California Revises Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certification Rules
The latest State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) regulatory tweaks broaden coverage but also give wastewater treatment plant owners some welcome wiggle room. Effective April 1, 2013, the SWRCB has revised its regulations regarding wastewater treatment plant classification, operator certification, and contractor registration. The rules have been expanded to cover privately owned wastewater treatment plants. However, they also establish a provisional operator certification. This means owners of Class I wastewater treatment plants who are finding it hard to recruit certified operators may employ provisional operators while conducting their search. In addition, the definition of wastewater treatment plant has been revised to clearly state that water recycling treatment plants are included within the definition. Numerous other key changes affecting California CCR compliance have been made to these regulations.
Did You Know?
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has recently made changes to the list of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer for purposes of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (commonly known as Proposition 65):
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A–methyl styrene (alpha–methylstyrene) (CAS No. 98–83–9) and 1,3–dinitropyrene (CAS No. 75321–20–9) were added to the Proposition 65 list effective November 2, 2012
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C.I. Disperse Yellow 3 (CAS No. 2832–40–8) and 2,6–dimethyl–N–nitrosomorpholine (DMNM) (CAS No. 1456–28–6) were added to the list effective February 8, 2013
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Dienestrol (CAS No. 84–17–3) and chloramphenicol (CAS No. 56–75–7) were removed from the list effective January 4, 2013.
To ensure California CCR compliance, businesses are required to provide a “clear and reasonable” warning before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a listed chemical. Once a chemical is listed, businesses have 12 months to comply with warning requirements. Proposition 65 also prohibits companies that do business within California from knowingly discharging listed chemicals into sources of drinking water. Businesses have 20 months from the time a chemical is listed to comply with the discharge prohibition.
STP has recently issued an update to California Training Requirements Compliance Guide and also publishes the following guides:
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The Complete Guide to Hazardous Materials and Enforcement and Liability: California
- Environmental Compliance in California: A Simplified Guide
