23.1-07-04. Certification

23.1-07-04. Certification When the department is satisfied an applicant is qualified by examination or otherwise to supervise the operation of treatment plants and systems, the department shall issue a certificate attesting to the competency of the applicant as an operator. The certificate must indicate the classification of treatment plant or system the operator is qualified to supervise. 1. A certificate issued under this chapter is valid for only one year and expires on the first day of January of the year after which it was issued. 2. The department may revoke or suspend the certificate of an operator issued under this chapter if the operator has practiced fraud or deception in obtaining the certificate or in the performance of the operator's duty as an operator; if reasonable care, judgment, or the application of the operator's knowledge or ability was not used in the performance of the operator's duties; or if the operator is incompetent and unable to perform properly the operator's duties as an operator. A certificate may not be revoked or suspended except after a hearing before the director of the department, or the director's designated representative. If a certificate is suspended or revoked, a new application for certification may be considered by the department only after the conditions causing the suspension or revocation have been corrected, and evidence of this fact has been satisfactorily submitted to the department. A new certificate may then be granted by the department. 3. Certificates in appropriate classification issued to operators before the effective date of this chapter continue in effect.