Titles of Regulations: 18VAC160-20. Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators and Onsite Sewage System Professionals Regulations (repealing 18VAC160-20-10 through 18VAC160-20-150).

18VAC160-30. Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators Licensing Regulations (adding 18VAC160-30-10 through 18VAC160-30-370).

18VAC160-40. Onsite Sewage System Professionals Licensing Regulations (adding 18VAC160-40-10 through 18VAC160-40-510).

Statutory Authority: §§ 54.1-201 and 54.1-2301 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: April 1, 2017.

Agency Contact: Trisha Henshaw, Executive Director, Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators and Onsite Sewage System Professionals, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 400, Richmond, VA 23233, telephone (804) 367-8595, FAX (866) 350-5354, or email waterwasteoper@dpor.virginia.gov.

Summary:

The amendments repeal the existing regulations and create two separate chapters: 18VAC160-30 (Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators Licensing Regulations) and 18VAC160-40 (Onsite Sewage System Professionals Licensing Regulations). The regulations include (i) definitions; (ii) fees; (iii) standards of practice and conduct; (iv) qualifications for licensure; (v) requirements for application, examination, continuing education, and renewal and reinstatement of licenses; and (vi) approval and maintenance of training courses. This regulatory action introduces new master and journeyman categories for onsite sewage system professional licensees.

Summary of Public Comments and Agency's Response: A summary of comments made by the public and the agency's response may be obtained from the promulgating agency or viewed at the office of the Registrar of Regulations.

CHAPTER 30
WATERWORKS AND WASTEWATER WORKS OPERATORS LICENSING REGULATIONS

Part I
Definitions

18VAC160-30-10. Definitions.

A. Section 54.1-2300 of the Code of Virginia provides definitions of the following terms and phrases as used in this chapter:

"Board"

"Onsite sewage system"

"Operator"

"Owner"

"Wastewater works [ " ]

"Waterworks"

B. The following words, terms, and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Applicant" means an individual who submits an application with the appropriate fee and other required documentation.

"Application" means a completed, board-prescribed form submitted with the appropriate fee and other required documentation.

"Category" means a profession under the board's purview, which includes waterworks and wastewater works as applicable to the licensure of waterworks and wastewater works operators.

"Classification" means the division within each category of license as it relates to the classified facility. Class 1 represents the highest classification for each category of license.

"Contact hour" means 50 minutes of participation in a structured training activity.

"Department" means the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

"DEQ" means the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

"Direct supervision" means being immediately available and fully responsible for the provision of waterworks and wastewater works operation regulated pursuant to Chapter 23 (§ 54.1-2300 et seq.) of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia and this chapter.

"Direct supervisor" means a licensed waterworks or wastewater works operator who assumes the responsibility of direct supervision.

"Licensee" means an individual holding a valid license issued by the board.

"Licensure" means a method of regulation whereby the Commonwealth, through the issuance of a license, authorizes a person possessing the character and minimum skills to engage in the practice of a profession or occupation that [ without such license ] is unlawful to practice [ without such license ].

"Maintenance" or "maintain" means performing adjustments to equipment and controls and in-kind replacement of normal wear and tear parts such as light bulbs, fuses, filters, pumps, motors, or other like components. Maintenance includes pumping the tanks or cleaning the building sewer on a periodic basis. [ Maintenance shall not include replacement of tanks, drainfield piping, or distribution boxes or work requiring a construction permit and a licensed onsite sewage system installer. ]

"Operate" means the act of (i) placing into or taking out of service a unit process or unit processes or (ii) making or causing adjustments in the operation of a unit process at a [ treatment waterworks or wastewater ] works.

"Renewal" means the process and requirements for periodically approving the continuance of a license.

"Training credit" means a unit of board-approved training or formal education completed by an individual that may be used to substitute for experience when applying for a license.

"Treatment works" means any device or system used in the storage, treatment, disposal, or reclamation of sewage or combinations of sewage and industrial wastes including [ , but not limited to, ] pumping power and other equipment and appurtenances, septic tanks, and any works, including land, that are or will be (i) an integral part of the treatment processes or (ii) used for ultimate disposal or residues or effluent resulting from such treatment.

"VDH" means the Virginia Department of Health.

Part II
Entry

18VAC160-30-20. Application procedures.

A. All applicants seeking licensure shall submit an application with the appropriate fee specified in 18VAC160-30-40. Application shall be made on forms provided by the board or its agent. By submitting the application to the department, the applicant certifies that the applicant has read and understands the applicable statutes and the board's regulations. The receipt of an application and the deposit of fees by the board does not indicate approval of the application by the board.

B. The board may make further inquiries and investigations with respect to the applicant's qualifications to confirm or amplify information supplied. All applications shall be completed in accordance with the instructions contained [ herein in this chapter ] and on the application. Applications will not be considered complete until all required documents are received by the board. An applicant will not be permitted to sit for the applicable board-approved examination until the application is complete and approved.

C. The applicant will be notified within 30 days of the board's receipt of an initial application if the application is incomplete. An individual who fails to complete the application process within 12 months of receipt of the application in the board's office must submit a new application. An applicant has 12 months from approval of the application to pass the board-approved examination. Failure to pass the board-approved examination within 12 months of approval will result in the applicant being required to submit a new application to be considered for licensure.

D. The applicant shall immediately report all changes in information supplied with the application, if applicable, prior to issuance of the license or expiration of the application or examination period.

18VAC160-30-30. General fee requirements.

All fees are nonrefundable and shall not be prorated. The date on which the fee is received by the department or its agent will determine whether the fee is on time. Checks or money orders shall be made payable to the Treasurer of Virginia.

18VAC160-30-40. Fee schedule.

Fee Type	Fee Amount	When Due
Initial application (for each profession, class, and category of license)	$100	With application
Renewal (for each profession, class, and category of license)	[ $100 $80 ]	With renewal application
Reinstatement (for each profession, class, and category of license)	[ $125 $105 ] (renewal fee + $25 reinstatement fee)	With reinstatement application

18VAC160-30-50. Examination fee.

The fee for examination or reexamination is subject to charges to the department by an outside vendor based on a contract entered into in compliance with [ the ] Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq. of the Code of Virginia). Fees may be adjusted and charged to the candidate in accordance with this contract.

18VAC160-30-60. General requirements for licensure.

A. In addition to the specific qualifications for each category and classification of licensure, each applicant for licensure shall meet the requirements provided in this section.

1. The applicant shall be at least 18 years old.

2. The applicant shall disclose his mailing address. A post office box is only acceptable as a mailing address when a physical address is also provided.

3. In accordance with § 54.1-204 of the Code of Virginia, each applicant shall disclose the following information.

a. All felony convictions.

b. All misdemeanor convictions in any jurisdiction that occurred within three years of the date of application.

Any plea of nolo contendere or finding of guilt regardless of adjudication or deferred adjudication shall be considered a conviction for the purposes of this section. The record of conviction certified or authenticated in such form as to be admissible in evidence under the laws of the jurisdiction where convicted shall be admissible as prima facie evidence of such guilt.

B. The board, at its discretion, may deny licensure to any applicant in accordance with § 54.1-204 of the Code of Virginia.

C. The applicant shall report [ suspensions, revocations, or surrendering any suspension, revocation, or surrender ] of a license, certification, or registration in connection with a disciplinary action or that has been the subject of discipline in any jurisdiction prior to applying for licensure. The board, at its discretion, may deny licensure to any applicant based on prior suspensions, revocations, or [ surrender surrenders ] of licenses based on disciplinary action by any jurisdiction.

18VAC160-30-70. Examination procedures and conduct.

A. Upon approval of the application, the board will notify the applicant of his eligibility to take the applicable examination. The license will not be issued prior to receipt of a passing score for the applicable examination.

B. An applicant who does not receive a passing score within one year after the date of approval of the application by the board to sit for the examination, must submit a new application and meet the entry requirement in effect at the time of submittal of the new application.

C. The applicant shall follow all rules established by the board with regard to conduct at the examination. Such rules shall include all written instructions communicated prior to the examination date and all instructions communicated at the site, either written or oral, on the date of examination. Failure to comply with all rules established by the board and the testing organization with regard to conduct at the examination may be grounds for denial of the application, voiding of examination scores, or any combination thereof.

18VAC160-30-80. Individuals certified or licensed in another jurisdiction.

[ Any An ] applicant holding a valid license or certificate in another jurisdiction who meets the requirements of this chapter, including having equivalent experience and education, shall pass [ the appropriate Virginia a board-approved ] examination to become licensed.

18VAC160-30-90. License required.

A. No individual shall serve as [ an the ] operator of a waterworks or wastewater works without possessing a valid category of license issued by the board in a classification equal to or greater than the classification of the [ applicable ] waterworks or wastewater works [ to be operated ].

B. An individual cannot simultaneously hold two licenses of different classifications in the same category.

C. Experience used to qualify for licensure must be obtained under the direct supervision of an operator holding a valid license of the same category and of a classification equal to or higher than the classification of the waterworks or wastewater works at which the experience was gained.

[ D. Except as provided in subsection E of this section, experience limited solely to the operation and maintenance of wastewater collection systems and water distribution systems, laboratory work, plant maintenance, and other nonoperating duties shall not be counted as experience as an operator or an operator-in-training.

E. D. ] Experience operating and maintaining water distribution systems shall only be considered for Class 5 or Class 6 waterworks operator license applicants.

[ Except as provided in subsection E of this section, experience E. Experience limited solely to the operation and maintenance of wastewater collection systems, laboratory work, plant maintenance, and other nonoperating duties shall not be counted as experience as an operator or an operator-in-training. ]

F. Provisional licensure alone shall not authorize an individual to serve as the operator of a classified waterworks or wastewater works facility.

18VAC160-30-100. Full-time experience or equivalent.

For the purposes of this part, experience requirements are expressed in terms of calendar periods of full-time employment as an operator or as an operator-in-training at a waterworks or wastewater works in the same category for which licensure is sought [ pursuant to this chapter ].

1. A year of full-time employment is defined as a minimum of 1,760 hours during a 12-month period or a minimum of 220 workdays in a 12-month period. A workday is defined as attendance at a waterworks or wastewater works to the extent required for proper operation. More than 1,760 hours or 220 workdays during a 12-month period will not be considered as more than one year of full-time employment.

2. Partial credit may be given for actual hours of work [ or workdays ] experience if the applicant works as an operator or as an operator-in-training less than [ full-time full time ].