Section 11-25-4 - Education and work experience requirements for certification(a) To qualify for certification, operators shall have the following education and work experience unless otherwise provided in section 11-25-3. The minimum educational requirement for all five grades is a high school degree, or general equivalency diploma (GED). (1) A high school degree consists of a high school diploma properly awarded in any state, territory, or possession of the United States of America, or by another country that is listed in the "Certification Contacts" section in ABC's annual directory, from an accredited public, private, or parochial high school.(2) A GED consists of a diploma earned through an equivalency program administered by the state department of education, or any state, county, territory, or possession of the United States of America.(3) For the DSO certification, work experience can substitute for a high school diploma or GED. An operator shall have a minimum of an eighth grade education. An operator with an eighth grade education and four years of work experience can be considered to have the equivalent of a GED. Work experience that is used to meet the GED requirement shall not also be used to meet the work experience requirement beyond the GED.(b) The minimum work experience requirements for WTPO certification are as follows: (1) WTP Operator-in-training: no work experience.(2) WTPO Grade 1: a high school degree and one year of work experience.(3) WTPO Grade 2: (A) One year of work experience at a Class 2 or higher WTP, as an operator with Hawaii WTPO Grade 1 regular certification;(B) A high school degree and two years of work experience (including one year of work experience at a Class 2 or higher WTP); or(C) A qualifying bachelor's degree and one year of work experience at a Class 2 or higher WTP.(4) WTPO Grade 3: (A) One year of full-time work experience at a membrane filtration, Class 3, or Class 4 WTP (including one month of work experience at a Class 3 or 4 plant), as an operator with Hawaii WTPO Grade 2 regular certification;(B) A high school degree, and three years of work experience (including one year of full-time work experience at a membrane filtration, Class 3, or Class 4 WTP (including one month of work experience at a Class 3 or 4 WTP));(C) A qualifying associate degree, and two years of work experience (including one year of full-time work experience at a membrane filtration. Class 3, or Class 4 WTP (including one month of work experience at a Class 3 or 4 WTP)); or(D) A qualifying bachelor's degree and one year of full-time work experience at a membrane filtration. Class 3, or Class 4 WTP (including one month of work experience at a Class 3 or 4 WTP).(5) WTPO Grade 4: (A) One year of full-time work experience at a Class 3 or 4 WTP, as an operator with Hawaii WTPO Grade 3 regular certification;(B) A high school degree, and four years of work experience (including one year of full-time work experience at a membrane filtration, Class 3, or Class 4 WTP, and one year of full-time work experience at a Class 3 or 4 WTP);(C) A qualifying associate degree, and three years of work experience (including one year of full-time work experience at a membrane filtration. Class 3, or Class 4 WTP, and one year of full-time work experience at a Class 3 or 4 WTP); or(D) A qualifying bachelor's degree and two years of work experience (one year of full-time work experience at a membrane filtration. Class 3, or Class 4 WTP, and one year of full-time work experience at a Class 3 or 4 WTP).(c) The minimum work experience requirements for DSO certification are as follows:(1) DS Operator-in-training: no work experience,(2) DSO Grade 1: a high school degree and one year of work experience,(3) DSO Grade 2:(A) One year of work experience as an operator with Hawaii DSO Grade 1 regular certification;(B) A high school degree and two years of work experience; or(C) A qualifying bachelor's degree and one year of work experience.(4) DSO Grade 3: (A) One year of work experience as an operator with Hawaii DSO Grade 2 regular certification;(B) A high school degree and three years of work experience;(C) A qualifying associate degree, and two years of work experience; or(D) A qualifying bachelor's degree and one year of work experience. (5) DSO Grade 4: (A) One year of work experience as an operator with Hawaii DSO Grade 3 regular certification;(B) A high school degree and four years of work experience;(C) A qualifying associate degree, and three years of work experience; or(D) A qualifying bachelor's degree and two years of work experience.(d) The minimum education and work experience requirements in years are summarized as follows: TABLE 1 MINIMUM WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
Total Years of Work Experience |
| GRADE |
Degree | OIT | 1 | 2 | 3a | 4b |
High School | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Qualifying Associate degree | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Qualifying Bachelor's degree | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
aFor the WTPO Grade 3 certification, the years of work experience must include at least one year of full-time work experience at a membrane filtration. Class 3, or Class 4 WTP (of which at least one month of work experience is at a Class 3 or 4 WTP).
bFor the WTPO Grade 4 certification, the years of work experience must include at least one year of full-time work experience at a membrane filtration. Class 3, or Class 4 WTP, and at least one year of full-time work experience at a Class 3 or 4 WTP.
(e) The duration of the work experience in a currently held position shall be calculated up to the examination date. For WTPO certification, to earn a "year of work experience," a person shall operate a WTP for at least one hour per day for each of at least two hundred days. To earn a "year of full-time work experience," a person shall either operate a WTP for at least eight hours per day for each of at least two hundred days or for a cumulative time of 1,600 hours (two hundred days times eight hours per day). For DSO certification, to earn a "year of work experience", a person shall operate a DS for at least one hour per day for each of at least two hundred days. A "year of work experience" or a "year of full-time work experience" may be accumulated over the course of more than twelve consecutive months, but no more than one year of such experience may be accumulated within a twelve-consecutive-month period.(f) A qualifying bachelor's degree is a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited university in which the applicant has earned at least twenty adjusted semester credits from the courses listed in Appendix A entitled "Courses for Qualifying Bachelor's or Associate Degrees (May 1, 2000)", located at the end of this chapter.(g) A qualifying associate degree is an associate degree or higher in which the applicant has earned at least twelve adjusted semester credits from the courses listed in Appendix A, entitled "Courses for Qualifying Bachelor's or Associate Degrees (May 1, 2000)", located at the end of this chapter. [Eff 2/8/93; am and comp 4/29/95; am and comp 8/25/97; am and comp 1/8/01; am and comp 5/24/02] (Auth: HRS §§ 340F-7, 340F-11(1)) (Imp: HRS §§ 340F-3, 340F-6, 340F-7, 340F-8, 340F-11; 40 C.F.R. §141.70; 42 U.S.C. § 300g - 8)