Environmental Compliance Specialist III

Aqua, Inc.; Town of Texas, Spring (WI, TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Aqua, an Essential Utilities company, seeks a qualified individual to lead operational excellence at wastewater plants. This role involves compliance activities, data analysis, and training staff while ensuring adherence to environmental regulations. The ideal candidate will balance field experience with regulatory demands and engage with various stakeholders.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package

Career growth opportunities

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of wastewater operations and compliance experience.
• Strong experience with databases and analytical tools.

Responsibilities

• Leads operational excellence efforts at wastewater plants.
• Coordinates environmental compliance activities and audits.
• Provides on-site training for operations staff.

Skills

Analytical Skills

Interpersonal Skills

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in environmental or civil engineering

Bachelor's degree in environmental science

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

Aqua, an Essential Utilities company, employs people in a variety of roles within our eight-state footprint, ranging from field workers and customer service representatives who are on the front lines working with customers, to scientists and engineers who help ensure we're delivering reliable water and wastewater services to our communities. If you're looking for a rewarding career helping improve our environment and protect our natural resources, we encourage you to join our team!

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc. delivers safe, clean, reliable services that improve quality of life for individuals, families, and entire communities.

Operating as the Aqua (water and wastewater services) and the Peoples and Delta (natural gas) brands, Essential serves approximately 5.5 million people across 10 states. We are committed to sustainable growth, operational excellence, a superior customer experience, and premier employer status - including a competitive and comprehensive benefits package as well as a commitment to career growth opportunities.

We are advocates for the communities we serve and are dedicated stewards of natural lands, protecting more than 7,600 acres of forests and other habitats throughout our footprint.

Our company is one of the most significant publicly traded water, wastewater service and natural gas providers in the U.S.

Position can be located in Spring or Austin Texas

Leads statewide operational excellence efforts at wastewater plants and collection systems, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. Coordinates and performs environmental wastewater compliance activities, including audits, field assessments, and data analysis. Builds and maintains close working relationships with key stakeholders, including field operators, supervisors, managers, state regulators, and community partners. Additional duties include on-site training with operators and representing the company at various state and local levels. Therefore, the ideal candidate balances field experience with regulatory reporting demands, with moderate day travel required (15-25%). This position reports to the Texas Director of Operations and works alongside various management teams to execute and oversee the performance and compliance of the state wastewater program.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible for leading our field operations team to achieve optimal performance and rigid compliance with state and federal wastewater regulations.
• Performs recurring audits and assessments (field and office), reviews sampling and inspection data and responds to findings to ensure operational adjustments are performed by operators and supervisors.
• Optimally balances field and office time to achieve duties and responsibilities, travel is required (15-25% of time depending on inspections, trainings, and asset driven intervention needed across three largest service footprints) .
• Identifies, prevents and resolves both treatment and compliance issues.
• Tracks and reviews daily operational data logs and laboratory data.
• Provides recurring on-site operational and compliance training for operations staff.
• Collaborates with state operations and engineering in the development of annual capital improvement plans that identify and prioritize capital projects that impact operational excellence and regulatory compliance.
• Represents the company at various state and local levels. Builds and maintains positive public relations with internal stakeholders, key customers, local officials, state regulators, other state agencies elected officials and industry groups.
• Ensures compliance with required safety policies and programs.
• Coordinates and oversees environmental programs including wastewater sampling programs, pretreatment, and/or grease control programs. Assists and trains operations team with these programs.
• Organizes and tracks compliance data to ensure compliance with departmental and regulatory standards policies, and procedures. Conducts data analysis, summarizes findings and prepares reports on various programs.
• Makes recommendations to leadership when issues or questions arise that could result in suboptimal performance or non-compliance.
• Identifies gaps in documentation or potential areas of non-compliance and recommends solutions.
• Reviews inspection reports and regulatory correspondence, meeting with operators and supervisors to gather details, present findings and correct deficiencies. Partners with internal stakeholders to draft and issue responses.
• Reviews and analyzes new and proposed environmental regulations and permits. Informs management of potential impact of the regulations and assists management with written comments on the regulations as needed. Provides regulatory updates to operations staff on any new sampling requirements are issued.
• Coordinates, drafts, and issues any public notices. Partners with management, engineering and PR staff as needed on communications.
• Serves as a company representative to discuss water quality issues with customers who contact Aqua. Performs and logs phone conversations and mails test results.
• Assists in the resolution or response to compliance violations.
• Performs other related activities as requested.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in environmental or civil engineering, environmental science, or a related field
• A minimum of 5 years related wastewater operations and compliance experience, with a heavy focus on wastewater.
• Strong experience working with databases and analytical tools.
• Possess, or has the ability to obtain, state certifications: C-Wastewater license
• Valid US driver's license

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• A broad knowledge of Clean Water Act (CWA)
• Strong familiarity with wastewater, air and solid waste environmental laws and regulations
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal skills
• Strong analytical and investigative skills
• Ability to communicate regulatory requirements with customers and the general public
• Ability to use Microsoft Office Suite: Word, PowerPoint and Excel

Overall Physical Requirements

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
• Light lifting work, occasionally lifts 10 pounds and frequently lifts 10 pounds.
• Frequently is required to climb stairs or ladders at water and /or wastewater treatment facilities.

Working Conditions

• Up to 25% travel required.
• Position is subject to both inside and outside environmental conditions.

Aqua, an Essential Utilities company is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. Equal employment opportunity is provided to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to the following legally protected characteristics: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions, including medical conditions related to lactation), physical or mental disability, covered-veteran status, genetic information (including testing and characteristics), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state or federal law.
Aqua is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you have a condition that may prevent you from applying for a job online or need to request an accommodation during the interview process, please call (1-877-271-9012).
To maintain the integrity of the recruitment process and to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest due to employment and/or assignment of family members and personal referrals, specific guidelines apply to the hiring and assignment of these individuals including, but not limited to:

• Family members cannot result in a supervisor/subordinate reporting relationship
• Family members cannot work in the same department.