(a) A license shall not be issued to any applicant until the:

1. (1) Education, examination, and experience requirements have been successfully completed; or
2. (2) Applicant has been successfully evaluated for reciprocity.

(b) An operator-in-training certificate shall be issued to a license applicant when the:

1. (1) Experience requirement has not been completed; and
2. (2) License examination has been successfully completed.

(c)

1. (1) Temporary permits will not be issued.
2. (2) To issue a temporary permit to an unlicensed operator of a public water system, the Department of Health must assure that its issuance will not jeopardize public health and safety.
3. (3) The department cannot provide this assurance due to improved knowledge of water borne disease outbreaks and because public water systems have an increased risk of microbial contamination.

(d)

1. (1) Inactive licenses are no longer allowed.
2. (2) Licenses placed in the inactive status, when it was allowed, may be reinstated at any time, after approval by the department, by paying the required reinstatement fees and passing an examination on current Public Water System Rules in 20 CAR pt. 140, policies, and Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. § 300f et seq., compliance requirements.
3. (3) The department shall require license examination be passed to reinstate the license if the inactive period exceeds ten (10) years.
4. (4) Examinations may be waived provided the operator can prove through closely related work that the operator has kept current with present public water system requirements.

   POST SECONDARY DEGREE EXPERIENCE CREDIT
   Post Secondary Degree	License	Experience Allowed	License Appropriate Water System Experience Required
   Bachelor of Science degrees in Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, or other applicable physical sciences	Grade I	6 Months	Not Applicable
   Grade II	9 Months	3 Months
   Grade III	18 Months	6 Months
   Grade IV	24 Months	12 Months
   Associate of Applied Science Degrees in Water and Wastewater Technology	Grade I	6 Months	Not Applicable
   Grade II	9 Months	3 Months
   Grade III	18 Months	6 Months
   Grade IV	24 Months	12 Months
   Associate of Applied Science Degrees in Engineering, Electronics, Environmental Science, or other applicable physical sciences	Grade I	6 Months	Not Applicable
   Grade II	6 Months	3 Months
   Grade III	9 Months	6 Months
   Grade IV	12 Months	12 Months

   Table 3