§ 130e.32. Certification requirements.
(a) General. General criteria for Level 2 commercial manure haulers are as follows:
(1) A person shall obtain certification as a commercial manure hauler Level 2 prior to land-applying manure.
(2) Manure land-applied by a Level 2 certified commercial manure hauler shall only be applied under the supervision of a Level 1 or Level 2 certified commercial manure broker or a Level 3 certified commercial manure hauler acting as a contract agent for an agricultural operator or commercial manure broker.
(3) When acting as a contract agent for an agricultural operator required by section 5 of the act (3 P. S. § 2010.5) to use a certified commercial manure hauler or certified commercial manure broker, shall land apply the manure in accordance with and based upon an approved nutrient management plan or a nutrient balance sheet developed by a certified commercial nutrient management specialist or a Level 2 certified commercial manure broker.
(4) The Level 2 commercial manure hauler shall maintain the records of manure transported or land-applied as required by this chapter and the recordkeeping requirements of the nutrient management regulations in 25 Pa. Code § § 83.341—83.344 (relating to recordkeeping and informational requirements).
(b) Application for Level 2 commercial manure hauler certification. To obtain a Level 2 commercial manure hauler certification, a person shall request and review the Level 2 certification course training manual and take and pass the Level 2 certification written examination. Submission of the required examination for certification as a Level 2 commercial manure hauler shall act as the application for a Level 2 commercial manure hauler certificate. Upon receiving and scoring the examination, the Department will send written notice to the applicant. The written notice will inform the applicant whether he passed or failed the examination. If the applicant has passed the examination, the written notice will include a temporary certificate. The temporary certificate will be valid for 30 days from the date of receipt. The holder of the temporary certificate shall forward the appropriate certification fee to the Department within that 30-day time period. Upon receipt of the appropriate fee, the Department will mail the final certification to the holder of the temporary certificate.
(c) Conditional certification. This provision shall be utilized only under circumstances established in this subsection.
(1) Qualifying conditions. Conditional certification may be utilized to certify a person as a Level 2 commercial manure hauler to cover an unforeseeable circumstance or event which leaves the owner of the commercial manure hauler or commercial manure broker business without personnel to haul and apply manure during critical times, or when imminent environmental threat or harm exists.
(i) An unforeseeable circumstance or event includes:
(A) Failure of a certified employee to report to work because of illness.
(B) The resignation without notice of a certified employee.
(C) The unexplained absence of a certified employee.
(ii) An imminent environmental threat or harm exists when circumstances may cause a manure storage area to overflow or breach without prior warning. Circumstances include:
(A) A weather occurrence, such as unexpectedly high amounts of rain or a natural disaster such as a hurricane.
(B) Damage to the manure storage.
(2) General procedure for conditional certification. Applicants for conditional certification shall comply with the following procedures:
(i) Notification. Prior to allowing the employee to haul or land-apply manure, the owner of the commercial manure hauling or brokering business who wishes to have an employee conditionally certified as a Level 2 commercial manure hauler shall be required to contact the Department and notify the Department of the necessity of the conditional certification. The notification must set forth the qualifying condition necessitating conditional certification.
(ii) Limitation on conditional approvals. The Department will have the right to limit the number of employees for which it will grant a conditional certification and the number of times it will grant a conditional certification to a commercial manure hauler or brokering business. Prior to denying a request, the Department will notify a commercial manure hauler or broker that a future limitation will be imposed. Any oral notification will be followed by a written notification.
(iii) Necessity of conditional certification. The owner of the commercial manure hauling or brokering business shall set forth a reasonable and plausible explanation of why the triggering circumstance or event was unforeseeable or delineate the environmental harm or threat triggering the need for conditional certification. The owner shall provide specific information regarding the reason conditional certification is necessary.
(3) Conditions and limitations of approval. When conditional certification is utilized, the following apply:
(i) The Department will provide on-line and by means of fax the Level 2 workbook and a work sheet covering the information necessary to conditionally certify a Level 2 commercial manure hauler.
(ii) The employee who wishes to become conditionally certified shall review the Level 2 workbook and complete the work sheet.
(iii) The employee and the employer shall sign the work sheet and fax the verified and completed work sheet to the Department.
(iv) The work sheet shall be completed, signed and faxed or scanned and e-mailed to the Department prior to the conditionally certified person transporting or land applying manure.
(v) The employer shall mail the original copy of the completed and signed work sheet to the Department within the 5 business days for which the employee’s conditional certification is valid.
(vi) The conditionally certified employee shall take and pass the Level 2 commercial manure hauler test within 5 business days of the employer notifying the Department of the conditional certification.
(vii) Conditional certification will be valid for 5 business days from the date of notification. The conditionally certified employee may not continue to operate under the conditional certification after the 5-day period has run and may not be granted any extension.
(viii) Conditional certification will be granted to a person only one time.
(ix) The owner of the commercial manure hauling or brokering business shall agree to a date and location where the conditionally certified employee will take the Level 2 commercial manure hauler examination. The date shall be within 5 business days of the notification of the conditional certification.
(4) Land application conditions. When the Department grants conditional certification, the conditionally-certified employee shall land apply manure under the supervision of a Level 3 certified commercial manure hauler or a Level 1 or 2 certified commercial manure broker. A conditionally certified employee may not land apply manure unless the conditions are met.
(d) Denial of certification. If an applicant for a Level 2 commercial manure hauler certification is denied, the Department will notify the applicant, in writing and specifically set forth the reasons for the denial. When a Level 2 commercial manure hauler applicant is denied, the applicant shall be allowed to take the Level 2 commercial manure hauler written examination again and submit it as set forth in subsection (b), to the Department. The applicant may not land-apply manure until certified as a Level 2 commercial manure hauler.
Cross References This section cited in 7 Pa. Code § 130e.51 (relating to commercial manure broker and hauler continuing education requirements).
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