Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Operator Certification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs updates to operator certification, testing and penalties for water systems
Summary
Senate Bill 2110 would move the certification year to the calendar year, allow third-party testing and create a civil-penalty path for most operator-certification violations while preserving a misdemeanor for intentional or willful wrongdoing; the committee recommended do-pass after extended questioning.
The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee recommended a do-pass on Senate Bill 2110 after a lengthy hearing that probed certification, testing access for small systems, enforcement tools and potential penalties.
Carl Rockman, deputy director of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, told the committee the bill responds to stakeholder requests to modernize operator certification for public drinking-water and wastewater systems. “Certification requires operators to obtain a sufficient education and experience and then complete a final examination,” Rockman said. He described five certification levels and said the bill moves the operator-certification year from July 1 to January 1 to align with the calendar year.
Rockman said the bill would allow DEQ to use a third-party testing service to administer exams and permit proctored testing sites, which DEQ and stakeholders said would make testing more accessible for small-system operators. The bill would also permit DEQ to set testing fees in administrative rules rather than statute to reflect third-party costs.
On penalties, Rockman said the bill would allow civil penalties for operator-certification violations while retaining a class A misdemeanor for “intentional or willful violations.” He told the committee the department intends to use civil penalties in most cases to address noncompliance and reserve criminal enforcement for cases involving fraudulent sampling or deliberate misconduct.
Committee members asked how enforcement would apply to municipalities versus individual operators, whether bonding or other financial assurances are required, and how DEQ will help small systems that lack certified operators. Eric Walden of the Attorney General’s office said enforcement against a municipality would be handled under the state’s Safe Drinking Water Act penalties, and DEQ would pursue administrative civil enforcement for operator individuals; the state’s attorney would decide whether to bring criminal charges.
Several representatives of the rural-water community said small systems sometimes lack certified operators because of staff turnover and limited resources; witnesses said increased testing access and training materials should improve certification rates. The committee recommended do-pass and later placed the bill on the consent calendar.
