Training that can be substituted for experience has to be approved by the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators and Onsite Sewage System Professionals before the training occurs. When submitting a training course for approval by the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators read the board's regulations section that discusses training approval first. The entire regulations can be found on the web. Click on the "next" linkl to section "18 VAC 160-20-150. Approval of training." Application forms are available in Word and PDF.
Before submitting your packet, make sure that all required information in paragraphs B and C of the above section are included. If not, the packet will be returned without action. Mail packet to:
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
9960 Mayland Drive
Suite 400
Richmond, VA 23233-1463
For further information contact the Licensing Section: (804) 367-2176
The address on the form (3600 West Broad Street) is incorrect. The board resides in the
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation which has moved to Mayland Drive.
If the course is likely to be offered more than one time, check the appropriate box on the application form. This will enable you to present the course two or more times without having to seek the Board's approval again.
Training course that are offered for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) for waterworks operators do not need Board approval.
Effective February 15, 2001, licensed waterworks operators are required to attend Continuing Professional Education (CPE) to have their licenses renewed. Required hours vary by class. To have your training quailify for CPE, the subject matter must meet the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a waterworks operator identified by a job analyses. These are then use as test specifications for the licensure exams. If your subject matter is need-to-know, then your training is pre-approved for CPE.
For an operator to receive credit for having attended CPE, the training event must be documented. A sample certificate has been prepared by the Licensure Board and placed on the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and Onsite Sewage Professionals web site. The form is in both PDF and Word format. It
contains the minimum information needed to document your training for CPE eligibility. Feel free to use your own form (if it has the required information), print the provided form and fill in the blanks, or use the Word format to develop your form and add your logo, letterhead, and other pre-printed information.
A contact hour, unlike a Continuing Education Unit or Training Credit, is one hour credit for one hour of attendance. An hour of attendance is 50 minutes of instruction. This is to aid in record keeping. A class from 8:00 until noon would be four CPE hours because the 50 minutes definition allows time for breaks, introductions, and other administrative functions to occur. You cannot divide the 240 minutes by 50 and award 4.8 CPE hours.
