§ 90A-25. Issuance of certificates. - North Carolina Statutes

§90A‑25.  Issuance of certificates.

(a)        The Board shallissue a certificate to an applicant who meets the requirements forcertification and pays the required fee. The certificate shall state the gradeof certification appropriate for the classification of water treatmentfacilities the applicant is qualified to operate.

(b)        Certificates may beissued, without examination, in a comparable grade to any person who holds acertificate in any state, territory or possession of the United States, if inthe judgment of the Board of Certification the requirements for operators underwhich the person's certificate was issued do not conflict with the provisionsof this Article, and are of a standard not lower than that specified underrules and regulations adopted under this Article.

(c)        Certificates in anappropriate grade will be issued to operators who, on July 1, 1969, holdcertificates of competency issued under the voluntary certification program nowbeing administered through the Department of Environment and Natural Resourceswith the cooperation of the North Carolina Water Works Operators Association,the North Carolina Section of the American Water Works Association, and theNorth Carolina League of Municipalities.

(d)        Certificates in anappropriate grade will be issued without examination to any person or personscertified by the governing board in the case of a city, town, county, sanitarydistrict, or other political subdivision, or by the owner in the case of aprivate utility or industry, to have been in responsible charge of its watertreatment facilities on the date the Board of Certification notifies thegoverning board, or owner, of the classification of its water treatmentfacility, provided the facility was classified before July 1, 1981, and providedthe application for such certification is made within one year of the date ofnotification. A certificate so issued will be valid for use by the holder onlyin the water treatment facility in which he was employed at the time of hiscertification. No certificate shall be issued under this subsection to anyoperator of any water treatment facility classified by the board on or afterJuly 1, 1981.

(e)        Temporarycertificates in any grade may be issued without examination to any personemployed as a water treatment facility operator when the Board of Certificationfinds that the supply of certified operators, or persons with trainingnecessary to certification, is inadequate. Temporary certificates shall bevalid for only one year. Temporary certificates may be issued with such specialconditions or requirements relating to the place of employment of the personholding the certificate, his supervision on a consulting or advisory basis, orother matters as the Board of Certification may deem necessary to protect thepublic health. No temporary certificate may be renewed more than one timeeither by any operator at the same grade level or by any operator foremployment at the same water treatment facility. (1969, c. 1059, s. 2; 1973,c. 476, s. 128; 1981, c. 616, ss. 7, 8; 1989, c. 727, s. 18; 1991, c. 321, s.1; 1997‑443, s. 11A.28.)