Cal. Code Regs. tit. 23 § 3671
The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:
"Activated sludge treatment" means a wastewater treatment process in which predominantly biodegradable pollutants in wastewater are adsorbed and/or absorbed by a suspended mass of living aerobic organisms called "activated sludge." The suspended mass is subsequently separated from the treated wastewater by sedimentation either for further use in the process or for disposal.
"Appellant" means a person who appeals a discretionary decision made by the Office of Operator Certification regarding:
"Applicant" means:
"Associate's degree" means a degree issued by a college or university accredited to award associate's degrees by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or another accrediting organization recognized by the California Postsecondary Education Commission or the United States Department of Education, for the completion of a program of study equivalent to the first two years of a baccalaureate degree.
"Bachelor's degree" means a baccalaureate degree issued by a college or university accredited to award bachelor's degrees by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or another accrediting organization recognized by the California Postsecondary Education Commission or the United States Department of Education.
"Biological filtration treatment" (biofiltration) means a wastewater treatment process in which predominantly biodegradable pollutants in wastewater are adsorbed and/or absorbed by masses of living aerobic organisms attached to stationary support media as the wastewater trickles over the media. Settleable material that may have sloughed from the media surfaces is subsequently separated from the treated wastewater by a sedimentation process for disposal.
"Certifying body" means a state other than California, a territory, or an Indian tribe or unit thereof, that certifies or registers any person performing duties at a facility that treats wastewater in a state other than California, in a territory, or on land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe, provided the duties are comparable to the duties of an operator or contract operator at a wastewater treatment plant. "Certifying body" includes entities designated by an Indian tribe to administer the tribe's certification and/or contract registration program.
"Chief plant operator" means any of the following:
"Contract operator" means a person who enters into a contract with an owner to operate one or more wastewater treatment plants.
"Conventional treatment pond" means a pond in which biological oxidation of organic matter occurs through the natural transfer of oxygen in the wastewater. A pond that uses surface aerators solely to control odors shall be considered a conventional treatment pond unless the effluent receives disinfection before it is discharged.
"Design flow" means that amount of flow for which the wastewater treatment plant was designed.
"Designated operator-in-charge" means an operator appointed by the chief plant operator pursuant to section 3680(b) to be responsible for the overall operation of a wastewater treatment plant, including compliance with the applicable waste discharge requirements, when the chief plant operator is unable to carry out the responsibilities of the position of "chief plant operator" as defined in this section. The designated operator-in-charge shall report to the chief plant operator.
"Direct supervision" means the supervising operator shall oversee and inspect the work performed by an operator-in-training and provide training to ensure the safe and proper execution of the operator-in-training's duties. Direct supervision shall be carried out by an operator at the same or higher grade level as the operator-in-training. The supervising operator shall be present at the wastewater treatment plant or otherwise available to consult with, and provide assistance to, the operator-in-training in order to ensure the safe and proper execution of the operator-in-training's duties.
"Disinfection" means a wastewater or water treatment process that uses physical or chemical processes to treat the effluent to inactivate or destroy pathogens remaining in wastewater after primary, secondary, or tertiary treatment. "Disinfection" includes the removal of chlorine if it is required by the wastewater treatment plant's waste discharge requirements.
"Division" means the unit of the State Water Board in which the Office of Operator Certification is located.
"Extended aeration treatment" means a modification of the activated sludge treatment process which utilizes long aeration periods to promote aerobic digestion of the biomass.
"Full time" for purposes of qualifying experience means any of the following:
"Indian tribe" means an Indian entity recognized by, and eligible to receive services from, the United States, and included in the list of the entities periodically published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Federal Register.
"Lone operator" means an operator, at a grade level lower than the designated-operator-in-charge, approved by the Office of Operator Certification pursuant to section 3681 to work alone at a wastewater treatment plant. An operator-in-training shall not be a "lone operator."
"Management course" means a course that teaches supervision and management skills including oral communication, technical writing, public administration, business management, and finance. Operators may earn educational points for completion of management courses pursuant to section 3685(b).
"Modified treatment pond" means a pond in which either the biological oxidation of organic matter is enhanced by the addition of aeration or the effluent receives disinfection before discharge.
"Office of Enforcement" means the unit of the State Water Board responsible for enforcement of the Wastewater Treatment Plant Classification, Operator Certification, and Contract Operator Registration Program pursuant to article 9 and article 12.
"Office of Operator Certification" means the unit of the State Water Board that administers the Wastewater Treatment Plant Classification, Operator Certification, and Contract Operator Registration Program.
"Operates" means actions or decisions to control the performance or outcome of one or more wastewater treatment processes. The term also includes the supervision of other operators acting or making decisions to control the performance or outcome of one or more wastewater treatment processes.
"Operator" means a person who operates a wastewater treatment plant and who possesses a valid, unexpired operator certificate. The term "operator" includes a person who possesses a valid, unexpired operator certificate, but who is not currently employed in a position for which an operator certificate is required.
"Operator-in-training" means a person who has been issued an operator-in-training certificate by the State Water Board and who is acquiring qualifying experience at a wastewater treatment plant under the direct supervision of an operator at the same or a higher grade level as the operator-in-training.
"Owner" means a person who owns a wastewater treatment plant.
"Person" means an individual, entity, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, company, city, county, district, the state, and the United States, to the extent authorized by federal law.
"Petitioner" means a person who petitions the State Water Board seeking review of a Final Division Decision issued by the Deputy Director of the Division or a Final Office of Enforcement Decision issued by the Director of the Office of Enforcement.
"Preliminary treatment" means a wastewater treatment process to remove or reduce the size of solids that could damage equipment or reduce effectiveness of other treatment processes.
"Primary treatment" means a wastewater treatment process that allows substances in wastewater that readily settle or float to be separated from the water being treated.
"Provisional operator" means a person who is solely responsible for the operation of a Class I wastewater treatment plant that has received written approval from the Office of Operator Certification to use a provisional operator in accordance with section 3680.2 and who possesses a valid, unexpired provisional operator certificate.
"Qualifying experience" means experience acquired by an operator, provisional operator, or operator-in-training while operating a wastewater treatment plant as defined in this section. "Qualifying experience" includes experience acquired by a water treatment plant operator while operating a water recycling treatment plant in accordance with section 3670.1. The term may include the performance of minor maintenance related to the servicing, adjustment, or regulation of equipment necessary to maintain reliable operation of wastewater treatment processes.
"Qualifying experience credit" means credit awarded in lieu of qualifying experience pursuant to section 3684. "Qualifying experience" includes experience acquired by a water treatment plant operator while operating a water recycling treatment plant in accordance with section 3670.1. Qualifying experience credit is equivalent to qualifying experience and may be used to meet the experience requirements for operator certification pursuant to section 3687.
"Regional Water Board" means a California Regional Water Quality Control Board.
"Requestor" means a person who requests that the Director of the Office of Enforcement reconsider a proposed disciplinary action letter.
"Satellite plant" means a wastewater treatment plant that is physically separated from the main wastewater treatment plant, but that has the potential to affect the operation of, or effluent quality from, the main wastewater treatment plant. To qualify as a satellite plant, both the main wastewater treatment plant and the satellite plant shall be owned by the same person and shall be classified as one wastewater treatment plant. The owner's employee organization chart, job descriptions, and duty rosters for wastewater treatment plant personnel shall include a chief plant operator who is responsible for the overall operation of both the main wastewater treatment plant and the satellite plant.
"Science course" means a course in mathematics, physics, engineering, chemistry, or biology. Operators may earn educational points for completion of science courses pursuant to section 3685(a).
"Secondary treatment" means a wastewater treatment process that goes beyond primary treatment to remove colloidal and dissolved organic matter and further remove suspended matter, usually by biological processes such as activated sludge and biological filtration treatment.
"Sequencing batch reactor" means a wastewater treatment system that uses a variation of the activated sludge process in which aeration and sedimentation or clarification occur in a single tank in sequential stages. A programmable logic controller is used to monitor the time associated with the process stages to achieve specific treatment objectives.
"Solids treatment" means a wastewater treatment process used to stabilize solids that have been removed from wastewater by using biological, chemical, or thermal treatment methods. "Solids treatment" includes using physical processes at a wastewater treatment plant to further reduce the volume of stabilized solids.
"State Water Board" means the State Water Resources Control Board.
"Tertiary treatment" means a wastewater treatment process that goes beyond secondary treatment, which may include filtration, coagulation, and nutrient removal.
"Waste discharge requirements" means waste discharge requirements issued pursuant to article 4, chapter 4, division 7 of the Water Code or chapter 5.5 of division 7 of the Water Code.
"Water quality objectives" means the limits or levels of water quality constituents or characteristics established for the reasonable protection of beneficial uses of water or the prevention of nuisance within a specific area.
"Wastewater treatment course" means a course that teaches operators the skills to operate a wastewater treatment plant including water quality control, wastewater treatment, wastewater engineering, wastewater chemistry, and sanitation microbiology. Operators may earn educational points for completion of wastewater treatment courses pursuant to section 3685(a).
"Wastewater treatment plant" means any of the following:
"Wastewater treatment plant" includes water recycling treatment plants. The term, "wastewater treatment plant" does not include onsite sewage treatment systems as defined in section 13290 of the Water Code.
"Wastewater treatment process" means a process that improves the quality of wastewater before it is discharged from a wastewater treatment plant, and includes the use of preliminary, primary, pond, secondary, or tertiary treatment for liquid-solids separation of wastewater; the use of disinfection to inactivate or destroy pathogens in wastewater; and the use of solids treatment for solids stabilization and volume reduction before removal from the wastewater treatment plant site.
"Water recycling treatment plant" (water reclamation plant) means a wastewater treatment plant that receives and further treats secondary and/or tertiary effluent from another wastewater treatment plant for the purpose of meeting the uniform statewide recycling criteria established pursuant to section 13521 of chapter 7 of division 7 of the Water Code for the use of recycled water.
"Water treatment plant" means a facility that uses sedimentation, coagulation, filtration, disinfection, conditioning, softening, fluoridation, removal of tastes and odors, corrosion control, algae control, and/or aeration to reduce or remove contaminants that are present in water for the purpose of making water suitable for drinking.
Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 23, § 3671
2. Amendment filed 6-24-92; operative 6-24-92 (Register 92, No. 26).
3. New subsections (i) and (j) and subsection redesignation filed 7-28-94; operative 8-29-94 (Register 94, No. 30).
4. Amendment of subsections (a), (b), (f), (g), (m), (x), and (y)(2) and new subsection (z) filed 3-27-98; operative 4-26-98 (Register 98, No. 13).
5. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (c), adopting new subsection (n) and relettering subsections filed 2-20-2007 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2007, No. 8).
6. Amendment filed 1-28-2013; operative 4-1-2013 (Register 2013, No. 5).
Note: Authority cited: Section 1058, Water Code. Reference: Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 13625), Division 7, Water Code.
2. Amendment filed 6-24-92; operative 6-24-92 (Register 92, No. 26).
3. New subsections (i) and (j) and subsection redesignation filed 7-28-94; operative 8-29-94 (Register 94, No. 30).
4. Amendment of subsections (a), (b), (f), (g), (m), (x), and (y)(2) and new subsection (z) filed 3-27-98; operative 4-26-98 (Register 98, No. 13).
5. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (c), adopting new subsection (n) and relettering subsections filed 2-20-2007 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2007, No. 8).
6. Amendment filed 1-28-2013; operative 4-1-2013 (Register 2013, No. 5).