Jim Grassiano – Alabama Department of Environmental Management

Mary Alice Corcoran – Alabama Department of Environmental Management

ADEM Operator Certification

Preliminary Draft Regulation & OC

Program Updates

2020 Alabama Rural Water Association Annual Webinar Series

April-June 2020

Revised Operator

Certification Regulation

We’ve spent a lot of time in the last 18

months talking about the need for a

change to our Division 10 Regulation

We’ve highlighted our intentions about

the OC regulation at various meetings

and conferences

The time has come to move this along and

implement the regulation

Revised Operator

Certification Regulation

Today we’re going to mainly discuss

the details included in the proposed

new regulation

We’re NOT going to spend much time on

WHY we are adopting a new regulation

The Need for A Change

• Implement psychometric exams

• Maintain reciprocity with other states

• Align NTK Criteria with ABC exams

• Update the regulation to reflect broad

operational oversight changes that are

warranted 30+ years after the initial Div

10 regulation came into existence

• Maintain EPA delegated authority

To briefly overview, we must:

“Preliminary Draft”

• Released for general distribution in

early January

• Goal is to get stakeholder feedback

• We will develop a revised Draft that

will go to formal Public Notice in the

months ahead. We WERE Targeting

June 1, 2020. Now TBD.

“Preliminary Draft”

• We have already made several changes in

response to comments…and we do

expect to make more changes

• Many regulation details are open for

discussion

• Some things are negotiable

• Some are not…

“Preliminary Draft”

Once again, we have made significant

changes to the Preliminary Draft that was

distributed in early January:

• Based on Utility/Operator Feedback

• Based on internal ADEM advisement or

Water Division input

“Preliminary Draft”

As well, we have made significant changes to

the Preliminary Draft ranking protocol that

was distributed in early January, also:

• Based on Utility/Operator Feedback

• Based on internal ADEM advisement or

Water Division input

“Revised Preliminary

Draft”

Is now located on ADEM’s Operator

Certification Web Page

The web location is here:

http://www.adem.state.al.us/programs/water/

opcertification.cnt

• The revised regulation and Plant

Ranking Protocols are both on the web

page

http://www.adem.state.al.us/programs/water/opcertification.cnt

Operator Inventory

(as of Feb 2020)

• Total Certified Water

Operators: 2553

– This total number consists of

• 783 Grade IV Water Operators

• 207 Grade III Water Operators

• 838 Grade II Water Operators

• 725 Grade I Water Operators

Est. No. of

Systems

(579 Total

Systems)

• 79

• 26

• 282

• 192

Operator Inventory

(as of Feb 2020)

• Total Certified Wastewater

Operators: 1622

– This total number consists of

• 605 Grade IV Wastewater Operators

• 166 Grade III Wastewater Operators

• 287 Grade II Wastewater Operators

• 122 Grade I Wastewater Operators

• 442 Grade IC Wastewater Operators

No. of

Systems

(482 Plants)

• ≈ 37 (IV)

• ≈ 77 (III)

• ≈ 208 (II)

• ≈ 160 (I)

• ≈ 510 (IC)

Operator Inventory

(as of 1/25/20)

• We have 4175 Certifications issued

• There are 675 people dual certified

• Overall, we have 3500 people certified in

Water and Wastewater programs

Operator Inventory

(as of 1/25/20)

• Main issues to note:

– We have about 50 more WW operators than

last year

– We have about 17 more Water operators than

last year

• We’re heading in the right direction

Operator Inventory

Survey

• On 3/10/20, ADEM sent out a Survey

regarding present and future (5-year

outlook) needs for Water and Wastewater

Operators

• Went to every Water and WW Utility in the

State

• Requested by ADEM’s Director, so the

whole issue of operator needs is getting

good attention

Future Regulation Change

• This will be the most significant change

in ADEM’s OC history since the

inception of the original ADEM rule in

1986

• There are many changes in store

• The preliminary draft phase is an

important time to get your feedback

It’s obvious. Operation is

becoming more challenging…

An Operator must:

Know more…

Do more…

Be responsible for more…

Learn more…

Mentor more…

Sample more…

Than ever before…!!

Protect more…

Lots of things have changed in

30+ (actually 45+) years

CWA – 1972

SDWA – 1974 (see below)

National Primary DW Standards 1985

Surface Water Treatment Rule 1989

Total Coliform Rule 1989

SDWA Amendments of 1986

DBP Regulation 1998

It just keeps going…!!

SDWA – initially Treatment Techniques and 23 MCLs

SDWA Amendments of 1996

Lead and Copper Regulations 1990UCMR 1999

Lead and Copper Rule Action Levels 2000

Filter Backwash Recycl Rule 2001

LT1 Enhanced SWTR 2002

LT2 Enhanced SWTR 2006Stage 2 DBP Rule 2006

Groundwater Rule 2006 UCMR 4 2016-2020UCMR 5 - TBD

Lots of things have changed in

30+ (actually 45+) yearsOf course there is more…much more...

CCRs, Financial Issues,

Enforcement, Industrial

Development, etc, etc.

Feedback Period

• You can email, call us, provide written

review comments, or request a meeting

with us

• We are setting up a series of

workshops…

Planned Workshops to

Discuss the Regulation

• We will have a number of public forums to

discuss the Preliminary Draft regulation:

• [All of the dates will be re-scheduled!]

– March 30: Huntsville

– April 1: Dothan

– April 2: Muscle Shoals

– April 10: Prattville

– April 13: Tuscaloosa

We’re going to focus on

the changes now…

• What is going to be different…?

• How will operators be personally affected

• What about the effect on Utilities?

Plant Ranking

• New numerical ranking system for Water

Plants and Wastewater Plants, based on

treatment complexity, design flow,

population served, and operator

responsibility (e.g., lab work)…among

other things

Plant Ranking

• Yes, your plant classification may change

• However, most plants will not go up in

grade and for those that do, few will

require additional operator staffing

requirements

Wastewater Plant Ranking

• Grade I through IV Treatment

• Grade I WW Treatment plant is no longer

a “lagoon”

Water Plant Ranking

• Also Grade I through IV Water Treatment

• Grade I is no longer a distribution system

• Grade I is now a Grade I Water Treatment

designation

Distribution and Collection

• Distribution and Collection systems will

also undergo a classification process,

based solely on population

Grade ID

Grade IID

Grade IC

Grade IIC

Grade IC and ID = 15,000 or less

Grade IIC and IID = 15,001 and greater

Separating Out Treatment

and Distribution/Collection

• Utilities will need to have a designated

operator(s) for their treatment plant and a

designated operator(s) for their collection

and distribution system

• For small and mid-sized utilities, this can

be the same person(s)

Separating Out Treatment

and Distribution/Collection

• If you are a utility that has not truly had a

dedicated distribution or collection system

operator (i.e., if you have used the current

regulatory ‘loophole’ to avoid this

responsibility), then you need to prepare

for this change

Future Certification Exams

• All exams will be standardized exams

• These exams will be Association of

Boards of Certification (ABC) exams

• All exams are 3-hour exams, except

Grade IV Treatment exams (4-hours)

Future Certification Exams

• Grade IC/D Exams = ABC Grade IC/D

• Grade IIC/D Exams = ABC Grade IIIC/D

- About 161 Cities fall into the IC/D range

- 39 municipalities fall into the Grade IIC/D realm

Alabama -- ABC C&D

Classifications

• Do not completely align

Comparison of Alabama to

ABC C & D Classification

• Grade IC/D = 1,500 or less

• Grade IIC/D = 1,501 to 15,000

• Grade IIIC/D = 15,001 to 50,000

• Grade IV C/D= >50,001

• Grade IC/D = 15,001

Alabama ClassificationABC Classification

Why Different…?

• We didn’t see the need to have

complete alignment

• Making the change to adopt TWO

classifications is believed to be a

notable improvement for Alabama’s

certification program at this time

Interim-Step Exam for

Grade III or IV Treatment

• An operator candidate will have to pass

a Grade II exam prior to taking a Grade

III or IV exam

– Exception for someone holding a 4-year

college degree in engineering or

biological/chemical sciences

EPA Oversight

• EPA is aware of what ADEM is doing to

revise our Division 10 (Op Cert)

regulation

– They are very supportive of the proposed

changes

Staffing Requirements

Red text = notable changes

Keep in mind that: 1. most small WWTPs (e.g., schools, small lagoons)

will be a Grade I WWTP; 2. most Water basic GW systems will be a

Grade I WTP

Grade II Mechanical

WWTPs

• A key issue here is that we anticipate that

many small mechanical plants and ALL

small package plants < 15,000 gpd will be

a Grade I WWTP

Grade II Mechanical

WWTPs

• We have to consider the appropriateness

of what we are trying to achieve:

• Is visiting say a 100,000 gpd mechanical

WWTP only once/week or even three

times/week (as now proposed)

appropriate? Likely not, if the plant is to

be appropriately operated..!!

Please Review Your

Classification

• We did not have the luxury of classifying

ALL of our existing plants

• Please go through the Draft Ranking of

your plant to determine your future

classification and assess any concerns or

implications

• Let us know your concerns

** Make sure you have the latest version of

the Ranking Protocol

Please Review Your

Classification

• The new ranking protocol is an excel file

instead of a writeable pdf

• This allows the person completing the

form to write notes along the way

• Much more user friendly

• The improved ranking process is easier to

follow

• The point brackets for each grade have

changed, however

A Note about the Revised Point

Brackets (e.g., cutoff between

grade of plant)

• Don’t just assume the new staffing

requirements will affect your plant, as the

grade of your plant may go up or down

• But, also note that we do anticipate that

many (perhaps most) existing Grade II

plants will be downgraded to a Grade I

plant…on both the Water and Wastewater

side

Please Review Your

Classification

• The ranking protocol is very simple and only

takes

Collection & Distribution

Staffing Requirements

• For both IC/D and IIC/D systems, the

minimum requirement for an Operator

“Visit” is once every 7 days

• Also “at all times necessary to ensure

safe, efficient, and proper operation”

Collection & Distribution

Staffing Requirements

• Small water distribution and wastewater

collection systems with < 1,000 ft of

water/sewer main will NOT be required to

have a separate Collection and

Distribution operator

• The treatment plant operator will be

responsible for these very small C & D

systems

Tell Us Where you Work

• Every operator will be required** to

submit an operator employment form:

– Standard Operator Employment

– Operator of Multiple Systems

• You will NOT be an operator of record

until you submit this form

• If you change jobs, you must tell ADEM** We will still allow a utility to notify us, when it is most reasonable

to do so (e.g., retirement)

Multiple Systems

• Multiple Systems operators will be

subject to ADEM review:

– Not something we plan to use often, but

we will be auditing unusual situations

– If an operator is found to NOT be meeting

the minimum operator responsibilities at

one of his or her systems, that operator

may be subject to enforcement

Operator Logs

• Required at every treatment plant,

collection, and distribution system

• This is to show the operator of record at

any given time

– Plant operator log kept at the treatment plant

– C &D operator log kept at an approved specified location

Facility Operations

Logbook

• This is the record of all process control

decisions and daily operational

oversight actions made by certified

operators

• This is a “new” operator requirement

– Also kept at the treatment plant

– C &D operations log kept at an approved specified location

– This logbook can be kept “electronically” for a facility (e.g.,

SCADA file or proprietary operations software file)

Facility Operations

Logbook – Operator Intern

• Every operator intern should have his

or her logbook to document the

experience you are attaining

Unpermitted Collection

Systems

• We are unsure how many of these

(sometimes called ‘Satellite Collection

Systems’) are out there. Perhaps 50 or

so…but possibly more.

• They are now required to have a

certified operator

Work Shift Limitation

• 16-hours per day max

• A utility can forego written approval of a

exceptions during weather

emergencies, plant upsets, or staff

illness

• The objective is to restrict ridiculous

typical day-to-day work shifts

Contract Operation

• Utilities are required to ensure that

contracts meet all Division 10 operator

responsibilities

Direct Responsible Charge

• Newly adopted term

• Utilities are to designate who is in DRC

of a Grade III and IV Treatment Plant

and a IIC/IID Collection/Distribution

System and/or to designate who is in

DRC of various major plant/system

functions & responsibilities

Direct Responsible Charge

• We will have more guidance on this

issue forthcoming

• It will NOT be an administrative burden

• In some cases, a Utility may choose to

submit a DRC Plan to ADEM that

outlines intern training roles

Intern in DRC

• This is an important new requirement to

ensure the operator candidate obtains

meaningful on-site operator experience

prior to certification

• This is a distinguishing requirement to

attain Grade III and Grade IV

Treatment…and Grade IIC and IID

certification

Revocation Clause

• For falsifying for any work experience,

including work in DRC and as an intern

in DRC

• Applies to anyone vouching for

experience claimed by an operator

intern

Revocation Clause

Extending Lapse Period

or Sunset Clause

• An operator will have up to 365 days to

recover or retain their certification

• Two incremental late fees:

–

Continuing Education

Requirements

• The term “Dual Certified” will change, as

certification will be required for Treatment

AND Collection/Distribution

• Thus, someone may hold up to 4

certifications

• A future consideration: Does every person

really NEED to have T&C or T&D

certification? Sometimes yes, but maybe not

Continuing Education

Requirements

Example of prospective carryover hours and CEHs

needed to be attained in a 3-year renewal period

This is why there is now a maximum of 5

carryover hours per certification

CEHs for “Equivalent

Working Experience”

• Limited to only 8-hours for exam prep

training classes and only for an

operator candidate pursuing a higher

level of certification

Acceptable CEHs

• Other clarifying changes were made to

limit several other categories of

training:

– 4 hrs for homeland security/anti-terrorism

training as applies to W & WW plants

– No longer accepting CEHs for defensive

driving

– No longer universally accepting CEHs for

temporary traffic control training. Now

only for C & D Operators

Acceptable CEHs

(cont’d)

– 8 hours of Trenching and shoring training

also limited to only collection and

distribution operators

– Formally adding the acceptance of plant

awards inspections

Acceptable CEHs

(cont’d)

Correspondence, in-house, video, and on-

Line training classes:

– Should be pre-approved by ADEM

Unacceptable CEHs

(cont’d)

– Homeland Security/EMA Certification

Classes

– OSHA Certification Classes

– Construction Stormwater [“Credentialed

Inspector Training”]

Certification Renewals

– MUST be submitted online

– No longer accepting hard copy

applications for renewal

Certification Renewals

Our Goal is to EVENTUALLY get to

“Automated Renewals”**

– Operators will print out their own renewal

cards

– Operators will be subject to audits of CEHs

attained

**Automated renewal will NOT be ready by the time

the new regulation is implemented

“Grandfathering”

• All present TREATMENT certifications

will be grandfathered-in to also have an

unrestricted Grade IIC or IID

certification, respectively

• For any treatment plant that increases

in grade: Operators will be issued a

restricted higher grade certification, in

addition to their present certification

Grandfathering Decisions…

…No Comment

“Grandfathering”

• For all existing Grade I Water

Operators:

– You will be issued a Grade ID certification

“Grandfathering”

• For all existing Grade I Water and

Grade IC Wastewater Operators:

– You will be issued a restricted Grade IIC or

Grade IID certification, if your system

classification increases

– Otherwise, you will retain your equivalent

IC or ID certification

Reciprocity

• Reciprocity with Alabama will only be

granted to operators who pass a

comparable written exam in a reciprocal

state

• If the operator does not have working

experience in a comparable grade plant,

that person will be granted a lower grade

of certification, as warranted

Reciprocity

• With an Alabama certification, attaining

reciprocity in another state is more likely

to occur in the future [without the reg

change, reciprocity would be in jeopardy]

• Reciprocity is likely to become a more

significant issue for operators looking to

attain reciprocity with Alabama

Industrial WW Treatment

Plant Operators

• Not required, but ADEM will allow people

with suitable equivalent industrial

experience to pursue and attain certification

UIC or Decentralized

WWTP Operation

• Certification will be required in

accordance with ADEM-issued UIC

permits

– Decentralized WWTP operators will be

required to meet Division 10 regulations.

In most cases, these will be Grade I

WWTPs but the plants must be ranked just

like an NPDES-permitted system

– Collection system requirements apply

Conclusion

• We need to update our regulation to meet

the broadened responsibilities of today’s

certified operators

• ADEM wants to ensure that we have a

robust Operator certification program in

the years ahead

• We will get through this together

• We want your feedback

Conclusion

Questions..?

Jim Grassiano

Chief, Compliance Assistance & Operator Certification Programs

jgrassiano@adem.alabama.gov

334-279-3071

Mary Alice Corcoran

Compliance Assistance & Operator Certification Programs

maryalice.corcoran@adem.alabama.gov

334-271-7872

mailto:jgrassiano@adem.alabama.govmailto:maryalice.corcoran@adem.alabama.gov