(A) All
professional operator certificates shall expire
on December thirty-first of the second year after the year in which the
certification is issued or renewed. The certificate will expire unless renewed
in accordance with this rule before the expiration date.
Valid operator certificates in
effect prior to May 23, 1986 expired on December 31, 1987. Operator
certificates in effect after May 23, 1986 shall expire each December
thirty-first of the second year after the year in which the certificate was
issued or renewed, unless renewed in accordance with this rule.
(B) The director shall send a
renewal notice
and application form to the
certified
professional operator's latest address
of record prior to the expiration date of the certificate. Failure to receive
such notice shall not relieve the certified
professional operator of the responsibility to renew
the certificate.
The professional operator shall notify
the agency of changes in contact information including but not limited to phone
number, email address and street address.
(C) Requirements for renewal.
(1)
Beginning with
certificates that expire on December 31, 2018, all renewal applications shall
be submitted electronically in a format approved by the
director.
(1)
(2) In order to renew a certificate before it expires,
a certified
professional operator shall submit a
complete application to the director
before the
expiration date of the certification
by
November thirtieth of the year the certification expires. The
application
submission shall include
the
following:
(a) A complete application
for renewal,
on
in a
form
format provided by the director
;
.
(b) A nonrefundable
,
nontransferable fee as set forth in section
3745.11 of the Revised
Code
;
.
(c) When
requested by the director, any documentation necessary to prove attendance at
appropriate contact hour courses
; and
.
(d) Any
other form required by state law.
(2)
(3) For a holder of
multiple certificates within a category, the director shall only renew the
certificate representing the highest classification within the
system category
field.
(3)
(4) To renew a
certificate issued under this chapter, the certified
professional operator shall complete the number of
director-approved contact hours
during each renewal
cycle required by paragraph (D)
of this
rule
during each renewal cycle.
(D) Contact hours.
(1)
The minimum
number of contact hours that shall be completed by
Professional operators holding a single
certificate
as a
are required to complete the following contact hours:
(a)
Class
For a class A or a limited class A
professional operator
is
, a minimum of
eight
hours of director-approved contact
hours
;
.
(b)
Public
For a
public water system
professional operator
I, water distribution
professional operator I,
water distribution
professional operator II,
wastewater works
professional operator I,
wastewater collection system
professional
operator I, or wastewater collection system
professional operator II
is
, a minimum of
twelve
hours of director-approved contact
hours
;
.
(c)
Public
For a
public water system
professional operator
II, public water system
professional operator
III, public water system
professional operator
IV, wastewater works
professional operator II,
wastewater works
professional operator III, or
wastewater works
professional operator IV
is
, a minimum
of
twenty four hours of
twenty-four director-approved contact
hours.
(2)
Operators
Professional operators holding multiple certificates
shall have the number of contact hours required for the renewal of each
certificate reduced by twenty-five per cent. The reductions shall be granted as
follows:
(a) For persons holding a
certificate as a class A
or limited class A
operator
water supply or limited class A water
supply professional operator and a class A wastewater works or a limited class
A wastewater works professional operator, not less than six hours of
director-approved contact hours shall be completed for each of these
certificates
;
.
(b) For
persons holding
a certificate
s as
a public water
system
professional operator I, water
distribution
professional operator I, water
distribution
professional operator II, wastewater
works
professional operator I, wastewater
collection system
professional operator I, or
wastewater collection system
professional
operator II, not less than nine hours of director-approved contact hours shall
be completed for each of these certificates
;
.
(c) For persons holding
a certificate
s as
a public water
system
professional operator II, public water
system
professional operator III, public water
system
professional operator IV, wastewater works
professional operator II, wastewater works
professional operator III, or wastewater works
professional operator IV, not less than eighteen
hours of director-approved contact hours shall be completed for each of these
certificates.
(3) At
least half of
an
a
professional operator's contact hours shall be those determined by the
director to be directly related to operations and maintenance.
(4) The minimum required number of
director-approved contact hours shall be completed during the two-year period
preceding the expiration date of the certificate, except as provided in
paragraph (I) of this rule.
(5) A
maximum of one contact hour per renewal cycle may be earned if a certified
professional operator provides proof of
individual membership in a
state or national
trade organization related to the field in which
they hold
the professional
operator holds a certificate.
(6) A contact hour course may only be used
once per renewal cycle for credit toward the contact hour requirements
established in this paragraph.
(7)
An
A
professional operator holding multiple certificates may not use a contact
hour course for credit on more than one certificate, unless that
professional operator has attended multiple
sessions of that course. However, a course's contact hours may be split among
multiple certificate renewals.
(8)
In addition to the contact hour requirements above, all
professional operators shall acknowledge completion of a review of the "Ohio
EPA Professional Operator Certification Training" course. This course will
outline rule requirements that are specific to certified professional
operators.
(8)
(9) Upon request, an applicant for renewal of a
certificate shall submit documentation of attendance at approved contact hour
training to the director with the renewal application.
(9)
(10)
The holder of a certificate expiring as the result of a failure to obtain the
contact hours required by this rule may apply for renewal, provided that the
certificate will not be renewed until the applicant has met the contact hour
requirements and submitted a late fee in accordance with division (O) of
section
3745.11 of the Revised Code.
These contact hour requirements shall be met within
one year
six months
after the expiration date of the certificate or the certificate shall not be
renewed.
If a professional operator has not submitted a
renewal application by the expiration date of the certificate,
The
the
professional operator shall not be the
professional operator of record of a public water
system, treatment works, or sewerage system until such time as a renewal
certificate is issued. Contact hours accrued to meet the certificate renewal
requirements pursuant to this paragraph shall not count as contact hours for
the next certificate renewal.
(E) Contact hour course approval.
(1) All training for the purpose of obtaining
contact hours shall be approved by the director.
(a) Training providers shall submit requests
for approval of training prior to the training event or within thirty days
after completion of the training event. Training providers or
professional operators may request approval of
college courses, out-of-state training, or correspondence courses within thirty
days of the completion of the training
on
in a
form
provided
format approved by the
director.
(b) Approval of training
shall be based on
the following:
(i)
The amount of
time an operator receives active instruction. At a minimum, a course shall
contain at least 0.5 hours of active instruction.
(i)
(ii)
Identification and qualifications of the instructor, who shall have at least
three years
of experience in the subject for
which they are providing training, or equivalent experience as determined by
the director.
(ii)
(iii) Content of the training, which for courses over
one hour in length, shall include an agenda which distinguishes training time
from breaks
.
and
syllabus which describes the course. The syllabus shall include one method for
verifying attendance. The following methods may be used to verify
attendance:
(a)
Classroom course:
(i)
A sign-in sheet
with the date, course name, time of course in military time, printed name of
operator, signed name of operator and core person ID of
operator.
(ii)
Completion certificate that includes the course date,
course name, course approval number, name of training provider, signature of
person verifying attendance, name of operator and core person ID of
operator.
(iii)
Any other method for verification approved by the
director.
(b)
Correspondence course:
Completion certificate that includes
the course date, course name, name of training provider, signature of person
verifying attendance and name of operator.
(c)
Web-based course,
which shall be interactive and not static or pre-recorded:
(i)
Results of an
interactive test given during the course for comprehension.
(ii)
A report of how
long a student had the course as their main screen. A student is considered in
attendance for the course if the report indicates ninety per cent of the time
was spent with the course as the main screen.
(iii)
Completion
certificate that includes the course date, course name, name of training
provider, signature of person verifying attendance and name of
operator.
(d)
Webinars:
(i)
Documentation of periodic
interactivity.
(ii)
Documentation that an operator has spent a minimum of
ninety per cent of the time with the webinar as the active window on the
computer or some other method for verification approved by the
director.
(iii)
Completion certificate that includes the course date,
course name, name of training provider, signature of person verifying
attendance and name of operator.
(iii)
(iv) Applicability
and relevance of the training to the operation or management of a public water
system or treatment facility, water distribution system, treatment works, or
sewerage system
, and
.
(iv) Verification of attendance at
the training event.
(c)
Determination of
course credit:
(i)
For classroom courses and webinars, course credit shall
be based on the amount of active instruction during the course. A maximum of
fifteen minutes of questions and answers may be counted as active
instruction.
(ii)
For correspondence and web-based courses, course credit
shall be based on one of the following:
(a)
A standardized
process using two minutes of time per page of text, one minute of time for
practice problems or exercises and one minute of time for quiz or exam
questions.
(b)
Documentation of beta-testing of at least one hundred
individuals to determine the average length of time to complete the
course.
(c)
A method that provides equivalent evaluation of
instructional time as approved by the director.
(c)
(d)
Each approval shall include an expiration date no
later than
Courses shall expire three
years following the
last scheduled date of
approval
the
course.
(e)
Training providers shall maintain all records
associated with approved contact hour courses for a minimum of three years from
the date of the course.
(2)
All training
providers shall notify the agency of subsequent sessions of an approved
training course either prior to or within thirty days of the training in a
format approved by the director. Failure to notify may result in the withdrawal
of approval for the course. Submission of a new training date shall extend the
course expiration date by three years from the date of the
training.
(3)
Within thirty days of the effective date of this rule,
all training providers shall electronically submit attendance documentation in
a format approved by the director. Course attendance records shall be submitted
within sixty days of the completion of the course.
(4)
The director may
approve courses that have been approved by other operator certification
organizations, provided the process is consistent with Ohio EPA's process as
identified in this rule. After Ohio EPA verifies consistency, the training
provider shall electronically submit course applications and attendance
data.
(5)
In the event training providers or professional
operators, approved through the process described in paragraph (E) of this
rule, do not follow the provisions in paragraph (E) of this rule, the director
shall not approve new training courses for a period of up to two years. The
director may refuse to recognize an approved training course for contact hour
credit if a training provider fails to meet the criteria listed in paragraphs
(E)(1) and (E)(3) of this rule.
(F)
Approval of
training providers
Approval to issue
trainer-specific contact hour course approval numbers.
(1) As an alternative to the process listed
in paragraph (E) of this rule, training providers may request approval
as an approved contact hour training provider
to issue trainer-specific contact hour course
approval numbers on a form acceptable to the director, provided
they
the training
providers do the following:
(a) Provide
training that is applicable to the operation or management of a public water
system, treatment works, or sewerage system
;
.
(b) Use instructors who have at least three
years experience in the subject for which they are providing training, or
equivalent expertise as determined by the director
;
.
(c) Have provided courses approved by the
agency in accordance with paragraph (E) of this rule for a minimum of three
years
;
.
(d) Have
been previously approved to provide a minimum of twelve contact hours
;
.
(e) Assign each
class
contact hour
course provided with a unique number that identifies the provider,
class
field,
course number, and subject
;
.
(f)
Maintain attendance records,
a course syllabus
(including an agenda which distinguishes training time from breaks and
lunches
)
, a course
syllabus and instructor qualifications for each course given for a period
of three years from the date of training
;
.
(g) Assign contact hours only for the amount
of time spent on training.
Providers shall not give
partial credit for courses;
Training providers
shall not issue certificates of completion for a number of hours different than
that assigned to an approved training course.
(h) Assign a subject to each
class
course
(i.e., operation and maintenance or other
.)
;
.
(i)
Provide the director with a list of scheduled training, in a format acceptable
to the director, by the first day of the month for each month that training is
offered. This list shall include the name of the course, the training
provider's approval number,
the time,
the instructor's name, subject, date, and location of
the training, along with the number of contact hours assigned
;
.
(j)
Upon request, be
capable of providing a record of student training to the agency or the
student.
(2)
Training providers approved through the process
described in paragraph (F)(1) of this rule shall be designated green leaf
training providers.
(j)
(3) In the event a
list of scheduled training is not provided
green leaf training provider does not provide a list of
scheduled training by the first day of the month,
the green leaf training provider shall submit course
approval applications
shall be submitted in
accordance with paragraph (E) of this rule. If course approval applications are
not submitted, the training shall not be considered for the renewal of a
certificate.
(k) Upon request, be capable of
providing a record of student training to the agency or the
student.
(4)
In the event a green leaf training provider has given a
trainer-specific contact hour course number to a course that has not been given
and the course changes, due to adjustments in the length of the presentation or
instructor, the green leaf training provider shall notify Ohio EPA within two
business days of the change.
(5)
When a green leaf
training provider course has been previously provided to operators and changes
due to adjustments in the length of the presentation, the green leaf training
provider shall create a new approval number and notify Ohio EPA in accordance
with the requirements set forth in this rule.
(6)
Green leaf
training provider courses shall expire three years following the last scheduled
date of the course.
(7)
Within thirty days of the effective date of this rule,
all green leaf training providers shall electronically submit attendance
documentation in a format provided by the director. Course attendance records
shall be submitted within thirty days of the completion of the course.
(2) All training providers shall
allow agency representatives to attend courses at any time for the purpose of
reviewing the length of training, training content and other relevant aspects
of the training. Agency employees shall not use this provision to obtain
contact hours.
(3)
(8) Failure to meet
any of the criteria in paragraph (F) of this rule may result in the withdrawal
of the director's approval for all
contact hour
course training given by the
green leaf
training provider for
the next
a period of up to two years. For training providers
who have not received approval in accordance with paragraph (F) of this rule,
the director shall not approve new
contact hour
course training for a period of
up to two
years. The director may refuse to recognize contact hour credit
for approved courses if a training provider fails
to meet the
criteria listed in
requirements of paragraphs (F)(1) and (F)(2) of this
rule.
(G)
All training providers shall allow agency
representatives to attend courses at any time for the purpose of reviewing the
length of training, training content and other relevant aspects of the
training. Agency employees shall not use this provision to obtain contact
hours.
(G)
(H) The director shall not renew the
professional operator certificate of an applicant
failing to meet the requirements of this rule.
(H)
(I) A renewal card
indicating the valid dates of the renewed
professional
operator certificate shall be issued to all certified
professional operators who have met the renewal
requirements of this rule.
(I)
(J) Upon submission of
a complete application, an expired
professional
operator certificate can be renewed within
one
year
six months of the expiration date,
subject to all the requirements and conditions of paragraph (C) of this rule
and division (O) of section
3745.11 of the Revised Code. In
all cases the expiration date of the renewed
professional operator certificate shall be the same as
if the renewal requirements had been met on or before the date of expiration.
After the expiration date and prior to renewal according to this paragraph, the
professional operator shall not perform those
activities requiring a certificate.
(J)
(K)
An
A
professional operator's certificate that has not been renewed within
one year
six
months of the expiration date shall not be renewed. In such cases, the
former certificate holder shall apply for examination, pay all required fees,
and pass the examination in order to obtain certification.
(K)
(L)
In the event that
an
a professional operator is not able to meet the
contact hour requirements of this rule due to a personal life threatening
illness or military service the director may, upon request, grant an extension
for achieving the required contact hours. However, the
professional operator shall not be the
professional operator of record of a public water
system, treatment works, or sewerage system until such time as the contact hour
requirements are fulfilled and a renewal certificate is issued.
(L)
(M)
The director shall audit a representative number of renewal applications in
order to document compliance with the contact hour requirements.
Notes
Ohio Admin. Code 3745-7-15
Effective:
8/15/2018
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates:
4/2/2018 and
08/15/2023
Promulgated
Under: 119.03
Statutory
Authority: 6111.46,
6109.04
Rule
Amplifies: 6109.04,
6111.46
Prior
Effective Dates: 5/23/86, 1/1/99, 2/12/01, 2/18/02, 12/21/06,
02/23/12