The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) through a public
process has developed a
Policy for Nutrient Cap Management and Trading (Policy), which took
effect on April 17, 2008. It is a creative and innovative approach to
managing point sources nutrient load caps. One aspect of Maryland’s
approach is unique. Other states allow trading in lieu of upgrading a
WWTP. In Maryland, upgrade of major WWTPs is required and the Bay
Restoration Fund (BRF) was instituted to fully fund these upgrades.
Trading is not available as a substitute for the upgrades. Nutrient
reductions achieved through the upgrades must be maintained to meet Bay
water quality goals. The Policy addresses both the need to achieve early
nutrient load reductions from point sources through enhanced nutrient
removal upgrades and the need to address new or increased point source
nutrient loads associated with a growing population. The need to address
planned growth is met through various environmentally sensitive
offset/trading options and requirements outlined in the Policy. Facts About
Nutrient Cap Management/Trading - Phase One provides a summary of
the Policy along with frequently asked questions about the Policy.
Under this policy, Maryland will continue to be a leader in the effort
to restore the Chesapeake Bay while accommodating expected population
growth.
As an operator of a system in Maryland that provides drinking water for our citizens and treats the waste generated by our daily activates, you play an important role in protecting both public health and the environment of Maryland. The process of certifying operators in Maryland is governed by regulations and standards which you need to meet in order to be in compliance.
The original intent of the certification training requirements was to ensure that the operators of water and waste systems maintained an adequate level of technical knowledge about the processes they operated at their facility.
Over a number of years many non-process technical training events were approved for certification hours because the topics were relevant to operations. Some examples would be maintenance of equipment, safety topics, math skills, and lab testing.
More recently, the intent of the regulations was reviewed by the Board of Waterworks and Waste Systems Operators. The Board became aware of a trend in the industry related to the types of training being submitted to renew certificates. Specifically, many operators were renewing their certificates without taking any process type of training. In fact, an operator could renew his/her certificate without taking one process related class.
This review of the intent of the regulations resulted in the 50% rule which is now in effect. The rule requires that a minimum of half the training used for renewal hours is process related. Any training event where at least 50% of the material covered is approved for process control will be designated as a ‘process’ class. All others will be designated as non-process. Operators must have at least 50% of their credits in process to renew or gain their certification.
