Pretreatment Compliance Specialist Senior - Austin Water

Pretreatment Compliance Specialist Senior - Austin Water

About This Position

ABOUT AUSTIN WATER: For over 100 years, Austin Water has been committed to providing safe, reliable, high-quality, and affordable water services to our customers. Today, we serve over 1,000,000 people in the Austin metropolitan area, across more than 548 square miles. As one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, we’re not just keeping up—we’re leading the way with sustainable infrastructure, advanced treatment technology, and environmental innovation.

Austin Water consistently ranks among the best in the country when it comes to water quality. We also treat, return, and recycle wastewater in ways that protect environmental resources. Austin Water exceeds federal and state requirements for clean water and environmental compliance at our water and wastewater treatment plants.

Job Description:

Purpose:

Under minimal supervision and using advanced knowledge of concepts, practices, procedures, and regulations, verify and ensure compliance of the pretreatment regulated community. Responsible for projects of advanced scope and complexity.

Duties, Functions and Responsibilities:

Essential duties and functions, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following. Other related duties may be assigned.

• Leads teams responsible for conducting, and reporting on investigations, audits, surveillance, monitoring, inspection, sampling, analyses, research, training, outreach, recognition, permitting, registration, enforcement and other environmental and pretreatment-related activities and programs.
• Initiates the negotiation to resolve cases or enforcement proceedings for environmental, pretreatment, and pollution prevention issues of diverse scope and complexity.
• Review and ensure all plans and proposals meet or exceed all federal, state, and local code/ordinance/regulations pretreatment guidelines and criteria.
• Collect, process, analyze and evaluate information and data submitted within permit applications, contracts, schedules, proposals, self-monitoring reports and laboratory reports to provide approvals, recommendations and assess compliance with applicable regulations.
• Interpret and explain City policies and procedures, and provide technical information/ advice, assistance and training for internal and external customers.
• Conduct case file preparation, initiate and participate in administrative and criminal enforcement proceedings and provide testimony in legal proceedings, for alleged violations of regulations.
• Research, develop, review, interpret, recommend, and implement changes to specifications, standards, policies, procedures, codes, regulations and ordinances.
• Leads public outreach efforts, initiatives, task forces, and committees; represent department at board and commission meetings; and conduct and make presentations for internal and external customers.
• Perform inventory procurement and control functions, and consult with and monitor performance of contractors.10. Perform rotational on-call duty and respond to spill and/or emergency events, incidents, complaints, actions and other related situations.

Responsibilities - Supervisor and/or Leadership Exercised:

May provide leadership, work assignments, evaluation, training, and guidance to others.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Must possess required knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience and be able to explain and demonstrate, with or without reasonable accommodations, that the essential functions of the job can be performed.

• Knowledge of applicable Federal, State, and Local regulations.
• Knowledge of City practices, policies, and procedures.
• Knowledge of architectural and engineering principles and practices
• Skill in oral and in written communication.
• Skill in handling multiple tasks and prioritizing.
• Skill in using computers and related software applications.
• Skill in data analysis and problem solving.
• Skill in planning and organizing.
• Skill in providing leadership, training, guidance, and technical support.
• Ability to conduct research and/or investigations.
• Ability to provide customer service and problem solving.
• Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with City employees and the public.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Graduation with a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major/minor course work in a scientific field related to the job, plus six (6) years of relevant experience; OR

• Graduation with an Associate's degree from an accredited college or university in a scientific field related to the job, plus eight (8) years of relevant experience OR

• Graduation with a Master’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in a scientific field related to the job, plus four (4) years of relevant experience.

• One (1) additional year of experience may substitute for (1) year of the required education with a maximum substitution of four (4) years.

Licenses and Certifications Required:

• Valid Texas Class C Driver License.
• US Fats, Oils, and Grease Coordinator Certification from the US FOG Alliance or the ability to obtain within six (6) months of hire.
• Pretreatment Facility Inspection Certification from an accredited college or the ability to obtain within six (6) months of hire.
• Industrial Waste Treatment Certification from an accredited college or the ability to obtain within six (6) months of hire.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Professional work experience in Natural, Environmental or Physical Science
• Experience with pretreatment or environmental/field investigations, or other regulatory compliance related activities and knowledge of local, state or federal water and wastewater rules and regulations
• Experience reviewing building and construction plans and specifications for compliance with regulations.
• Experience providing technical advice and assistance to internal and external customers

Compensation Range:

The annual hiring range for this position is $33.02-$41.28

Position Overview:

The position performs environmental compliance work for Austin Water’s approved pretreatment program. This critical work ensures that the City meets all federal and state requirements for administering a program to protect the City’s wastewater treatment and collection systems from adverse effects of industrial and commercial wastewater pollutant discharges to the City’s system. The pretreatment program helps to make sure that the wastewater treatment operations are protected and effective in assuring that the millions of gallons of wastewater treated each day at our facilities meets the strictest water quality standards and permit effluent for discharging to receiving streams in our community. This program is also responsible for ensuring that pollutant sludge standards are met consistently to allow the City to continue producing biosolids that can be re-used beneficially. The position requires someone with environmental regulatory expertise and an ability not just to learn and understand existing and new complex regulations, but also to teach commercial and industrial stakeholders and community members about these regulations and how to comply with them in furtherance of these goals. The Pretreatment Compliance Specialist, Senior position being advertised will play a large role in our program’s team that focuses on industrial user permitting, inspection and pretreatment plan reviews, but the person hired will also be expected to contribute and develop experience and expertise in all other program areas and activities.

Position(s) will be filled at the following location:

Permitting and Development Center; 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, Austin, TX 78752

Days and Hours:

Monday through Friday; 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Flexible); rotating on call

Benefits

• Working with Austin Water provides a number of health and welfare benefits, such as medical, paid leave time, a great retirement plan, training opportunities and more

• This posting may be used to fill additional vacancies that occur within the department.