Wisconsin Legislature: Ch. NR 114 TOC

Ch. NR 114 NoteNote: 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.

subch. I of ch. NR 114Subchapter I — Certification of Waterworks Operators

NR 114.01NR 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 HistoryHistory: 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 114.02NR 114.02 Applicability. The provisions of this subchapter are applicable to all owners and operators of waterworks as defined in this subchapter.

NR 114.02 HistoryHistory: Cr. Register, September, 1995, No. 477, eff. 10-1-95; CR 13-054: am. Register June 2014 No. 702, eff. 7-1-15.

NR 114.03NR 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(3m)(3m) “Community water system” has the meaning given in s. NR 809.04 (4).

NR 114.03 NoteNote: 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 HistoryHistory: 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 114.04NR 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 114.04 HistoryHistory: Cr. Register, September, 1995, No. 477, eff. 10-1-95; CR 13-054: am. Register June 2014 No. 702, eff. 7-1-15.

NR 114.05NR 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 NoteNote: 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 HistoryHistory: 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 114.06NR 114.06 Fees.

NR 114.06(1)(1) Fees for certification shall be as follows:

NR 114.06(1)(a)(a) Each examination $25.00