Median Pay by Area
- Greenville-Anderson-Greer
- $61,660 a year
- Spartanburg
- $61,240 a year
- Columbia
- $55,070 a year
- Charleston-North Charleston
- $51,790 a year
- Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach
- $50,270 a year
South Carolina wastewater operators
The steps from a trainee license to a South Carolina Biological Wastewater Treatment Operator license, how to apply to the board and book the exam with PSI, how to keep your license active and what operators earn. Every requirement links to the South Carolina Environmental Certification Board, part of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), or to the state law and regulations it follows.
South Carolina's Board makes the final eligibility determination. Check with South Carolina's Board before you apply.
Why it matters
South Carolina law says a person employed as an operator of a public wastewater treatment plant must hold a wastewater treatment operator license from the Environmental Certification Board, in the class the plant requires.
An operator is someone employed at a public wastewater treatment plant whose duties include changing the physical, chemical or bacteriological characteristics of the wastewater.
Your application must reach the board within 90 days of starting work as a biological wastewater operator. You, your employer and your supervisor must tell the board within 15 days when a job that needs a license starts or ends.
The board licenses Biological Wastewater Treatment Operators and Physical/Chemical Wastewater Treatment Operators. Each has a Trainee license and then D, C, B and A levels. A is the highest. The board does not list a separate wastewater collection license.
The state groups each biological wastewater treatment plant. The operator in charge of a Group IB plant needs at least a D license, Group IIB a C, Group IIIB a B and Group IVB an A.
This guide follows the biological license. Physical/chemical plants use the same D to A steps, with experience at a physical/chemical facility.
Step 1
New operators start with a Trainee license. The board issues one when it receives a complete application. There is no minimum education requirement for a trainee.
A trainee always works under the direct supervision of a licensed operator of the proper grade. Your chief operator or operator in charge signs a recommendation on your application.
Your operating experience starts counting the day LLR accepts your application. If you were already working in that area at the plant, up to 90 days of earlier work can count.
Step 2
First-time applicants can apply online through LLR's application portal, after filling out the board's online application forms. You can also mail the paper Biological Wastewater Treatment Operator application.
The application fee is $50 by check or money order payable to SCECB. It is not refundable, and the board cannot accept cash.
Include a copy of your Social Security card and a valid driver's license, state ID or passport, plus the signed affidavit of lawful presence in the application packet.
An application you do not complete within 12 months of the board receiving it expires.
Step 3
Once the board approves your application, you are eligible for the Level D Biological Wastewater exam. The board notifies you, and PSI cannot schedule you before that approval. No classes are required before any exam.
Register with PSI online or by phone at 833-256-1420, and pay the exam fee to PSI when you schedule. The board does not schedule exams or take exam payments.
Exams are given by appointment, Monday to Saturday at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Step 4
For a D license you need a high school diploma or equivalent, a passing D exam and at least one year of actual operating experience at a biological wastewater facility. Send a copy of your diploma or GED before the board promotes you to D.
Passing an exam does not upgrade your license by itself. The facility's operator of record completes, signs and submits an Experience Verification Form for the level you want. The board asks for these forms by email at Contact.Environmental@llr.sc.gov.
There is no fee to move up a level, but each exam has its own exam fee. You do not have to wait a year between exams; once the board has your passing score and you are in good standing, you can register for the next one.
When an upgrade is approved, the board sends a letter. You may operate at the new level once you have that letter.
Step 5
Renew your operator license by June 30 each year. The renewal fee is $30. Reminder cards with online renewal instructions are mailed in the first week of April.
A renewal after June 30 adds a $200 late fee. A license not renewed within 365 days of expiring lapses and cannot be renewed, and practicing on a lapsed license can bring a fine of up to $500.
Every two years, from July 1 of an odd-numbered year to June 30 of the next odd-numbered year, you need 12 clock hours of continuing education, or you can pass the exam for your license grade instead. The current period runs July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027.
The board does not pre-approve courses. Training must be relevant to wastewater treatment, follow ABC's course topic criteria and come with an agenda or outline and proof of attendance. Courses taken in other states can count.
Self-study, reading publications, regular employment, first aid, CPR and repeating the same course do not count. Keep your certificates and a CE log sheet; after each renewal period the board audits licensees at random.
Operators who are at least 62 and have 30 or more years of licensed experience may ask the board to waive the continuing education requirement.
Exam day
PSI gives South Carolina's Biological Wastewater Treatment Class D, C, B and A exams. The board sends candidates to ABC Testing, a Water Professionals International (WPI) service, for study materials.
The board matches WPI's Need-to-Know Criteria to its levels: WPI Class I is the D level and Class IV is the A level. It links WPI's Formula/Conversion Tables for biological wastewater, and WPI says its standardized exams include a formula/conversion table.
A passing grade of 70 is required. The D and C exams are 3 hours; the B and A exams are 4 hours.
PSI allows only silent, battery-operated, non-programmable calculators without paper tape printing or an alphabet keyboard. Arrive at least 30 minutes early with valid ID; phones and personal items are not allowed.
Operator Master has free practice questions with an explanation after every answer, a timed full-length practice exam and step-by-step math help built on the WPI formula table. It is an independent study tool, not the official exam.
Pay
The median pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in South Carolina was $52,090 a year ($25.05 an hour) in 2025, compared with $60,020 nationally. One in ten earned $39,060 or less, and one in ten earned $76,850 or more.
These federal figures cover drinking water and wastewater operators together, at every level. Pay for a new operator is usually nearer the low end.
Moving up
Each level also needs the license below it and a passing exam. Experience is actual operating experience at a biological wastewater facility, or the equivalent. Once you hold a D license, the board may count college math and science credit toward C, B and A (30 hours of credit equals one year), as well as military experience and board-approved operator certification and apprenticeship programs. You need at least one year of actual operating experience before any of that counts.
From another state
South Carolina has no reciprocity agreement with any other state. The board reviews each operator licensed elsewhere individually and may license you if your credentials, education and experience are substantially equivalent to South Carolina's.
Send a complete application with a $50 check or money order. The board then sends a questionnaire to your current licensing agency. Your license there must be current and active, with no disciplinary actions.
Depending on the exams you passed in your licensing state, you may not have to take an exam. The board tells you your exam and license status after its review.