Recommendations by the Public Health Program of the National Park Service

Summary
This report provides recommendations for minimum training requirements for NPS and Concessioner employees in Public Health related areas. The purpose of these recommendations is to provide water and wastewater operators, food service employees, and associated NPS employees with training to reduce the risk of waterborne, foodborne and vectorborne diseases.

Introduction
The National Park Service operates and maintains approximately: 1700 potable drinking water systems, 1000 wastewater treatment facilities, an estimated 7000 onsite waste disposal facilities; regulates 500 food service operations; and provides innumerable water/wastewater/food service operations for backcountry NPS operations. There are 1700 NPS employees handling an annual visitation of 270 million Park visitors. It is estimated that 1.5 million meals are served annually in the backcountry of the Colorado Plateau alone.

Recommendations
To minimize the potential of a waterborne, foodborne or vectorborne disease outbreak, the Public Health Program of the National Park Service recommends the following minimum and suggested (*) requirements:

Park Concessions Staff
Training/Education	Certifications
• Food Safety Certification Course (16 hours) • Concessions Pricing and Evaluation
Water System Operators
• Water Treatment Plant operator - State/Territorial requirements • Laboratory Analyst Training (*) • Cross-Connection Control (*) • Continuing Education	• State/Territorial Certification • Laboratory Analyst Certification (*)
Wastewater System Operators
• Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator - State/Territorial requirements • Subsurface Sewage Disposal System Installer • Laboratory Analyst Training (*) • Introduction to Backflow Prevention	• Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certification • Subsurface Sewage Disposal System Installer Certification (*) • Laboratory Analyst Certification (*)
Bathing Beaches Monitors
Training/Education	Certifications
• Beach Monitoring Course/Workshop
Food Concession Operators (Front and Backcountry)
Managers/Shift Supervisors:
• Food Safety Course (16 hours) • HACCP Course (16 hours) • Kitchen Design Course (24 hours) (*) • NPS Backcountry Sanitation Fact Sheet	• Food Protection Manager Certification or • Certified Food Safety Professional Credentialing • HACCP Certification
Permanent Food Service Workers:
• Food Handlers Course (8 hours) • NPS Backcountry Sanitation Fact Sheet	• Food Handlers Certification
Seasonal Food Service Workers:
• Food Employee Certification/Training Course (4 hours, can be in-house) • NPS Backcountry Sanitation Fact Sheet
Pool, Spa, and Hot Tub Operators
Training/Education	Certifications
• Pool Operator Course	• Pool Operator Certification
NPS Trail and Fire Crews Kitchen Staff
• Food Handlers Course (8 hours) • NPS Backcountry Sanitation Fact Sheet	• Food Handlers Certification
NPS Staff – Rangers, Resource Management, Maintenance
• NPS Backcountry Sanitation Fact Sheet

Training is available through National, State, and/or local jurisdictions; recognized third parties; and the National Park Service.