(a) Any person or entity that contracts with the owner of a wastewater treatment plant to operate that plant shall register with the state board, and shall, within a year after the registration or the renewal of the registration, and annually thereafter, prepare and submit to the state board a report with all of the following information:

(1) The name and address of the person or entity.

(2) The name and address of the wastewater treatment plants that the person or entity operates, or has operated during the preceding year, and the name of the applicable regional board that oversees each wastewater treatment plant.

(3) The name and grade of each wastewater treatment plant operator employed at each plant.

(4) Other information that the state board requires.

(b) The state board shall, by regulation, prescribe the procedures, and requirements for, registration pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) The state board may refuse to grant, and may suspend or revoke, any registration issued by the state board pursuant to this section for good cause, including, but not limited to, any of the following reasons:

(1) The submission of false or misleading information on an application for registration.

(2) (A) Employment of a person to operate a wastewater treatment plant that is not a water recycling treatment plant who does not hold a valid, unexpired wastewater certificate of the appropriate grade.

(B) Employment of a person to operate a water recycling treatment plant who does not hold either a valid, unexpired wastewater certificate of the appropriate grade issued pursuant to this chapter or a valid, unexpired water treatment operator certificate of the appropriate grade.

(3) Willfully or negligently causing or allowing a violation of waste discharge requirements or permits issued pursuant to the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.) or this division.

(4) Failure to meet the registration requirements prescribed by the state board pursuant to subdivision (b).

(5) Failure to use reasonable care in the management or operation of the wastewater treatment plant.

(d) The state board shall conduct all proceedings relating to the refusal to grant, or the suspension or revocation of, registration pursuant to subdivision (c) in accordance with the rules adopted pursuant to Section 185.

(e) The state board shall establish a fee schedule to pay for its costs to implement this section.

(f) Any person or entity that fails to comply with subdivision (a) is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be civilly liable in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day of the violation.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 305, Sec. 24. (AB 2890) Effective January 1, 2017.)