567—81.7 (455B) Operator education and experience qualifications.
	 81.7(1) Education and experience requirements. All applicants shall meet the education and experience requirements for the grade of certificate shown in the table below prior to being allowed to take the examination. Experience shall be in the same classification for which the applicant is applying except that partial credit may be given in accordance with 81.7(2) and 81.7(3). Directly related post-high school education shall be in the same subject matter as the classification in which the applicant is applying. Directly related post-high school education will be granted education credit 2.0 times the number of semester, quarter or CEU credits until January 1, 2006. The director will determine which courses qualify as “directly related” in cases which are not clearly defined.

Operator Education and Experience Qualifications	

Grade	Education	Substitution for
Education	Experience	Substitution for Experience	
A	High school diploma or GED	None	Completion of an IDNR-approved training course	None	
I	High school diploma or GED	None	1 year	See 81.7(3)“b”(1),
(3) to (5)	
IL	High school diploma or GED	None	1 year	See 81.7(3)“b”(1),
(3) to (5)	
II	High school diploma or GED	None	3 years	See 81.7(3)“b”(2)
to (5)	
IIL	High school diploma or GED	None	3 years	See 81.7(3)“b”(2) to (5)	
III	High school diploma or GED and 2 years of post-high school education (1 year must be directly related)	See 81.7(3)“a”
(1), (3)	4 years of experience in a Grade I or higher	See 81.7(3)“b”(2), (3)	
IV	High school diploma or GED and 4 years of post-high school education (2 years must be directly related)	See 81.7(3)“a”
(2), (3)	4 years of experience including 2 years of DRC in a Grade III or higher	See 81.7(3)“b”(2), (3) and 81.7(3)“c”	
	 81.7(2) Related work experience. The following substitutions of related work experience for operating experience requirements may be accepted by the director.
	  a.   	 Laboratory personnel. Laboratory personnel employed in water or wastewater treatment plants may be allowed 50 percent credit for work experience toward meeting the operating experience requirements for Grades I and II certification only. Laboratory experience must be in the same classification for which the applicant is applying.
	  b.   	 Oversight personnel. Personnel with experience in on-site operation review and evaluation of plants and distribution systems may be allowed 50 percent credit for on-site work experience toward meeting the operating experience requirements for Grades I and II certification only. On-site experience must be in the same classification for which the applicant is applying.
	  c.   	 Maintenance personnel. Maintenance personnel employed in water or wastewater treatment plants may be allowed 50 percent credit for work experience toward meeting the operating experience requirements for Grades I and II certification only. Maintenance experience may be applied either to the water or to the wastewater experience requirements.
	  d.   	 Certified operators.
	 (1) 	 Certified water treatment operators may be allowed 50 percent credit for work experience toward meeting the operating experience requirements for Grades I and II wastewater treatment certification only.
	 (2) 	 Certified wastewater treatment operators may be allowed 50 percent credit for work experience toward meeting the operating experience requirements for Grades I and II water treatment certification only.
	 (3) 	 Certified water treatment operators may be allowed 50 percent credit for work experience toward meeting the operating experience requirements for Grades I and II water distribution certification only.
	 (4) 	 Certified water distribution operators may be allowed 50 percent credit for work experience toward meeting the operating experience requirements for Grades I and II water treatment certification only.
	  e.   	 Limitation. The portion of related work experience that is substituted for operating experience cannot also be used to substitute for education.
	 81.7(3) Experience and education substitutions. The following substitutions for experience or education may be accepted by the director.
	  a.   	 Substitution of experience for education.
	 (1) 	 One year of operating experience in a Grade II or higher position may be substituted for one year of post-high school education for Grade III certification up to one-half of the post-high school education requirement.
	 (2) 	 One year of operating experience in a Grade III or higher position may be substituted for one year of post-high school education for Grade IV certification up to one-half of the post-high school education requirement.
	 (3) 	 Two years of direct responsible charge experience in a Grade III or higher position may be substituted for one year of directly related post-high school education for Grade IV certification up to three-fourths of the post-high school education requirement.
	 (4) 	 That portion of experience which is applied toward substitution for education cannot also be used for experience.
	  b.   	 Substitutions of education for experience.
	 (1) 	 Two semester hours or three quarter hours or three CEUs of directly related post-high school education may be substituted for one-half the experience requirement for Grades I and IL.
	 (2) 	 Thirty semester hours or 45 quarter hours or 45 CEUs of post-high school education may be substituted for one year of experience up to a maximum of one-half the experience requirement for Grades II, IIL, III and IV.
	 (3) 	 That portion of education which is applied toward substitution for experience cannot also be used for education.
	 (4) 	 Class hours involving closely supervised on-the-job type training in a pilot or full-scale facility where there are clearly defined educational objectives may be applied to the on-the-job experience requirement. The substitution value of such training shall be applicable only toward obtaining a Grade I and Grade II certification and shall not exceed one-half year of on-the-job experience. One hour of on-the-job training is equivalent to three hours of on-the-job experience. One month of on-the-job training consists of 20 eight-hour days. Credit for on-the-job training may be applied only to the examination for the type of system in which the experience was obtained.
	 (5) 	 That portion of on-the-job training courses which is applied toward substitution for the on-the-job experience requirement cannot also be used for education.
	  c.   	 Substitution of education for direct responsible charge experience. Thirty semester hours or 45 quarter hours or 45 CEUs of directly related post-high school education may be substituted for one year of direct responsible charge experience up to one-half the requirement for Grade IV certification.