Section 216-RICR-50-05-5.2 - DefinitionsA. Wherever used in this Part, the following terms shall be construed as follows: 1. "Assistant superintendent" means the individual who is an operator who is responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of a water supply treatment facility or water transmission and distribution system in the absence of the superintendent and who shall have a full certificate appropriate to the type and grade of the water treatment facility or water transmission and distribution system.2. "Association of Boards of Certification" or "ABC" means an international organization of environmental certification boards which is a not for profit corporation incorporated in the State of Iowa.3. "Board" means the Board of Certification established by R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-65-2.4. "Certificate" means a certificate of competency issued by the Director to an individual to operate one (1) or more specified classes of public water supply facilities.5. "Community water supply" means any public water supply, which serves at least fifteen (15) service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least twenty-five (25) year-round residents.6. "Contact hour" means the one (1) hour actually spent in an instruction/training session. In calculating the number of contact hours for a session, the time used for refreshment breaks, lunches and other activities not directly part of the instructional experience shall be subtracted from the total number of hours in the session. One (1) continuing education unit (CEU) equals ten (10) contact hours of training or instruction.7. "Director" means the Director of the Department of Health or a subordinate to whom the Director has assigned his or her functions.8. "Full certification" means certification obtained pursuant to any one (1) of §§ 5.9(A) through (D) of this Part.9. "Groundwater under the direct influence of surface water" means any water beneath the surface of the ground with: a. Significant occurrence of insects or other microorganisms, algae, or large diameter pathogens such as Giardia lamblia; orb. Significant and relatively rapid shifts in water characteristics such as turbidity, temperature, conductivity, or pH which closely correlate to climatological or surface water conditions.10. "In charge of a shift" means on-site responsibility of an operating shift.11. "In responsible charge of any field operations" means the supervision of any field operations of any operating shift on a day-to-day basis. Operators in responsible charge are not required to be on-site.12. "Lowest grade of certification" means a Class 1 certification for Class 1 through 4 systems and a Class VSS certification for Class VSS water systems.13. "Non-community water system" means a public water system that is not a community water system.14. "Non-community non-transient water system" means a non-community water system that regularly serves at least twenty-five (25) of the same persons over six (6) months per year.15. "Operational activities" are those involving the maintenance, repair, replacement or installation of components of operational public water supply treatment and distribution systems that may directly impact the quality or quantity of drinking water.16. "Operational", as it relates to public water supply treatment and distribution facilities, means the part or parts that are performing or able to perform (ready for or in a condition to undertake) a destined function.17. "Operator" means an individual employed at a water treatment facility or transmission and distribution system whose routine job duties involve performing operational activities or making decisions regarding the daily operational activities of a public water treatment facility and/or transmission and distribution system that may directly impact the quality and/or quantity of drinking water. "Operator" does not apply to an official exercising only general administrative supervision or engineering design duties, such as the City Engineer or an elected Water Commissioner, or clerical or administrative workers involved only in activities such as customer relations, billing, payroll, time keeping, etc. The term "operator", as used in this Part, does not apply to individuals whose only responsibility is to install and/or read meters.18. "Operator-in-training" means an applicant who has passed a certification examination, but who does not meet the experience requirements specified in § 5.8 of this Part for the grade of examination passed. Individuals holding this type of certification may not make decisions regarding the daily operational activities of a public water treatment facility and/or transmission and distribution system, that may directly impact the quality and/or quantity of drinking water unless said decision is made in consultation with an operator holding a full certificate of the appropriate type and grade who must be on-site or able to be contacted as needed.19. "Owner" means any individual, corporation, partnership, public utility, nonprofit organization, trust, unincorporated association, federal, state, county, or local government, or any agency or subdivision thereof, or any combination of the foregoing, owning any public water system, distribution system, and/or water treatment plant. In addition, the owner of the land on which the well is located, where said well is the source for a public water system, is the owner of a public water system. A person or entity who leases the land on which a well is located is not the owner of the public water system.20. "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, municipality or any other political subdivision of this State, any interstate body, or any other legal entity.21. "Public water supply" or "public water system" or "PWS" means a system for the provisions to the public of piped water for human consumption, if such system has at least fifteen (15) service connections or regularly serves at least twenty-five (25) individuals at least sixty (60) days out of the year.22. "Superintendent" means the individual who is an operator who is directly responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of a water supply treatment facility or water transmission and distribution system during all working shifts and who shall hold a full certificate appropriate to the type and grade of the water treatment facility or water transmission and distribution system.23. "Transmission and distribution system" means a network of pipes that transports, distributes and delivers water from a water treatment facility or well(s) to water system customers.24. "Water supply treatment facility" means an arrangement of devices, equipment and structures constructed and/or installed for the purpose of the treatment of a water supply.216 R.I. Code R. 216-RICR-50-05-5.2
Amended effective 10/7/2020