Wastewater in Florida

There are over 3,700 individually permitted domestic, not including septic systems, and industrial wastewater facilities in Florida. Less than a quarter of these facilities are authorized to discharge to surface water. As surface water dischargers, they are subject to the Department’s federally authorized National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements. However, many of these NPDES facilities also discharge to ground waters. The remaining facilities are authorized solely as groundwater discharges through land-application, beneficial reuse of reclaimed water or deep well injection.

• Permits for major NPDES facilities in Florida can be viewed on EPA’s View Individual and General Permits page.

A little less than three-quarters of the individually permitted wastewater facilities in Florida are classified as domestic (municipal) wastewater facilities. In general, domestic wastewater facilities are those principally designed to collect and treat sanitary wastewater or sewage from dwellings or homes, business buildings, institutions, and the like. The remaining one-quarter individually permitted facilities are classified as industrial wastewater facilities.

• For more wastewater facts and statistics go to our Wastewater Facts and Statistics
• Lists of permitted domestic and industrial wastewater facilities in the state are available on the Wastewater Facility Information web page.

For More Information

Please browse our wastewater topics listed on the right hand side for more information. If you still have any questions about wastewater management in Florida you may contact the appropriate Wastewater Management Program.

The Department’s Wastewater Management Programs, located in Tallahassee, are responsible for the overall policy, including permitting, compliance and enforcement, on the Department’s wastewater programs, both domestic and industrial wastewater, and coordination of the federally authorized NPDES program. The office is also in charge of developing the rules and guidance for implementing these programs consistently throughout Florida and providing technical assistance to district office programs.

Certification Information

1. Examination Eligibility

To be eligible for operator licensing examinations the applicant must meet the following criteria:
Have a high school diploma or its equivalent. (important information)
Have successfully completed an approved required training course for the classification and level of the examination to be taken no more than 5 years before the examination.

Current License Holders – You must also be currently licensed as follows:
Treatment Plant Operators
Licensed at the B level to take the A level examination.
Licensed at the C level to take the B level examination.
Distribution System Operators
Licensed at the Level 2 to take the Level 1 examination.
Licensed at the Level 3 to take the Level 2 examination.

Operators from other states must meet the requirements. These requirements may be found in Rule 62-602.360(1)(a)-(d), F.A.C.

2. Examination Application

You must complete an examination application for either Treatment Plant Operator Examination or Distribution System Operator Examination and submit it to the department for approval. In addition to this form you must provide the department with:

The applicable fee
Documentation of training course completion
Two photographs of the applicant’s face and head (size 2 inches by 2 inches) not more than 6 months old. Any photograph that is not identifiable will be returned to the applicant and will delay the processing of the application
Copy of your high school diploma (if a copy is not currently on file)

3.Schedule Your Examination

You may only schedule your examination after your application has been approved by the Department. An approval letter will be mailed to you. Your approval letter will contain your profile #; which is required by the testing vendor to schedule your examination.

4. Examination Fees

Applicants for all certification examinations shall submit the following fees along with their application. All application fees are non-refundable.

Examination Level Total Fee
Treatment Plant Class A     $100
Treatment Plant Class B     $100
Treatment Plant Class C     $100
Treatment Plant Class D     $75
Distribution Level 1        $75
Distribution Level 2        $75
Distribution Level 3        $75
Distribution Level 4        $75

Wards of the State (inmates/prisoners) – Fee schedule for:

Examination Level Total Fee
Treatment Plant Class A     $20
Treatment Plant Class B     $20
Treatment Plant Class C     $20
Treatment Plant Class D     $20

5. Examination Deadlines

With the migration of our examination to a computer based testing format, there are no longer any deadlines established for submitting your application. You may submit it at any time. However, if you are an applicant who is retaking an examination you previously failed, you must wait at least 60 days from the date you last took the examination before you may schedule your next exam.

If you are a Ward of the State (inmate/prisoner) you will still be required to submit your application to the department no later than 90 days prior to the established examination date. This date and time will be decided by the DEP and forwarded to the Department of Corrections. Please contact your educational supervisor for examination date information. Examinations for inmates will still be administered via paper and pencil.