the expiration of their Certificate,
				  and the necessity to renew. All renewals and payments must be received by
				  December 31st of the year of expiration.
a. The license of any individual who does not
				  apply for renewal by December 31st of every
				  odd-numbered calendar year will expire. However, the Board will send a second
				  (2nd) notice to the licensee by Certified Mail
				  stating the individual has until February 15th (or
				  the following business day) to apply for renewal and pay a late fee of
				  twenty-five dollars ($25.00) in addition to the renewal fee. A copy of the
				  second (2nd) notice will be sent to the Operator's
				  Superintendent if the Licensee is employed at a Rhode Island Wastewater
				  Treatment Facility.
b. If a
				  Licensee does not renew by February 15th and pay the
				  renewal fee and the twenty-five dollar ($25.00) late fee, the expiration of
				  said License will remain permanently in effect. Once an individual's License is
				  permanently expired, said individual will no longer be able to work as an
				  operator at a Wastewater Treatment Facility in the State of Rhode
				  Island.
c. Should the Board be
				  unable to contact a Licensee whose address of record has changed and no
				  forwarding address is available, and if that Licensee is no longer working at a
				  Wastewater Treatment Facility in Rhode Island, the Board will make no further
				  attempt at notification regarding licensure expiration.
d. Re-certification will be through
				  examination only.
3.
				  Should the Board determine that a substantial number of acceptable training
				  courses are available to all grades of Rhode Island Licensees, then the Board
				  may institute a Mandatory Retraining for Renewal (MRR) requirement which will
				  operate with the following guidelines:
a. The
				  Board must notify Licensees, within ninety (90) days of the close of a two (2)
				  year licensure period that the MRR is presently in effect. Hence, in order to
				  renew an Operator License for the next renewal date (i.e., in approximately two
				  (2) years) a minimum amount of training will be required.
b. All Licensees must satisfactorily attain
				  twenty (20) hours of acceptable training within the two (2) year
				  period.
c. Training hours, to be
				  considered acceptable and to be applied to a Licensee's training hours, must be
				  achieved from a course, seminar, or other curriculum which has been approved by
				  the Board. Any course, seminar or curriculum will be reviewed by the Board or
				  its designees for purposes of granting prior approval.
d. The Licensee is responsible for ensuring
				  that a course, seminar or other curriculum is approved by the Board, and that
				  those hours with that course can be accredited to the Operator's training
				  requirements.
e. The burden of
				  proof lies with the Licensee to satisfy the Board that any course, seminar, or
				  other curriculum not previously approved by the Board meets Board criteria and
				  should be approved for credit.
f.
				  The Board is not responsible for notifying Licensees of their individual status
				  and/or the number of credited hours which they have attained. Additionally, it
				  is ultimately the individual Licensee's responsibility to inform the Board of
				  any training hours to be applied to their training hours.
g. At the close of the two (2) year renewal
				  period, the Board will determine if each Licensee has been credited with the
				  required hours of acceptable training.
h. If a Licensee has not acquired the
				  required hours, as specified above, then the License will not be renewed and
				  the License will then be invalid. With an invalid License, the individual will
				  not be able to work as an Operator at a Wastewater Treatment Facility in the
				  State of Rhode Island. Recertification will be by examination only.
4. At the time of License renewal,
				  a Licensee may choose to renew their License in either one (1) or the other of
				  two (2) licensure tiers: Tier One is reserved for renewals without
				  participation in optional training protocols; Tier Two renewal will include
				  documentation that the Licensee has, at their own discretion, met particular
				  training requirements, enumerated below.
a.
				  Renewal in Tier One will result in standard Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, or Grade
				  4 licensure levels; Tier Two renewals will result in a Grade 1T, Grade 2T,
				  Grade 3T, or Grade 4T. No matter what Tier the Licensee holds, the Licensee can
				  then choose during that renewal period to participate in the requisite training
				  so that subsequent renewal may be achieved at the Tier Two level.
b. For the purposes of these Regulations,
				  participation in the Tier Two level is optional.
c. Both Tiers will meet the intent of
				  statutory and regulatory Wastewater Operator licensure requirements.
d. To participate in Tier Two licensure
				  renewal, the Licensee must submit adequate documentation at the time of renewal
				  of the successful completion of training per the following:
(1) Operators seeking to participate in the
				  Tier Two licensure renewal status must attain twenty (20) training hours during
				  the prior renewal period.
(2) To be
				  credited toward the required amount of twenty (20) hours, a training
				  event/program must be approved by the Board.
(3) Approved training may include
				  professional conferences, classroom training, and in-house training programs or
				  active participation in the Narragansett Water Pollution Control Association's
				  Operator Challenge Team.
(4)
				  Applicable training is intended to be in topics that are not required for the
				  performance of an Operator's required duties, however the Board will accept
				  requests for approval for any training opportunity. The Board holds the final
				  authority as to the applicability of a particular training course for use by an
				  individual operator. Training required by the licensee's employer as a
				  condition of employment will not be applicable to meet the intent of this
				  provision.
(5) Unless otherwise
				  requested at the time of renewal application, Licenses will be renewed at the
				  Tier One level.
(6) Random audits
				  will examine the validity of submitted information for Tier Two renewal; a
				  determination that false or misleading information has been submitted regarding
				  training contact hours may result in the revocation of the License.
(7) The Board reserves the right to rescind a
				  prior approval of a training course and remove any hours from an operator's
				  total training hours that were gained through that course.