401 KAR 11:040. Water treatment and distribution system operators; classification and qualifications

      Section 1. Classification of Water Operator Certifications. (1) Water treatment certifications.

      (a) Limited certification. As provided in KRS 223.160(2), an operator issued a limited certificate may have primary responsibility for a water treatment facility for a school and for a semipublic water supply.

      (b) Class IA-D treatment certification.

      1. A Class IA-D treatment operator may be in direct responsible charge for a Class IA-D or Class IB-D water treatment plant as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      2. A Class IA-D treatment operator shall not be in direct responsible charge for a water treatment plant with a larger design capacity.

      (c) Class IB-D treatment certification.

      1. A Class IB-D treatment operator may be in direct responsible charge for a Class IB-D water treatment plant, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      2. A Class IB-D treatment operator shall not be in direct responsible charge for a water treatment plant with a larger design capacity.

      (d) Class IIA treatment certification.

      1. A Class IIA treatment operator may be in direct responsible charge for a Class IIA water treatment plant or a Subclass A or B water treatment plant of an equal to or smaller design capacity, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      2. A Class IIA treatment operator shall not be in direct responsible charge for a water treatment plant with a larger design capacity.

      (e) Class IIB-D treatment certification.

      1. A Class IIB-D treatment operator may be in direct responsible charge for a Class IIB-D water treatment plant or a Subclass B water treatment plant of a smaller design capacity, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      2. A Class IIB-D treatment operator shall not be in direct responsible charge for a water treatment plant with a larger design capacity.

      (f) Class IIIA treatment certification.

      1. A Class IIIA treatment operator may be in direct responsible charge for a Class IIIA water treatment plant or a Subclass A or B water treatment plant of an equal to or smaller design capacity, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      2. A Class IIIA treatment operator shall not be in direct responsible charge for a water treatment plant with a larger design capacity.

      (g) Class IIIB treatment certification.

      1. A Class IIIB treatment operator may be in direct responsible charge for a Class IIIB water treatment plant or a Subclass B water treatment plant of a smaller design capacity, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      2. A Class IIIB treatment operator shall not be in direct responsible charge for a water treatment plant with a larger design capacity.

      (h) Class IVA treatment certification.

      1. A Class IVA treatment operator may be in direct responsible charge of any Subclass A or B water treatment plant, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      (i) Class IVB treatment certification.

       A Class IVB treatment operator may be in direct responsible charge of any Subclass B water treatment plant, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      (2) Water distribution certifications.

      (a) Class ID distribution certification.

      1. A Class ID distribution operator may be in direct responsible charge for a Class ID water distribution system, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      2. A Class ID distribution operator shall not be in direct responsible charge for a water distribution system serving a larger population.

      (b) Class IID distribution certification.

      1. A Class IID distribution operator may be in direct responsible charge for a Class IIID water distribution system, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      2. A Class IID distribution operator shall not be in direct responsible charge for a water distribution system serving a larger population.

      (c) Class IIID distribution certification.

      1. A Class IIID distribution operator may be in direct responsible charge for a Class IIID water distribution system, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2.

      2. A Class IIID distribution operator shall not be in direct responsible charge for a water distribution system serving a larger population.

      (d) Class IVD distribution certification.

      1. A Class IVD distribution operator may be in direct responsible charge of any water distribution system.

      (3) Bottled water certification. A bottled water operator may be in direct responsible charge for a bottled water system that bottles water for sale.

      (4) Operator in Training designations.

      (a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection, a certified operator with an Operator in Training designation shall not serve in direct responsible charge of a water treatment plant or distribution system.

      (b) A certified operator with an Operator in Training designation shall work under the direct supervision of a certified operator who works at the same facility and has obtained a certification level that is equal to or greater than the certification level required to serve in direct responsible charge of the facility.

      (c) If a certified operator also has been issued a water treatment, distribution, or bottled water certification without an Operator in Training designation, the operator may serve in direct responsible charge a water treatment plant, distribution system or bottled water system as provided by this Section for the certifications that do not have an Operator in Training designation.

 

      Section 2. Water Operator Qualifications: Experience, Education, and Equivalencies. An individual desiring to become a certified operator shall meet the following minimum qualifications prior to the cabinet approving the individual to take a certification examination as established in 401 KAR 11:050.

      (1) The education and experience requirement for each class of water treatment certifications shall be as follows:

      (a) Limited certification:

      1. Education. A minimum level of education shall not be required.

      2. Experience. A minimum level of experience shall not be required.

      (b) Class IA-D treatment certification:

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. One (1) year of acceptable operation of a Subclass A public water system, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2, with any design capacity

      (c) Class IB-D treatment certification:

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. One (1) year of acceptable operation of a Subclass A or B public water system, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2, with any design capacity shall be required.

      (d) Class IIA treatment certification:

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. Two (2) years of acceptable operation of a water treatment plant, with six (6) months in a Class IIA, IIIA, or IVA water treatment plant, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2, shall be required.

      (e) Class IIB-D treatment certification:

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. Two (2) years of acceptable operation of a public water system with six (6) months in a Class IA-D, II B-D, or higher water treatment plan, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2, shall be required.

      (f) Class IIIA treatment certification:

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. Three (3) years of acceptable operation of a public water treatment plant with one (1) year in a Class IIA, IIIA, or IVA water treatment plant, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2, shall be required.

      (g) Class IIIB treatment certification:

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. Three (3) years of acceptable operation of a public water treatment plant with one (1) year in a Class IIA, IIB-D, IIIA, IIIB, IVA, or IVB water treatment plant, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2, shall be required.

      (h) Class IVA treatment certification:

      1. Education. A baccalaureate degree in engineering, science, or equivalent shall be required; and

      2. Experience. One (1) year of acceptable operation of a Class IIIA or IVA public water treatment plant, as established in 401 KAR 8:030, Section 2, shall be required.

      (i) Class IVB treatment certification:

      1. Education. A baccalaureate degree in engineering, science, or equivalent shall be required; and

       2. Experience. One (1) year of acceptable operation of a Class IIIA, IIIB, IVA, or IV public water treatment plant shall be required.

      (2) The educational and experience qualifications for water distribution certifications shall be as follows:

      (a) Class ID distribution certification:

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. One (1) year of acceptable operation of a water distribution system shall be required.

      (b) Class IID distribution certification:

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. Two (2) years of acceptable operation of a water distribution system shall be required.

       Six (6) months of the required experience shall be in a water distribution system serving a population greater than or equal to 1,500.

      (c) Class IIID distribution certification:

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. Three (3) years of acceptable operation of a water distribution system shall be required.

       One (1) year of the required experience shall be in a water distribution system serving a population greater than or equal to 1,500.

      (d) Class IVD distribution certification:

      1. Education. A baccalaureate degree in engineering, science, or equivalent shall be required; and

      2. Experience. One (1) year of acceptable operation of a water distribution system serving a population greater than or equal to 15,000 shall be required.

      (3) Bottled water certification. The educational and experience qualifications for bottled water certifications shall be as follows:

      (a) Education. A High school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      (b) Experience. One (1) year of acceptable operation of a bottled water system shall be required.

      (4) The educational and experience qualifications for Operator in Training designations shall be as follows:

      (a) Class IA-D Treatment, Class IB-D Treatment, Class ID Distribution, and Bottled Water certifications.

      1. Education. A high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate shall be required; and

      2. Experience. Experience shall not be required.

      (b) All other applicants for the classifications identified in subsections 1(1) and 1(2) of this administrative regulation;

      1. Shall have successfully qualified for and passed the certification exam of the same type classification at one (1) level lower than the Operator in Training designation being pursued; and

      2. Shall not have been subject to disciplinary action as provided by 401 KAR 11:050, Section 4.

      (5) Substitutions. The cabinet shall allow the following substitutions for the qualifications established in subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section:

      (a) Education in environmental engineering; environmental technology; and biological, physical, or chemical sciences shall be substituted if the substitution does not exceed fifty (50) percent of the required experience.

      1. An associate degree shall be considered equivalent to two (2) years of experience.

      2. A baccalaureate degree shall be considered equivalent to four (4) years of experience.

      3. Education that did not result in a degree in a related field may be substituted for the required experience as follows:

      a. Ten (10) contact hours, one (1) Continuing Education Unit, or one (1) post-secondary education quarter hour with a passing grade shall be considered equivalent to 0.022 years of experience.

      b. One (1) postsecondary education semester hour with a passing grade shall be considered equivalent to 0.033 years of experience.

      4. Education applied to the experience requirements specified in subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not be applied to the education requirement.

      (b) Experience may be substituted for the educational requirement as follows:

      1. One (1) year of operational experience at a water system may substitute for one (1) year of education.

      2. The cabinet may allow partial substitution of the education requirement by experience in maintenance, laboratory analysis, or other work related to the collection, treatment, or distribution of drinking water or wastewater. To establish how much experience shall be accepted, the cabinet shall determine the degree of technical knowledge needed to perform the work and the degree of responsibility the applicant had in the operation of the system.

      3. Experience applied to the education requirement specified in subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not be applied to the experience requirement.

      (c) Water treatment and distribution experience may be substituted as follows:

      1. Two (2) years of distribution system experience shall be considered equivalent to one (1) year of treatment experience.

      2. One (1) year of treatment experience shall be considered equivalent to one (1) year of distribution system experience. (36 Ky.R. 1055; 1457; eff. 2-5-2010.)

Notation

      RELATES TO: KRS 223.160-220, 224.10-100, 224.10-110, EO 2009-538

      STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 223.160-220, 224.10-100, 224.10-110, EO 2009-538

      NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 224.10-100 and 224.10-110 authorize the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations concerning the certification of water operators. EO 2009-538, effective June 12, 2009, establishes the new Energy and Environment Cabinet. This administrative regulation establishes classification of water treatment and distribution operator certifications and establishes the qualifications for certification.