Nebraska Administrative Code
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Title 197 - Rules And Regulations For Certification Of Wastewater Treatment Operators
Appendix A - Municipal/Commercial Wastewater Treatment Plant Point Rating System Wastewater Treatment Plant Point Rating System (Non-Industrial/Municipal)
Effective Date of Last Revision: April 6, 2020

A wastewater system with only collection, lift stations, and chlorination is considered a collection system and not a wastewater treatment plant. Each unit process should have points assigned only once.


Item
Points
Your Plant
Size (2 point minimum to 20 point maximum)
Maximum population equivalent (PE) or part served, peak day (1 point minimum to 10 point maximum)
1 pt per
10,000 or part

Design flow average day or peak month's part flow average day, whichever is larger (1 point minimum to 10 point maximum)
1 pt per MGD or part

Variation in raw waste (0 point minimum to 6 point maximum)1
Variations do not exceed those normally or typically expected
0

Recurring deviations or excessive variations of 100 to 200% in strength and/or flow
2

Recurring deviations or excessive variations of more than 200% in strength and/or flow
4

Raw wastes subject to toxic waste discharges
6

Impact of septage or truck-hauled waste (0 point minimum to 4 point maximum)


Preliminary treatment
Plant pumping of main flow
3

Screening, comminution
3

Grit removal
3

Equalization
1

Primary Treatment
Clarifiers
5

Imhoff tanks or similar
5

Secondary Treatment
Fixed-film reactor
10

Activated sludge
15

Stabilization ponds without aeration
5

Stabilization ponds with aeration
8

Tertiary Treatment
Polishing ponds for advanced waste treatment
2

Chemical/physical advanced waste treatment w/o secondary
15

Chemical/physical advanced waste treatment following secondary
10

Biological or chemical/biological advanced waste treatment
12

Nitrification by designed extended aeration only
2

Ion exchange for advanced waste treatment
10

Reverse osmosis, electrodialysis and other membrane filtration techniques
15

Advanced waste treatment chemical recovery, carbon regeneration
4

Media filtration
5

Additional Treatment Processes
Chemical additions (2 points each for a maximum of 6 points)
6

Dissolved air flotation (for other than sludge thickening)
8

Intermittent sand filter
2

Recirculating intermittent sand filter
3

Microscreens
5

Generation of oxygen
5

Solids Handling
Solids stabilization
5

Gravity thickening
2

Mechanical dewatering
8

Anaerobic digestion of solids
10

Utilization of digester gas for heating or cogeneration
5

Aerobic digestion of solids
6

Evaporative sludge drying
2

Solids reduction (including incineration, wet oxidation)
12

On-site landfill for solids
2

Solids composting
10

Land application of biosolids by contractor
2

Land application of biosolids under direction of facility operator in direct responsible charge
10

Disinfection (0 point minimum to 10 point maximum)
Chlorination or ultraviolet irradiation
5

Ozonation
10

Effluent discharge (0 point minimum to 10 point maximum)
Mechanical post aeration
2

Direct recycle and reuse
6

Land treatment and disposal (surface or subsurface)
4

Instrumentation (0 point minimum to 6 point maximum)3
Use of SCADA or similar instrumentation systems to provide data w/ no process operation
0

Use of SCADA or similar instrumentation systems to provide data w/ limited process operation
2

Use of SCADA or similar instrumentation systems to provide data w/ moderate process operation
4

Use of SCADA or similar instrumentation systems to provide data w/ extensive or total process operation
6

Laboratory control (0 point minimum to 15 point maximum)2
Bacteriological/biological (0 point minimum to 5 point maximum)

..Lab work done outside the plant
0

..Membrane filter procedures
3

..Use of fermentation tubes or any dilution method; fecal coliform determination
5

Chemical/physical (0 point minimum to 10 point maximum)

I.Lab work done outside the plant
0

II.Push-button or visual methods for simple tests such as pH, settleable solids
3

III.Additional procedures such as DO, COD, BOD, gas analysis, titrations, solids, volatile content
5

IV.More advanced determinations such as specific constituents; nutrients, total oils, phenols
7

V.Highly sophisticated instrumentation such as atomic absorption, gas chromatography
10


Total Points


1 The key concept is frequency and/or intensity of deviation or excessive variation from normal or typical fluctuations; such deviation can be in terms of strength, toxicity, shock loads, I/I, with points from 0 to 6.

2 The key concept is to credit laboratory analyses done on-site by plant personnel under the direction of the operator in direct responsible charge with points from 0 to 15.

3. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system