1. (1) Applicants must meet the following education and experience requirements.

2. (2) Groups I through IV education, operating experience requirements, and allowable substitutions include the following:

   1. (a) Operating experience must be gained by working under the direction or supervision of a fully certified operator.
   2. (b) Up to half of the operating experience for Groups II through IV, listed below in Table 2, can be substituted with relevant experience.

   3. (c) Relevant experience is work that does not meet the definition of operating experience, but can be used to substitute for operating experience, and includes, but is not limited to:

      1. (i) Wastewater collection system operator;
      2. (ii) Wastewater pump station operator;
      3. (iii) Water distribution system operator and/or manager;
      4. (iv) Water treatment plant operator;
      5. (v) Environmental or operations consultant;
      6. (vi) Wastewater treatment plant designer and/or builder; or
      7. (vii) Other relevant experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis with a written description of the duties performed on the job by the applicant.

   4. (d) Education substituted for operating experience must be in excess of the required education and cannot be used for both the education requirement and substitutions.

      Table 2

      Operator Certification Requirements and Substitutions

      Operator Certification Requirements and Substitutions
      Certification level	Required education	Substitutions allowed for education	Required operating experience	Education substitutions allowed for operating experience	Relevant experience substitutions allowed for operating experience
      Group I	High school diploma or GED	One year of relevant experience for each year of education through twelfth grade	1 year	None	None
      Group II	High school diploma or GED	One year of relevant experience for each year of education through twelfth grade	3 years	Up to 67.5 relevant credits/CEUs	Up to 1 year and 6 months of relevant experience
      Group III	High school diploma or GED and 2 years of college (90 credits or CEUs)	Up to 4 years of excess operating experience:• 1 year of excess operating experience for the first 45 credits/CEUs• 3 years of excess operating experience for the last 45 credits/CEUs	4 years, with at least 2 years at a Class II or higher plant	Up to 90 relevant credits/CEUs	Up to 2 years of relevant experience
      Group IV	High school diploma or GED and 4 years of college (180 credits or CEUs)	Up to 8 years of excess operating experience:• 1 year of excess operating experience for each 45 credits/CEUs for the first 90 credits/CEUs• 3 years of excess operating experience for each 45 credits for the second 90 credits/CEUs	4 years, with at least 2 years at a Class III or higher plant	Up to 90 relevant credits/CEUs	Up to 2 years of relevant experience

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.95B RCW. WSR 19-15-025 (Order 18-02), § 173-230-250, filed 7/10/19, effective 8/10/19.]