As a certified operator, you are a guardian of public health and the environment. The certified operator must meet the requirements of the Operator Certification Program. The following list provides some of the more important requirements:
- Make or implement appropriate process control decisions, or taking or directing actions related to process control decisions for specific water or wastewater systems.
- Successfully complete the required continuing education.
- Make timely application for certification renewal.
- Report to the system owner any known violations or system conditions that may be or are causing violations of any DEP regulation or permit condition or requirement. You must keep the system owner informed of all real or potential violations and what your plans are to deal with the situation. A report template is available here.
- Provide for the suitable operation and maintenance of a water or wastewater system utilizing available resources needed to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, and permit conditions and requirements.
- Approve in writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
For more information on Certified Operator duties and using SOPs, please see Chapter 7 of the Operator Certification Program Handbook (PDF).
An effective SOP must contain these elements:
- Include the name of the operator-in-responsible-charge.
- Identify the operators that may use the SOP.
- State which treatment processes are covered by the SOP.
- Identify the trigger parameters for treatment processes and the appropriate actions to be taken for each treatment process.
Here are a few example SOPs to use as a reference. Operators are not required to use these examples, but they may be a useful tool when developing SOPs specific to each facility.