Connecticut Wastewater Treatment Operator Certification: Program Overview
Who Certifies Operators
Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse, certifies wastewater treatment plant operators across four classes, Class I through Class IV, based on facility complexity.
The Long Island Sound Nitrogen Program
The single biggest regional driver shaping Connecticut wastewater treatment is the 2000 Long Island Sound Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), a joint EPA/Connecticut/New York program. It required a 60% reduction in nitrogen loading to the Sound from a 1990 baseline -- a target Connecticut's plants achieved by 2016.
Meeting this required more than $2.5 billion in upgrades across the state's 79 municipal wastewater treatment plants to add biological nitrogen removal. To make these up