(b)
Requirements for
employing qualified operators, including chief, shift, and process control
operators.
The owner of a wastewater treatment facility shall assure
compliance with the following requirements:
(1) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(2)
of this section, the owner shall employ a chief operator certified at the class
of such facility or higher, determined in accordance with subsection (b) of
section
22a-416-3
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, and such operator shall be
present at such facility for the following minimum numbers of hours each day of
a five-day work-week:
Class of facility
|
Design flow rate of facility (Million
Gallons/Day)
|
Minimum number of hours of the chief operator for
on-site operations
|
I
|
[LESS THAN EQUAL TO] 0.20
|
2
|
II
|
[LESS THAN EQUAL TO] 0.20
|
2
|
III
|
[LESS THAN EQUAL TO] 0.15
|
3
|
I,II
|
[GREATER THAN] 0.20
|
7*
|
III
|
[GREATER THAN] 0.15
|
7*
|
IV
|
any
|
7*
|
* The Commissioner may give credit to a chief operator
for hours of on-site operations for reasonable time he or she spends in
training, conferences, meetings, and other administrative duties related to
wastewater treatment, and in activities related to operation and maintenance of
the collection system, if the collection system is under the chief operator's
supervision.
(2) At
a wastewater treatment facility with a design flow rate of less than 0.025 mgd,
a chief operator may be present for fewer than the minimum number of hours
required by subdivision (b)(1) of this section only with the prior written
approval of the commissioner. To obtain such approval, the owner shall
demonstrate to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the owner would be
able to properly operate such facility and comply with all pertinent
requirements of chapter 446k of the general statutes if the chief operator were
present for fewer than such required hours. A request for approval under this
subdivision shall include, without limitation, a description of duties and
tasks performed by each operator during a typical workday and class of the
operator certification of each operator employed at the facility.
(3) At a wastewater treatment facility where
the chief operator is not normally present during any operating shift, the
owner shall employ a shift operator who is certified no lower than one class
below the classification of the facility during such shift.
(4) Within 24 months of the adoption of the
wastewater treatment operator regulations, at a wastewater treatment facility
with a design flow rate greater than or equal to 150,000 gallons per day, the
owner shall employ a shift operator certified no lower than one class below the
classification of the facility during every shift when the chief operator is
normally present.
(5) The owner of
a wastewater treatment facility may employ a process control operator certified
no lower than one class below the classification of the facility.
(6) An owner shall not employ as an operator
any individual who has not been certified at a minimum of Class I as required
in subsection (a) of section
22a-416-7
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.
(7) Within 14 days after a chief operator,
shift operator, or process control operator begins or terminates employment in
such capacity at a wastewater treatment facility, the owner thereof shall
notify the commissioner in writing of such fact. Direct responsible charge
experience shall not start to accumulate for such chief operator, shift
operator, or process control operator until the date the commissioner receives
such notification from the owner.
(8) If either the chief operator or shift
operator of a wastewater treatment facility:
(A) ceases to be employed by such facility
or
(B) is or will be absent from
such facility for more than 30 consecutive days,The owner of such facility
shall notify the commissioner in writing of the designation of an acting chief
operator or shift operator within 14 days. An individual may act as chief
operator under the wastewater treatment operator regulations only if such
individual is certified at no lower than one class below the class of the
facility. An individual may act as a shift operator under the wastewater
treatment operator regulations only if such individual is certified at no lower
than two classes below the class of the facility. The owner of such facility
may continue to operate such facility without a chief operator or shift
operator for no longer than 90 days, except that upon good cause shown in
writing by such owner, the commissioner may extend in writing such 90 day limit
for no more than an additional 275 days.
(9) If either the chief operator or shift
operator of a wastewater treatment facility is or will be absent from such
facility for less than 30 consecutive days, the owner may continue to operate
the facility provided that the owner designates an acting chief operator or
acting shift operator, as applicable, during such absence. An individual may
act as chief operator under the wastewater treatment operator regulations only
if such individual is certified at no lower than one class below the class of
the facility. An individual may act as a shift operator under the wastewater
treatment regulations only if such individual is certified at no lower than two
classes below the class of the facility. If the owner does not employ an
individual qualified under this subdivision to act as chief operator or shift
operator in the event that the regularly employed chief operator or shift
operator is absent for a period of up to 29 days, the owner may continue
operating the facility during such absence only if the owner designates the
operator with the highest available certification at the facility to act as
chief or shift operator during such absence.
(10) Within three years of the adoption of
the Wastewater Treatment Operator Regulations, owners of wastewater treatment
facilities utilizing biological processes to treat exclusively industrial
wastewater shall comply with the requirements of this section.
(11) If the adoption of section
22a-416-3
of the Wastewater Treatment Operator Regulations results in reclassification of
a wastewater treatment facility to a higher classification, within three years
of such adoption the owner of such facility shall comply with the requirements
of this section.