Environmental Protection Specialist I

State of Colorado • Denver, CO

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is dedicated to the Colorado for All philosophy, aiming for a Colorado where everyone can succeed. They support basic human rights for all individuals and are committed to increasing staff diversity and providing culturally responsive programs. The mission is to advance Colorado's health and protect the places where people live, work, learn, and play, to create a healthy and sustainable Colorado for current and future generations. The Environmental Agriculture Program Unit (Ag Program) is responsible for ensuring compliance with state and federal air and water quality regulations for animal feeding operations through inspections, enforcement, compliance assistance, regulatory interpretation, complaint response, and permit reviews. The unit also drafts new regulations, guidance documents, and policies related to animal feeding operations. This position serves as an environmental protection specialist within this program, conducting regulatory inspections, preparing reports, making compliance determinations, and issuing advisories and enforcement actions. The role also provides technical assistance, responds to complaints, reviews reports, and enters data into databases. The position communicates regulatory schedules, field observations, and technical issues to program staff and other environmental staff as needed.

Requirements

• Five (5) years of professional experience in an occupational field related to the work assigned to this position, including regulatory compliance, environmental protection, agriculture, inspections, technical review, or other closely related work.
• OR Education and professional experience in an occupational field related to the work assigned to this position, including regulatory compliance, environmental protection, agriculture, inspections, technical review, or other closely related work equal to five (5) years.
• Must possess a current driver's license.
• Must be a resident of the State of Colorado at the time of application submission.

Nice To Haves

• Practical knowledge or experience related to agricultural operations, including farming, ranching, crop production, livestock management, or animal husbandry.
• Experience drafting, reviewing, or updating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), technical manuals, or regulatory guidance documents to ensure consistency and compliance with state or federal standards.
• Ability to accurately observe, document, and interpret information using electronic systems.
• Keen attention to detail, with an ability to analyze facts and data, to reach a defensible decision.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work well independently as well as in/with a team.
• Ability to perform the physical demands of this active position.

Responsibilities

• Conducts regulatory inspections, prepares inspection reports, and assures timely and accurate compliance determinations.
• Issues compliance advisories as well as informal and formal enforcement actions.
• Provides technical regulatory, permitting, and research assistance to the Program Manager, Work Group Lead, and staff.
• Responds to complaints and inquiries.
• Reviews technical reports and compliance data.
• Enters data into national and state databases.
• Communicates regulatory schedules, field observations, and other technical questions or issues to program staff, and other environmental staff as necessary.
• Reviews technical environmental reports submitted pursuant to federal and state requirements to determine compliance with applicable permit and regulatory requirements.
• Determines compliance with applicable air pollution and water quality protection regulations by conducting field inspections including compliance testing using technical air quality and water sampling instrumentation, reviewing and performing nutrient calculations, and writing inspection reports.
• Performs data entry (i.e. permitting, complaints, inspections data, etc.) into state and national data management systems to generate data reports and track environmental results.
• Conducts reviews of compliance data and legal facts from inspection reports, enforcement referrals, report submittals, and complaint forms, evaluating compliance issues against the Enforcement Response Guidance.

Benefits

• Free parking and access to RTD bus lines.
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Retirement (PERA options), Medical and dental health plans.
• Defined Benefit Plan or the PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus optional 401K and 457 plans.
• Paid life insurance.
• Short- and long-term disability coverage.
• 11 paid holidays per year and generous personal time off.
• Tuition assistance.
• Wellness programs.
• Professional development opportunities on a wide variety of subjects.
• Career advancement opportunities throughout the State system.
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed