Ala. Admin. Code r. 335-10-1-.10 - Continuing Education Requirement For Renewal
(1) All certified operators must demonstrate
continuing education activities and file these activities along with the
renewal application and nonrefundable fee for certification renewal. Training
activities must be attended within the three year period prior to the
expiration date except for carry over credit.
(2) Operators with one water certificate must
demonstrate 24 continuing education hours (CEH) of actual training in the water
field. Wastewater operators with one certificate must demonstrate 24 CEH
training in the wastewater field. Training activities can only be counted once.
Operators with more than one certificate must obtain 15 CEH of training in the
proper field for each certificate for the renewal period. An operator can only
hold one water and one wastewater certificate.
(3) A maximum of 10 CEH of training per
certificate may be carried over into the next three year renewal
period.
(4) Continuing education
training may be obtained by the following means:
(a) Association and/or Department sponsored
short-courses, and seminars;
(b)
Successfully completing or auditing college sponsored courses, and
seminars;
(c) Approved
correspondence and online courses;
(d) In-house or regional courses taught by
experienced certified operators or qualified instructors;
(e) Teaching or instructing as described in
(a) through (d) above.
(5) The following continuing education course
topics will be accepted for credit for wastewater treatment plant operators or
public wastewater collection system operators:
(a) Operation and maintenance of wastewater
treatment plants and/or lagoons;
(b) Operation and maintenance of public
wastewater collection systems;
(c)
Wastewater treatment plant process control and/or theory;
(d) Wastewater regulation reviews or
updates;
(e) Instruction on new
wastewater treatment plant technologies;
(f) Anti-terrorism training that is geared
towards wastewater collection and treatment facilities;
(g) Training for specific wastewater
collection or treatment equipment provided by factory representatives or design
professionals;
(h) Sampling or
analysis of wastewater;
(i)
Wastewater collection or treatment examination review;
(j) Design calculations for wastewater
collection or treatment;
(k)
Recordkeeping or reporting for wastewater collection or treatment;
or,
(l) Up to eight hours maximum
per renewal period of chemical safety training that is directly applicable to
public wastewater collection systems or wastewater treatment plant
processes.
(6) The
following continuing education course topics will be accepted for credit for
water treatment plant operators or water distribution system operators:
(a) Operation and maintenance of water
treatment plants or wells;
(b)
Operation and maintenance of water distribution systems;
(c) Water treatment plant process control
and/or theory;
(d) Drinking water
regulation reviews or updates;
(e)
Instruction on new water treatment plant technologies;
(f) Anti-terrorism training that is geared
towards water distribution and water treatment facilities;
(g) Training for specific water distribution
or water treatment plant equipment provided by factory representatives or
design professionals;
(h) Sampling
or analysis of drinking water;
(i)
Water distribution or treatment examination review;
(j) Design calculations for water
distribution or water treatment plants;
(k) Backflow prevention;
(l) Recordkeeping or reporting for water
distribution or water treatment plants; or,
(m) Up to eight hours maximum per renewal
period of chemical safety training that is directly applicable to water
distribution or water treatment plant processes.
(7) The following continuing education course
topics will be accepted for credit for public wastewater collection system
operators, wastewater treatment plant operators, water treatment plant
operators or water distribution system operators:
(a) Up to four hours maximum per renewal
period of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training;
(b) Up to eight hours maximum per renewal
period of trenching and shoring training;
(c) Up to four hours maximum per renewal
period of confined space entry training;
(d) Up to eight hours maximum per renewal
period of laboratory safety training;
(e) Up to four hours maximum per renewal
period of legal liability training specifically geared toward water or
wastewater operators;
(f) Up to
four hours maximum per renewal period of stormwater pollution prevention
training;
(g) Up to four hours
maximum per renewal period of temporary traffic control training;
(h) Up to eight hours maximum per renewal
period of university-sponsored defensive driving instruction. This training
must incorporate classroom, simulation, and hands-on in-vehicle driving
instruction that is specifically developed for utility employees;
(i) Up to four hours maximum per renewal
period of system management or finance courses that are specifically geared
toward water or wastewater operators;
(j) Up to eight hours maximum per renewal
period of computer training that is directly applicable to water or wastewater
operation; or,
(k) Up to four hours
maximum per renewal period of first aid and personal health protection
training.
(8) The
following courses will not be accepted for continuing education credit:
(a) Regularly-scheduled safety
meetings;
(b) General management,
business, or personnel law courses;
(c) Repetitive teaching of the same course
without significantly updating course material;
(d) Committee meetings or other meetings that
are not educational in nature; or,
(e) Courses that are not directly relevant to
the class of certificate to be renewed.
(9) All correspondence, in-house, video,
audio, or on-line courses must require the participant to show evidence of
achievement and completion and/or a final graded test.
(10) Upon request by the Department,
providers of correspondence, in-house, video, audio, or on-line training may be
required to submit course information for approval prior to offering the
course.
(11) Documentation of class
attendance must be obtained from the instructor or sponsoring organization and
retained by the operator for at least three years after expiration of the
certificate to be renewed. These records must be furnished, if requested, to
the Department for audit verification purposes. If the Department disallows
claimed continuing education credit, the applicant shall have until 180 days
after expiration of the certificate to substantiate the original claim or earn
other credit to meet the minimum requirement.
(12) The conversion to CEH units from other
units is as follows:
1 College semester hour of credit | 45 CEH |
1 College quarter hour of credit | 30 CEH |
1 College Audit hour | 1/3 of above |
1 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) | 10 CEH |
1 Hour teaching or instructing | 2 CEH |
1 Hour of acceptable training | 1 CEH |
Notes
Authors: Joe Alan Power, Aubrey White
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, ยงยง 22-22A-5, 22-22A-6, 22-22A-8, 22-25-11, 22-25-13.
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