The Environmental Quality Act, see 35-11-302(a)(iv)

Current Chapter 5

Operator Certification Program Policies

Chapter 5 Definitions

"Act" means the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act as amended (W.S. 35-11-101 et.seq.).

"Activated sludge" means a biological wastewater treatment process in which a mixture of wastewater and activated sludge is agitated and aerated and includes extended aeration and oxidation ditch treatment processes.

"Administrator" means the administrator of the Water Quality Division, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality or his authorized agents.

"Backup operator" is an individual who is designated by the owner to function in the role of the chief operator when the chief operator is absent.

"Chief operator" is the individual who is designated by the owner to have the primary hands-on responsibility for the operation of each plant or system.

"Community Water Systems" means a public water systems that has at least 15 service connections used year-round by residents or that regularly provide water to at least 25 residents year-round. Examples would be cities, townships, water districts, and subdivisions. These systems are required to have both a Chief and Backup operator certified at a level determined by DEQ.

"Contact hour" means one hour of administrator approved operator training and education including but not limited to technical seminars, college courses, lectures, workshops, correspondence courses, hands-on-training, and in-house training programs that are related to water and wastewater treatment, collection and distribution.

"Experience" means employment as an operator or employment in other administrator-recognized professions closely related to the water/wastewater operator profession.

"Facility configuration form" means a form sent to facilities for completion that will guide the Water Quality Division in determining the level of classification for the water and wastewater plants and distribution and collection systems.

"Fixed growth" means a biological wastewater treatment process in which the wastewater is treated by contact with biological growth affixed to a media and includes trickling filter, rotating biological contactor, and biological tower treatment processes.

"Hands-on responsibility" means the on-site responsibility for the operational decisions necessary for the proper functioning of plants and systems.

"Municipality" means any city, town, county, district, association, or other public body including state and federal government.

"Non-municipal public water supply" means any public water treatment plant and/or public water distribution system not operated by a municipality.

"Non Transient Non Community Water System" means a public water supply which is not a community water system and which regularly provides service to at least 25 of the same persons for more than six months of the year where those persons are not full time residents. Examples are schools, factories, mines, or office buildings. These systems are required to have both a Chief and Backup operator certified at a level determined by DEQ.

"Nutrient removal" means a wastewater plant using biological, chemical, or physical/ chemical nutrient removal in its process.

"Operator" means, for systems, any individual who is directly involved in the on-site operation, maintenance, and repair of a system, or, for plants, any person who is directly involved in the on-site operation of the plant, but not those whose duties are related only to laboratory, maintenance, or other non-operational functions.

"Owner" means in the case of a town or city, the mayor or his agent; in the case of a county, the chairman of the county commissioners or his agent; in the case of a water and sewer district, board of public utilities, association, or other public body, the president or chairman of the board or his agent; in the case of a non-municipal public water supply, the legal owner.

"Physical/chemical" means a wastewater treatment plant which operates through the addition and removal of chemicals and alteration of physical properties and does not include any biological treatment processes.

"Plant" means water treatment works or wastewater treatment works.

"Public wastewater collection system" means any system of lines, pipes, manholes, lift stations or other facilities operated by a municipality for the purpose of collecting and transporting wastewater.

"Public Wastewater Treatment Plant" means any structure, pond, lagoon, or combination thereof, but not including individual septic tanks, operated by a municipality for the purpose of treating wastewater. These systems are required to have both a Chief and Backup operator certified at a level determined by DEQ.

"Public Water Distribution System" means any system of pipes, pumps, wells, storage tanks, or other facilities used for the purpose of conveying potable water to a system requiring standards for operators as defined in W.S. 35-11-302(a)(iv). Such a system shall not include any treatment methods included under Water Quality Rules and Regulations Chapter 5, Section 6(a) except disinfection and fluoridation. Water distribution systems conveying water to either communities or non-transient non-communities are required to have both a Chief and Backup operator certified at a level determined by DEQ.

"Public Water Treatment Plant" means any structure, equipment, or facility for treating or conditioning raw water not including those consisting only of well(s), disinfection, and/or fluoridation. The plant must provide finished water to a system requiring standards for operators as defined in W.S. 35-11-302(a)(iv). Water treatment plants providing finished water to either communities or non-transient non-communities are required to have both a Chief and Backup operator certified at a level determined by DEQ.

"Service connection" means the individual water service, metered or not, to a building, mobile home, campsite or consumer serviced from a public water distribution system.

"Small Consecutive Distribution Systems" means a system that purchases water from a public water supply to provide water to 100 or fewer service connections and the system does not include any storage, disinfection, or booster pumps. These systems are required to have both a Chief and Backup operator certified at a level determined by DEQ.