Spill Responder (Environmental Specialist 3) (In Training)

State of Washington; Bellingham (WA); Hybrid; USD 48,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

The State of Washington's Department of Ecology seeks a Spill Responder (Environmental Specialist 3) in Training, located at the Bellingham Field Office, WA. You must reside within a 60-minute commute and may telework part of the time.

As part of a multi-disciplinary team, you will lead spill responses, serve as initial incident commander, coordinate containment and cleanup, and provide technical support with documentation across federal, state, and local partners.

Qualifications

• Five (5) years of relevant experience.

Responsibilities

• Conduct responses to spills of oil and hazardous substances, abandoned waste, fish kills and other environmental and human health emergencies.
• Serve as initial incident commander and State On-Scene Coordinator for spills of petroleum products and hazardous materials on water and land.
• Conduct operations to control, contain and cleanup spills, investigate the cause of spills and response actions taken by parties responsible for spills, directs environmental response contractors, and coordinates responses with appropriate private, local, state and federal representatives involved.
• Open containers of unknowns, take samples, overpack and transport abandoned chemical wastes for final disposal.
• Offer technical assistance and limited regulatory interpretation to parties involved in spill incidents and drug lab cleanups.
• Prepare and complete all documentation and reporting associated with such incidents.

Skills

Emergency response

Incident command

Regulatory interpretation

Job description

Description

Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

The Department of Ecology is hiring a Spill Responder (Environmental Specialist 3) (In Training) within the Spill Prevention, Preparedness, and Response program.

Location

• Bellingham Field Office in Bellingham, WA.
• Must live within a 60-minute commuting distance of the Bellingham Field Office.
• This position is eligible for a 10% Spill Response Assignment Pay once all training requirements and certifications are met and maintained. This position also has periods of mandatory overtime. Additionally, this position is required to participate in an after-hour on-call duty rotation.

Schedule

• This position is eligible for telework and flexible schedule options.
• This position requires field work and emergency response, while there is some office work and you may telework most of your office work time with occasional in-person meetings and activities.
• Schedules are dependent upon position needs and are subject to change.

Application Timeline

• Apply by July 28, 2026.
• Applications submitted after the date above may not be reviewed unless additional qualified applicants are needed.

Duties

In this role, you will work with a multi-disciplinary team and use science to solve complex environmental challenges. Working with other federal, state, local and tribal response partners, you will serve as Ecology’s State On-Scene Coordinator leading the response and cleanup of complex environmental spills. Your efforts will result in immediate improvements to the safety of Washington residents and our environment.

What you will do:

• Conduct responses to spills of oil and hazardous substances, abandoned waste, fish kills and other environmental and human health emergencies.
• Serve as initial incident commander and State On-Scene Coordinator for spills of petroleum products and hazardous materials on water and land.
• Conduct operations to control, contain and cleanup spills, investigate the cause of spills and response actions taken by parties responsible for spills, directs environmental response contractors, and coordinates responses with appropriate private, local, state and federal representatives involved.
• Open containers of unknowns, take samples, overpack and transport abandoned chemical wastes for final disposal.
• Offer technical assistance and limited regulatory interpretation to parties involved in spill incidents and drug lab cleanups.
• Prepare and complete all documentation and reporting associated with such incidents.

Qualifications

For detailed information on how we calculate experience, please visit our Recruitment website.

To qualify at the Environmental Specialist 2 level (In-Training)

Pay Range 47 $4,300 - $5,779 monthly

Five (5) years of