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Wastewater Operator Certification

Wastewater treatment systems protect public health and the environment only if they are being properly operated and maintained. The Wastewater Operator Certification Program is intended to protect public health, environmental quality, and the financial investment of wastewater facilities. Illinois EPA certifies the technical competency of operators of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment/pretreatment facilities and also administers a voluntary certification program for operators of collection systems.

An operator certified as competent by the Illinois EPA must be able to perform duties without endangering public health or the environment. In order to determine competency, the Illinois EPA must evaluate whether applicants for certification possess the necessary skills, knowledge, ability, and judgment to properly operate and maintain the facilities entrusted to their care. Therefore, applicants for certification must meet specific experience, education, and examination requirements in order to qualify for certification. Certification examinations and questions have been validated through a process of expert panel review with every question being examined for content, readability, accuracy, and relation to a job analysis. Certification examinations are offered each month at various locations around the state.

Having Trouble Accessing the Operator Certification Database? Follow the steps below, using Google Chrome as your browser:

  1. In Chrome, click the 3 dots in the upper-right corner to open the menu.
  2. Select “More Tools,” then “Clear Browsing Data.”
  3. Uncheck everything except “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files.”
  4. Click “Clear data.”
  5. Now visit the site again by clicking this link: http://dataservices.epa.illinois.gov/operatorcertification/OpCertLogin.aspx