ECMC - West OWP Environmental Protection Specialist II.

State of Colorado; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Vision and Dental plans

Retirement plans incl. PERA Defined/Co

Paid life insurance

Flexible work schedule & remote-work

Job summary

Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) seeks a Western Region Environmental Specialist for the Orphaned Well Program. You will design, manage, and implement Phase 3 site investigations and soil/groundwater remediation at orphaned oil and gas locations, preparing and executing work plans, permits, and regulatory reports on behalf of ECMC.

Responsibilities include evaluating complex hydrogeological data, designing site-specific remediation plans, managing environmental contractors,

Qualifications

• Six (6) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned.
• A combination of related education and/or relevant experience equal to six (6) years.
• Substitutions: additional appropriate education will substitute for the required experience.

Responsibilities

• Operate in field and office to manage environmental contractors and technical staff for investigations and remediation.
• Prepare scopes, review bids, establish agreements, and guide field personnel.
• Serve as technical authority for permits, work plans, and remediation designs.
• Conduct pre-design inspections, review historical files, interpret data, and tailor remediation systems.
• Oversee budgets/schedules, respond to public concerns, and coordinate consultants.

Skills

Excellent written and verbal comms

Microsoft Office

Excel

Google Suite

Contract management

Public service experience

Customer service experience

Tools

None

Job description

Department Information

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

Department Information

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

Are you interested in investing in a career that makes a difference?

Consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. It’s our mission to manage and conserve Colorado’s natural resources for the benefit of people today – and tomorrow. That means we have to balance development with conservation so the state we all love provides similar opportunities for our children and their children.

We invite you to explore our website at https://dnr.colorado.gov/about-us to find out more about the work we do to manage Colorado’s natural resources for today – and tomorrow.

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply.

In Addition To Offering Rewarding, Meaningful Work, We Offer

• Medical, Vision and Dental plans
• Strong, flexible retirement plans including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus pre-tax and Roth 401K and 457 plans
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Employee Wellness programs
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• 11 paid holidays per year plus generous vacation and sick leave
• Flexible work schedule options and remote-work options
• Career advancement opportunities throughout the State system
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

For more detailed information, please visit State of Colorado Employee Benefits

About Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC)

The Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) regulates the development and production of Colorado's natural resources, including oil and gas, geothermal energy, and carbon capture and storage. The ECMC's mission is to do so in a way that protects the environment, public health, safety, and welfare.

The Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) Orphaned Well Program (OWP) identifies, prioritizes, and addresses "Orphaned" oil and gas wells, locations, and production facilities statewide for which there are no known responsible parties or for which financial assurance instruments have been claimed. If not addressed, these oil and gas locations have the potential to impact surface and groundwater resources, impair surface owners' agricultural or development activities, harm wildlife, emit atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs), or endanger public health and safety. Funding through state financial assurance claims, the Orphaned Well Mitigation Enterprise (OWME), and federal grant programs enables OWP to plug wells, decommission and remove production equipment, investigate and remediate soil and groundwater contamination, install safety infrastructure, and execute full surface reclamation. While ECMC rules, policies, and industry standards guide this work, unique site conditions frequently require the development of custom technical solutions and adaptive practices.

Description Of Job

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

The Position serves as the OWP Western Region Environmental Specialist, responsible for designing, managing, and implementing Phase 3 environmental activities (site investigations and soil/groundwater remediation) at orphaned oil and gas locations. Because orphaned sites lack active operators, the Position prepares, submits, and executes environmental work plans, permits, technical specifications, and regulatory reports on behalf of ECMC.

Many legacy sites fail to meet modern environmental standards due to prolonged neglect or outdated construction practices. The Position evaluates complex hydrogeological and environmental data to design site-specific remediation plans that ensure full protection of public health, safety, welfare, and environmental resources. The Position manages environmental contractors, oversees field operations, tracks project budgets and schedules, responds to public or surface owner environmental complaints, and coordinates third-party environmental consultants.

Job Duties

• Operating in both field and office environments, the Position manages environmental contractors and assigned technical staff to execute environmental investigation and remediation projects safely, cost-effectively, and in accordance with ECMC rules, specifications, and state standards.
• P repares technical procurement scopes, reviews bid proposals, establishes ordering agreements, approves field scope modifications, and provides technical guidance to field personnel.
• F unctions as the technical authority for preparing, submitting, and managing regulatory permits, environmental site investigation work plans, and remediation plans.
• C onducts pre-design field inspections, reviews historical well files, interprets complex analytical data, and designs custom remediation systems tailored to legacy oil and gas infrastructure.
• R esponsible for project scoping, budget development, contract scheduling, and resource allocation for environmental investigation and remediation projects across the Western Region.
• N egotiates surface access agreements with landowners and surface tenants, conducts pre-bid and pre-work meetings, and ensures environmental field operations seamlessly transition into final surface reclamation.
• Work closely with internal ECMC environmental staff, CDPHE, local jurisdictions, and federal land managers, to ensure all site assessment and cleanup activities meet applicable regulatory frameworks.

Other Duties Assigned.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions Of Employment & Appeal Rights

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience Only:

Six (6) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position

OR

Education And Experience

A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned equal to six (6) years.

Substitutions

Additional appropriate education will substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis.

Please note: The required experience must be substantiated within the work experience section of your application. Your resume will not be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications; only the work experience section of your application will be reviewed to determine this. “See Resume” statements on the application will not be accepted. In addition, part-time work will be prorated.

Preferred Qualifications

• Current or former state experience relevant to this position.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Knowledge and/or experience of the oil and gas industry.
• Experience working with diverse groups of people and adapting messaging to meet needs of different audiences.
• Proficient in using Microsoft Office and Google Suite, specifically Excel and Sheets.
• Experience with contracts and/or invoicing.
• Profile preparation for waste disposal.
• Experience with excavation and/or heavy equipment operations.
• Experience auditing/reviewing forms/applications for compliance and correctness.
• Experience reading and interpreting rules, guidelines, legal documents, statutes and policies.
• Professional level writing, research and communication development skills.
• Experience converting technical content into plain language content for diverse stakeholders.
• Customer service experience, previous public service experience, experience dealing with public, experience with complaint intake/response.

The current work arrangement for this position is as follows:

• Hybrid: This position will work from a home office and have Statewide travel responsibility with concentrated travel throughout the Western Region. Occasional travel to the Denver central office and eastern regional sites. Multi-day travel required for field oversight, contractor supervision, landowner meetings, and pre-bid walkthroughs.

Conditions Of Employment

• Colorado residency is required at the time of application.
• Former employees of the state of Colorado must have concluded employment in good standing to be eligible for rehire.
• You must be legally eligible to work in the United States to be appointed to this position. DNR does not sponsor non-residents of the United States.
• Pursuant to the DNR-120 Fleet and Driving Standards Administrative Directive , any worker who will be expected to drive a State-owned vehicle is responsible for maintaining a safe driving record and a valid driver license prior to driving any State-owned vehicle.

To Be Compliant With The New Fleet Vehicle Policy, Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs) Will Be Pulled For Review For Workers Who

• Have an assigned State fleet vehicle
• Are required to operate a vehicle as part of the position
• Utilize a State fleet vehicle as a pool vehicle

Supplemental Information

The Assessment Process

• All applications received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed by an HR Specialist against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement.
• Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted based on merit and fitness through a comparative analysis process. Part of, or all of, the comparative analysis for this position will be a structured application review by Subject Matter Experts.
• Resumes, cover letters and other attachments are not considered as part of initial reviews, therefore, it is important to document in your application your education, experience, minimum qualifications, and preferred qualifications as outlined in the job announcement .
• Please thoroughly answer all supplemental questions (if listed) since question responses may be evaluated for content, writing ability, spelling, grammar, and effective communication.
• This recruitment may involve additional testing and/or exams to arrive at the top group for interviews.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

We are committed to increasing a “Colorado for ALL" of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of all backgrounds and abilities. The State of Colorado believes that a “Colorado for ALL” drives our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities and backgrounds and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

ADAAA Accommodations

Any person with a disability as defined by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) may be provided a reasonable accommodation upon request to enable the person to complete an employment assessment. To request accommodation, please contact our Benefits Specialist at [e-mail] at least five business days before the date that any accommodation will be required to allow us to evaluate your request and prepare for the accommodation. You may be asked to provide additional information, including medical documentation, regarding functional limitations and type of accommodation needed. Please ensure that you have this information available well in advance of the assessment date.

E-Verify

DNR uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify , including your rights and responsibilities.

Toll‑Free Applicant Support - Technical Help

If you experience technical difficulty with the NEOGOV system (e.g. uploading or attaching documents to your online application) call NEOGOV at 855-524-5627, Mon-Fri between 6 am and 6 pm (Pacific Time). The Human Resources Office will be unable to assist with technical issues.