Upgrades

Drinking Water and/or Wastewater Certificate Upgrade

Operators who are interested in upgrading their drinking water and/or wastewater licensed can access the most current version of the Upgrade Application here.

The most current version of the associated Upgrade Application Instructions are available here.

All operators should carefully review the instructions before completing the application. If questions remain after reading the instructions, please call Operator Certification at (717) 787-5236.

The Board will only consider complete applications, please be sure to complete all portions of your application. Most importantly, it is critical to provide as much detail as possible on page two regarding your operating experience.

Important: The Board has established deadlines for submittal of complete applications prior to each Board Meeting. If you are focused on a specific Board meeting date, please carefully review deadlines for submittal of a complete application here.

Below Are Commonly Asked Questions You May Wish To Review

When is an upgrade in certification needed? An operator certificate upgrade is required when an increase in treatment capacity of the system no longer qualifies the available operator to make process control decisions for that system. When the capacity of the system is increased so as to change the classification of the system, the existing available operators will qualify for an accelerated certification upgrade by applying for an upgrade in class before the larger system becomes operational. Additional experience or training is not required.

An operator certificate upgrade is required when the addition of a different treatment technology to a system no longer qualifies the available operators to make process control decisions for that system. To obtain this upgrade, the operator must successfully pass the appropriate technology subclassification examination and gain one year operating experience. The one year operating experience can be waived if the operator and the owner of the system choose to participate in the accelerated certification program described below.

Operators with a grandparented water or wastewater certificate or holding the Class Dc drinking water small system certificate cannot upgrade their certificate. To add additional subclassifications or to operate a system with a larger design capacity, these operators will need to meet all the requirements for initial certification.

How do I upgrade my certificate? The Certification Board will consider a complete application for certification upgrade of an existing certificate to the appropriate class when the applicant meets the additional experience requirements for the upgrade in class. The Board will consider a complete application for certification action to upgrade an existing certificate to add another subclassification when the applicant passes the Part II Treatment Technology Specific Examination and completes a year of operating experience with that technology, if needed. The Certification Board will replace the applicant’s existing certificate with an upgraded certificate that maintains the operator’s current three year renewal cycle. Any changes in continuing education requirements resulting from an upgrade will not go into effect until the certified operator’s next full three year renewal cycle. Class Dc and grandparented certificates cannot be upgraded.

If I upgrade my certificate, will my three-year cycle change? No; an operator’s three year renewal cycle never changes. Any changes in the continuing education requirements will not go into effect until the operator’s next full three-year cycle.