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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 18. Professional And Occupational Licensing
Agency 160. Board For Waterworks And Wastewater Works Operators And Onsite Sewage System Professionals
Chapter 30. Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators Licensing Regulations
2/3/2026

18VAC160-30-10. Definitions.

A. Section 54.1-2300 of the Code of Virginia provides definitions of the following terms and phrases as used in this chapter:

"Board"

"Operator"

"Owner"

"Wastewater works"

"Waterworks"

B. The following words, terms, and phrases when used in this chapter have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Address of record" means the address designated by the licensee to receive notices and correspondence from the board.

"Applicant" means an individual who has submitted an application for licensure.

"Application" means a completed, board-prescribed form submitted with the appropriate fee and other required documentation.

"Category" means a profession under the board's purview, which includes waterworks and wastewater works as applicable to the licensure of waterworks and wastewater works operators.

"Classification" means the division within each category of license as it relates to the classified facility. Class 1 represents the highest classification for each category of license.

"Contact hour" means 50 minutes of participation in a structured training activity.

"Department" means the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

"DEQ" means the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Direct supervision" means being immediately available and fully responsible for the provision of waterworks and wastewater works operation regulated pursuant to Chapter 23 (§ 54.1-2300 et seq.) of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia and this chapter.

"Direct supervisor" means a licensed waterworks or wastewater works operator who assumes the responsibility of direct supervision.

"Licensee" means an individual holding a valid license issued by the board.

"Licensure" means a method of regulation whereby the Commonwealth, through the issuance of a license, authorizes a person possessing the character and minimum skills to engage in the practice of a profession or occupation that is unlawful to practice without such license.

"Maintenance" or "maintain" means performing adjustments to equipment and controls and in-kind replacement and cleaning of normal wear and tear parts such as light bulbs, fuses, filters, pumps, motors, or other like components.

"Master alternative onsite sewage system operator" means an individual licensed by the board who possesses the minimum skills and competency to operate and maintain conventional and alternative onsite sewage systems.

"Operate" means the act of (i) placing into or taking out of service a unit process or (ii) making or causing adjustments in the operation of a unit process at a waterworks or wastewater works.

"Renewal" means the process and requirements for periodically approving the continuance of a license.

"Training credit" means a unit of board-approved training or formal education completed by an individual that may be used to substitute for experience when applying for a license.

"VDH" means the Virginia Department of Health.

Statutory Authority

§§ 54.1-201 and 54.1-2301 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 33, Issue 11, eff. April 1, 2017; amended, Virginia Register Volume 42, Issue 8, eff. January 16, 2026.

Website addresses provided in the Virginia Administrative Code to documents incorporated by reference are for the reader's convenience only, may not necessarily be active or current, and should not be relied upon. To ensure the information incorporated by reference is accurate, the reader is encouraged to use the source document described in the regulation.

As a service to the public, the Virginia Administrative Code is provided online by the Virginia General Assembly. We are unable to answer legal questions or respond to requests for legal advice, including application of law to specific fact. To understand and protect your legal rights, you should consult an attorney.