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Job Description
The Senior Environmental Specialist will be responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations in Metropolitan Water District’s (MWD) Desert operations area, which includes the Colorado River Aqueduct and associated facilities. This position will report to and require full-time work at MWD’s Desert facilities, including Hinds, Eagle Mountain, Iron Mountain, Gene, and Intake pumping plants, and along the Colorado River Aqueduct and associated electrical transmission line alignments.
The Senior Environmental Specialist will be the Environmental Planning Section point of contact and will oversee all environmental planning work for both operations and maintenance (O&M) activities and capital investment plan (CIP) projects in MWD’s Desert operations area in coordination with Water System Operations managers and staff. The position will be responsible for ensuring compliance and preparing documentation associated with environmental planning laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Fish and Game Code, Clean Water Act, state and federal Endangered Species Acts, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The candidate hired for this position will serve as a technical expert and have a functional knowledge of federal, state, and local environmental regulations and how they may directly or indirectly impact MWD and its operations. Excellent knowledge of and experience with the biological resources of the Mojave and Colorado deserts and all applicable environmental regulations, as well as knowledge of the resources of the southern California desert environment, will be utilized in this position to ensure compliance and minimize existing and potential risks to MWD, the environment, and the public. The position requires strong written and oral communication, interpersonal, and analytical skills.
As a Senior Environmental Specialist, the responsibilities and duties of this position will include planning, directing, and conducting environmental planning work activities, including conducting impact assessments and CEQA and permitting analysis, preparing environmental documentation, conducting biological surveys, performing construction monitoring, and conducting environmental awareness training for staff and contractors in support of both CIP projects and O&M activities. In addition, this position will prepare and review environmental specification sections for contractors and review construction drawings in support of CIP projects. This position will prepare and review biological impact assessments and technical reports, conduct environmental inspections, conduct biological surveys to identify plants, wildlife species, and wildlife habitats in the project area, and conduct wildlife and vegetation baseline studies and nesting bird surveys to support the preparation of environmental documents.
In this role, you will demonstrate your familiarity with desert biological species and working knowledge of southern California desert environments. The position will have oversight of environmental consultants, including management of budget, schedule, and oversight of work products, to ensure that tasks are accomplished. The position will act as a liaison with regulatory agencies and other federal, state, and local agencies and will assist with regulatory permitting, including participating in resource agency negotiations and developing appropriate environmental impact minimization and avoidance strategies and feasible mitigation strategies to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. This position will review and analyze legislation, environmental documents, and environmental regulations that may impact MWD; prepare technical environmental documents; and train and inform MWD employees to ensure that they comply with all applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures related to environmental compliance. Year-round field work in all types of weather, including extreme weather conditions, primarily in remote desert locations, will be required.
Schedule: 9/80, Monday through Friday with every other Friday off
This job announcement has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work being performed by employees in this classification / job.
To view the full job description click here: Sr. Environmental Specialist
EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, majoring in Environmental Science, Engineering, Biology, Ecology, Planning, or other directly related environmental or social sciences or science field, and 8 years of progressively responsible experience in environmental compliance, including regulatory/legislative liaison within the health and safety or environmental fields.
Progressively Responsible Experience is defined as: experience leading environmental planning surveys and document preparation, as well as experience in project management related to compliance with environmental regulations including, but not limited to, the California Environmental Quality Act, California Fish and Game Code, Clean Water Act, and federal and state endangered species acts.
Directly related environmental or social sciences or science field related bachelor’s degree is defined as: Environmental Studies, Geography, Environmental Planning, or other directly related environmental or social sciences degree.
CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSES, AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
License(s): Valid California Class C Driver’s License or equivalent (required at time of application) that allows you to drive during your employment.
CLOSING
Benefits:
• Competitive compensation
• Excellent medical, dental, life, vision plans.
• Deferred compensation in the form of a 401(k) plan (with matching contribution) and a 457 plan.
• Retirement benefits under the California Public Employees' Retirement System
• Tuition reimbursement
• Excellent working environment
For more information on MWD benefits, please use the following link: Benefits Regular Full Time Employee (Represented)
ABOUT MWD
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, along with its 26 cities and retail suppliers, provides water for 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Qualified individuals with disabilities, who need a reasonable accommodation during the application or selection process, please call (213) 217-7738 or email: jobs@mwdh2o.com
Metropolitan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected characteristic(s).
Application Filing Period: Closes at 4:30 pm PST on the date stated in the job announcement. However, it may close prior to the filing end date if sufficient applications have been received. If sufficient applications have not been received, then the filing period end date may be extended.
Sponsorship: Applicants for employment with The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States (i.e., H1-B or other employment-based immigration case).
Closing Date/Time: November 20, 2024 @4:30 p.m. -
ABOUT THE COMPANY
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Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Show moreThe Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a consortium of 26 cities and water districts that provides drinking water to nearly 18 million people in parts of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.
The mission of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is to provide its service area with adequate and reliable supplies of high-quality water to meet present and future needs in an environmentally and economically responsible way.
Metropolitan currently delivers an average of 1.7 billion gallons of water per day to a 5,200-square-mile service area.
Join our Team
Metropolitan values both fresh voices and the different perspectives that experience brings. We seek out the best, those who bring unique and varied qualities to an organization whose employees reflect the diverse communities we serve across Southern California. And we want colleagues who embrace innovation, equity and a shared greater purpose to the region. We are a public agency and the people who work with us are devoted to public service.
We were built to last and to lead. We are an agency deep in history and experience. We are part of the very fabric of Southern California, having been formed in 1928 by the state Legislature to design, build and operate the Colorado River Aqueduct to bring water to a growing population. Today, our role is much greater than the infrastructure we built and maintain. We are here to ensure reliable and safe water supplies for 19 million people across five Southland counties, operating in an environmentally and economically sound manner.
If you’re already in the workforce and considering Metropolitan as a work option, begin your journey here to learn more. For those still in school or just entering the workforce, scroll down to the section Creating the Next Generation of Workers for the Water Industry to learn about our internship and apprenticeship programs as well as other educational resources to help prepare you for a career in the water industry.
What We Offer
When you come to work at Metropolitan, you don’t come just for a job; you come for a career. We want to support your career pathway along with your well-being. One way to do that is to offer very competitive salaries and excellent benefits. We also provide top-notch health and insurance options, as well as retirement benefits.
Our benefits package is above industry standards. Metropolitan contracts with CalPERS, the California Public Employee Retirement System, to provide a wide choice of medical coverages to both active employees and qualified retirees.
As a regular full-time; regular part-time union represented employee will be eligible for excellent benefits.
Also available to Metropolitan employees through CalPERS are pension and survivor benefits as well as deferred compensation benefits that include our 401(k) and 457(b) savings plans. Metropolitan matches 401(k) contributions to increase the amount of your annual savings toward retirement.
Dental coverage, through Delta Dental, is offered at no cost to regular full-time; regular part-time employees pay a pro-rated fee. Qualified dependents can be added to the dental plan at no extra cost. Metropolitan contracts with Vision Service Provider, or VSP, for vision coverage and covers the cost for regular full-time employees. Costs are prorated for regular part-time employees. Qualified dependents can be added for a flat monthly fee.
We have insurance programs covering life, long-term disability and accidental death and dismemberment. There are also some voluntary benefits to choose from. These include Flexible Spending Accounts for health and dependent care, long-term care and cancer coverage. You and your family members will also have access to our Employee Assistance Plan for confidential professional counseling and referral services at no cost. A Wellness Program offers certain reimbursements to employees based on work location and bargaining unit.
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