REGISTERED ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INSPECTOR 2

Code: 03153 State Competitive Range: P22 (FY 2027)

Salary: $69,668.2 - $101,950.9/year FY 2027 schedule (last updated 2026-07-27)

Official job specification

The text below is the official specification published by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. The plain-language summary and analysis above are derived from it by NJ Civil Service Navigator. Source: the official specification page at NJ CSC.

Definition

Under general supervision of a Registered Environmental Health Inspector 3 or other supervisory official in a state department, institution, or agency, assists in planning, supervising, and conducting environmental health inspections concerned with enforcement of relevant public health laws and codes within appropriate jurisdictions; does other related duties.

Examples of work

• Organizes assigned technical field and office work and develops effective work methods.
• Participates in the planning, direction, and technical supervision of lower grade health inspectors.
• Provides assignments and instructions to, and provides technical assistance to teams of health inspectors assigned to specific territories.
• Conducts surveys and investigations of communicable disease outbreaks and epidemics which may be traceable to toxic substances, environmental sanitation, food, milk, water, and so forth.
• Conducts inspections of low acid food processing plants, canning factories, and pickling and fermentation processes.
• Conducts inspections and investigations and helps plan and give demonstrations of current and appropriate methods for controlling insects and rodents.
• Conducts inspections and evaluations of individual, community, and non-community water supply systems such as wells and springs.
• Assembles, reviews, and utilizes articles, bulletins, demonstrations, and other educational methods and materials concerning varied phases of environmental sanitation.
• Conducts inspections of food plant, hospital, and other institutional water treatment operations.
• Provides consultation on varied aspects of environmental sanitation to enable the facility to comply with existing sanitation standards.
• Leads a team and/or conducts inspections of facilities, communities, institutions, and/or places of business to evaluate compliance with existing sanitation standards and regulations.
• Conducts sanitary inspections of wholesale food manufacturing plants, nonalcoholic beverage and water bottling plants, bakeries, food warehouses, cosmetic plants, and so forth.
• Meets and confers with local officials, health officers, public health engineers, public health veterinarians, law enforcement and others on matters of environmental sanitation as established in the laws, rules, and regulations of the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services.
• Conducts sanitary inspections of individual sewage disposal systems such as septic tanks and package treatment plants. Plans and conducts orientation and in-service training courses for staff members of environmental sanitation programs.
• Plans and conducts orientation and in-service training courses for staff members of environmental sanitation program.
• Establishes and maintains records and files.
• Conducts sanitary inspections of dairies, milk pasteurization and processing plants; frozen dessert establishments, and other types of food and beverage production, processing, and distribution facilities.
• Conducts sanitary inspections, evaluations, and investigations of varied private, business, government, and institutional facilities including but not limited to child-care centers, swimming pools, recreational areas and facilities, health care facilities, and so forth. Conducts regulated medical waste compliance inspections.
• Conducts inspections of lead and asbestos abatement sites for compliance with the state and federal regulations.
• Conducts technical surveys and monitoring of varied health and sanitation areas and programs.
• Utilizes sophisticated instrumentation in the survey and inspection process.
• Conducts instructional programs for institutional food handlers relative to personal hygiene, food sanitation, and prevention of food-borne illness.
• Prepares reports containing findings, conclusions, or recommendations.
• Will be required to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office or related units.

Experience

Two (2) years of experience in technical environmental sanitation work in the field of public health.

License

Applicants must possess a license as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist issued by the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services.

Appointees will be required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform essential duties of the position.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Knowledge of sanitation inspection and enforcement procedures.
• Knowledge of major communicable diseases, epidemiology, causative organisms, channels and reservoirs of infections, vehicles of infections, microbiology toxicology, and bacteriology.
• Knowledge of thermal processing and retorting method, heat resistance of microorganisms and spores, and pH and thermal death times for pathogenic and nonpathogenic microorganisms.
• Knowledge of chemical transformations of organic substances, and the action of enzymes on yeasts, molds and fungi, moisture, and acidity and salt contents of foods.
• Knowledge of entomology, the classes, anatomy, physiology, and morphology of insects, diseases transmitted by insects/rodents, chemical, biological, and physical control of insects/rodents, the chemistry of pesticides, the mathematical sciences necessary for measuring insecticide concentrations, and the impact of insects/rodents on public health.
• Knowledge of the physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of water, biological and chemical contaminants and impurities, methods for bacteriological examination of water, methods of protecting water supplies, chlorine residuals, topography, and soil structure.
• Knowledge of principals of milk, food, and drug sanitation, sewage disposal, solid waste disposal, water purification and stream and air pollution control.
• Knowledge of biological and physical characteristics of shellfish, effects of chloroform organisms, toxic chemicals, pesticides, and tergents, pH and turbidity requirements of growing water, and ultraviolet sterilization techniques.
• Knowledge of aeration, coagulations, filtration, sedimentation, clarification, and chlorination and fluoridation processes, and the mathematics for use in qualitative and quantitative analysis.
• Knowledge of environmental microbiology, sterilization and autoclaving techniques, bacteriology epidemiology, biocontaminants, communicable disease control, nosocomial infections, germicides, cleaning chemistry, and disposal of hazardous wastes.
• Knowledge of biological, biochemical, and physicochemical aspects of food safety.
• Knowledge of principles of food and milk sanitation.
• Knowledge of problems encountered in planning, organizing, installing, and supervising sanitation programs.
• Knowledge of principles and elements of sewage and wastewater treatment disposal, biological and chemical contamination effects on soils and water, bacteriology of excreta and sewage, soil characteristics, aerobic anaerobic and facultative bacteria, chemical decomposition, and spread of enteric disease.
• Knowledge of waterborne organisms related to disease dissemination, entomological control of vectors, waterfront safety techniques, mosquito and fly control measures, poisonous and noxious weeds, elements of environmental pollution, microbiological and qualitative aspects of swimming waters, and filtration processes for pools.
• Knowledge of milkborne diseases, biological and physical properties of milk, physical and chemical tests for milk, acceptable pasteurization techniques, appropriate cheese and frozen dessert mix manufacturing methods, dairy farm sanitation, and frozen dessert processing facilities.
• Knowledge of principles of entomology, bacteriology, microbiology, chemistry, wastewater, sewage disposal, communicable diseases, and endemic institutional illnesses.
• Ability of read, interpret, and apply laws and codes of NJ relating to environmental sanitation and sanitary inspections.
• Ability to utilize sophisticated instrumentation in the survey and inspection process.
• Ability to organize technical, field, and office work and develop effective work methods.
• Ability to work effectively with associates, supervisory officers, local health officials, and with others interested in or concerned with environmental sanitation and sanitary inspection programs and problems.
• Ability to provide assignments and instructions to individuals and groups.
• Ability to provide professional guidance and give technical assistance to health inspectors associated with inspection of all types of facilities.
• Ability to plan, organize, and supervise sanitation programs of a broad, general, or specialized nature.
• Ability to conduct inspections and investigations.
• Ability to conduct technical surveys and monitoring in varied health and sanitation areas and programs.
• Ability to prepare clear, sound, accurate, and informative reports containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Ability to prepare correspondence in the course of official duties.
• Ability to establish and maintain records, files, reference materials, and equipment.
• Ability to represent the department at industry and official health agency gatherings, workshops, seminars, and conferences.
• Ability to collect chemical and microbiological samples and interpret results.
• Ability to present evidence and to testify in court.
• Ability to learn state and federal regulation regarding the proper disposal of regulated medical waste.
• Ability to learn state and federal regulations pertaining to lead and asbestos abatement.
• Ability to learn current technologies regarding the mitigation and control of lead and asbestos hazards.
• Ability to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.
• Ability to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate in English sufficiently to perform the duties of this position. American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication.
• Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible as long as they can perform the essential functions of the job after reasonable accommodation is made to their known limitations. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.
• CODES: 22/P22 - MCK 12/23/06

Note

The examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job specification. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed.

A Master's degree in Public Health, Health Administration, Environmental Health, Sanitation Food Technology, Environmental or Sanitary Engineering, Microbiology, or Public Administration may be substituted for one (1) year of indicated experience.