A list of approved training courses and instructors is maintained by the Board. If the relevancy, number, and type of CEs are not clear to you in the training session promotional materials, contact the Board at BCRE-Education@dopl.idaho.gov to find out if the course has been approved for relevancy and CEs before you register.
Click here for the Board approved Backflow Assembly Tester (BAT) Course.
Click here for information on BAT course providers.
CE FOR TRAINERS
The Board has voted to allow a licensed operator who is an instructor or speaker at a water or wastewater continuing education course to be credited the same number of contact hours as the students of the course for not more than one (1) presentation of the training per year. Instructors should submit the attached form for credit.
The Provider Page contains additional information for training and CE providers and the approval form required for Board approval.
NOTE: The courses offered through California State University –Sacramento, Office of Water Programs (commonly known as “Ken Kerri courses”) have been deemed acceptable by the Board so long as the courses are relevant to the profession. For more information, please see the minutes from May 4, 2016. The Board of Drinking Water and Wastewater has approved the following states continuing education courses, Nevada, Oregon, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Washington are deemed approved by the Board.
AUDITS
The Board conducts annual audits to ensure compliance with the continuing education requirements. Audits may be initiated any time after you renew your license. By signing your renewal application and answering “Yes” to the question that you have met the continuing education requirements, you are certifying to the Board that you have already obtained proof of having completed the required continuing education.
If you are audited, you must submit a listing of all continuing education courses completed during the previous year AND proof of attendance documentation for each course. A water or wastewater licensee may carry over a maximum of six (6) hours of continuing education to meet the next year’s continuing education requirement. The same hours may not be carried forward more than one (1) renewal cycle. If you are audited and you carried forward hours, you must submit complete documentation for both the audit period and for the previous year.
Failure to submit the required documentation may result in Board action against your right to licensure.
You should review the Board rules regarding continuing education before signing up for any continuing education offers.
Q: What is the CE requirement?
A: Rule 500.01. Continuing Education Requirement. Each licensee must successfully complete a minimum of six (6) hours (0.6 CEUs) of approved continuing education annually for license renewal, except that backflow assembly testers shall complete eight (8) hour refresher course every two (2) years for license renewal. Continuing education must be earned in a subject matter relevant to the field in which the license is issued. A licensee holding one (1) or more drinking water license(s) shall be required to meet the annual continuing education requirement for only one license. A licensee holding one (1) or more wastewater license(s) shall be required to meet the annual continuing education requirement for only one license. A licensee holding both drinking water and wastewater class licenses must complete a minimum of six (6) hours annually for the drinking water license plus six (6) hours annually for the wastewater license. (3-30-06).
Q: Is it approved?
A: Water and wastewater operators may take any training they choose, however, not all operator training qualifies toward meeting the CE required for license renewal. Make sure your training decisions result in the adequate number and type of approved CEUs to meet the requirement when it’s time to renew your license.
Finding out if a training session is approved before attending may be particularly important if you are only allowed a limited amount of time away from the job for training. It is the operator’s responsibility to make sure the training session has been approved and CEUs have been assigned prior to taking the course if it will be used to meet the requirement for license renewal.
Q: Is it relevant?
A: Relevant training is education that is pertinent to or consistent with what an operator needs to understand to successfully perform a water or wastewater job. Since the purpose for adequate transport and treatment of water and wastewater is to protect human health, safety, and welfare, relevant training must include instruction that familiarizes an operator with public health issues and source water protection issues. Finally, relevant training is identifiable as only that information an operator “needs to know” which does not include information superfluous to the water or wastewater aspect of the job. For example, a class on Sexual Harassment Issues in the Workplace would be superfluous to what an individual needs to understand to knowledgeably perform or operate his/her duties as an operator of a water or wastewater transportation or treatment system.
Q: Are various venues, OK?
A: Acceptable training courses can be taught in a variety of styles including traditional classroom training, hands on demonstration training, or alternative education classes such as correspondence and on-line courses if they have been pre-approved on a case-by-case basis.
Licensed water and wastewater operators may choose to take training through an approved form of alternative education to meet CE requirements. Alternative educational courses, more commonly known as distance learning, can be very convenient for operators living and working in remote locations or who can’t get time off work to attend classroom type training. The alternative educational arena continues to offer new and different options. Alternative education may include a written correspondence course such as a Ken Kerri course from California State University, or can be on-line or on a CD-ROM, video, satellite, etc. It is possible to get CEU credit toward certificate renewal for these classes, but each class must be approved first. The key to having a successful alternative education experience is to first submit every class to the Idaho Board for a standard review, evaluation and assignment of number and type of CEUs. Alternative education requires every course to be submitted to the Board on a case-by-case basis. The Board will let the operator know if a class has already been submitted and CEUs assigned.
The Provider Page contains additional information for training and CE providers and the approval form required for Board approval.
