Water Quality

Akima, LLC•Tullahoma, TN

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Environmental Specialist – Water Quality is responsible for ensuring full compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and all associated water quality regulations. This role conducts regulatory sampling, performs compliance inspections, analyzes environmental data, and supports the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of NPDES-driven water programs. The specialist serves as a key technical resource for stormwater, wastewater, groundwater, and surface water protection efforts and provides guidance to ensure operational activities meet federal, state, local, and Air Force water quality requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Water Resources, Chemistry, Biology, or related discipline.
Demonstrated experience working with NPDES permits, stormwater programs, wastewater compliance, or water quality monitoring, with 2-5 years of experience preferred.
Strong understanding of the Clean Water Act, NPDES regulatory frameworks, and related environmental permitting systems.
Ability to interpret complex permits and regulatory documents.
Skilled in water sampling, field monitoring techniques, and data analysis.
Ability to respond to environmental emergencies and spills.
Excellent communication, reporting, and documentation skills.

Nice To Haves

Professional Geologist’s License (Current).
Environmental Professional per 40 CFR 312.10.

Responsibilities

Serve as the subject-matter expert for all NPDES permit requirements, including effluent limits, monitoring frequencies, sampling protocols, reporting obligations, BMP requirements, and corrective actions.
Interpret NPDES permit conditions and ensure all operations and discharge activities meet or exceed permit standards.
Maintain comprehensive knowledge of federal (Clean Water Act), state, and local NPDES regulations, and ensure all processes align with current updates and regulatory expectations.
Manage NPDES documentation, including Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs), sampling plans, Spill Prevention and Response Plans, and compliance records.
Prepare, review, and submit all NPDES-required reports, such as Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs), Annual Reports, Incident Notifications, and Noncompliance Reports.
Conduct required NPDES sampling, including stormwater, wastewater, outfalls, industrial discharges, and other regulated locations as specified in the permit.
Maintain, calibrate, and operate field and laboratory equipment to ensure accurate, defensible data.
Perform routine inspections of all NPDES-permitted outfalls, monitoring stations, BMPs, and associated infrastructure to verify proper function and permit compliance.
Monitor water quality trends through automated and manual systems, proactively identifying potential violations or operational issues.
Analyze lab data, monitoring results, and inspection findings to assess compliance with NPDES effluent limits and benchmark parameters.
Prepare detailed compliance reports for submission to regulators, customers, and internal management, ensuring data accuracy and regulatory completeness.
Investigate exceedances or violations and assist in developing corrective actions, root-cause analyses, and mitigation strategies.
Review proposed project plans for potential impacts to stormwater, wastewater, surface waters, and other regulated resources.
Provide recommendations to avoid or minimize effects that may jeopardize NPDES compliance.
Support federal, state, local, and Air Force agencies in ensuring operational activities align with environmental permit requirements and water resource protection goals.
Respond to spills and environmental emergencies, providing technical guidance to Incident Command on preventing impacts to NPDES outfalls and receiving waters.
Assist in documenting and reporting spills in accordance with NPDES and other regulatory requirements.