What if all the qualified operators are temporarily not accessible?
40 C.F.R. § 60.3020
in effectIf all qualified operators are temporarily not accessible (i.e., not at the facility and not able to be at the facility within 1 hour), you must meet one of the three criteria specified in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section, depending on the length of time that a qualified operator is not accessible.
(a) When all qualified operators are not accessible for 12 hours or less, the OSWI unit may be operated by other plant personnel familiar with the operation of the OSWI unit who have completed review of the information specified in § 60.3019(a) within the past 12 months. You do not need to notify the Administrator or include this as a deviation in your annual report.
(b) When all qualified operators are not accessible for more than 12 hours, but less than 2 weeks, the OSWI unit may be operated by other plant personnel familiar with the operation of the OSWI unit who have completed a review of the information specified in § 60.3019(a) within the past 12 months. However, you must record the period when all qualified operators were not accessible and include this deviation in the annual report as specified under § 60.3051.
(c) When all qualified operators are not accessible for 2 weeks or more, you must take the two actions that are described in paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section.
(1) Notify the Administrator of this deviation in writing within 10 days. In the notice, state what caused this deviation, what you are doing to ensure that a qualified operator is accessible, and when you anticipate that a qualified operator will be accessible.
(2) Submit a status report to EPA every 4 weeks outlining what you are doing to ensure that a qualified operator is accessible, stating when you anticipate that a qualified operator will be accessible and requesting approval from EPA to continue operation of the OSWI unit. You must submit the first status report 4 weeks after you notify the Administrator of the deviation under paragraph (c)(1) of this section. If EPA notifies you that your request to continue operation of the OSWI unit is disapproved, the OSWI unit may continue operation for 90 days, then must cease operation. Operation of the unit may resume if you meet the two requirements in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section.
(i) A qualified operator is accessible as required under § 60.3014(a).
(ii) You notify EPA that a qualified operator is accessible and that you are resuming operation.
Source: ecfr_bulkFetched: 7/26/2026
Source: eCFR APIURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-40.xml?part=60Fetched: 5/31/2026