ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIST 3

Definition

Under the general supervision of a supervisory official in a state department or agency takes the lead or may supervise, organize and assign technical or scientific work, including field and office studies, surveys, inspections or investigations associated with the enforcement of laws and/or regulations and environmental review and control work, organizes and makes tests and reports to assess Environmental impacts to include the physical, natural, and/or human environment and investigates environmental complaints concerning projects; conducts or supervises the processing of contract, grant and/or loan applications; does related work as required.

Examples of work

• Plan and direct a review team to assess Environmental Impact Statements received under the requirements of State and/or Federal statutes and regulations.
• Supervise and/or conduct investigations, utilizing all available sources, and all other parameters necessary to the evaluation of a proposed facility.
• Gather technical or scientific data to assist in assessment of social impact of a proposed facility.
• Interpret bacteriological and chemical analyses, and compile reports upon data so collected for utilization in valuation of Environmental Impact Statements.
• Identify and interpret information collected on distinct, diversified communities, understanding various cultures and their respective values and how they could be affected by a proposed action.
• Supervise and/or conduct tests to collect data for permit evaluation.
• Provide technical guidance to assigned employees.
• Supervise and/or investigate complaints of violations or social concerns and supervise and/or prepare reports on findings.
• Supervise and/or conduct inspections of permitted activities to insure compliance with permit requirements.
• Supervise and/or prepare reports on findings and, conclusions and make recommendations to management.
• May plan, organize, and assign the work of the organizational unit and evaluates employee performance and conduct, enabling the effective recommendation of the hiring, firing, promoting and disciplining of subordinates.
• Examine plans, specifications, reports and resolutions applying to the construction of proposed facilities and provides written analyses.
• Supervise and/or conduct field investigations of proposed projects to assess the potential environmental impacts to include physical, natural, and/or human environments as the basis for the level of environmental studies and documentation.
• Supervise and/or prepare the material for inclusion in Environmental Impact Statements, Environmental Assessments and other environmental documents.
• Supervise and/or prepare technical environmental studies of the effects of transportation projects.
• Supervise and/or plan, and organize studies to predict noise levels resulting from proposed transportation projects; determine mitigation measures to reduce noise levels by use of barriers, roadway design or acoustic shielding.
• Evaluates and/or supervises staff evaluating contract documents used to bid, award, and administer contracts for hazardous/non-hazardous site remediation projects, and coordinates these activities in conjunction with other units and agencies.
• Reviews grant/loan applications and prepares and signs deficiency letters, withdrawal letters, and letters of denial; prepares grant/loan award recommendations for supervisor review/signature.
• Reviews, prepares and signs area of concern Notices of Deficiency (NOD's), Remedial Investigation Reports (RIR), Remedial Investigation Workplans (RIW's), Remedial Action Progress Reports (RAPR's), and Biennial Certification approvals with delegated supervisor concurrence.
• Reviews and has approval authority for individual work orders up to $25,000 and individual change orders up to $25,000; prepares and/or supervises the preparation of open-competitive Requests for Proposals (RFP's) and Invitation to Bids (IFB's) and approves RFP's and IFB's up to $25,000; identifies priority case work for supervisor concurrence.
• Plan, organizes and supervise studies to predict pollutants from specific projects.
• Collect and evaluate data in field identifications, determining the extent of impacts to ecosystems, and recommending techniques to mitigate those impacts.
• Prepare scopes of work and personnel cost estimates for projects requiring the use of environmental consultant services.
• Provide direction and guidance to environmental consultants in the preparation of environmental studies and reports.
• Review and comment on work prepared by environmental consultants, including proposals, technical reports, Environmental Impact Statements or other environmental documents.
• Supervise and/or conduct on site field investigations during construction of the project to determine the effectiveness of environmental mitigation and control measures.
• Meet with citizens, public officials, and others on environmental matters.
• May prepare evidence for use in court actions and hearings and give testimony under oath.
• Supervise and/or prepare clear, technically sound, accurate, and factual reports containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Maintain essential reports, records, and files.
• 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.

Education

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in one of the Physical Sciences, Environmental Sciences/Studies, Chemical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Environmental Planning, Physical Geography or in Civil Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Mining Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or Bio-resource Engineering.

Experience

Three (3) years of experience in environmental control work including field investigations, inspection, and preparing reports on the environment or the preparation or review of Environmental Impact Statements.

License

Appointee 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 principles, methods, procedures, and purpose of field investigations and evaluation of the impact of human-made alterations to the natural, social, or economic environment or field monitoring and sampling. Knowledge of the responsibilities, programs, standards, policies, and procedures of the area of assignment. Knowledge of quality assurance procedures relating to environmental monitoring and sampling. Knowledge of the scientific, engineering, contracting and/or construction principles involved in the field of hazardous-non-hazardous waste control, cleanup, removal, and disposal. Knowledge of rules, regulations, and guidelines associated with grant/loan process. Knowledge of approval authority process involving individual work orders and change orders, Request for Proposals (RFP's) and Invitation to Bid (IFB's). Knowledge of methods and procedures associated with calibration and maintenance of sophisticated monitoring and testing equipment. Knowledge of typical problems and resolutions to be encountered in the study of environmental impacts. Ability to organize assigned technical field and office work and develop effective work methods. Ability to supervise and/or conduct field testing, monitoring and sampling programs, and to perform field evaluations and analyses. Ability to supervise and/ or conduct the collection of samples or perform tests in the field and make field evaluations and analyses. Ability to investigate environmental problems using reference or research materials and communicate with related agency personnel. Ability to cooperate with the community and individual citizens on matters affecting the impact of transportation projects on the environment. Ability to interpret and apply knowledge of federal and state laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the area of assignment. Ability to supervise and/or conduct a scientific study or survey under direction, and prepare a complete and concise report. Ability to coordinate, document, assess and/or contract for large-scale cleanup activities involving the management and remediation of multimedia environmental contamination problems. Ability to review grant/loan applications for approval process. Ability to interpret scientific data and make evaluations and recommendations. Ability to assign and instruct subordinate employees and supervise the performance of their work, as required. Ability to prepare reports on environmental and related matters based on field studies and research work in environmental matters. Ability to supervise assigned staff and plan, organize, and implement projects within the unit. Ability to maintain essential reports, records and files. Ability to supervise and /or conduct in the collection of data from primary and secondary sources to be used in making tests and reports. Ability 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 essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible. This job specification is applicable to the following title code(s) which are different work week or work month and/or variants of the job class title: Job Spec Code State, Local or Common Class of Service Work Week State Class Code Local Class Code Salary Range

Note

Positions in the Department of Environmental Protection may be assigned to any of the environmental fields such as Air Pollution Control, Coastal Resources, Laboratory Certification, Pesticide Control, Pesticide Control bilingual Spanish/English, Soil Science, Tideland Delineation, Site Remediation, Water Resources or Waste Management. Positions in the Department of Environmental Protection assigned to the Division of Publicly Funded Site Remediation have responsibility for approving various documents with certain monetary value thresholds as assigned to the various levels within the series. Positions assigned to the Division of Responsible Party Site Remediation have signature authority for specified documents as assigned to the various levels within the series. Positions in the Department of Transportation, with the exception of the Environmental Services Support Unit (ESSU)/Facilities Hazard Compliance Monitoring, consistent with federal and state environmental regulations, have responsibility for the evaluation of environmental impacts of specific projects at NJDOT, which includes an assessment of impacts to the social, economic, and natural environments. This involves review or preparation of technical memorandum, studies, impact statements, etc. prepared pursuant to state and/or federal environmental regulations. 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. The following education requirements are applicable to positions in the Department of Transportation assigned to all programs except Environmental Services Support Unit (ESSU)/Facilities Hazard Compliance Monitoring . Graduation from an accredited college with a Bachelor's degree in one of the following Physical, Natural or Social Sciences; Environmental Science, Environmental Policy, Chemical Science, Biological Science, Geology, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Planning, Natural History, Anthropology, Historic Architecture, Historic Preservation, Archaeology, Sociology, Urban Studies, Geography, Economics, Agricultural Science, Marine Science, Urban Planning, Transportation Planning and Geoscience or a Bachelor's of Science degree in Engineering in one of the following disciplines: Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Industrial Engineering or Bio-Resource Engineering. A valid Professional Engineer's license issued by the New Jersey State board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors may be substituted for the Bachelor's degree in Engineering. A Master's degree in one of the fields specified above may be substituted for one (1) year of the above experience. Positions assigned to Pesticide Control designated as bilingual Spanish/English, will require the applicant to be able to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate in English and Spanish sufficiently to perform duties of this position. CC4E2529R26-CCNL2529R25- This job specification is for and government use. Salary range is only applicable to state government. Local salaries are established by individual local jurisdictions. 5/16/2015