Subchapter III — Certification of Water System Operators
NR 114.29 Classification of water systems.
NR 114.30 General requirements.
NR 114.31 Requirements for water system owners.
NR 114.32 Requirements for water system operators.
NR 114.33 Examinations and applications.
NR 114.35 Issuance of certificates.
NR 114.36 Renewal of certification.
Subchapter IV — Certification of Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators
NR 114.53 General requirements.
NR 114.54 Examinations and applications.
NR 114.56 Classification of wastewater treatment plants.
NR 114.57 Qualifications and level of wastewater treatment plant operators.
NR 114.58 Certificate issuance, renewal and continuing education.
NR 114.60 Subclass Conversions.
Ch. NR 114 Note
Note: Pursuant to s.
281.98, Stats., any person who violates this chapter shall forfeit not less than $10 nor more than $5,000 for each violation. Each day of continued violation is a separate offense.
NR 114.01
NR 114.01 Purpose. The purpose of this subchapter is to establish rules for the certification of waterworks operators pursuant to s.
281.17 (3), Stats.
NR 114.01 History
History: Cr.
Register, September, 1995, No. 477, eff. 10-1-95;
correction made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats.,
Register, December, 2000, No. 540; am.,
Register, December, 2000, No. 540, eff. 1-1-01;
CR 13-054: am.
Register June 2014 No. 702, eff. 7-1-15.
NR 114.02
NR 114.02 Applicability. The provisions of this subchapter are applicable to all owners and operators of waterworks as defined in this subchapter.
NR 114.03
NR 114.03 Definitions. In this subchapter:
NR 114.03(1)
(1) “Certificate" means a printed document issued by the department, pursuant to this subchapter, stating that the operator named therein has met the competency requirements for one or more operator grades and subclasses.
NR 114.03(2)
(2) “Certified operator" means a person who has met the requirements of this subchapter and has been issued a certificate by the department to work at one or more of the classifications of waterworks.
NR 114.03(3)
(3) “Classification" or “class" means a number assigned to a waterworks based on a rating system.
NR 114.03 Note
Note: Section
NR 809.04 (4) defines “community water system" to mean “a public water system which serves at least 15 service connections used by year–round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year–round residents. Any public water system serving 7 or more homes, 10 or more mobile homes, 10 or more apartment units, or 10 or more condominium units shall be considered a community water system unless information is available to indicate that 25 year–round residents will not be served."
NR 114.03(4)
(4) “Department" means the department of natural resources.
NR 114.03(5)
(5) “Direct responsible charge" means to provide detailed on-site technical direction of the operation of a waterworks.
NR 114.03(6)
(6) “Experience in the operation of a waterworks" means to have performed the basic duties involved with the operation of a specific treatment subclass for 12 months, or to have provided daily on-site technical supervision of the operator or operators performing those duties.
NR 114.03(7)
(7) “Grade" means a number indicating the classification assigned to a person based on successful completion of an examination and experience, except that the operator-in-training grade is denoted by the letter “T".
NR 114.03(9m)
(9m) “Non-transient non-community water system" means a non-community water system that regularly serves at least 25 of the same persons over 6 months per year and is not a waterworks as defined in sub.
(15). Examples of non-transient non-community water systems include but are not limited to those serving schools, day care centers and factories.
NR 114.03(10)
(10) “Operate" means to be in direct responsible charge of a subclass or subclasses of operations at a waterworks.
NR 114.03(11)
(11) “Operator-in-charge" means the person designated by the owner of a waterworks to be in direct responsible charge of a subclass of operations of the waterworks. Not included in this definition are utility managers, city engineers, directors of public works or the equivalent, who are not actually involved in day-to-day operations.
NR 114.03(11m)
(11m) “Other than municipal community water system" means a community water system that is not a municipal water system and is not a waterworks as defined in sub.
(15). Examples of other than municipal community water systems include but are not limited to those serving mobile home parks, apartments and condominiums.
NR 114.03(12)
(12) “Owner" means the state, county, town, town sanitary district, city, village, corporation, firm, company, institution, association, utility district, school district, or individual owning or operating any waterworks.
NR 114.03(13)
(13) “Subclass" means a letter assigned to a waterworks based upon a particular type of process at the waterworks and the letter assigned to a person based on passing an examination for a specific operational process.
NR 114.03(14m)
(14m) “Water system" means an other than municipal community or a non-transient non-community water system as defined in subs.
(11m) and
(9m) respectively.
NR 114.03(15)
(15) “Waterworks" means a community water system owned by, or a private utility serving, a county, city, village, town, town sanitary district, utility district or a county-owned or state-owned public institution for congregate care or correction, which includes but is not limited to correctional institutions, correctional camp systems, county jails or houses of correction, mental health institutes, schools for the handicapped, hospitals, infirmaries and asylums.
NR 114.03 History
History: Cr.
Register, September, 1995, No. 477, eff. 10-1-95; correction in (16) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats.,
Register, December, 2000, No. 540; cr. (3m), (9m), (11m) and (14m), am. (16),
Register, December, 2000, No. 540, eff. 1-1-01;
CR 13-054: am. (2), (3), (5), r. and recr. (6), r. (8), (9), am. (10), (11), (12), (13), r. (14), (16)
Register June 2014 No. 702, eff. 7-1-15.
NR 114.04
NR 114.04 General requirements. No person may be an operator-in-charge of a subclass of a waterworks unless that person holds a valid certificate issued pursuant to this subchapter. Every subclass at a waterworks shall have a designated operator-in-charge.
NR 114.05
NR 114.05 Examinations and applications. NR 114.05(1)(1)
Examinations and on-the-job experience shall be used to determine knowledge, skill, and ability of the applicant to perform duties at a waterworks. A score of 75 percent or higher shall be a passing score on each examination. An applicant desiring to be certified to perform duties at a waterworks shall submit a completed examination application to the department. The department shall approve or deny the application within 10 business days of receipt of the application, unless the application involves a revoked or suspended certificate, in which case, the department shall approve or deny the application within 35 business days of receipt of the application. Fees as outlined
under s.
NR 114.06 shall accompany the application. Applicants shall be notified of their eligibility for examination.
NR 114.05 Note
Note: The application form is available on the following website:
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/ or by writing to the Department of Natural Resources, Operator Certification Program, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921.
NR 114.05(2)
(2) The department will primarily rely on an organization under contract with the department to provide examinations. The department may conduct examinations on a case-by-case basis when necessary to accommodate applicants' needs.
An organization under contract to provide examinations may charge fees to cover the cost of providing any examination under this section as allowed under its contract with the department.
NR 114.05(5)
(5) Examination results
shall be made available to an applicant within 30 days of the examination date.
NR 114.05(6)
(6) An applicant who fails to pass an examination may apply to the department for reexamination.
NR 114.05(7)
(7) The department shall provide a list of reference materials and study guides pertaining to each subclass.
NR 114.05(9)
(9) An applicant who holds a valid water system certification under subch.
III in subclasses Z, I, L or V may apply for and be granted certification in the same waterworks subclasses as listed in s.
NR 114.10 without repeating the subclass examination.
NR 114.05 History
History: Cr.
Register, September, 1995, No. 477, eff. 10-1-95; am. (1) and (2), cr. (9),
Register, December, 2000, No. 540, eff. 1-1-01;
CR 13-054: am. (1), r. (8)
Register June 2014 No. 702, eff. 7-1-15; correction in (1) made under s.
35.17, Stats.,
Register September 2021 No. 789;
EmR2123: emerg. am. (1), r. and recr. (2), r. (3), (4), am. (5), (6), eff. 8-21-21; CR 21-068: am. (1), r. and recr. (2), r. (3), (4), am. (5), (6) Register April 2022 No. 796, eff. 5-1-22.
NR 114.06(1)(e)
(e) A 3rd-party organization may charge additional fees to administer an online exam.
NR 114.06(2)
(2) Fees shall accompany the completed application form.
NR 114.06(3)
(3) The renewal fee is due on the expiration date of the certificate. Any renewal application postmarked after the expiration date shall also include a $25.00 late renewal penalty.
NR 114.06(4)
(4) Fees may not be refunded to an applicant who fails to pass an examination, who fails to appear to take the examination, or who fails to identify himself or herself on request.
NR 114.06(5)
(5)
A veteran may request a fee waiver for a first-time license or operator certificate in accordance with the veterans fee waiver program under s.
45.44, Stats.
NR 114.06 History
History: Cr.
Register, September, 1995, No. 477, eff. 10-1-95;
CR 13-054: am. (1) (b)
Register June 2014 No. 702, eff. 7-1-15;
EmR2123: emerg. am. (1) (a), cr. (1) (e), am. (4), cr. (5), eff. 8-21-21; CR 21-068: am. (1) (a), cr. (1) (e), am. (4), cr. (5) Register April 2022 No. 796, eff. 5-1-22; correction in (1) (e) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register April 2022 No. 796. NR 114.07
NR 114.07 Issuance of certificates. NR 114.07(1)(1)
Upon satisfactory fulfillment of the qualifications required by this subchapter, the department shall issue a certificate to a person indicating the grades and subclasses for which the person has qualified.
NR 114.07(2)
(2) Certificates may be issued for comparable certification, without examination, in a comparable grade and subclass to any person who holds a current certificate in any state, territory or possession of the United States, or any country, if in the judgment of the department, the person requesting comparable certification has met the equivalent of the provisions of this subchapter in examinations and operational experience.
NR 114.07(3)
(3) All certificates shall expire 3 years from the date of issuance. Certificates may be updated to show experience credit granted, additional exams passed or class and grade level changes, but the expiration date will not change. Updating a certificate will not extend or change the expiration date. Certificates shall only be renewed subject to the requirements of sub.
(5).
NR 114.07(4)
(4) A person whose certificate has expired may, within one year after expiration, be reinstated by paying the renewal fee, the late penalty fee and fulfilling the continuing education requirements. A person not renewing within the one year period after expiration will have to apply to take the necessary examinations for a new certificate.
NR 114.07(5)(a)(a) A person who desires to renew a certificate shall submit evidence of having met the continuing education requirements of par.
(b) on forms approved or provided by the department for approved training courses or other credit that they have successfully completed during the 3–year period. These may include, but are not limited to, courses sponsored by the department, or any university, or technical school, technical sessions at meetings of professional organizations, in–house training and correspondence courses. Failure to successfully complete and document the appropriate number of hours of continuing education training within the 3–year period shall result in rejection of a certificate renewal application.
NR 114.07(5)(b)
(b) Applicants shall meet the following continuing education requirements: Waterworks certified operators at Grade T and 1 require 18 hours per 3 year renewal period, except the operator-in-charge of a surface water treatment plant shall be required to submit 24 hours per 3 year renewal period.
NR 114.07(5)(c)
(c) For waterworks certified operators, not more than 6 hours of health and safety training may be used per 3 year renewal period.
NR 114.07 History
History: Cr.
Register, September, 1995, No. 477, eff. 10-1-95; r. and recr. (5),
Register, December, 2000, No. 540, eff. 1-1-01;
CR 13-054: r. and recr. (5) (b), am. (5) (c)
Register June 2014 No. 702, eff. 7-1-15.
NR 114.10
NR 114.10 Classification of waterworks. The classification of each waterworks shall be class 1 and assigned one or more of the applicable subclasses based on the operations performed at that waterworks.
NR 114.10(1)
(1)
Subclass G — Groundwater source. All waterworks utilizing a groundwater source.
