Promulgated under the authority of Act 333 of 1957,

Act 1001 of 1991 and Act 494 of 1997

This Revision Effective

By the Arkansas Board of Health

Arkansas Department of Health

Little Rock, Arkansas

Fay Boozman, M.D., Director

SECTION I. AUTHORITY

The following Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Water Operator Licensing are duly adopted and promulgated by the Arkansas State Board of Health pursuant to the authority expressly conferred by the Laws of the State of Arkansas including, without limitation, Act 96 of 1913, as amended, and Act 333 of 1957 as amended. (See Arkansas Codes Annotated, Title 17, Chapter 51, Sections 101 - 106, and Sections 201 - 205)

 

SECTION II. PURPOSE

These Rules and Regulations are adopted for the purpose of ensuring that all public water systems in the State of Arkansas are operated by personnel who have shown their competence and knowledge of the public health and scientific principles necessary to produce and deliver adequate quantities of water which meets or exceeds the National Primary and Secondary Drinking Water Standards.

 

SECTION III. DEFINITIONS

A. ADVANCED TREATMENT means the application of physical processes (Some examples are aerators, clarifiers or filters.) to water, for the purposes of improving the quality or condition of the water.

B. BOARD means the Arkansas State Board of Health.

C. COMMITTEE means the Drinking Water Advisory And Operator Licensing Committee.

D. DEPARTMENT means the Arkansas Department of Health.

E. LATE RENEWAL means an application for renewal when the application for renewal or the associated fee is received more than thirty (30) days following the beginning of a renewal period.

F. OPERATE means to make decisions or conduct acts that contribute to the production, treatment, or delivery of potable water by the water system, if such decisions or acts involve process control or system integrity.

G. OPERATING SHIFT means that period of time during which operator decisions that affect public health are necessary for proper operation of the water system.

H. OWNER means any person, firm, corporation, institution, or governmental agency, or their agent, owning, operating, or modifying any public water system, water distribution facility or water treatment facility.

I. PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM or PWS means all sources and their surroundings from which water is derived for drinking or domestic purposes by the public, and all structures, conduits, and appurtenances in connection therewith by which water for such use is obtained, treated, conditioned, stored or delivered to the public, if such system has at least fifteen service connections or serves an average of twenty-five individuals daily at least 60 days per year.

1. COMMUNITY PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM means any public water systems, which serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.

2. NON-COMMUNITY PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM means a public water system that serves at least 15 service connections or 25 persons per day that is not a community water system.

a. NON-TRANSIENT NON-COMMUNITY PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM means a Non-Community Water System that serves at least 25 of the same individuals at least 180 days (or portions thereof) per year.

b. TRANSIENT NON-COMMUNITY PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM is any Non-Community Public Water System that is not a Non-Transient Non-Community Public Water System.

3. CONSECUTIVE SYSTEMS are public water systems that obtain all or part of their water supply, either directly or indirectly, from another public water system.

4. SMALL WATER SYSTEM shall mean a Public Water System serving a total population of less than 500, including the population of any consecutive Public Water Systems that it operates.

J. SURFACE WATER means water that flows over or rests upon the surface of the earth.

K. SURFACE WATER INFLUENCED SOURCE means any source with significant occurrence of insects or other macro-organisms, algae, or large diameter pathogens such as Giardia lamblia, or which is subject to significant changes in water quality which are determined to be in direct relationship with the climatological or surface water conditions.

L. TREATMENT means the application of physical processes and/or the addition of chemicals to water which a public water system provides to the public, for the purposes of improving the quality of the water, except that the addition of gaseous chlorine, calcium hypochlorite or sodium hypochlorite alone shall not be defined as treatment.

M. WATER DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES shall mean that portion of the public water system in which water is stored and conveyed from the water treatment facilities or other supply point to the premises of a water consumer. This type of facility would also include groundwater sources without treatment.

1. A single pressure plane distribution facility is a distribution network that has only one pressure gradient downstream of the source of supply.

2. A multiple pressure plane distribution facility is a distribution network that has more then a single pressure gradient downstream of the source of supply. A booster pump station or a pressure reducing valve could create the additional pressure gradient. A booster pump or a pressure reducing valve serving an individual or small group of service connections would not be considered as a separate pressure gradient.

N. WATER OPERATOR means any person who during the performance of their regular duties, at all community public water system, all non-transient non-community public water system, or any other non-community public water system that utilizes a surface water source or surface water influenced source, exercises individual judgment, whether directly or indirectly, that might affect the safety, quality, or quantity of water delivered from the water system. (The term Operator generally includes, but is not limited to, Managers, Assistant Managers, Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Construction and Maintenance Foremen, treatment plant personnel and other persons responsible for the operation and maintenance of wells, reservoirs, water treatment facilities, water distribution facilities, and pumping facilities.)

O. WATER OPERATOR(S) IN RESPONSIBLE CHARGE is defined as the water operator(s) designated by the owner to be the licensed operator(s) who is in direct supervision of the water system regarding the daily operational activities and protocols that an operator(s) follows when operating a public water system, water treatment facility and/or distribution facility.

P. WATER OPERATOR-IN-TRAINING means any Water Operator who has successfully completed the formal license examination, but has not met the experience requirement.

Q. WATER TREATMENT FACILITIES shall mean that portion of the public water system in which water is obtained and treated.

 

SECTION IV. APPLICABILITY

These Rules and Regulations apply to Public Water Systems and any individual who seeks certification or licensure to perform the duties of a Water Operator or other activities for which certification or licensure as a Water Operator is available from the Department of Health. All Public Water Systems and any individual performing the duties of a Water Operator must comply with these Rules and Regulations.

 

SECTION V. LICENSE TYPE AND GRADE OF LICENSE REQUIRED

SECTION VI. EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

A. Applicants for licensing shall have a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma or GED. On a case by case basis, the Committee may determine that an applicant's experience or relevant training can be substituted for the requisite high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma. Any training or experience used for such substitution shall not be used to meet the minimum experience requirement.

B. The mandatory minimum training requirements that must be met for each license grade and license type are contained in Table 2.

TRAINING HOUR REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSE EXAMS
Course Name	Length	D-SS	D-1	D-2	D-3	D-4	T-1	T-2	T-3	T-4
Rules, Regs, SDWA Compliance	8 hr	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Basic Water Works Math	8 hr.	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Applied Water Works Math	8 hr.			X	X	X		X	X	X
Distribution Basic	24 hr.	X	X	X	X	X
Distribution Intermediate	24 hr.			X	X	X
Distribution Advanced	24 hr.					X
Treatment Basic	24 hr.						X	X	X	X
Treatment Intermediate	24 hr.							X	X	X
Treatment Advanced	24 hr.								X	X
	Tot. hrs.	40	40	72	72	96	40	72	96	96

TABLE 2.

C. Applicants for licensure must meet the minimum mandatory training requirements prior to sitting for the license exam. It is the responsibility of the applicant to meet the mandatory training prior to sitting for an exam. Failure to meet the training requirements for the license exam grade and type taken will result in the invalidation of the license exam and forfeiture of the exam fee.

D. The Licensing Committee, after determining that a required training course is not, and has not been, reasonably available in a geographical area of the State, may waive the mandatory training requirement for that course and area, for a specified period of time.

E. All operators sitting for an exam after January 1, 2003 must meet the required training. Equivalent training attended prior to this date may be substituted for the required training requirements.

F. Operators upgrading a license in good standing will be considered to have the training required for the license held.

G. Education substitution for post secondary degrees will be as follows:

1. Bachelors or Associates of Science or Applied Science Degree in an applicable physical science may be substituted for all the minimum training requirements except the Rules and Regulations Course and the course required for the specific license examination to be taken.

2. A Bachelors or Associates of Applied Science in Water and Wastewater Technology may be substituted for the entire minimum training requirements except the Rules and Regulations Course.

3. Post secondary degrees used to meet Education requirements cannot also be used to meet Experience requirement.

SECTION VII. EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS

A. Applicants for licensing shall be examined to determine their skills, knowledge, ability, and judgment in the safe and proper operation of a public water system. The examination must consist of validated questions and be developed utilizing proper exam development procedures and validation protocols.

B.  An individual desiring to obtain a Water Operator License by examination shall file a license application, including the required license and exam fees, with the certification program not later than 60 days proceeding the date of examination. The application will be valid for one year.

C.  An individual desiring to be examined shall be required to provide adequate photographic identification prior to receiving and when returning an examination. All exams and related materials must be returned, prior to leaving the exam session. Failure to return the exam and related materials will result in administrative actions, penalties or criminal charges.

D.  Separate examinations shall be prepared for each certification classification. For grades I-IV a separate examination shall be prepared for the water treatment plant operation license and the distribution facility operation license.

E.  Grade I-IV examinations shall be written and consist of at least 100 questions. The very small system examination shall be written and consist of at least 50 questions. All examinations will be closed book, with math formulas provided.

F.  All examinations shall be scored by the Committee, or by others designated by the Committee, and the applicant shall be notified of the outcome. The test booklet shall not be returned to the applicant.

G.  Applicants who fail to pass the examination may repeat the examination at subsequent examination sessions. An additional examination fee is required for each examination. This fee must be received 15 days prior to sitting for the exam. An additional application is not required for repeated examinations, if the examination is repeated within one (1) year.

SECTION VIII. EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

A. Evaluation of the Experience requirement shall be based on completion of the following periods of approved work:

1.	Grade IV Treatment License	Three (3) years
	Grade IV Distribution License	Three (3) years
2.	Grade III Treatment License	Two (2) years
	Grade III Distribution License	Two (2) years
3.	Grade II Treatment License	One (1) Year
	Grade II Distribution License	One (1) year
4.	Grade I Treatment License	Six (6) months
	Grade I Distribution License	Six (6) Months
5.	Small System Distribution License	No experience requirement

B. In order for work to meet the Experience requirement it must be from work or the supervision of work that is directly related to the license being obtained.

C. Certain post-secondary degrees may be substituted for experience credit towards meeting the experience requirement. The degree must be shown on the license application to be considered for credit. Experience credit will be allowed as shown in Table 3 at the end of this section.

D. Post secondary degree used to meet Experience requirement cannot be used to meet Education requirements.

SECTION IX. ISSUANCE OF LICENSES AND PERMITS

A. A license shall not be issued to any applicant until the education, examination and experience requirements have been successfully completed, or until the applicant has been successfully evaluated for reciprocity.

B. An Operator-In-Training certificate shall be issued to a license applicant when the experience requirement has not been completed and the license examination has been successfully completed.

C. Temporary permits will not be issued. To issue a Temporary Permit to an unlicensed operator of a public water system the Department must assure that its issuance will not jeopardize public health and safety. The Department cannot provide this assurance due to improved knowledge of water borne disease outbreaks and because Public Water Systems have an increased risk of microbial contamination.

D. Inactive Licenses are no longer allowed. Licenses placed in the inactive status, when it was allowed, may be reinstated at any time, after approval by the Department, by paying the required reinstatement fees and passing an examination on current Public Water System regulations, policies, and Safe Drinking Water Act compliance requirements. The Department shall require license examination be passed to reinstate the license if the inactive period exceeds ten (10) years. Examinations may be waived provided the operator can prove through closely related work that the operator has kept current with present Public Water System requirements.

 

SECTION X. FEES ESTABLISHED

A. Examination

The fee shall be $25.00 per examination, the initial exam fee shall be paid at the time of License Application and all subsequent exam fees must be received 15 days in advance of the examination.

B. License

The fee shall be $10.00, paid at the time of License Application.

C. License Renewal

The fee shall be $10.00 for each two (2) year renewal period for each license or Operator-In-Training certificate renewed.

D. Penalty for Late Renewal

The fee for penalty for late renewal shall be $5.00.

E. Reciprocity Evaluation

The fee for evaluating an applicant for reciprocity shall be $25.00 per license evaluated.

F. Reinstatement of Inactive License

The fee for reinstating an Inactive License shall be $10.00 for each renewal period during which the license has not been active, provided that the total fee shall not exceed $35.00.

G. Reinstatement of Revoked License

The fee due to revocation shall be $10.00 for each two (2) year renewal period and $10.00 for a re-issuance of License.

 

SECTION XI. EXAMINATION SESSIONS

A. Arkansas Water Works and Water Environment Association District Meeting

The Arkansas Department of Health shall assign personnel to conduct examinations for applicants for Licenses in each Arkansas Water Works and Water Environment Association District, upon request, during the months of July and November, at a predetermined and publicized location and time.

B. Annual Industry Association Conferences

The Arkansas Department of Health shall assign personnel to conduct examinations for applicants for Licenses in conjunction with the annual conferences of all major industry associations, upon request, with time and place to be publicized.

C. Other scheduled examination sessions.

The Arkansas Department of Health shall assign personnel to conduct examinations for applicants for Licenses at other examination sessions set by the Committee, at a predetermined and publicized location.

D. Special examinations

Any applicant for License may request a special examination to be given at a date other than the normally scheduled exam session. This request must be in writing to the Executive Secretary of the Licensing Committee and should detail the reasons the special examination is needed.

 

SECTION XII. LICENSES

A. Issued

On satisfactory fulfillment of the certification requirements the Executive Secretary of the Committee shall issue a suitable license to the applicant designating their competency. The license shall state the licensed individual’s name, the license grade and the license number.

B. Permanent

The license shall be permanent unless revoked for cause; replaced by a higher grade license; invalidated due to Section XI, Subsection A; or invalidated due to obtaining or renewing the license through fraud; deceit; or the submission of inaccurate qualifications or renewal data.

C. Reciprocity

Any applicant holding a valid License from another State with at least equal requirements of Act 333 of 1957, as amended, and its Rules and Regulations shall be issued a Water System Operator License. Such license shall be issued only after an evaluation has been made by the Department to insure that the applicant's out-of-state License is current and has equal requirements to the License to be issued. To obtain a license by reciprocity a license application and documentation of the License held must be filed with the required fees in Section VIII, Subsection B and E included.

D. Suspension

The Department with the knowledge and approval of the Director of the Arkansas Department of Health shall suspend a Water Operator’s license, Operator-In-Training certificate or deny issuance of a license or certificate for cause, including but not limited to when it is found the license holder, operator in training or applicant:

1. Has practiced fraud or deception;

2. That reasonable care, judgment, or the application of their knowledge or ability was not used in the performance of their duties that resulted in water quality being compromised or any non-compliance with any state or federal requirement;

3. That the license holder, operator in training or applicant is incompetent, unable or not willing to perform their duties properly.

The suspension or denial shall remain in effect until the Committee reviews the case.

E. Revocation

The Committee shall hold a public hearing into the suspension. The Department will present their case and the Water Operator will have the opportunity to present his or her defense. The Committee shall then uphold or deny the suspension. If the suspension is upheld, the Committee shall report the findings of the Public Hearing to the Board and recommend the license remain suspended for a recommended time period or be revoked. The Board shall then reinstate, suspend or revoke the license.

F. Reinstatement

Any Licensed Water System Operator or Operator-In-Training who for any reason, other than revocation, desires to have a license reinstated may request, in a hearing before the Committee; that the Committee re-instate the license, with or without conditions. If the license is re-instated, payment of the applicable fees under Section VIII, Subsection C and F must be remitted.

 

SECTION XIII. MAINTENANCE OF LICENSE

A. In order to renew a Water Operator License or Operator-In-Training Certificate, the operator must certify to the Committee the attendance, at a minimum, of twenty-four (24) hours per two year renewal period of approved training instruction. No additional training instruction will be required to renew additional licenses each renewal period. At least twelve (12) of the approved hours must be in subjects directly applicable to the field of water supply, treatment, distribution, pumping, metering, or management; or the study of approved materials on the same subjects. The remaining twelve (12) hours of approved training may be indirectly applicable subject matter, such as personal operator safety, wastewater, plumbing inspection or cross-connection control certification courses. The various water operator associations’ annual and monthly district meetings will be considered as directly applicable training. This subsection is effective with the start of the July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2005 renewal period.

B. The Water Operator is responsible for submitting adequate documentation of the completion of the required training, at the time of license renewal. This documentation must include the date, subject, sponsor, and number of approved training hours for each training session completed and submitted for training credit.

C. A License that has not been renewed in accordance with this section, within ninety days after the license has expired, shall be lapsed and invalid.

D. Any licensee whose License has expired can request, within one (1) year of the date of expiration, the license be reinstated by the Department upon documentation of past renewal training requirements and the payment of the fees as stated in Section VIII, Subsection C and D.

E. A Water Operator license or Operator-In-Training certificate that has been expired for more than one (1) year cannot be reinstated. It is necessary for such a license or certificate holder to reapply and be reexamined according to the requirements for new applicants.

SECTION XIV. SPECIAL PURPOSE LICENSE

A special purpose license is authorized for Transient Non-Community Public Water Systems that utilize groundwater sources that are Surface Water Influenced Sources. The license shall be restricted to these systems that utilize cartridge/bag filtration technology. The License exam will be a modified Small Water System License with specific questions added related to the very specialized simple to operate water treatment equipment (cartridge filtration) and microbial inactivation processes, being utilized by these systems to meet the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Act requires these systems to be operated by qualified personnel and this license will be used to demonstrate the operators of these systems meet that requirement.

The license exam shall have a minimum of 50 questions related to the topics of cartridge/bag filtration technology, microbial inactivation processes, surface water treatment regulations, water distribution questions, and groundwater sources. Holders of this license shall be required to meet the same maintenance of license requirements as a Small System Distribution License holder or attend an Arkansas Department of Health renewal training course, each renewal period, designed specifically to address this type of system and the technology to which this license applies.

Operators of these specific systems may also utilize the Treatment and Distribution Licenses required of Surface Source Transient Non-Community Public Water System’s.

 

SECTION XV. DRINKING WATER ADVISORY AND OPERATOR LICENSING COMMITTEE

A. The Committee shall elect a Chair who shall serve for a term of one year. The election shall occur at the first meeting of the state fiscal year.

B. The Committee shall utilize "Robert's Rules of Order" as a guide for procedures for conducting business.

C. In the event that more than one person is appointed to the Committee at a particular Board meeting, the new appointees shall draw lots to determine which of the vacant terms that each shall fill.

 

SECTION XVI. MEETINGS

The Licensing Committee shall meet at least once a year and in special meetings called by the Chair or requested by the Arkansas Department of Health.

 

SECTION XVII. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY AUTHORITY

The Arkansas Department of Health shall have the authority to assess administrative penalties against any individual or any public water system for failure to comply with any portion of these regulations, in accordance with the requirements of ACA §§ 20-7-101, et seq, and ACA §§ 14-262-101, et seq.

 

SECTION XVIII. SEVERABILITY

If any provision of these Rules and Regulations, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not effect other provisions or applications of these Rules and Regulations which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions hereto are declared to be severable.

 

CERTIFICATION

This will certify that the foregoing Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Water Operator Licensing were adopted by the Arkansas Board of Health at a regular session of said Board held in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, on the twenty-third day of October, AD two thousand.

_______(signed)_____________________

Fay Boozman, M.D.

Secretary of the Arkansas Board of Health

Director, Arkansas Department of Health

Dated at Little Rock, Arkansas, this Thirtieth day of September, AD two thousand and two.

The preceding Rules & Regulations have been filed in my office and are hereby adopted on the ____16th_______ day of __October__, AD two thousand and two.

_______(signed)______________________

Mike Huckabee

GOVERNOR