Training
Training & Renewal Update:
In order to facilitate the most efficient means for certification renewals, the department is encouraging the renewal of certifications by the most efficient means and options available based on certification type.
- Waterworks, Water System and Wastewater Operators: Renew electronically
- Septage Operators: Complete and submit hardcopy operator renewals that were previously mailed.
Operators are encouraged to get continuing education credits (CEUs) needed for certification renewal through online trainings, and to submit their renewal information as soon as practicable. Please view the training calendar for newly scheduled online trainings, or visit the list of pre-approved online training providers for municipal waterworks and wastewater continuing education credits on the DNR’s training website.
The department also encourages operators to verify how many continuing education credits (CECs) they have acquired to ensure they have enough CECs to renew their certification before the expiration date. CECs can be checked through the Operator Certification Lookup portal, by searching by operator name or certification, then selecting the Training History report PDF.
Ch. NR 114, 499 and 524 Wis. Adm. Code require an operator to earn continuing education credits to maintain an active certification. These continuing education requirements are designed to help operators keep current on new requirements and technical innovations as well as acquire additional knowledge and skills.
Below is the training calendar, a list of online training opportunities, and information for training providers.
For a list of pre-approved training events, visit the operator certification training calendar.
About iCalendar and RSS Feeds: Two powerful little buttons on the calendar
iCalendar and RSS Feeds are powerful tools to stay informed about training events without having to return to the DNR training calendar continually. With iCalendar, you can synchronize the DNR training calendar with another calendar, such as with your Outlook or Gmail calendar. Events from the DNR training calendar will automatically show up on your calendar.
Alternately, you can subscribe to an RSS Feed and be automatically notified when the training calendar is updated. RSS Feeds can only be viewed using an RSS Reader. Smartphones and most internet browsers have built-in Readers. If you use a browser that does not have a built-in Reader, do a search to find a Reader compatible for your device.
To subscribe, set your search criteria before clicking on the iCalendar or RSS Feed icons. For example, if you are a wastewater operator, you can filter by wastewater certification type to only show the training applicable toward wastewater certification. Then the iCalendar or RSS Feed will only display wastewater training events.
Click on the icons on the calendar for more information and instructions on how to use the iCalendar or RSS Feed.
The following training providers have been approved for continuing education credits. Refer to the chart below to determine the certification that training is approved for: Municipal Waterworks (MW) or Wastewater (WW).
Receiving credit
Most online training providers will submit attendance directly to the DNR every month so that your credits will show up automatically on your training history report. Those training providers are 360 Water, Approved Environment Inc, At Your Pace Online, Bismarck State College, RoyCEU, Technical Learning College, and Zarathom. For other training providers, you will need to submit an Operator Training Report Form (4400–190) and attach a certificate of completion.
"CEU" versus "CEC" clarification
Some training providers use the term Continuing Education Unit or CEU. One Continuing Education Unit (CEU) = 10 continuing education credits (CECs) or 10 contact hours. For example, if a course is 0.9 CEUs, it is equivalent to 9 continuing education credits.
| Training Provider | Certification Type | Website |
Provider submits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 360Water.com | MW/WW | Website | Yes |
| Absolution Water | MW | Website | No |
| Approved Environment Inc | WW | Website | Yes |
| 1 Attempt (At Your Pace Online) | MW | Website | Yes |
| AWWA Online Institute | MW | Website | No |
| Bismarck State College — National Energy Center of Excellence (NECE) | MW/WW | Website | Yes |
| 32- and 48-hour courses. | Yes | ||
| California State University — Sacramento | MW/WW | Website | No |
| Several 18-hour online courses, as well as longer correspondence courses. | |||
| CEU Plan | MW/WW | Website | No |
| First Net Learning | MW/WW safety | Website | No |
| Courses approved for safety credits only; most are 1 hour in length. | |||
| Kirkwood Community College | MW/WW | Website | No |
| Contact Kathy Bates at MATC to register. | |||
| Moraine Park Technical College | MW | Website | No |
| RoyCEU.com | MW/WW | Website | Yes |
| Technical Learning College | MW/WW | Website | Yes |
| WaterLMS | WW | Website | No |
| Water Environment Federation (WEF) | MW/WW | Website | No |
| Water Otter | MW/WW | Website | No |
| Wisconsin Rural Water Association (WRWA) | MW/WW | Website | No |
| Zarathom | MW/WW | Website | Yes |
| 1-hour courses | |||
Operator Training Report (Form 4400–190)
Use this form for any relevant training that was not pre-approved by the DNR (such as in-house safety training) or for some online training. Training approved with this form will be added to an operator's Training History Report.
- Type directly within the PDF form.
- Save a copy for yourself.
- Send via email to DNROpCert@Wisconsin.gov. Please do not email a scanned version of the form.
- The subject line of the email should read "[Training Course Title] — Operator Training Report Form."
- Attach the proof of attendance to the email (i.e., certificate of completion or a copy of the sign-in sheet).
Please refer to the Operator Training Report Form Instructions for more information.
Training approval
Training providers need to complete the Training Approval Form (4400–288) if they would like their training to be reviewed for continuing education credits for operators. The form should be emailed to the Operator Certification Program at DNROpCert@Wisconsin.gov, along with a schedule or brochure detailing start and end times and time taken for breaks and lunch. Please see the Training Approval Form Instructions for more information on completing the form. Note: Microsoft Edge is the recommended browser for opening the Training Approval Request form. For more assistance with PDFs, see the DNR's PDF help page.
Note: The Wisconsin DNR is currently accepting applications for virtual, live webinar trainings as well as new self-paced, on-demand pre-recorded online trainings. For questions, please contact DNROpCert@wisconsin.gov.
The training contact will receive an email within 10 business days of submittal of your application stating whether training has been approved or denied for credits. If approved, the email will indicate the number of credits granted and for which certification type(s), the Training Approval ID, and the training approval expiration date.
Recording attendance
It is the responsibility of the training provider to track operators' attendance by providing a check-in and check-out mechanism. Training attendance will need to be entered on the formatted Training Attendance Spreadsheet [XLS] and emailed to DNROpCert@Wisconsin.gov within ten business days of completion of the training.
- Training Attendance Spreadsheet Detailed Instructions
- Sample Sign-in sheet [XLS] Note: The sample sign-in sheet is for training providers' use only and does not need to be submitted to the DNR. Only the Training Attendance Spreadsheet (above) needs to be sent to the DNR.
About our new electronic tracking system
On January 1, 2014, the DNR implemented electronic tracking of credits. Please refer to the following documents for more information about this process:
Obtaining credits — The importance of operators checking in and checking out of events
It is the responsibility of the training providers to track operators' attendance at training events and to report that attendance to the DNR. To ensure that participation is recorded correctly, operators must check-in at the beginning and check-out at the end of a training event. If an operator needs to leave early, they should also check-out so that they will be granted appropriate credit for the amount of time spent at the event. Without this check-out method, trainers do not have a way to verify how long an operator was in attendance.
Conferences and expos
To earn credit for training attendance, operators will need to check-in and check-out each day. Operators will be given credits based on the total amount of time spent at the conference or expo each day. Each session will not be reported.
A special note for certified septage operators: For sessions pre-approved for septage certified operator "compliance" credits, operators must sign-in and sign-out of every course.