Ontario Environmental Training Consortium

The Ontario Environmental Training Consortium operated as a CONNECT project (the OETC project) until 2009.  Established in 1993 to assist the Ministry of the Environment to address its environmental protection mandate,  the CONNECT OETC project was the Certification Administrator for the following regulations:

  • O. Reg. 128/04 (Under Safe Drinking Water Act)
  • Certification of Drinking-Water System Operators and Water Quality Analysts
  • Licensing of Sewage Works Operators
  • Drinking Water Systems
  • Trained Person
  • O. Reg. 129/04 (Under Ontario Water Resources Act)
  • O. Reg. 170/03 (Under Safe Drinking Water Act)

The mandate of the CONNECT OETC project was to:

  • Establish recognized professional standards by requiring that all Drinking-Water operators be certified and all wastewater system operators be licensed to promote professionalism in an important environmental occupation.
  • Ensure that employers have a pool of knowledgeable, qualified Drinking-Water operators to provide drinking water to the residents of Ontario.
  • Ensure that employers have a pool of knowledgeable wastewater operators to protect our natural environment and human health.
  • Ensure that all operators are given the opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications for obtaining certification or licensing.
  • Ensure that all water / wastewater facilities in Ontario are classified commensurate with the level of service provided to the community.
  • Promote ongoing training of those persons employed as drinking-water and wastewater operators in Ontario.

The project’s specific responsibilities included:

  • Administering 29 different certification examinations; (5,200 exams written annually)
  • Providing services to 10,000 operators holding 18,150 licenses;
  • Reviewing applications for new, renewal and upgraded certificates/licenses as approved by the MOE Director and issuing operator certificates/licenses as approved by the MOE Director
  • Reviewing applications for facility classifications and making recommendations to the Director for approval
  • Evaluating courses for assignment of continuing education units (CEU)
  • Administering special and oral examinations
  • Providing interpretations of the new regulatory requirements to the regulated community

Using the newly developed Water Wastewater Operator Certification System (WWOCS) which is a client management information system that provides web-based online activity including applications/course submissions, and operator and municipal access to information.

Please contact us for further information about these or other past CONNECT projects.