Subchapter C. BOARD PROCEDURES AND ACTIONS
Sec.
302.301. Board procedures for certification action.
302.302. Issuance of certificate for certification or recertification.
302.303. Issuance of upgraded certificate.
302.304. Issuance of certificate through reciprocity.
302.305. Board-approved reciprocity register.
302.306. Certificate renewal.
302.307. Extensions.
302.308. Suspensions, revocation or modification of an operator’s certificate.
302.309. Board review of Department training decisions.§ 302.301. Board procedures for certification action.
(a) The Board Secretary will review the application for certification action for completeness.
(b) If the application is not complete, the applicant will be notified within 14 days from receipt of the application, of the specific information required to make the application complete.
(c) When an application is complete, the Board Secretary will review the application using policy and procedures defined by the Board in guidelines and make a recommendation for action to the Board designating the appropriate class and subclassification.
(d) The Board, or the Board Secretary, as authorized by the Board, will take action on an application for certification within 120 days of receipt of a complete application. If the Board determines additional information from the applicant is necessary to complete the review of the Board Secretary’s recommendation, final action on the application will be delayed until this information is provided. Within 120 days of receipt of the requested information, the Board will take final action on the application for certification.
(e) The Board Secretary will issue the operator’s certificate within 60 days of Board action. A certificate will include the issuance and expiration dates, class and subclassifications, client ID and certification identification numbers and pocket card for identification purposes.
(f) The issuance date on the certificate corresponds with the date of Board action and the operator is assigned to the current 3-year renewal cycle (either the first day of January, April, July or October). The certificate is valid for a 3-year period and will expire on the date indicated unless suspended, modified or revoked by the Board prior to expiration.
(g) The Board will deny an application for certification action for failure to meet the requirements of the act, this chapter, and any other Federal or State law or rules and regulations promulgated thereto applicable to the operation of water and wastewater systems.
(h) The Board authorizes the Board Secretary to deny an application for certification action without Board review for failure to:
(1) Meet the requirements for reciprocity as defined in § 302.304 (relating to issuance of certificate through reciprocity).
(2) Meet processing deadlines.
(3) Successfully pass an examination for certification.
(i) When the Board denies an application for certification action, the Board Secretary will notify the applicant in writing within 60 days of the Board decision, describing the applicant’s right to appeal the action to the Environmental Hearing Board.
(j) Within 4 weeks of receiving a written request of a certified operator and payment of a fee as established in § 302.202 (relating to operator certification program fees) for the replacement of a certificate or wallet card, the Board Secretary will fulfill the request.
Cross References This ssection cited in 25 Pa. Code § 302.303 (relating to issuance of upgraded certificate).
§ 302.302. Issuance of certificate for certification or recertification.
The Board may approve a complete application for certification action for either certification or recertification with a designated class and subclassification when the applicant has met the requirements for certification as defined in § 302.104 (relating to certification requirements). The Board will also complete the review of the applicant’s CHR in accordance with § § 302.402 and 302.403 (relating to CHR investigations; and review of CHRs by the Board) before approving a complete application for certification action for certification or recertification.
§ 302.303. Issuance of upgraded certificate.
(a) The Board will approve a complete application for certification action to upgrade an existing certificate to the appropriate class when the applicant meets the additional experience requirements defined in § 302.703 (relating to experience requirements) for the upgrade in class. The Board will also approve a complete application for certification action to upgrade an operator-in-training as defined in § 302.1004 (relating to operator-in-training status) when the operator-in-training has met the minimum experience requirements for certification defined in § 302.703.
(b) The Board will approve a complete application for certification action to upgrade an existing certificate to add another subclassification when the applicant passes the Part II Treatment Technology Specific Examination as defined in § 302.601 (relating to general provisions) that corresponds to a subclassification defined in § § 302.1002 and 302.1003 (relating to the certification classes and subclassifications of water system operators; and certification classes and subclassifications of wastewater system operators) and completes 1-year additional experience requirement, if applicable, as defined in § 302.703 and § 302.704 (relating to experience requirements; and determining qualifying experience).
(c) The Board will replace the applicant’s existing certificate with an upgraded certificate that maintains the operator’s current 3-year renewal cycle. Those applicants that were upgraded from the operator-in-training status will be issued a certificate in accordance with procedures defined in § 302.301 (relating to Board procedures for certification action).
(d) Additional changes in continuing education requirements as defined in § 302.803 (relating to phased schedule for continuing education requirements) resulting from an upgrade will not be enforced until the certified operator’s next full 3-year renewal cycle.
(e) Class Dc, Dn and grandparented drinking water system certificates will not be upgraded.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 302.705 (relating to accelerated certification requirements for system modifications).
§ 302.304. Issuance of certificate through reciprocity.
(a) The Board may issue a certificate to an applicant holding a valid water or wastewater, or both, operator certificate from another state, territory, the District of Columbia or a Board-approved reciprocity register, when the applicant meets the requirements for certification defined in § 302.104 (relating to certification requirements) and demonstrates the out-of-State certificate was issued as the result of passing an examination comparable to one administered by the Board.
(b) The Department will determine whether the content of the examination is comparable to an examination prepared by the Department and obtain confirmation from the state, territory or Board approved registry that issued the applicant’s certificate that the applicant holds a valid certificate, and is in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and other requirements.
(c) Operators previously certified in this Commonwealth are not eligible to apply for reciprocity if:
(1) The Board revoked, suspended or modified their certificate in accordance with § 302.308 (relating to suspensions, revocation or modification of an operator’s certificate).
(2) The operator failed to meet the continuing education requirements for its most recent 3-year renewal cycle.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 302.104 (relating to certification requirements); and 25 Pa. Code § 302.301 (relating to board procedures for certification action).
§ 302.305. Board-approved reciprocity register.
(a) The Board recognizes the Association of Boards of Certification Registry and United States Military or Coast Guard discharge papers documenting water or wastewater operation as reciprocity registers.
(b) The Board may recognize additional certification registers upon request by an applicant or the entity maintaining the register.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 302.201 (relating to form of application).
§ 302.306. Certificate renewal.
(a) Certified operators meeting the requirements of the act, this chapter, and any other Federal or State law or rules and regulations promulgated thereto applicable to the operation of water and wastewater systems and any orders of the Board or the Department relative to certification will be eligible for certificate renewal without further examination.
(b) The Board will attempt to notify certified operators when renewal is due at least 60 days prior to certificate expiration. Failure to receive a renewal application from the Board does not release a certified operator from the requirements of the act, this chapter, and other Federal or State law or rules and regulations promulgated thereto applicable to the operation of water and wastewater systems.
(c) Certified operators shall meet the continuing education requirements as defined in § 302.803 (relating to phased schedule for continuing education requirements) as a condition of renewal.
(d) Continuing education must be successfully obtained during the certified operator’s 3-year certification period. A certified operator who fails to complete the continuing education requirements within the 3-year cycle shall apply for recertification.
(e) The Board will not renew a certificate for an operator who fails to meet the continuing education requirements, unless the operator has applied for and been granted an extension in accordance with § 302.307 (relating to extensions).
(f) A certificate will not be deemed expired if the Board Secretary has received a complete application for certification action for renewal before the expiration date of the certificate. This provision will be in force until the Board takes action on the application. If approved, the certificate will be issued with an expiration date that maintains the operator’s prior 3-year cycle.
(g) A certificate renewal issued by the Board after the certificate has expired will have the effective issuance date of when the Board Secretary finalizes the renewed certificate as authorized by the Board. The Board Secretary will send the renewed certificate no later than 90 days after receiving a complete application. The expiration date will be 3 years after the expiration date of the lapsed certificate.
(h) Within 24 months following the date of expiration, an operator who has completed the continuing education, but whose certificate has expired, may renew the certificate by submitting a complete application for certification action for renewal. A certified operator who fails to renew the certificate within 24 months of the expiration date shall apply for recertification.
(i) The Board Secretary will submit a listing of applicants for certificate renewal to the Board that the Department has determined have not met the continuing education requirements as defined in § 302.802 (relating to continuing education requirements for certificate renewal). The listing will include the applicants’ names, their classes and subclassifications of certification and the number of approved hours of continuing education completed.
(j) An operator shall submit any post-presentation credit applications for training that were not preapproved by the Department in accordance with training approval process guidelines within 90 days after certificate expiration.
(k) After the Board has taken action to deny an application for certificate renewal due to lack of continuing education, the Board Secretary will send a certified letter to the operator notifying the operator of the Board’s decision. The Board Secretary will send a copy of this letter to the appropriate Department regional program manager and the owners of any systems who identified the operator as an available operator for their systems.
(l) The operator has 14 days from receipt of the certified letter to submit additional documentation of completed continuing education for review by the Department to the Board Secretary. If the Department approves the additional documentation showing compliance with the requirement for continuing education, the Board Secretary will issue a valid certificate to the operator. If not, the operator is no longer certified, and shall apply for recertification.
§ 302.307. Extensions.
(a) The Board may grant a time extension to a certified operator to meet the requirements of the act, this chapter, and other Federal or State law or rules and regulations promulgated thereto applicable to the operation of water and wastewater systems provided that:
(1) The certified operator requests an extension in writing with appropriate justification no later than 90 days after certificate expiration, except in extenuating circumstances.
(2) The certified operator agrees to meet all requirements within a specific time period established by the Board.
(b) Within 14 days of Board action, the Board Secretary will provide an explanation of the Board’s decision and any requirements for compliance in writing to the certified operator.
(c) Circumstances that justify an extension include:
(1) Military service that curtails an operator’s ability to access continuing education, mandated training or Board testing.
(2) Health related circumstances that curtail an operator’s ability to participate in continuing education, mandated training or Board testing.
(3) Other extreme circumstances.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 302.306 (relating to certificate renewal).
§ 302.308. Suspensions, revocation or modification of an operator’s certificate.
(a) The Board may take action to suspend, revoke, modify or reinstate an operator’s certificate upon petition by the Department.
(b) The Board may suspend, revoke or modify a certificate for misconduct for reasons including:
(1) Negligence in the operation of a water or wastewater system.
(2) Fraud.
(3) Falsification of an application or other State, local or Federal documents or records relating to the operation of a water or wastewater system.
(4) Incompetence or failure to use reasonable care and professional judgment in performing the duties of a certified operator as described in § 302.1201 (relating to duties of operators).
(5) Violation of State or Federal laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder associated with the operation of a water or wastewater treatment system.
(c) Suspension, revocation, modification or reinstatement of an operator’s certificate will become effective immediately upon the Board’s action.
(d) The Board may suspend or modify a certificate for a specific time period or require additional education, training or reexamination as a condition of reinstatement.
(e) Within 5 days of the Board taking an action to suspend, revoke, modify or reinstate an operator’s certificate, the Board Secretary will notify the Department, the certified operator and the certified operator’s employer in writing of the Board action to suspend, revoke or modify an operator’s certificate.
(f) Final actions taken by the Board related to this section are appealable to the Environmental Hearing Board.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 302.304 (relating to issuance of certificate through reciprocity).
§ 302.309. Board review of Department training decisions.
(a) A training provider or sponsor may request the Board to review a Department action to do the following:
(1) Approve, disapprove, revoke or suspend a training provider’s status as an approved sponsor of training for certification and continuing education.
(2) Approve, deny, revoke or suspend the approval of any course for certification and continuing education.
(3) Assess an instructor’s qualifications.
(4) Assign appropriate continuing education contact hours.
(b) Within 75 days of receiving notification from the Department, a training provider or sponsor may submit a request to the Board to review the Department’s decision. The request must include the following:
(1) The reasons for the Department’s decision.
(2) The reasons why the Board review is necessary.
(3) Circumstances that merit consideration by the Board to reverse or modify the Department’s decision.
(4) The desired action from the Board.
(c) The Board will take action on any training decision request within 120 days of completion of a scheduled Board meeting dealing with the training action.
(d) Final actions taken by the Board related to this section are appealable to the Environmental Hearing Board.
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