(a) Regulation of the department.--The department shall establish by regulation standards and procedures for the certification of persons involved in asbestos occupations. Such standards and procedures shall be at least as stringent and as consistent as possible as those established by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-519, 15 U.S.C. § 2641 et seq.) or those established for certain occupations by the Environmental Protection Agency under the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (40 CFR Part 41). These regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the following requirements:

(b) Asbestos occupations.--Any person meeting the requirements established under subsection (a) may be certified by the department to perform asbestos occupations.

(d) Interim certification.--Until the department promulgates regulations establishing a certification program under subsection (a), any person who has successfully completed an EPA-approved training course shall be deemed to be certified in this Commonwealth upon payment of the appropriate fee under section 7 and upon submission of a copy of the appropriate documentation from the EPA-approved training course. Interim certification issued under this section shall be valid for a one-year period.

(e) Interim certification requirement.--The requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency's Model Accreditation Program contained in 40 CFR Part 763, Subpart E, Appendix C, establishing the Federal requirements for certification of asbestos occupations are adopted as the initial interim standards under this act. These interim certification requirements shall remain in effect until the department promulgates regulations under subsection (a).