NR 114.17 HistoryHistory: CR 04-047: cr. Register November 2004 No. 587, eff. 12-1-04; CR 20-046: am. (1) (intro.), r. (2), cr. (2m), r. (3) Register September 2021 No. 789, eff. 10-1-21.

NR 114.18(1)(1) The owner of a licensed business shall in writing designate to the department the operator-in-charge of the business based upon the type of business and method of septage disposal as follows:

NR 114.18(1)(a)(a) If a septage servicing business does not conduct any land application of septage, the operator-in-charge shall be a grade T or a grade L master operator.

NR 114.18(2)(2) Applicants for master operator shall accrue at least 1600 hours of experience working in the operator’s designated grade certification, including land application experience if grade L, over at least one calendar year, participate in a mandatory training class sponsored by the department, and pass examinations associated with that training class in order to become certified as a master operator. The class and examinations may be taken prior to obtaining the required experience. The time and experience requirements shall be documented by the applicant through submittal of a notarized certification statement. The department may verify information submitted on a case-by-case basis. Master operator grade certification shall be consistent with the person’s operator certification grade.

NR 114.18(3)(3) The mandatory training class for certifying a master operator shall be offered at least twice a year and shall cover topics relevant to the septage servicing business and shall cover both land application and disposal of septage at wastewater treatment facilities.

NR 114.18(4)(4) Owners shall notify the department in writing of any change of the designated operator-in-charge within 15 days of the change.

NR 114.18(5)(5) The master operator designated by the owner as the operator-in-charge shall agree to the designation in writing. The written agreement shall be submitted and approved by the department prior to approving the master operator as the operator-in-charge of the business.

NR 114.18(6)(6) The department may convert a master operator to a certified operator in any of the following circumstances:

NR 114.18 HistoryHistory: CR 04-047: cr. Register November 2004 No. 587, eff. 12-1-04; CR 09-123: am. (title) and (1), r. (2), (4) and (5), renum. (3) and (6) to be (2) and (4) and am. (2), cr. (3) Register July 2010 No. 655, eff. 8-1-10; CR 20-046: am. (title), (1) (intro.), (2) to (4), cr. (5), (6) Register September 2021 No. 789, eff. 10-1-21; correction in (2) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register September 2021 No. 789.

NR 114.19(1)(1) The department shall use examinations to determine the knowledge and ability of an applicant to do septage servicing. A score of 75 percent or higher shall be a passing score on each examination. The department may give oral examinations in lieu of the written or online examination upon a showing that the applicant has difficulty reading the examination and if the applicant can demonstrate the ability to properly perform septage servicing without a better reading ability. A score of 75 percent or higher shall be a passing score on each oral examination.

NR 114.19(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 114.19(3)(3) A person desiring to be certified shall file a completed examination application with 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 114.20 shall accompany the completed application.

NR 114.19 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 114.19(5)(5) Examination results shall be made available to an applicant within 30 days of the examination date.

NR 114.19(6)(6) An applicant who fails to pass an examination may apply to the department for reexamination.

NR 114.19(8)(8) Notwithstanding the requirements of sub. (6), an applicant who fails the examination associated with the mandatory class required under s. NR 114.18 (2) may apply to retake the examination.

NR 114.19 HistoryHistory: CR 04-047: cr. Register November 2004 No. 587, eff. 12-1-04; CR 09-123: am. (8) Register July 2010 No. 655, eff. 8-1-10; CR 20-046: renum. (3) to (3) (a), (c), cr. (3) (b), am. (4), (8) Register September 2021 No. 789, eff. 10-1-21; correction in (1) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register September 2021 No. 789; EmR2123: emerg. am. (1), r. and recr. (2), (3), r. (4), am. (5), (6), r. (7), am. (8), eff. 8-21-21; CR 21-068: am. (1), r. and recr. (2), (3), r. (4), am. (5), (6), r. (7), am. (8) Register April 2022 No. 796, eff. 5-1-22.

NR 114.195(1)(1) The department shall request a non-delinquency certificate from the department of children and families and the department of revenue under ss. 49.857 and 73.0301, Stats., prior to issuing or renewing an operator certificate, or registering a person as an operator-in-training.

NR 114.195(2)(2) If the department receives notice that a non-delinquency certificate cannot be issued from the department of children and families or the department of revenue the application is denied.