5 Colo. Code Regs. § 1003-2-100.14
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 11, June 10, 2024
Section 5 CCR 1003-2-100.14 - CERTIFICATION QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS100.14.1 A person desiring to be certified shall apply for certification with the Board or its contractor. Applicants shall affirm agreement with the Colorado Certified Water Professionals Code of Conduct (June 2018), available online at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CzfHNNhvgHhT8glSEYxtqOgsiIdWky5k/view and available for public inspection during normal business hours from the Water and Wastewater Operators Certification Board, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver, CO. Applicants shall also provide the following: (a) documentation showing that the minimum educational requirements of section 100.14.5(e) have been met; and(b) verification of regulatory training course completion as described in section 100.14.5(b).100.14.2 Completed application materials and fees must be submitted at the time of application.100.14.3 The Board or its contractor shall review applications and supporting documents, determine the eligibility of applicants and notify applicants of their status. Any application disapproval notification shall specify the reason(s) the application does not meet the minimum requirements.100.14.4 If an application is disapproved by the Board's contractor, the applicant may appeal this decision to the Board in accordance with the procedures in section 24-4-105, C.R.S. (a) Any such appeal must be received in the Board's office within two weeks of the date of the disapproval notification.(b) No new factual information will be accepted during the Board appeal process, except for good cause shown.100.14.5 Qualifications for Certification(a) Applicants shall be evaluated by the Board or its contractor as to education, experience, and knowledge related to the classification level for which the applicant seeks to be certified.(b) Regulatory Training Requirement (i) Applicants must complete an approved regulatory training course prior to submitting an application.(ii) Each completion of a regulatory training course is valid for three years.(c) An applicant for a new certificate must pass a validated examination designated for the category and level for which application is being made with a minimum passing score of 70 percent. To qualify to sit for an examination, an applicant must apply as set forth in section 100.14.1 and meet the following requirements:
(i) completion of approved mandatory regulatory training as set forth in section 100.14.5(b); (ii) minimum education requirements;(iii) the minimum experience or cross-experience requirements; and(iv) the prior certification requirements as set forth in section 100.14.5(j).(d) Applicants holding valid operator certificates from other certifying entities (i) The Board or its contractor may issue certificates without examination, on a case-by-case basis, to persons who: (A) hold a valid certificate issued by a state, territory or possession of the United States, or other country or, at the discretion of the Board, by another certifying entity, and are in good standing with that entity at the time of application;(B) have passed a Colorado-approved examination for the category and class of certificate requested with a minimum pass rate of 70%;(C) meet the minimum education and experience requirements specified by these regulations;(D) obtain qualifying experience in the state, territory or possession of the United States, or other country in which they hold a valid certificate; and(E) complete the approved mandatory regulatory training as set forth in section 100.14.5(b).(ii) The Board or its contractor may waive the sequential testing requirement for applicants who have not passed Colorado-approved examinations but meet all other requirements delineated in section 100.14.5(d)(i).(e) Minimum Educational Requirements (i) Applicants must be high school graduates or hold a general equivalency diploma (GED).(ii) Experience and relevant training may substitute for high school graduation or GED. Applicants substituting experience and relevant training for the high school graduation or GED shall: (A) have an additional six (6) months of qualifying experience; and(B) demonstrate the completion of 1.0 training units in a course approved as a substitute for entry-level experience requirements.(f) Experience Determinations (i) No more than one year of experience will be credited for employment/activities during any one calendar year.(ii) For water or wastewater facilities that require less than a full time operator for proper operation, the experience of an operator of such a facility who works less than half time will be counted as half-time experience; the experience of an operator of such a facility who works half-time or more will be counted as full-time experience.(iii) The aggregate time spent operating multiple facilities shall be considered in any determination of whether to credit full-time experience or half-time experience.(iv) Experience obtained in the operation of a seasonal water or wastewater facility will be credited only for that portion of the year during which the facility is in operation.(v) Except as described in section 100.14.5(k), the experience cut-off date is the date an application is submitted to determine if the applicant has the required experience to take a certification examination at a particular level.(vi) To meet the experience requirement to test for a particular level of certification, the experience relied upon does not have to be at the level of the examination for which application is being made.(g) Evaluation of Experience. For purposes of this section, domestic and industrial wastewater treatment facility experience shall be considered interchangeable. In evaluating experience of operators the Board or its contractor will be guided by:(i) whether and to what degree the experience required technical knowledge of the operation of a water or wastewater facility;(ii) whether and to what degree the experience was actual on-site operating experience with the daily operational aspects of a facility that could affect water quality or quantity; and(iii) whether or not the experience included the responsible charge of a water or wastewater facility.(h) Once specific experience or relevant training is credited toward the satisfaction of either the experience or education requirements of this section, that same experience and/or training may not be further credited to meet other requirements of this section.(i) Prior Certification Requirements. To qualify to sit for an examination, an applicant must hold a certificate for the same certification category (water treatment facility, domestic or industrial wastewater treatment facility, distribution system or collection system) and in the class immediately below the class for which application is being made. Prior certification requirements are shown in the table below.(j) Table - Prior Certification and Experience Requirements Certification Class | Prior Certification Required1 | Minimum Experience Required |
Class T | None | No minimum experience requirement |
Class S, Class D, or Class 1 | None | 1 Month |
Class C | Class D or Class S | 2 Years |
Class 2 | Class 1 or Class S | 2 Years |
Class B | Class C | 3 Years |
Class 3 | Class 2 | 3 Years |
Class A | Class B | 4 Years |
Class 4 | Class 3 | 4 Years |
1 Prior certification must be for the same certification category as that of the examination being applied for.
(k) Special Rules for Satisfying the Minimum Experience Requirements for Class D, Class 1, Class S and Class T Certifications:(i) The required experience may be obtained either under the supervision of a certified operator in responsible charge or through the successful completion of an approved training course or course of study.(ii) Any education courses used to satisfy the basic experience requirement for a Class D, Class 1, Class S, or Class T certificate may not be used to satisfy the certificate renewal requirements for that same certification. 100.14.6 Substituting education and cross experience for the experience requirements (a) Substituting Education for Experience Requirements (i) Post-secondary education may also be substituted for up to fifty percent (50%) of the experience requirements of section 100.14.5(f) based on successful completion of formal academic credit hours, as approved by the Board or its contractor in accordance with section 100.14.6(b), for all or a portion of an academic year. For education substitution for experience, academic credit hours shall be calculated as follows:(A) 15 semester hours = 1/2 academic year = 6 months experience; 15 quarter hours = 1/3 academic year = 4 months experience;(B) Training units: 300 contact hours or 30 training units = 15 quarter hours = 4 months experience;(C) thirty (30) semester hours and/or forty-five (45) quarter hours shall constitute one (1) year's formal education and may be substituted for one (1) year of experience.(ii) Military specialty training directly relevant to the operation of water and wastewater facilities.(A) Credit for up to fifty percent (50%) of the applicable experience requirement of section 100.14.5(f) may be granted for satisfactorily completing military specialty training courses.(B) For purposes of equivalency for education substitution for experience, military training credit hours shall be calculated as follows: (I) 1 week training = 40 contact hours.(II) 240 contact hours = 15 semester hours = 1/2 academic year = 6 months experience.(iii) Consideration of Field(s) of Study(A) Credit for up to fifty percent (50%) of the applicable experience requirement of section 100.14.5(f) may be granted for satisfactorily completing structured programs of study in a degree or certificate granting educational institution or equivalent for technically oriented programs which the Board or its contractor has determined are directly relevant to the operation of water and wastewater facilities, including but not limited to post high school education in the environmental control field, engineering or related science. Experience credit shall be granted based upon the number of academic years required to complete the program, in accordance with section 100.14.6(a).(B) Credit for up to twenty-five (25%) of the applicable experience requirement of section 100.14.5(f) may be granted for satisfactorily completing structured programs of study in a degree granting educational institution or equivalent, regardless of field of study. Experience credit shall be granted based upon the number of academic years required to complete the program, in accordance with section 100.14.6(a).(iv) In instances where an approved degree or certificate program has not been completed, credit for up to fifty percent (50%) of the applicable experience requirement of section 100.14.5(f) may be granted for the completion of individual technically oriented courses as approved by the Board or its contractor as relevant to the operation of water and wastewater facilities, including but not limited to post high school education in the environmental control field, engineering or related science, in accordance with section 100.14.6(a).(v) At least fifty percent (50%) of any experience requirement of section 100.14.5(f) of this regulation shall be met by actual on-site operating experience in a water or wastewater facility, except that Class D, Class 1, and Class S applicants may satisfy the experience requirements exclusively with formal academic education credits or training units, in accordance with section 100.14.5(k).(b) Approval of Training, Educational Courses, and Institutions When Substituting Education for Experience (i) Approval of technically-oriented courses or programs, for purposes of substituting education for experience, shall be determined by the Board or its contractor based on a determination that such courses or programs are directly relevant to the operation of water and wastewater facilities. Such courses and programs may include, but are not limited to, post-secondary education in the environmental control field, engineering, microbiology, chemistry, or other related science.(ii) Approval of educational institutions for purposes of substituting education for experience shall be determined by the Board or its contractor based on accreditation by recognized regional associations for such institutions in the United States. For educational institutions outside the United States, the applicant shall be required to establish to the satisfaction of the Board or its contractor the equivalency and suitability of the courses of study claimed for credit.(iii) Other educational programs, including but not limited to, specialized operator training courses, seminars, workshops, correspondence or computer courses, and technical conferences, may be credited toward education for purposes of substitution for experience as approved by the Board or its contractor. Such programs will receive credit in training units on the following basis:(A) Ten (10) contact hours shall be required to equal one training unit. A contact hour means a classroom or supervised hour of attendance or hour of participation, recognized by the Board as a training unit, successfully completed by an applicant.(B) Three (3) training units shall equal one semester credit hour or two training units shall equal one quarter credit hour for purposes of equivalency.(c) Substitution of Cross-Experience for Experience Requirements (i) Cross-experience may be substituted for the experience requirements of section 100.14.5(f) for certification as a Class C, Class B, or Class A water treatment facility operator, domestic or industrial wastewater treatment facility operator; or for a Class 2, Class 3, or Class 4 water distribution or wastewater collection system operator, except that at least fifty percent (50%) of any experience requirement of section 100.14.5(f) shall be met by actual on-site operating experience in the specific certification category, water or wastewater, for which application is being made. (ii) For the purpose of this section, "cross-experience" means that: (A) qualifying experience as an operator in a water treatment facility may be substituted for up to fifty percent (50%) of the experience requirement for certification as an operator of a wastewater treatment facility;(B) qualifying experience as an operator in a wastewater treatment facility may be substituted for up to fifty percent (50%) of the experience requirement for certification as an operator of a water treatment facility;(C) qualifying experience as an operator in a water distribution system may be substituted for up to fifty percent (50%) of the experience requirement for certification as an operator of a wastewater collection system; or(D) qualifying experience as an operator in a wastewater collection system may be substituted for up to fifty percent (50%) of the experience requirement for certification as an operator of a water distribution system.37 CR 18, September 25, 2014, effective 10/30/201438 CR 14, July 25, 2015, effective 8/30/201539 CR 01, January 10, 2016, effective 1/30/201639 CR 24, December 25, 2016, effective 1/30/201740 CR 14, July 25, 2017, effective 8/31/201741 CR 20, October 25, 2018, effective 3/1/201941 CR 24, December 25, 2018, effective 3/1/201942 CR 24, December 25, 2019, effective 1/14/202043 CR 21, November 10, 2020, effective 11/30/202044 CR 05, March 10, 2021, effective 3/31/202144 CR 09, May 10, 2021, effective 5/30/202144 CR 20, October 25, 2021, effective 11/30/2021