Median Pay by Area
- Western Wyoming (non-metro)
- $66,140 a year
- Eastern Wyoming (non-metro)
- $62,500 a year
Wyoming wastewater operators
The steps from no certificate to a Wyoming Level 1 Wastewater Treatment Plant certificate, how to schedule and pass the exam, how to keep your certificate active and what operators earn. Every requirement links to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Operator Certification Program or its rule, Water Quality Rules and Regulations Chapter 5.
DEQ makes the final eligibility determination. Check with DEQ before you apply.
Why it matters
Wyoming's Chapter 5 rule requires all public water supplies and publicly owned wastewater treatment and collection systems to be operated by an appropriately certified operator.
A publicly owned wastewater system here means any federal, state or local government system collecting or treating more than 2,000 gallons a day (average flow) of wastewater containing human waste. That includes improvement and service districts and homeowner associations.
Each facility owner must name a responsible charge operator and a substitute, both certified at or above the facility's level, and must not let uncertified or inadequately certified people operate or maintain the facility.
To be certified in Wyoming, you must live in Wyoming or work as an operator in Wyoming.
Wyoming wastewater certifications are Wastewater Treatment Levels 1 to 4, Wastewater Collection Levels 1 and 2, and Lagoon System. A wastewater treatment plant is usually a mechanical, activated sludge or package plant.
You need the same type and level of certification as the facility where you work. Begin with the Level 1 Wastewater Treatment Plant exam and take each exam up to your facility's level; you must hold every lower level too.
A Level 1 Wastewater Treatment operator may also operate Level 1 Wastewater Collection facilities and Lagoon Systems.
Step 1
Set up an account in DEQ's online Operator Certification database. Your training, work history, exams and certificates are kept there.
Your supervisor must designate you as an operator within 10 days of starting work, which starts your experience record.
Send DEQ proof of high school equivalency: a high school transcript or diploma, a GED certificate, a DD214 military discharge form, a college or trade school transcript, or a professional license. If you have none of these, contact the program.
Step 2
Level 1 needs at least 6 months of operational experience at a wastewater facility and at least 35 hours of pertinent training. Other pertinent experience may count toward the experience.
Training hours for certification are a lifetime total, and experience is based on a 40-hour week.
To have related work outside your operator job considered, fill out DEQ's Supplemental Experience Form.
Step 3
DEQ's Wastewater Treatment Exams page links the ABC Need-to-Know Criteria for each level, the Wastewater Formula/Conversion Table, ABC sample exam questions and the Wastewater Treatment exam references.
For Level 1, DEQ recommends Sacramento State's (California State University) Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation, Volume 1, and a pumps class. Volume 2 is added for Level 2, and Volume 3, Utility Management and Manage for Success for Levels 3 and 4.
DEQ points to its exam study materials to find a correspondence course that helps you both meet the training requirement and study for the exam.
Step 4
Schedule online through WY DEQ's PSI landing page. You need your 5-digit Wyoming Operator ID to create a PSI account, and you must pay for the exam before you can schedule it.
Exams are by appointment at PSI test centers. DEQ lists Casper, Casper College, Cheyenne and Green River, centers in nearby states (Billings, MT; Rapid City, SD; Scottsbluff, NE; Aurora, CO; Salt Lake City, UT) and any PSI center nationwide.
You may reschedule free once if you contact PSI at least two business days before the exam. Arriving more than 15 minutes late, or without two valid IDs (the main one a current government photo ID with your signature), forfeits the exam and its fee.
Step 5
DEQ receives exam scores from PSI and uploads them to your account. Once you meet all the requirements for that certificate, DEQ issues it through your online account.
If you pass before you meet the experience or training requirement, you have 2 years from the exam date to meet it; otherwise you must retake the exam.
Step 6
Your first certificate at a level is valid for the rest of the year it is issued plus two calendar years. After that, each certificate is valid for three calendar years. Certificates expire on December 31.
Renewal needs 24 hours of pertinent continuing education in the three-year period: at least 8 hours in core topic areas and at least 2 hours of state or federal rule training. One CEU equals 10 hours, and defensive driving does not count.
DEQ approves trainings and publishes a list of approved courses and a training calendar. When you add training to your account, use the DEQ-assigned approval number so the hours count toward renewal. Training providers submit courses to DEQ for review.
One training may be applied to only one certificate. Without the 24 hours, the certificate expires; to recertify, you make up the missing hours from courses on DEQ's list, and after 3 months you also need 8 more hours per year past (up to 24) and a passing exam.
Exam day
Wyoming's exams are provided by Water Professionals International (WPI) and ABC Testing and proctored by PSI on computer. Questions are multiple choice (A to D), one at a time; you can skip, bookmark and return, and take an unscored practice exam first.
A passing score is 70% or another score set by the exam development program.
The proctor gives you pencils and ABC's standard formula sheet at check-in. DEQ links the WPI Wastewater Formula/Conversion Table for study.
Only standard, non-programmable scientific calculators that are silent, with no alphabetic keypad or printing, are allowed.
You may retake an exam as often as you wish, but you must wait 30 calendar days between attempts. A retake sooner than that does not count.
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 Wyoming was $63,260 a year ($30.41 an hour) in 2025, compared with $60,020 nationally. One in ten earned $46,960 or less, and one in ten earned $107,370 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
These are Wyoming's Wastewater Treatment Plant levels. Each also needs a high school diploma or equivalent and a passing exam, and you must hold every lower level. Training hours are lifetime totals. For Levels 3 and 4, other pertinent experience can replace no more than 12 months, and never the higher-level plant time.
From another state
If you hold a current certificate in good standing from another state, you may apply for reciprocal certification. You must live in or work as an operator in Wyoming before DEQ issues it, but you can start the application at any time. Use a separate application for each certificate.
DEQ needs a letter of good standing from the agency that issued your certificate, and you must still meet Wyoming's high school equivalency, experience and training requirements. Email the application with a copy of your certificate to opcert@wyo.gov.
The Wyoming certificate expires on December 31 of the year your other certificate expires, no more than three years out.