Median Pay by Area
- Bismarck
- $61,530 a year
- Fargo, ND-MN
- $65,970 a year
- Grand Forks, ND-MN
- $60,160 a year
- Minot
- $57,320 a year
- East North Dakota (non-metro)
- $60,200 a year
- West North Dakota (non-metro)
- $60,470 a year
North Dakota wastewater operators
The steps from no certificate to a North Dakota wastewater operator certificate, how to qualify for and pass the exam, how to keep your certificate active and what operators earn. Every requirement links to the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Operator Certification and Training program, its rule, N.D. Admin. Code chapter 33.1-19-01, or the law behind it, N.D.C.C. chapter 23.1-07.
DEQ makes the final eligibility determination. Check with DEQ before you apply.
Why it matters
North Dakota law makes it unlawful to operate a wastewater treatment plant or wastewater collection system serving a population equivalent of 25 or more people unless DEQ has certified the operator in a grade that matches the system's class.
Operators of collection systems, and of stabilization ponds or other nonmechanical treatment plants, serving a population equivalent under 500 are excluded. DEQ encourages them to become certified anyway.
The operator in direct responsible charge must hold a certificate at least equal to the class of the facility or system. Direct responsible charge means full and active on-site operation, such as directing other operators, being on site or on call during shifts, running a major part of the plant, or being its only operator.
When circumstances warrant, the facility owner can ask DEQ for a temporary restricted operator's permit on an operator's behalf. It is valid for one year. Once you meet the grade's requirements, you apply for certification and take the exam at the first session DEQ offers after you apply.
North Dakota has five operator grades, IA, I, II, III and IV, for each of four types: water treatment, water distribution, wastewater treatment and wastewater collection. Your certificate shows your grade and the class of facility or system you may operate.
Wastewater treatment plants are classed by type and population equivalent. Classes IA and I are stabilization ponds and other nonmechanical plants (IA under 500 people, I from 500 to under 10,000). Class II is mechanical plants, aerated ponds and oxidation ditches under 10,000, or nonmechanical plants of 10,000 or more.
Class III is mechanical plants, aerated ponds and oxidation ditches serving 10,000 or more, or activated sludge, trickling filter, rotating biological contactor and sludge stabilization plants under 10,000. Class IV is those high-control plants serving 10,000 or more.
Wastewater collection systems are classed by population served: Class IA under 500, Class I 500 to 1,500, Class II 1,500 to 15,000, Class III 15,000 to 50,000 and Class IV 50,000 or more.
A plant that uses several processes is classed by the one with the highest class, and DEQ may raise a class for unusually complicated processes.
Step 1
Every grade needs a high school diploma or equivalent (GED) plus acceptable operating experience at a facility or system of a required class. Grade IA needs at least six months and Grade I at least one year.
Grades II to IV also need time in direct responsible charge: one year for Grade II and two years for Grades III and IV.
College shortens the total experience needed for Grades II to IV: two years of post-high school education in a related field takes off one year, and a related four-year degree takes off two.
Nothing substitutes for the minimum operating experience, although DEQ may waive experience in exceptional circumstances. One year of operating experience can count as one year of high school, but experience used for education cannot also count as experience.
Step 2
Apply for certification in DEQ's online Operator Certification Portal. DEQ links a training video for operators on using the portal.
DEQ must approve your application at least 15 days before the exam date. An application stays valid for six months from the date you submit it.
Pay the exam fee after DEQ confirms you are eligible; the best time is once you get your confirmation letter. Payment must arrive by the 10th of your exam month or the exam is cancelled. The fee is nonrefundable once you qualify, and it is returned if your application is rejected.
Step 3
DEQ publishes study guides for wastewater treatment plant operators (Grades 1A, 1 and 2, and Grades III and IV) and wastewater collection system operators (Grades IA, I and II, and Grades III and IV). Each lists the topics exam questions are based on, reference books and sample questions with answers.
For math, DEQ links basic and advanced math videos made with Bismarck State College, plus basic, advanced and conversion practice problems with answer keys.
DEQ's annual operator training sessions cover regulations and general operation and maintenance, but DEQ says they are not geared specifically to preparing for certification exams.
Step 4
DEQ sets the exam dates and places and posts each year's exam sessions. Most exams run from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Environmental Training Center, 2639 East Main Avenue, Bismarck; some sessions are held at other sites.
Arrive at your scheduled time with a photo ID, your own pencils and a simple calculator. Laptops, cell phones and PDAs are not allowed, and a phone that goes off means your test is taken and you are asked to leave.
If you will be late or can't make it, call DEQ at 701-328-5413 or 701-328-6628 as soon as possible. If you don't show up, rescheduling is at DEQ's discretion.
Step 5
Once you meet the qualifications, pay the fee and pass the exam, DEQ issues your certificate. It shows your grade, the class of facility or system you may operate, your certificate number and the date it was issued.
Step 6
Certificates are valid for one year, so you renew and pay the renewal fee every year. DEQ issues a renewal card when it receives the fee.
You also need 12 continuing education credits (CECs) in each three-year period, earned at training programs, seminars, workshops and schools that DEQ runs or recognizes.
Training must be approved in advance and be at least 2 hours long, and credit is given only for full attendance, with no partial credits. DEQ's annual Spring Training gives 12 CECs per session. If you take training that is not on DEQ's pre-approved list, you are responsible for telling DEQ so credits can be issued.
If you no longer operate a system in North Dakota, you can keep your certificate by paying the renewal fee without earning CECs. If you come back, you must earn the required credits in your first year.
If you miss renewal, you have 90 days after expiry to renew with your CECs met and all late fees paid. After 90 days you must reapply, retake the exam and pay the exam fees.
Exam day
Every applicant must pass the exam for the class of facility or system they are applying for. There is a separate exam for each class, and you pass with a score of 70% or higher.
DEQ decides whether an exam is written, oral or electronic. It is graded by DEQ staff or a third-party exam service DEQ designates, and you are told your result. Exam papers stay with DEQ or its examiner, but you may ask to review your results.
DEQ's study guides include true-or-false, multiple-choice and math sample questions for each grade group.
You may retake an exam once within one year of the original exam date. To retake it, you submit a new application and the required fee.
DEQ gives its own exams at its Environmental Training Center, and the DEQ pages we could read do not say who writes them, how many questions they have or whether a formula sheet is handed out. Operator Master's free practice questions, timed practice exam and math help are built on the WPI exam format and the WPI formula table, so use them for general wastewater knowledge and math, and use DEQ's study guides and math practice problems as your main guide to what the North Dakota exam covers. Operator Master is an independent study tool, not the official exam.
Pay
The median pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in North Dakota was $60,470 a year ($29.07 an hour) in 2025, compared with $60,020 nationally. One in ten earned $47,250 or less, and one in ten earned $78,940 or more.
These federal figures cover drinking water and wastewater operators together, at every grade. Pay for a new operator is usually nearer the low end.
Moving up
These are the minimums with a high school diploma or GED. Grades II to IV count experience at a Class I facility or higher for Grade II, Class II or higher for Grade III and Class III or higher for Grade IV. Two years of related post-high school education or a related four-year degree shortens the total for Grades II to IV, but not the time in direct responsible charge.
From another state
DEQ may certify you without an exam if you hold a certificate from another state, territory or country whose requirements are equal to or higher than North Dakota's for a like certificate, and that place grants reciprocal privileges to North Dakota operators.
DEQ's information sheet says you must have been certified in the other state by exam, meet North Dakota's education and experience requirements and pay the reciprocity fee.