Sec.25-32-11. Qualifications for certified distribution system operators

(a) Except as provided in subsections (f) and (g) of this section, every community water and every non-transient non-community water distribution system which serves 1,000 or more persons shall have at least one operator who is certified at the distribution system's class or higher and who shall be designated by the system as the chief operator. The chief operator shall have direct responsible charge of the distribution system. In the event that the chief operator is not available, the system shall place an operator, who is certified at the distribution system's class or higher, in direct responsible charge to serve in the interim. Except as provided in subsections (f) and (g), all operators in direct responsible charge and any operators making process control/system integrity decisions about water quality or quantity, that affect public health, shall be certified at the distribution system's class or higher or certified as a conditional or provisional operator.

(b) To become certified as a distribution system operator a person must demonstrate the ability to responsibly operate a distribution system of the given classification applied for (I, II, III) by passing a written examination. To qualify to take the examination, a person shall submit an application to the Department on a form provided by the Department.

(c) Minimum education and experience requirement to qualify for the written examination:

Class	Education (yrs.)	Experience (yrs.)
I	12	1
II	12	2
III	12	4

Each year of education beyond high school (12 years)in A field applicable to water distribution may serve to satisfy one year of the experience requirement to qualify for the written examination. The minimum education requirements shall be met by either a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma. A minimum of one year of experience in operating a distribution system is required for all classes.

(d) Examination requirement for certification — A written examination administered by the Department will be given to qualifying system operator candidates. The examination will test the candidate's ability to responsibly operate a distribution system of the given classification applied for (I, II, III). A passing score shall be required for certification.

(e) Every public water system which is required to have testable backflow prevention devices in its system, pursuant to section 19-13-B38a of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, shall have those devices tested by a person who has completed and passed a course on the testing of backflow preventers administered or approved by the Department.

(f) Existing operators — If an operator having direct responsible charge of a distribution system as of February 9, 1989 is not certified, the Department may certify that operator as a limited operator upon presentation of an application by the system by February 9, 1990. This certification is only granted for a specific distribution system and cannot be transferred to another distribution system. A limited operator cannot be designated as a chief operator but can serve in direct responsible charge.

If an operator has had direct responsible charge of a non-transient non-community water system distribution system, which serves 1,000 or more persons, for at least the one year prior to the effective date of the most recent revisions of sections 25-32-7a to 25-32-14, inclusive, of the regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and is not certified, The Department may certify that operator as a conditional operator upon presentation of an application by the system within one year of the effective date of the most recent revisions of sections 25-32-7a to 25-32-14, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. This certification is only granted for a specific distribution system and cannot be transferred to another system, plant, or individual. The conditional certification is no longer valid if the distribution system classification changes to a higher level. A conditional operator shall meet all renewal requirements including training hour requirements for the operator class equal to the classification of the specific distribution system. The Department may certify a maximum of two conditional operators per distribution system.

(g) Provisional operators — If a system does not have a qualified operator as outlined in Section 25-32-11(a)and if the Department determines that this is due to reasons beyond the system's control, the Department may certify an operator as a provisional operator.

The system must submit a request in writing which indicates the reasons for not having a qualified operator and include an application. The provisional operator certificate would only be granted for a given distribution system and only be given to an operator who could qualify to take the appropriate class exam within 2 years.

(h) Every public water system which has consumer premises required to be inspected for cross connections, pursuant to section 19-13-B102(f) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, shall have those premises inspected by a person who has completed and passed a course on cross connection inspections administered or approved by the Department.

(i) Operator-in-Training — A person who has received either a certificate of achievement in water management from a Connecticut Community-Technical College, or an equivalent as determined by the Department, may apply to take any class examination for a certified distribution system operator. After successful completion of the examination, the person will be an operator-in-training. After the operator-in-training has completed the education and experience requirements of the appropriate class, he may apply to become a certified operator.

(Effective February 9, 1989; Amended July 26, 2001)