WAC 246-292-010 Definitions. Abbreviations and acronyms:

аааа BAT - backflow assembly tester;

аааа BTO - basic treatment operator;

аааа CCS - cross connection control specialist;

аааа GWI - ground water under the direct influence of surface water;

аааа NTNC - nontransient noncommunity;

аааа OIT - operator-in-training;

аааа SMA - satellite management agency;

аааа TNC - transient noncommunity;

аааа WAC - Washington Administrative Code;

аааа WDM - water distribution manager;

аааа WDS - water distribution specialist;

аааа WTPO - water treatment plant operator;

аааа "Available" means based on system size, complexity, and source water quality, a certified operator must be on-site or able to be contacted as needed to initiate the appropriate action in a timely manner.

аааа "Certificate" means a certificate of competency issued by the department stating that the operator has met the requirements for the specified operator classification of the certification program.

аааа "Certified operator" means a person who has met the applicable requirements of this chapter and holds a valid certificate.

аааа "Complex filtration technology" means conventional, direct, in-line or diatomaceous earth filtration.

аааа "Community water system" means any Group A water system providing service to fifteen or more service connections used by year-round residents for one hundred eighty or more days within a calendar year, regardless of the number of people, or regularly serving twenty-five year-round (i.e., more than one hundred eighty days per year) residents. Examples of a community water system might include a municipality, subdivision, mobile home park, apartment complex, college with dormitories, nursing home, or prison.

аааа "Continuing education unit (CEU)" means a nationally recognized unit of measurement similar to college credits. One CEU is awarded for every ten contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction and qualified instruction. Forty-five relevant CEUs equals forty-five relevant college quarter credits or thirty relevant college semester credits as determined by the department.

аааа "Contract operator" means a person in charge of the daily operational activities of three or more public water systems.

аааа "Cross connection control program" means the administrative and technical procedures the owner implements to protect the public water system from contamination via cross-connections as required in WAC 246-290-490.

аааа "Department" means the Washington state department of health, through the secretary of health or the secretary's designee.

аааа "Distribution system" means all piping components of a public water system that serves to convey water from transmission mains linked to source, storage and treatment facilities to the consumer excluding individual services.

аааа "Grandparenting" means the exemption for the existing operator in responsible charge from meeting the initial education, experience and examination requirements for the class of certification the system has been assigned.

аааа "Gross negligence" means an act or omission performed or not performed in reckless disregard of a legal duty, or without even slight care. In considering whether an act or omission constitutes gross negligence, the department shall consider all relevant factors including, but not limited to:

аааа (1) The standard of care commonly exercised by operators;

аааа (2) Whether the legal duty was known or should have been known to the alleged violator; and

аааа (3) The degree to which the alleged violation endangered public health.

аааа "Ground water under the direct influence of surface water (GWI)" means any water beneath the surface of the ground with:

аааа Significant occurrence of insects or other macroorganisms, algae, or large-diameter pathogens such as Giardia lamblia; or

аааа Significant and relatively rapid shifts in water characteristics such as turbidity, temperature, conductivity, or pH closely correlating to climatological or surface water condition.

аааа "Group A water system" means a public water system providing service such that it meets the definition of a public water system provided in the 1996 amendments to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (Public Law 104-182, Section 101, subsection b). Group A water systems are further defined as community and noncommunity water systems (see other definitions).

аааа "Group B water system" means a public water system with less than fifteen residential connections and serving:

аааа An average of less than twenty-five people per day for sixty or more days within a calendar year; or

аааа Any number of people for less than sixty days within a calendar year.

аааа "Nationally recognized association of certification authorities" means an organization that:

аааа Х Serves as an information center for certification activities;

аааа Х Recommends minimum standards and guidelines for classification of potable water treatment plants, water distribution systems, wastewater facilities and certification of operators;

аааа Х Facilitates reciprocity between state programs; and

аааа Х Assists authorities in establishing new and updating existing certification programs.

аааа "Noncommunity water system" means a Group A water system that is not a community water system. Noncommunity water systems are further defined as nontransient noncommunity (NTNC) and transient noncommunity (TNC).

аааа "Nontransient noncommunity water system (NTNC)" means a Group A water system that provides service to twenty-five or more of the same nonresidential people for one hundred eighty or more days within a calendar year. Examples of a NTNC water system include a school or day care center, or a business, factory, motel or restaurant with twenty-five or more employees on-site.

аааа "Owner" means any agency, subdivision of the state, municipal corporation, firm, company, mutual or cooperative association, institution, partnership, or person or any other entity that holds as property, a public water system.

аааа "Operating experience" means the routine on-site performance of duties in a water purification plant or distribution system. Those duties affect plant or system performance and/or water quality.

аааа "Operating shift" means that period of time during which operator decisions are made and actions are taken that will directly impact water quality and/or quantity of drinking water.

аааа "Professional growth reporting period" means a designated time period of not less than three years, in which a certified operator shall demonstrate professional growth.

аааа "Public water system" means any system providing water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances, excluding a system serving only one single-family residence and a system with four or fewer connections all of which serve residences on the same farm. The term includes:

аааа Х Collection, treatment, storage, and/or distribution facilities under control of the owner and used primarily in connection with such systems; and

аааа Х Collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under control of the owner, but primarily in connection with such system.

аааа "Purification plant" means that portion of a public water system that treats or improves the physical, chemical or bacteriological quality of the system's water to bring the water into compliance with state board of health standards. Unit processes installed to perform water filtration, ion exchange, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, or iron and manganese removal shall be included within the scope of the term purification plant. Unit processes installed to allow in-line fluoridation, in-line chlorination, or chemical addition to inhibit corrosion are not included within the scope of the term purification plant.

аааа "Relevant water system training" means training that:

аааа (1) Is approved by the department;

аааа (2) Has an influence on water quality, water supply, or public health protection; and

аааа (3) Is directly related to the operation, or maintenance of a water system; or

аааа (4) Is directly related to managing the operation or maintenance of a water system. Examples of acceptable management training include drinking water regulatory compliance, capacity development, rate setting, financial viability, water system security, and responding to drinking water emergencies.

аааа "Responsible charge" means the operator(s) designated by the owner to be the certified operator(s) who makes the decisions regarding the daily operational activities of a public water system, water treatment facility and/or distribution system that will directly impact water quality and/or quantity of drinking water including, but not limited to, decisions concerning process control and system integrity.

аааа "Satellite management agency (SMA)" means a person or entity that is approved by the department to own or operate public water systems on a regional or county-wide basis without the necessity for a physical connection between such systems.

аааа "Service connection" means a connection to a public water system designed to provide water to a single family residence, or other residential or nonresidential population.

аааа "Significant noncomplier" means a system that is violating or has violated department rules, and the violation may create, or has created an imminent or a significant risk to human health. Such violations include, but are not limited to, repeated violations of monitoring requirements, failure to address an exceedance of permissible levels of regulated contaminants, or failure to comply with treatment technique standards or requirements.

аааа "Transient noncommunity (TNC)" means a Group A water system that serves:

аааа Х Twenty-five or more different people each day for sixty or more days within a calendar year; or

аааа Х Twenty-five or more of the same people each day for sixty or more days, but less than one hundred eighty days within the calendar year.

аааа "Validated exam" means an exam that is independently reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure that the exam is based on a job analysis and related to the classification of the system or facility.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.119 RCW. 05-06-122, з 246-292-010, filed 3/2/05, effective 4/2/05. Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.119 RCW and Safe Drinking Water Act, Public Law 104-182; 64 F.R. 5916 - 5921. 01-02-070, з 246-292-010, filed 12/29/00, effective 1/29/01. Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.119 RCW. 94-04-004, з 246-292-010, filed 1/20/94, effective 2/20/94. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.040. 91-02-049 (Order 121), recodified as з 246-292-010, filed 12/27/90, effective 1/31/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.119.050. 78-10-053 (Order 1343), з 248-55-020, filed 9/22/78.]