Supplemental Information
24-76 ES BR HD
Environmental Scientist 1/2/3
OEC / ENFORCEMENT / AIR ENFORCEMENT
This position is within the Enforcement Division within the Office of Environmental Compliance.
This position is domiciled in East Baton Rouge Parish. (Baton Rouge)
The Environmental Scientists in the Air Enforcement Section, Enforcement Division enforce the environmental laws of the state based on the review and assessment of data collected by the Department and through the use of formal and/or informal administrative enforcement means. Higher-level Environmental Scientists generally handle more complex cases and may be involved in training lower-level Environmental Scientists. The overall function of these positions is to enforce state and Federal environmental laws and regulations pertaining to the Clean Air Act, and in some cases, other environmental medias. Training will be conducted as directed by the supervisor and/or manager in accordance with departmental policies and procedures. The main duties of Environmental Scientists in the Air Enforcement section include: conducting technical reviews of inspection reports, self-reported notifications, any quarterly, semi- annual, and annual reports required by a permit and/or the regulations, and other enforcement-related referrals for completeness and accuracy to determine compliance with state and Federal regulations and the applicable permit; reviewing information in enforcement referrals and reports to identify violations and appropriately prioritize High Priority Violations and other significant violations; drafting the appropriate enforcement actions for alleged violations and completing corrections during the review process in a timely manner; monitoring the facility and/or respondent for compliance after issuance of an enforcement action and administratively closing or recommending escalated enforcement action as necessary; drafting penalty assessments or settlement spreadsheets and determining any benefits of non-compliance in accordance with DEQ policies; and, conducting compliance inspections and investigations to support an enforcement case.
As part of a Career Progression Group, vacancies may be filled from this recruitment as an Environmental Scientist 1, 2, or 3 depending on the level of experience of the selected applicant. Please refer to the "Job Specifications" tab located at the top of the LA Careers "Current Job Opportunities page" for specific information on salary ranges, minimum qualification requirements, and job concepts for each level.
There is a Special Entrance Rate (SER) for this position, as follows:
Environmental Scientist 1- $20.91 per hour or $1672.80 biweekly
Environmental Scientist 2- $22.38 per hour or $1789.80 biweekly
Environmental Scientist 3- $25.62 per hour or $2049.20 biweekly
This position will be filled under the generic or lab option.
No Civil Service test is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.
For recruitment purposes, applicants who are within 90 days of graduating with a bachelor’s degree may be eligible for this position.
You must submit an equivalency evaluation statement for any international degree(s) by the closing of this announcement.
To apply for this vacancy, click on the "Apply" link above and complete an electronic application which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities.
Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process by selecting the 'Applications' link after logging into their account.
*Resumes WILL NOT be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.*
Please make every effort to attach a copy of your transcript to your application if possible (PDF format preferred). The selected candidate will be required to submit original documentation upon hire.
Applications will be rejected if the applicant fails to meet the minimum qualifications, submits an incomplete application or fails to apply by the closing date of the announcement.
Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of an application listing complete work experience and education.
This agency participates in the E-Verify system for verification of citizenship and employment authorization.
Equal Opportunity Employer. Louisiana is a State as a Model Employer for individuals with disabilities.
For further information about this vacancy contact:
Heidi Dorward
Human Resources
LA Department of Environmental Quality
Heidi.Dorward@la.gov
Minimum Qualifications
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
A baccalaureate degree with a major in one of the following scientific fields: agronomy, animal science, atmospheric sciences, biological sciences, chemistry, engineering, environmental sciences, forestry, geosciences, health physics, health sciences, medical physics, nuclear science, physical geography, physics, soil sciences, statistics and quantitative methods, toxicology, or wildlife and fisheries sciences.
SUBSTITUTIONS:
A master's degree or Ph.D. in any of the qualifying fields will substitute for the baccalaureate degree.
NOTE:
Any college hours or degree must be from an accredited college or university.
NOTE:
The transcript must state that the applicant's major is in one of the specified fields. Baccalaureate degrees with majors in a field not listed above which included a heavy concentration in science courses will not be considered qualifying.
NOTE:
Some specific scientific fields that are not qualifying are agriculture, architecture, computer science, food science, horticulture, mathematics, and science education.
Job Concepts
FUNCTION OF WORK:
To regulate environmental effects of industrial, commercial, governmental and construction activities through performance of permitting, certification, investigation, inspection, enforcement, emergency response, data collection and assessment, quality assurance, facility classification, laboratory analysis, and/or environmental assessment tasks.
LEVEL OF WORK:
Entry.
SUPERVISION RECEIVED:
Direct from an Environmental Scientist Supervisor or equivalent level technical supervisor. May be supervised by higher level personnel.
SUPERVISION EXERCISED:
None.
LOCATION OF WORK:
Department of Environmental Quality.
JOB DISTINCTIONS:
Differs from Environmental Scientist 2 by the absence of independent responsibility for basic level scientific projects.
The primary function of this level is to receive the necessary training and experience to prepare for the responsibility of higher levels. The focus is on formal and on-the-job training in the multi medias of air/water/waste or environmental laboratory analysis.
Examples of Work
EXAMPLES BELOW ARE A BRIEF SAMPLE OF COMMON DUTIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS JOB TITLE. NOT ALL POSSIBLE TASKS ARE INCLUDED.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST/ GENERIC OPTION:
Assists in review of permit applications for minor sources of pollution or minor modifications to major sources of pollution.
May draft permits under close supervision.
Assists in routine inspection and complaint investigations.
Participates in emergency response activities.
Participates and/or assists in enforcement actions.
Assists in the operations of monitoring equipment and collection of monitoring data.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST/ LABORATORY OPTION:
Perform routine "wet-chemistry" analyses of water and wastewater samples for various chemical and physical parameters using titrimetric, gravimetric, and volumetric procedures.
Performs basic potentiometric analyses of water and wastewater samples.
Develops skills and assists in the analyses of various environmental samples (air water, wastewater, soils, sediments and aquatic organisms) using various instrumental procedures including atomic absorption spectrophotometry, automated colorimetry, ion chromatography, gas chromatography infrared spectrometry, mass spectroscopy, polarized light microscopy, or scanning electron microscopy.
Develops skills and assists in the required distillation/extraction of environmental samples prior to instrumental analysis, or the preparation and calibration of sampling devises used to collect ambient air samples.
Develops skills and assists in the preparation of necessary standard solutions and reagents required for laboratory operations.
Assist in the acquisition, formatting, reporting, and quality control of analytical data.
Assist in the calibration and maintenance of laboratory equipment.