1.1 ADEM Division 335-10-1: Facility Classifications, Grades & Staffing Rules

1.1 ADEM Division 335-10-1: Facility Classifications, Grades & Staffing Rules

Every Alabama operator exam is a national Water Professionals International (WPI) exam delivered by PSI, but the certificate you earn, the plants you may run and the hours you must be on site are set by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). The governing rule is ADEM Administrative Code Chapter 335-10-1 (the "Division 10" operator certification rule). The version linked from ADEM's regulations page and from OpCert Online is the text revised effective April 3, 2007; ADEM's "Pending Regulation Changes" page says a revised Division 10 is being developed, but no proposal had been posted when this guide was checked. Learn the current rule, not a rumor of the next one.

Purpose, Authority and Key Definitions

Rule 335-10-1-.01 states the purpose: to protect public health and prevent pollution by classifying all water and wastewater treatment plants, water distribution systems and public wastewater collection systems, and by certifying the competency of operators. The chapter does not apply to a system that does not offer service to the public generally. The statutory authority is the Alabama Environmental Management Act and the water and wastewater operator law (Code of Alabama 1975, §§ 22-22A-5, -6, -8 and 22-25-11, -13).

Rule 335-10-1-.02 supplies definitions that exam questions lean on:

• Operator: the person on duty who has direct responsibility for operation, meaning the person who supervises or directs operation or makes process control decisions.
• Process control decision: a decision about daily operational activities that directly affects the quality or quantity of drinking water or treated wastewater.
• Operator intern: a person who has passed the exam but does not yet have the required experience.
• Restricted certificate: a certificate issued without examination that is valid only for one plant or system and cannot be transferred.
• Water supply system: a system serving at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serving at least 25 year-round residents.
• Working experience: hands-on operation; clerical or administrative work does not count.

The process definitions matter because they decide the grade:

Notice the trap in the first row: a complete-mix aerated lagoon is legally an activated sludge plant, not a Grade I lagoon.

The Rule 335-10-1-.03 Classification Table

Three rules sit under the table:

1. There is no Grade I water treatment certificate. Water treatment starts at Grade II, and water plant grades depend on the source and treatment type, not flow.
2. A plant with processes in different grades is classified by the process with the higher grade (335-10-1-.03(2)).
3. The Director may reclassify a plant or system for unusual factors such as source quality, treatment complexity, potential health hazards or compliance history, after notifying the owner and allowing reasonable time to comply (335-10-1-.03(3)).

Staffing Requirements (Rule 335-10-1-.04)

Every classified plant and system must be operated by an operator certified for that classification. On top of that, the rule sets presence requirements and a permanent daily staffing record showing each operator's name, time of arrival and departure, and signature.

Grade I wastewater plants and Grade II water and wastewater plants must also be visited at least once every seven days by a certified operator of the same grade or higher, unless the operating permit requires more frequent visits.

Operating more than one plant (335-10-1-.04(7)). An operator may run several plants or systems only after giving ADEM written assurance that each can be operated safely and properly, and only for plants classified at or below the operator's grade. Every staffing rule for each plant still applies.

Certification Required, Process Control and Enforcement

• Rule 335-10-1-.14: classified plants and systems must be operated by an operator holding a valid certificate of the same grade or higher. A person without a valid certificate may work only under the direct supervision of a properly certified operator and may not work a required shift unless a properly certified operator is present to supervise at all times.
• Rule 335-10-1-.15: process control decisions must be made or supervised by a properly certified operator.
• Rule 335-10-1-.12: after a hearing, the Director may revoke or suspend a certificate for fraud or deception, failure to use reasonable care or judgment, incompetence, knowingly submitting incorrect or falsified operational data, consistently failing to submit required operational data, or violating the chapter.
• Rule 335-10-1-.13: ADEM may issue a notice of violation or an administrative order, assess a civil penalty of not less than $100 and not more than $25,000 for each violation and each day of continued violation, seek an injunction, or begin a criminal action after written notice.
• Rule 335-10-1-.10(2): an operator can hold only one water and one wastewater certificate at a time.

The drinking water rules point back to this chapter: ADEM Admin. Code r. 335-7-10-.02 requires community and non-transient non-community water systems to employ operators certified under Division 10.

Worked Scenarios

Scenario 1 – A wastewater plant expands. A town runs a 0.80 MGD extended aeration plant. Extended aeration is an activated sludge process, so the plant is Grade II (0 to 0.999 MGD). An upgrade raises the design flow to 2.40 MGD and adds an anoxic zone. At 2.40 MGD the plant falls in the activated sludge band of 1.000 to 5.000 MGD, so it becomes Grade III. The town now needs a Grade III operator on site for a daytime 8-hour shift five days a week, Grade II or higher coverage on the other days, and a daily staffing record. If the plant later grows to 6.0 MGD it becomes Grade IV because activated sludge above 5.000 MGD is Grade IV. A 6.0 MGD trickling filter plant would still be Grade III, because the trickling filter band runs to 15.000 MGD.

Scenario 2 – A well system changes. A system that only chlorinates and fluoridates well water runs a Grade II basic groundwater plant. If it adds a coagulation and clarification train to remove arsenic, the treatment is more sophisticated than the basic list and the plant becomes Grade III advanced groundwater. If ADEM later determines that one of its wells is GWUDI, that source falls under the surface water treatment plant definition and the plant is Grade IV, with a same-grade operator required during all hours of operation.