The wastewater treatment operator certification roles in Nebraska list some 900 people. Many, if not most, of them have been trained by Russell Irwin, a program specialist with the state Department of Environmental Quality’s training, certification and technical assistance section.During 36 years with the department, Irwin traveled the state giving training classes for operators seeking Class 1 and Class 2 certification. He also handled administrative functions related to certification and provided on-site troubleshooting support to operators. He retired August 26 at age 71.Irwin estimates he trained as many as 1,000 operators in the past 10 years, and he has known
