Are You Certified?

Voluntary wastewater collection system operator certification confers a mark of professionalism on a group of people who deserve credibility and recognition

If you want to operate a wastewater treatment plant anywhere in the country, you need to be certified. You have to go to school. You have to take an exam. You need actual hours on the job.

If you want to operate a wastewater collection system, you don’t necessarily need to be certified. You need to know your stuff, of course, or no one will hire you, unless as a trainee or entry-level worker. But certification, generally speaking, is voluntary.

One can speculate all day about why that’s the case, and whether it should be. The fact remains, collection system certification is out there. Is it to your department’s advantage to have certified people on the team?

Meaning of voluntary

The definition of “voluntary” in this context is a little tricky. Collection system operator certification is voluntary in that the U.S. EPA doesn’t require it, nor do most states. But some cities do require it as a condition of employment, at least for some positions. That is, you might get a job without it, but to keep that job and move on up the promotion ladder, you need to earn certification at the appropriate level.

Why certification? That’s an easy question, according to Charles Conway, who runs the training program for collection system operator certification for the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC).

“Certification gives operators the credibility they need to be seen as professionals,” Conway says. “It gives them a sense of pride that they have passed an exam to become certified. It makes a statement that they’re not just the Ed Nortons of the world — that what they do for a living is a profession.”

Conway observes that the EPA is increasing its emphasis on effective collection system operations as part of the CMOM (Capacity, Management, Operation and Maintenance) program. “If CMOM goes after a municipality, one thing they have to demonstrate is that the people operating the collection system are properly trained,” Conway says. “Certification is one way of doing that.”

Taking hold

New England is one part of the country where certification is becoming a way of life in collection systems. The NEIWPCC provides certification training throughout the region on behalf of the New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA). Since 1979, NEWEA has certified nearly 5,000 collection system operators.

In New England, as in most states, certification training is based on what industry insiders call the “Sacramento books,” officially called Operation and Maintenance of Wastewater Collection Systems: A Field Study Training Program, Volumes I and II, published by California State University at Sacramento.

“The books are actually very good,” says Conway. “Our course pretty much covers everything in those two volumes. People passing the lower-grade certification exams have to know Volume I, and people seeking higher-level certification have to know Volume II as well.”

Volume I covers topics including the basics of collection systems, safe procedures, inspection and testing, pipe cleaning and maintenance methods, and underground repair. Volume II covers lift stations, equipment maintenance, sewer rehabilitation, safety and survival programs, and administration.

Showing the way

Conway cites New York — where the NEIWPCC also supports training — as a state where certification is well along toward becoming integral to the professional culture.

Tim Miller, a program specialist with the state Department of Environmental Conser-vation and board chairman with the New York WEA, says voluntary collection system certification began in earnest in 2003.

“In my NYWEA role, I had collection system people come to me and say, ‘We want a certain level of competence in our field. We want the professionalism in our operators that we tend to see with the treatment plant operators,’” he recalls.

“So members of the wastewater collections committee went to some of the larger municipalities and discussed what sort of training they wanted to see and what the minimum requirements should be.”

Initial certification can be earned through home study or classroom training. One mark of distinction in New York’s program is that certification has to be renewed through continuing education. Miller notes that larger cities such as Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo strongly encourage upper-level supervisors to become certified.

To him, the benefits of certification go well beyond pride. “I see the collection guys oftentimes living in their own little worlds, fighting their own fires, not knowing that the guy in the next community has the same type of issues,” he says.

“Certification tends to promote communication with other operators — a sense that they’re not alone. They can look to other communities and see how they resolved root issues or created FOG programs. With the renewal requirement, they tend to go to conferences where they keep up on innovations and on trends in the industry.”

What’s your experience?

Municipal Sewer & Water would like to know about your organization’s experience with collection system operator certification. Do you require it for people you hire at or above certain levels? How many of your people are certified? What difference has certification made in terms of your department’s efficiency or performance?

Let us know what your experience has been. Send a note to editor@mswmag.com. We’ll report on the feedback we receive in a future issue.



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