N.J. Admin. Code § 7:10A-1.10

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 7:10A-1.10 - Licensed operator required; exemptions

(a) Unless exempted pursuant to (c) below, every owner of a system shall employ a licensed operator holding the license prescribed by the Department for that classification of system as follows:

1. S licenses are licenses to operate a public wastewater treatment system.

2. C licenses are licenses to operate a public wastewater collection system.

3. T licenses are licenses to operate a public water treatment system. A T licensed operator may operate any VSWS.

4. W licenses are licenses to operate a public water distribution system. A W licensed operator may operate any VSWS.

5. N licenses are licenses to operate an industrial wastewater treatment plant.

6. NS licenses are licenses to operate an industrial wastewater treatment system consisting only of an oil water separator or a sedimentation unit.

7. CN licenses are licenses to operate only the public wastewater collection system which a person was operating on July 2, 1984. A CN license is restricted to a particular system, permits the operator to continue operating only that system, and shall not be used to meet the licensed operator requirements for any other system.

8. NN licenses are licenses to operate an industrial wastewater treatment system which a person was operating with a valid S-In license on July 2, 1984. However, the NN license shall not be used to meet the licensed operator requirements for any other system.

i. S-In licenses were licenses to operate industrial wastewater treatment systems. These licenses were discontinued effective July 2, 1984.

9. VSWS licenses are licenses to operate:

i. A public community water system, which serves 100 or fewer dwellings or properties, and which does not have treatment; or

ii. A public nontransient noncommunity water system which has no treatment or treatment in the form of disinfection, home style ion exchange units or any other treatment which does not require chemical addition, process adjustment, backwashing, media regeneration (for example, calcium carbonate filters, granular activated carbon, cartridge filters).

(b) The licensed operator shall be in charge of the operation of the system.

1. If a system is reclassified by the Department, the licensed operator of the reclassified system may continue as the licensed operator of that system, regardless of the new classification of that system, except that a VSWS licensed operator shall not operate a system reclassified so that it requires a T or W licensed operator.

(c) A licensed operator is not required for the following systems:

1. Industrial wastewater treatment systems and public wastewater treatment systems which do not require an individual NJPDES permit or a NJPDES general permit authorization to discharge pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A;

2. Industrial wastewater treatment systems for which an authorization to discharge has been issued under a NJPDES general permit pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A, for stormwater runoff only, unless specifically required in the NJPDES general permit;

3. Industrial wastewater treatment systems which consist of American Petroleum Institute (API) approved or equivalent gravity oil/water separators and/or sedimentation units used to treat discharges consisting solely of stormwater runoff not commingled with other wastewater;

4. Industrial wastewater treatment systems which are designed to treat a monthly average of less than 4,000 gallons daily of process wastewater prior to indirect discharge to a Public Wastewater Treatment System for which an individual NJPDES significant indirect user permit has been issued pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A solely on the basis that the permittee is subject to Federal categorical pretreatment standards;

5. Industrial wastewater treatment systems and public wastewater treatment systems for which a general permit authorization to discharge has been issued pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A that specifically exempts any related treatment systems from the licensed operator requirements;

6. Industrial wastewater treatment systems and public wastewater treatment systems for which an individual NJPDES permit or a NJPDES general permit authorization to discharge has been issued pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A for a Class V Injection Well which relies solely upon gravitational means or an automatic siphon to convey a discharge;

7. Public wastewater treatment systems for which a NJPDES/DGW permit has been issued pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A that perform discharge monitoring for the parameter of flow only, and which are designed and constructed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:9A and with the oversight of the local administrative authority; and

8. Public wastewater collection systems determined by the Department to consist of one establishment or building complex pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A-23 and which has no more than one gravity lateral connection.

(d) A holder of a CN license shall serve as the licensed operator only at the system for which the CN license was issued.

(e) A holder of an NN license shall serve as the licensed operator only at the system for which the NN license was issued.

(f) Any time the licensed operator is unavailable to cover the system for which he or she is the licensed operator, the owner shall obtain the services of a licensee holding a license not more than one class lower than the classification required for the operation of the system to cover the system during the unavailability of the licensed operator.

(g) Unless exempted pursuant to (g)1 through 3 below, class 3 treatment systems and class 4 treatment systems shall have the appropriate full-time licensed operator. In addition, class 4 treatment systems should have a licensee possessing any valid treatment license within the appropriate system classification, physically present at the treatment system during that portion of each 24-hour period when the licensed operator is not present.

1. The Department shall exempt class 3 and class 4 automated systems from the full-time operator requirement upon submission by the owner or permittee, of a written request.

2. A written request for an exemption pursuant to this subsection shall be submitted to the Division of Water Supply, P.O. Box 426, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0426 for T systems and to the Division of Water Quality, P.O. Box 029, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0029 for S and N systems, and shall include the following:

i. The name and address of facility;

ii. A description of facility including classification;

iii. The identification number of facility;

iv. The name, address and telephone number of owner of facility;

v. The name and telephone number of contact person onsite; and

vi. The basis upon which an exemption is claimed.

3. An exemption from the full time operator requirement shall specify the special conditions of the exemption and the minimum number of hours the licensed operator is required to be in attendance at the treatment system.

(h) The Department reserves the right to limit the number of systems a licensed operator may operate and to specify the number of hours the licensed operator is required to be in attendance at each system.

1. Any licensee who desires to serve as the licensed operator for more than 10 VSWSs shall demonstrate to the Department that he or she is able to comply with this chapter for each VSWS. The written demonstration shall include:

i. The name, address, and telephone number of the licensee;

ii. The name and Public Water System Identification Number (PWSID) of each VSWS that the licensee currently operates;

iii. The name and PWSID of each VSWS the licensee proposes to operate;

iv. The number of hours needed to operate each VSWS that the licensee currently operates and proposes to operate;

v. The approximate distance (in miles) of each system above from the licensee's primary residence; and

vi. A proposed monthly schedule, including the time spent at each VSWS and the estimated commute time to and from each VSWS.

2. A licensee serving as the licensed operator for more than 10 VSWS on January 1, 2009 shall submit the demonstration required under (h)1 above to the Department no later than March 31, 2009.

3. The Department will consider the compliance history for each of the operator's VSWS in determining whether the demonstration required under (h)1 above is sufficient.

(i) Licensed operators shall notify the Examination and Licensing Unit at least two weeks prior to changing their positions or employment.

(j) The owner of a system employing a new licensed operator shall notify, in writing, the Examination and Licensing Unit of the name of the new licensed operator within two weeks after the licensed operator begins his or her employment.

(k) No person shall operate a system in violation of the provisions of the Act, this chapter or any other operating requirements.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:10A-1.10

Amended by R.1989 d.170 effective 3/20/1989.
See: 20 N.J.R. 1141(b), 21 N.J.R. 750(c).
(c)1. Deleted reference to two year time frame since time period passed.
Amended by R.1997 d.48, effective 2/3/1997.
See: 28 N.J.R. 4300(a), 29 N.J.R. 480(c).
In (a), inserted "Unless exempted pursuant to (b) below"; in (a)1, inserted "by the Department"; inserted new (b) through (d); recodified former (b) through (g) as (e) through (j); and substantially amended (f) and (g).
Amended by R.2000 d.406, effective 10/2/2000.
See: 32 N.J.R. 2279(b), 32 N.J.R. 3585(a).
Rewrote the section.
Amended by R.2008 d.381, effective 12/15/2008.
See: 40 N.J.R. 3785(a), 40 N.J.R. 6961(a).
In (c)2, substituted "an" for "a NJPDES general permit" and inserted "under a NJPDES general permit" and ", unless specifically required in the NJPDES general permit"; in the introductory paragraph of (g), inserted a hyphen following "24"; in (g)2, substituted "the Division of Water Supply, P.O. Box 426, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0426 for T systems and to the Division of Water Quality, P.O. Box 029, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0029 for S and N systems," for "the Examination and Licensing Unit"; and added (h)1 through (h)3.