Continuing Education

What is the requirement?    

    Continuing education is required to maintain a license to practice as a water or wastewater professional in Idaho. A total of six approved hours of continuing education (0.6 CEUs) must be obtained each year.  Backflow Assembly Testers must complete an eight hour refresher course every two years for license renewal.  You must maintain proof of attendance for all continuing education courses.  A new cycle begins on the date of a license upgrade. 

    Verify the number and type of CEUs assigned prior to taking the class.  If you hold more than one drinking water license, then six hours of continuing education will meet the annual CEU requirement for all of those licenses.  If you hold more than one wastewater license, then six hours of continuing education will meet the annual CEU requirement for all of those licenses.  

    Some classes may allow you to meet the requirement for both water and wastewater CEUs. Water or water/wastewater type CEUs must be earned to qualify toward the renewal of a water license. Likewise, wastewater or water/wastewater type CEUs must be earned to count toward a wastewater license renewal.  Dual CEUs qualify for certificate renewal for either a water or wastewater certificate, or both. There is only one type of training class for which an operator can earn "dual CEUs"–the classes that qualify for the water/wastewater type CEUs. Neither water CEUs nor wastewater CEUs qualify as "dual CEUs." Classes that are designated water/wastewater are equally applicable to water and wastewater systems. Three examples of classes that apply equally to water and wastewater are: "Pumps and Motors," "Disinfection," and "Basic Electricity." If you hold both water licenses and wastewater licenses, attendance at one of these classes could meet the requirement for both licenses.

Is it approved?     

    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.

Is it relevant?    

    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.

Are various venues OK?    

    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 may 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 has to 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. More information is available in the Idaho Training & Continuing Education Reference Guide.

A list of approved training courses and instructors is maintained by the Board. If the relevancy, number, and type of CEUs are not clear to you in the training session promotional materials, contact the Bureau to find out if the course has been approved for relevancy and CEUs before you register. 

TRAINING and CEU PROVIDERS

The Provider Page contains additional information for training and CEU providers and the approval form required for Board approval.

  If you have questions about the CE requirements, you may e-mail the Bureau office. 

Last Modified - August 28, 2008