Certification Program External Review

Certification Program Advisory Committee

Harrisburg, PA

May 28, 2015

Tom Wolf, Governor John Quigley, Acting Secretary

• March 11 – Identify priority elements

• May 28 – DEP provides updates to CPAC on priority elements

• July 22 – Review draft external review report

• Additional meetings?

• December 10 – present findings to the State Board for Certification of Water and Wastewater Systems Operators

Proposed Timeline

Number of Operators (unique client IDs)

6,752

9,227 9,227 9,237 8,925

9,581

10,224 10,087 9,911 9,802

9,069 8,786

8,465 8,457 8,562 8,542

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Loss of 1,682 operators since 2005

Number of Certificates

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Drinking Water 4,316 5,179 5,179 5,187 5,101 5,543 6,057 6,042 6,064 6,016 5,551 5,397 5,215 5,176 5,242 5,190

Wastewater 4,498 6,346 6,346 6,350 6,126 6,369 6,487 6,280 6,057 5,952 5,565 5,381 5,193 5,189 5,219 5,192

Total 8,814 11,525 11,525 11,537 11,227 11,912 12,544 12,322 12,121 11,968 11,116 10,778 10,408 10,365 10,461 10,382

8,814

11,525 11,525 11,537 11,227

11,912

12,544 12,322 12,121 11,968

11,116 10,778

10,408 10,365 10,461 10,382

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

Drinking Water Wastewater Total

Dual certified operators (in 2014): 1,840

• Total number of operators – 8,542

• Operators not connected to a facility – 2,386 (28 percent)

- Drinking water operators – 1,423

- Wastewater operators – 1,225

- Dual certified operators (both water and wastewater certificates) – 262

Number of Operators

• A circuit rider is a certified operator who works at more than one drinking water and/or wastewater facility with different owners

• About 200 water and about 200 wastewater operators are circuit riders

• In 2008, circuit riders operated 21 percent of the water and wastewater systems

• Today, circuit riders operate 46 percent of water systems and 36 percent of wastewater systems

Circuit Rider Operators

Drinking Water Operators/Facilities

Class A, 46%

Class B, 12% Class C, 6%

Class D, 6%

Class E, 7%

WE Alone, 15%

WDc, 1%

WDn, 1% G-Father, 6%

% of Operators by Class

Class A

Class B

Class C

Class D

Class E

WE Alone

WDc

WDn

G-Father

Class A, 3%

Class B, 7%

Class C, 21%

Class D, 63%

Class E, 6%

WDc, 2%

WDn, 0%

% of Facilities by Class

Class A

Class B

Class C

Class D

Class E

WDc

WDn

Wastewater Operators/Facilities

Class A, 52%

Class B, 16%

Class C, 8%

Class D, 3%

Class E, 12%

G-Father, 8%

% of Operators by Class

Class A

Class B

Class C

Class D

Class E

G-Father

Class A, 3%

Class B, 9%

Class C, 21%

Class D, 55%

Class E, 12%

% of Facilities by Class

Class A

Class B

Class C

Class D

Class E

Age Distribution: Drinking Water Operators

3

118

425

909

1,672

847

88 36

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

< 20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 > 80

No

. of

Op

erat

ors

Age Range

Age Distribution: Wastewater Operators

2

114

425

911

1,654

905

85 13

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

< 20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 > 80

No

. of

Op

erat

ors

Age Range

Average Operator Age

47.6 47.9

49.1

49.8 50.0 50.3 50.2

50.9 51.1

51.5 51.6 51.7

45.0

46.0

47.0

48.0

49.0

50.0

51.0

52.0

53.0

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Drinking Water Operator Education Level

36

3,524

64

1,243

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

No Diploma H.S. Diploma Beyond H.S. College Degree

Wastewater Operator Education Level

49

3,294

74

1,404

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

No Diploma H.S. Diploma Beyond H.S. College Degree

Gender of Operators

94%

5%

1%

Men

Women

No Data

New Certificates Issued

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

DW 311 243 98 117 205 285 324

WW 205 169 127 135 207 293 289

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Water and Wastewater Examinees

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

DW 532 687 708 523 190 381 572 790 778

WW 699 732 882 664 203 421 547 693 681

Total 1,231 1,419 1,590 1,187 393 802 1,119 1,483 1,459

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

Total Examinees and Total Subclass Exams

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Examinees 1,231 1,419 1,590 1,187 393 802 1,119 1,483 1,459

Exams 2,206 2,514 2,918 2,345 1,041 2,050 3,371 4,253 4,243

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

Overall Exam Passing Rates: DW

72%

65%

68% 69% 69%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Overall Exam Passing Rate: WW

56% 59%

57% 55%

53%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Cumulative Approved Courses

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Courses 1,508 1,781 1,998 2,318 2,492 2,652 2,562 2,696 2,762

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

System Owner Responsibilities:

• Ensure process control decisions are made by an available operator

• Provide copies of permits to operators

• Respond to reports from operators

• Provide names of available operators to DEP

• Pay annual service fee

Chapter 302 Regulations

Operator Responsibilities:

• Suitably operate and maintain facility to comply with rules, regulations, and permits

• Follow Standard Operating Procedures unless identified as an available operator

• Provide report to system owner concerning problems and/or violations

Chapter 302 Regulations

Environmental Facility Application Compliance Tracking System (eFACTS) is the database for the Operator Certification Program that provides:

• List of each system’s operators

• System operator certification type – required class and subclass(es)

• Circuit rider information

• Links the operators to systems

• History of each operator’s certification

Op Cert Program Compliance

Drinking Water Operator Compliance

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

2011 2012 2013 2014

# Water Systems

# w/o Operator

Wastewater Operator Compliance

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

2011 2012 2013 2014

# WW Systems

# w/o Operator

• Field staff evaluate compliance during inspections

• Central Office tracks fee payments and Available Operator Report compliance

• Potential enforcement actions:

- Notice of Violation or Summary Citation

- Field Order/COA/Administrative Order

- Penalties (if in violation of an Order)

- Suspension or revocation of certificate

Op Cert Program Enforcement

• Draft compliance and enforcement technical guidance document – publish in June 2015 for violations of Chapter 302 regulations

• Severity of a violation under Chapter 302 often depends on subsequent violation of water or wastewater program regulations

Op Cert Program Enforcement

Lisa D. Daniels, Director Bureau of Safe Drinking Water Phil J. Consonery, Chief Division of Training, Technical & Financial Services Cheri L. Sansoni, Supervisor Certification Section

Questions?