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State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
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Water & Wastewater System Operator Licensing

A Licensed Operator is the individual approved by the DEP holding any local title, designation, or job description who is on-site at a system a significant amount of time, although not necessarily full time, and who has active involvement in and is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and effectiveness of the system, and who holds a license equal to or higher than that required for the system.  Applicable systems include:

  • Industrial Wastewater Treatment System (N License)
  • Public Wastewater Collection System (C License )
  • Public Wastewater Treatment System (S License)
  • Public Water Distribution System (W License)
  • Public Water Treatment System (T License)
  • Very Small Water System (VSWS License)
Eligibility for a Licensed Operator in New Jersey requires a combination of experience, educational course prerequisites and passing an exam.  Maintaining a license requires completion of continuing education every three-year recertification period or successful retesting.  These processes are managed by the DEP with expert guidance from the Board of Examiners and the Advisory Committee on Water Supply and Wastewater Licensed Operator Training.  The Board of Examiners assists with all licensing-related matters while the Advisory Committee focuses primarily on the instructional process for required courses and continuing education classes.

In-Person Licensing Examinations Update

Effective January 6, 2023, New Jersey will switch from the use of remotely proctored exams to exams administered at testing centers. View more details about the announcement here.


Training Contact Hour (TCH) Waiver for Licensed Operators

The NJDEP has issued a proportionate credit waiver for licensed water and wastewater operators for the current licensing cycle that ends on September 30, 2021. View to the announcement here.


NEW LICENSED OPERATOR EXAM APPLICATIONS

As of April 15, 2021, new applications are being accepted for water and wastewater licenses using a new electronic submittal process. View the Announcement Here


2021 OPERATOR UPDATES

An actively-monitored email address is REQUIRED for all DEP and exam vendor (PSI) correspondence and service updates – to eliminate paper use and postage, and reduce delays, letters will NOT be mailed. The DEP contact for exam/licensing general questions and to provide a new/updated email address is www@dep.nj.gov; PSI should be contacted directly for exam scheduling at (833) 256-1420. The $70 non-refundable application fee is required for the initial exam and every time a three-time failure refresher course completion certificate is submitted to DEP for reexamination eligibility. Exam fees must be paid directly to PSI during scheduling. Candidates will receive exam scores directly from PSI with instruction regarding rescheduling for failed exams; DEP will generate license invoices for all passed exams. All license invoices will be available online for easy and fast online payment. Click here LICENSE INVOICES


ATTENTION ALL NEW JERSEY WATER OR WASTEWATER OPERATIONS PERSONNEL

Pursuant to the instructions of the Statement of Qualifications (SOQs), the Exams and Licensing Unit and the Water and Wastewater Board of Examiners would like to further remind all licensed operators in the State of New Jersey, to obtain the signature of ALL DEP-recognized Licensed Operators in Charge under whom you have ever worked. Recently, some examination application SOQs were rejected or conditionally approved due to the fact that the signature of the Licensed Operator in Charge during certain specified work experience time periods could not be obtained or otherwise verified. The current license operator in charge can only certify the time period in which you worked under his/her purview. Thank you for your attention to this matter. View PDF Here


WATER AND WASTEWATER PAPER LICENSE DELAYS – ALERT  (updated December 15, 2020)

Be advised that due to staff limitations related to the COVID 19 health emergency, processing and mailing of water and wastewater licenses may experience significant delays. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for license arrival via mail. During that time as always, you may access and print the status of your payment and license. This printed information will be honored by enforcement inspectors until such time that your actual license is received. To find and print your license status use Online Reports.  There are two reports that will provide your license status:

Should you still need to pay for a license, with an invoice number you can click here to Pay For Your License Online

WATER AND WASTEWATER LICENSING EXAMS – ALERT (issued November 23, 2020)

The Department is pleased to announce exam opportunities will be available for those applicants previously scheduled and later cancelled due to the COVID emergency. This is possible through new arrangements with the Association of Boards of Certifications (ABC) and the testing service PSI that will provide computer-based testing at sites in and beyond NJ. Individuals who were cancelled will be contacted directly by PSI on or about November 20th to reschedule. In addition to the Department’s non-refundable $70 application administrative review fee, all exams will require a nominal fee of $102 per exam paid directly to PSI to support the new modality which provides safety as well as increased exam dates and times. Please do not call or email the Department for exam info. PSI will be the primary contact for all exam-related scheduling going forward and instructions and appropriate contact will be in the initial emails. If you were previously scheduled for an exam and do not receive an invitation from PSI to reschedule by Tuesday, November 24th, please email www@dep.nj.gov with the subject “Reschedule”, include your name and license number, if available. Applicants for July and October 2020 or any future exams remain on hold and new applications are not being accepted at this time.  Instructions will follow in an updated alert at this site when submittal of new applications may resume. For those already approved, confirmed and then cancelled for March/April exams: You should have already received email instruction direct from PSI on re-scheduling an exam.  You should also be getting an update to those instructions that accounts for whether or not you have already scheduled an exam.  The update email instruction will reflect a transition of all exams to online remotely-proctored only.  Computer-based testing has been discontinued due to minimal exam slot availability.  We appreciate your patience as we continue to adapt the program to evolving demands and constraints. ONLINE/REMOTE TRAINING CONTACT HOURS (TCHs) Please be advised of the following update regarding online/remote courses and webinars and the 3-year license recertification cycle that ends on September 30, 2021. For Operators There is currently no extension of the September 30, 2021 cycle to acquire credits and one is not guaranteed to occur. Provisions are being made to increase available online training as described for providers below and much time remains to earn credits. Operators can check their need for credits here. A list of providers to contact for currently available offerings can be found here. Students are encouraged to confirm with trainers that their offerings meet the conditions outlined below to ensure credits are valid. For Providers

1. Any individual online/remote courses and webinars approved prior to the COVID 19 emergency (March 13, 2020) remain unchanged. These courses do not require any further information or review.

2. Any individual classroom courses approved prior to March 13, 2020, will be considered for conversion to an online or webinar format.  To be considered for transition to an online or webinar format, the course provider must submit the following information for the Department’s review and approval:

a. Course date(s) and if applicable, course number(s) b. Modality/format for online/remote and webinar presentations c. Any changes to the approved course content d. Tools to be used to identify attendees prior to course start time and to verify full course attendance and participation (i.e., camera/video monitoring or other process) e. Access for Department staff to participate and monitor courses f. All materials should be scanned and submitted to www@dep.nj.gov with the subject “ONLINE COURSE CONVERSION”

3. All new online/remote course proposals must include the information noted above along with a completed Request to Issue Training Contact Hours for Operator License Renewal application. All materials should be scanned and submitted to www@dep.nj.gov with the subject “NEW COURSE REQUEST”

4. Organizations with approved training programs may continue to offer new courses, including new online/remote courses and webinars, without pre-approval, provided they meet the requirements for attendee verification, attendance and participation monitoring outlined at #2 above.

Most program staff will continue to work remotely so please email any questions to www@dep.nj.gov and staff will respond as soon as possible however expect some delay due to COVID restrictions.

Applications and Forms

C, N, S, T and W Licenses

Licensed Operator In Charge

Reimbursement


Fees

Application Fee: $70
Initial License Fee: $50
Renewal License Fee: $50
Late Fee for Renewals: $20
Duplicate Wall Certificate: $15

COURSES & CONTINUING EDUCATION

Training Contact Hours (TCH's) Click here for a listing of training events awarded TCH's since 10-1-2018. This list will help you find classes you can take to meet your TCH training requirement for renewing your license on 9-30-2021. The list includes a link to information for each training provider with their website and contact information. You can also access this list by clicking here. Most providers offer online and in-person training events.


Initial License/Exam Eligibility

Course Outlines (PDFs)

Course Questionnaire (PDF)

Approved Training Courses (PDF)

License Renewal/TCH Requirement

RULES

All Licenses

All Wastewater Licenses

Industrial Wastewater Licenses

Advisory Committee Bylaws (PDF)

LICENSED OPERATOR BOARDS & COMMITTEES

Licensed Operator Board

WATER AND WASTEWATER LICENSING BOARD OF EXAMINERS (NJSA 58:11-18, 10 et seq.)

The Board advises and assists the Department in the preparation and administration of examinations conducted under the authority of the Water Supply and Wastewater Operators' Licensing Act.

View more information about the Board here

Members:

  • Robert Genetelli, Chair, Wastewater
  • Wendy Simone, Vice-Chair, Water Works
  • Pat Gardner, DEP representative
  • Charles Jenkins, DEP representative
  • David Fields, Dep representative
  • Ronald S. Anastasio, Wastewater
  • JoAnn Mondsini, Wastewater
  • Kouao-Eric Ekoue, Water Works
  • James Mastrokalos, Water Works

NJ Board of Examiners Annual Meeting Notice 2024

November 30, 2022 Meeting Minutes

Members serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for expenses.


Licensed Operator Advisory Committee

Members:

Department
  • Patricia Gardner – Department – Board Representative
  • Keith Vaughn - Department- Enforcement
  • Kristin Tedesco - Department – Water Supply Regulation
  • Eugene Chebra - Department - Wastewater Regulation
NJ American Water Works Association
  • Robert Fullagar - AWWA Operator
  • William Mitchell - AWWA Education
NJ Water Environment Association
  • Joseph Bonaccorso - NJWEA Operator
  • Richard Kunze - NJWEA Education
Association of Environmental Authorities
  • Richard Eustace - AEA Wastewater Authority
  • Pam Carolan - AEA Water Authority
Educational Institute Conducting Courses
  • Jill Plesnarski - Hunterdon County Poly-Tech
  • Ronald Suto - Mercer County Community College
Director of the Office of Continuing Professional Educational at the NJ Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers, the State University of NJ
  • Carol Broccoli - Rutgers
State Environmental Group
  • Vacancy (Haimowitz retired)
  • Vacancy
NJ Business and Industry Council
  • Vacancy

NJ Advisory Committee on Water Supply and Wastewater Licensed Operator Training Annual Meeting Notice 2024

Contact

For general questions:  www@dep.nj.gov
For TCH questions: tch@dep.nj.gov
Exam applications are send to operatorexams@dep.nj.gov

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Last Updated: February 1, 2024