ECMC Northwest Area Environmental Protection Specialist

MUST APPLY THROUGH COLORADO JOBS WEBSITE

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

This position exists to provide rapid response to an investigation of complaints alleging impacts to public health, safety, welfare, and the environment and when necessary to take appropriate enforcement actions; to provide operational level technical support in the permitting, inspection, review, and remediation of oil, gas, and injection wells, and exploration and production (E&P) waste management facilities; to conduct investigations to establish baseline, current conditions, or evidence of impacts from O&G activities. These investigations include preparing work plans, collecting samples for laboratory analysis, collecting field data, making scientific observations, interpreting analytical results, compiling data, preparing comprehensive reports, making presentations, and providing testimony at hearings. This position also works with procurement to hire 3rd party consultants and experts to assist in investigations.

Complaint Response:

Interview the complainant, look at available data, decide what kind of samples need to be collected, what parameters should be analyzed, whether samples should be collected from O&G wells, other water wells, or other potentially impacted media.

Decides what laboratories should be used to analyze the samples, whether it is necessary to hire 3rd party contractors to assist in the investigation, what method should be used to analyze the data, and in what format the results should be presented to the complainant and operator.

Decisions are made using geological, hydrogeological, geochemical, soil science, petroleum engineering, geophysical, and biological theories, principles, and professional standards.

Fund 170 Project Proposal & Management:

• Proposes appropriate projects to management for the expenditure of Fund 170 monies that establish baseline groundwater, surface water, soil, gas seep, and vegetation conditions, and track and document changes, if any, to these media that result from O&G activities. 
• Develops detailed work plans, procures necessary services and commodities, implements or manages the implementation of the work plan, including tracking costs, approving invoices, and ensuring that projects proceed in compliance with state procurement rules.

Conducts public meetings to disseminate information to interested parties, local, state, and federal agencies.  

Makes presentations to the ECMC Commission regarding the status of the projects and the results and conclusions.  

Work often includes incorporating comments and suggestions from other state, local, or federal agencies, industry, and other interested parties and conducting public meetings. 

This position decides whether baseline and current condition data should be collected using Fund 170 prior to, during, and after O&G activities.

Evaluation of Spill Clean-up and Environmental Site Investigation:

• Evaluates spill reports and remedial action plans developed by operators and their third party contractors that involve the remediation of impacted groundwater, surface water and soil.  
• When necessary apply appropriate conditions of approval to remediation plans to verify appropriate implementation in a manner protective of public health, safety, welfare, the environment and wildlife resources.  
• Evaluates remediation, closure, and reclamation plans for E&P waste management facilities, such as pits, centralized waste management facilities, land application sites.  Performs field inspections to document progress and completion of spill cleanup and remediation actions and to verify appropriate management of E&P waste.
• Plans, develops, and carries out remedial action plans and estimates fiscal and labor requirements for remediation conducted by the ECMC using Fund 170 money.

Facility Inspection & Permit Evaluation:

• Conducts the technical review of, determines conditions of approval on a site-specific basis for, and approves applications for permits for E&P waste management facilities.  
• Assists when needed the review of applications for permits to drill, waste management plans, and oil and gas location assessments in regard to environmental impact reduction.  
• Conducts inspections to ensure compliance with applicable environmental rules and regulations and to ensure that impacts to public health, safety, welfare, the environment and wildlife resources are not occurring as a result of the operations at these facilities.  
• Collects samples of ground water, surface water, soil and soil gas for laboratory analysis to determine both violations and compliance.  
• Initiates and provides technical support for enforcement actions and determines appropriate level of enforcement.
   

Other Technical Support:

• Provides other technical support and work functions required by the Environmental Unit.  
• Includes providing technical knowledge and guidance to the regulated community on implementation and applicability of ECMC Rules.  
• Works with local governmental agencies to provide information to the public on oil and gas operations, practices and procedures, and ECMC Rules, orders, and policies.  Performs support and research when required to support updates and changes to ECMC rules.  
• Creates guidance documents and training internally and externally.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application. 

Minimum Qualifications: 
Six (6) years of professional work experience with oil and gas drilling and production field operations and exploration and production waste management; or similar environmental consulting experience performing environmental assessments at oil, gas, and injection well sites and facilities; designing, evaluating, and implementing remediation plans for soil and ground water contamination due to oil and gas or similar operations; and/or monitoring remediation activities and evaluating results at hydrocarbon, produced water or other remediation sites.   
OR
A combination of graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in Geology, Geological Engineering, Hydrogeology, Environmental Sciences or a closely related field and professional work experience with oil and gas drilling and production field operations or exploration and production waste management; or similar environmental consulting experience performing environmental assessments at oil, gas, and injection well sites and facilities; designing, evaluating, and implementing remediation plans for soil and ground water contamination due to oil and gas or similar operations; and/or monitoring remediation activities and evaluating results at hydrocarbon, produced water or other remediation sites equal to six (6) years.

Please note: The required experience must be substantiated within the work experience section of your application. Your resume will not be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications; only the work experience section of your application will be reviewed to determine this. “See Resume” statements on the application will not be accepted. In addition, part-time work will be prorated.

Class Code: Environmental Protection Specialist

Preferred Qualifications:

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Geology, Geological Engineering, Hydrogeology, Environmental Sciences or a closely related field and professional work experience.

Current or former State experience relevant to this position.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills 

Competent  personal computer skills using Google applications will be necessary for success in this position.

Ability to manage various complex remediation projects utilizing field inspections and remediation workplans