Certification Program External Review Certification Program Advisory - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Certification Program External Review Certification Program Advisory Committee Harrisburg, PA May 28, 2015 Tom Wolf, Governor John Quigley, Acting Secretary

Proposed Timeline • 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

Number of Operators (unique client IDs) 12,000 Loss of 1,682 operators since 2005 10,224 10,087 9,911 9,802 10,000 9,581 9,227 9,227 9,237 9,069 8,925 8,786 8,562 8,542 8,465 8,457 8,000 6,752 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Number of Certificates Drinking Water Wastewater Total 14,000 Dual certified operators (in 2014): 1,840 12,544 12,322 12,121 11,968 11,912 12,000 11,525 11,525 11,537 11,227 11,116 10,778 10,408 10,365 10,461 10,382 10,000 8,814 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 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

Number of Operators • 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

Circuit Rider 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

Drinking Water Operators/Facilities % of Operators by Class % of Facilities by Class WDc, WDn, 1% G-Father, 6% WDn, 0% Class A, 3% 2% Class A WDc, 1% Class Class B Class B, E, 6% Class A 7% Class C Class B WE Alone, Class D 15% Class C Class C, 21% Class A, 46% Class E Class D Class E, 7% WE Alone Class E WDc Class D, 63% Class D, 6% WDc WDn WDn Class B, 12% Class C, 6% G-Father

Wastewater Operators/Facilities % of Operators by Class % of Facilities by Class G-Father, 8% Class A, 3% Class E, Class B, Class D, 12% Class A 9% 3% Class A Class E, 12% Class B Class C, 21% Class B Class C Class C, 8% Class A, 52% Class C Class D, 55% Class D Class D Class B, 16% Class E Class E G-Father

Age Distribution: Drinking Water Operators 1,800 1,672 1,600 1,400 1,200 No. of Operators 1,000 909 847 800 600 425 400 200 118 88 36 3 0 < 20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 > 80 Age Range

Age Distribution: Wastewater Operators 1,800 1,654 1,600 1,400 1,200 No. of Operators 1,000 911 905 800 600 425 400 200 114 85 13 2 0 < 20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 > 80 Age Range

Average Operator Age 53.0 51.7 52.0 51.6 51.5 51.1 50.9 51.0 50.3 50.2 50.0 49.8 50.0 49.1 49.0 47.9 48.0 47.6 47.0 46.0 45.0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Drinking Water Operator Education Level 4,000 3,524 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,243 1,000 500 64 36 0 No Diploma H.S. Diploma Beyond H.S. College Degree

Wastewater Operator Education Level 4,000 3,500 3,294 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,404 1,500 1,000 500 74 49 0 No Diploma H.S. Diploma Beyond H.S. College Degree

Gender of Operators 1% 5% Men Women No Data 94%

New Certificates Issued 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 DW 311 243 98 117 205 285 324 WW 205 169 127 135 207 293 289

Water and Wastewater Examinees 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 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

Total Examinees and Total Subclass Exams 4,500 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 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

Overall Exam Passing Rates: DW 100% 90% 80% 72% 69% 69% 68% 70% 65% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Overall Exam Passing Rate: WW 100% 90% 80% 70% 59% 60% 57% 56% 55% 53% 50% 40% 30% 20% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Cumulative Approved Courses 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 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

Chapter 302 Regulations 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

Op Cert Program Compliance 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

Drinking Water Operator Compliance 4000 3500 3000 2500 # Water Systems 2000 # w/o Operator 1500 1000 500 0 2011 2012 2013 2014

Wastewater Operator Compliance 3000 2500 2000 # WW Systems 1500 # w/o Operator 1000 500 0 2011 2012 2013 2014

Op Cert Program Enforcement • 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

Questions? 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