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This position, located in the Northwest Region section of the Water Quality Program in Bellevue, WA, supports on-the-ground implementation of new and ongoing water quality initiatives in the Duwamish River watershed by coordinating the use of regulatory tools, grant/loan funding, voluntary activities, and adaptive management plans so that point and non-point sources of pollution are controlled and reduced. Initiatives include implementing Washington’s EPA-approved water quality standards for toxics and sediments, stormwater management and wet-weather treatment, and public education and outreach.
As an agency, our mission is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington’s environment for current and future generations. We invest in our employees to create and sustain a working environment that encourages creative leadership, effective resource management, teamwork, professionalism and accountability.
To learn more about The Department of Ecology, please visit our website at www.ecology.wa.gov and check us out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.
Duties
The mission of the Water Quality Program is to protect and restore Washington’s waters to sustain healthy watersheds and communities. Our work ensures that state waters support beneficial uses including recreational and business activities, supplies for clean drinking water, and the protection of fish, shellfish, wildlife, and public health.
The Northwest Region Water Quality Planner uses knowledge of numerous complex water quality issues and processes to develop and implement regional strategies to reduce and eliminate toxics in the Duwamish River, and to provide water quality-related technical assistance to Ecology, other state and federal agencies, and the public. This position will:
- Serve as the Water Quality Program point of contact for Duwamish River stakeholders, and coordinate with other water quality staff, Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program, USEPA and other source control partners with the goal of developing and implementing watershed activities in a way that meets regional needs while maintaining statewide consistency.
- Serve as a water quality resource to other Ecology programs so that Ecology resources are applied in a coordinated manner and water quality standards are achieved.
- Provide trust-based and knowledge-based leadership to internal Duwamish teams and external Duwamish stakeholders in order to maintain the progress that has been made protecting and restoring sediment quality, and to develop stakeholder-supported long-term toxics control strategies aimed at achieving designated uses of surface waters.
- Educate others about water quality regulations and how those manifest in source control activities in the Duwamish River watershed.
- Organize meetings and participate in discussions with other personnel and entities regarding site-specific discharge management conditions in the context of complaint response, permitting, enforcement and program development; implement follow up actions.
- Write and review documents, including scientific studies, permits, legal agreements, technical memos, briefing papers, plans, policies and procedures.
- Perform database queries to summarize results and develop metrics and protocols for improved activity and outcome tracking.
What kinds of problems does this position get to solve?
- Find better ways to use regulatory and non-regulatory tools to meet near-term and long-term water quality objectives.
- Continuously train and educate other environmental professionals and the public about water quality rules, regulations, policies and procedures so that everyone understands the roles that Clean Water Act and Water Pollution Control Act regulations play in protecting and restoring surface waters.
- Develop and implement innovative technical solutions to low-level or wide-spread toxic contaminants found in stormwater runoff.
Ready to apply your experience to high-profile, fast-paced work?
This position will provide you with opportunities to implement concepts that improve site-specific conditions in the near-term, while at the same time advancing and implementing regional strategies to control or reduce pollutants in stormwater over the long-term.
Qualifications
A Master’s degree or above with major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning or management, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, environmental management, chemistry, or closely related field AND three years of professional experience in water quality permitting, stormwater management, toxics cleanup, pollution prevention, or environmental planning.
OR
A Bachelor’s degree with major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning or management, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, environmental management, chemistry or closely related field AND five years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development.
At least three of the five years of professional experience must include water quality permitting, stormwater management, toxics cleanup, or pollution prevention.
OR
One year of experience as an Environmental Planner 3 which includes experience in water quality permitting, stormwater management, toxics cleanup, or pollution prevention, provided a master’s degree as describe above has been obtained.
- Ten years of progressively complex environmental permitting involving local, state and federal laws, regulations, codes and policies.
- Experience with NPDES permits and 303(d) lists.
- Experience with toxics cleanup laws and regulations and principles.
- Experience with contaminant fate and transport processes and conceptual site models.
- Stormwater management experience involving a range of best management practices, including stormwater facility design guidance and programmatic activities.
- Experience or education with environmental chemistry.
- Experience with geo-relational database theory and performing complex queries of a range of data types.
- Proven track record of attention to detail, ability to provide constructive feedback, and perform quality assurance/quality control related to written materials, data spreadsheets and presentation formats.
- Experience building rapport and partnering with others.
- Education or experience in negotiation and conflict resolution.
- Experience reviewing sampling plans, laboratory reports, and scientific reports.
- Experience preparing and giving public presentation of technical information, assistance, guidance, training, outreach to federal state, tribal, and local government, business, industry and the public.
- Experience with collaborative watershed planning approaches for control of water pollution sources and water cleanup plans (TMDLs) and ability to facilitate the development of recommendations or implementation of cleanup measures.
- Education or experience with water quality modeling.
- Education and/or experience with the relationship between non-point and point sources of water pollution, and experience identifying and implementing NPS pollution control strategies, including best management practices, toxics management plans, and water quality improvement plans.
Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment
Must have a valid driver’s license
Why work for Ecology?
Joining Ecology means becoming a part of a team committed to protecting and restoring Washington State’s environment.
A career in public service allows you to help solve some of the most challenging problems facing our state, while keeping the health and financial security of you and your family a priority. We combine one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation with a strong commitment to work/life balance.
Ecology employees may be eligible for the following:
Medical/Dental/Vision for employee & dependent(s), Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), Vacation, Sick, and other Leave*, 11 Paid Holidays per year*, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Tuition Waiver, Long Term Disability & Life Insurance, Deferred Compensation Programs, Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP), Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA), Employee Assistance Program, Commute Trip Reduction Incentives (Download PDF reader), Combined Fund Drive, SmartHealth
Student debt and how working for Ecology can help
Employees may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, which forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. See https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service for more details.
*See the Benefits tab in this announcement for more information
Supplemental Information
Application Instructions:
Please include the following documents as an attachment to your application:
- A cover letter describing how your experience, skills and abilities meet the required qualifications of this position.
- A resume outlining your professional experience.
Please complete the applicant profile when applying for this position. Or, you may paste the text of your resume within the profile’s resume text field.
Please read the supplemental questions carefully and answer completely. Incomplete responses, including “please see resume” may disqualify you from further consideration.
Department of Ecology employees, please make sure to answer the agency-wide questions regarding permanent status as a classified employee within the Washington General Service or Washington Management Service. Do not forget to select Department of Ecology as a response to question 2, and type your personnel ID number for question 3. If you are not sure of your status or do not know your personnel ID number, please contact Human Resources at (360) 407-6186.
If you are reading this announcement in print format, please visit www.careers.wa.gov to access the online recruitment system. Click on “Look for Jobs” and select Dept. of Ecology under the “Department” search list. Click “Apply Search.”
Other Information:
If you need assistance applying for this job, please call Human Resources at (360) 407-6186 or e-mail careers@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not call this number or send an email to this address to follow-up the status of your application. You can view the latest status of your application on your profile’s main page.
If you have specific questions about the position, please email Rachel McCrea at: rachel.mccrea@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not contact Rachel to inquire about the status of your application.
The act of submitting application materials electronically is considered affirmation that the information is complete and truthful. The state may verify this information and any untruthful or misleading answers are cause for rejection of your application or dismissal if employed.
This is a position covered by a bargaining unit for which the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) is the exclusive representative.
The Washington State Department of Ecology is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application/testing process or this job announcement in an alternative format may call (360) 407-6186. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.