TDEC-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST1* - 06302026- 78850

About the role

Under immediate supervision, is responsible for learning professional environmental, natural resources, sustainability, environmental assistance program, radiological health and/or similar science related program work of routine difficulty; and learns to perform related work as required.

Responsibilities

• Investigates complaints; develops corrective recommendations for identified problems, and if necessary, initiates legal action to effect compliance of established standards, laws, rules, regulations, or policies.
• Drafts, lays out, and specifies technical devices, parts, and equipment.
• Conducts inspections of equipment, structures and/or material, to ensure proper installation, maintenance, and/or operation.
• Determines validity and severity of an incident and appropriate response.
• Analyzes available information and makes recommendations to ensure the best solution is chosen to meet regulatory, project, and/or stakeholders' needs.
• Determines validity and severity of violation(s) and if an enforcement action is warranted.
• Reviews plans and reports to determine future regulatory actions.
• Interprets findings, results, (i.e. site inspections, permits, lab results, etc.) and communicates interpretation of regulations, policy, guidance to stakeholders.
• Prepare various publications, reports, technical documents, maps and plans.
• Generate reports and documents utilizing contemporary computer software.
• Compile legally defensible environmental documents.
• Compiles, processes, and reviews records, data, operational plans, enforcement action requests, reports, etc.
• Reviews Quality Assurance/Quality Control parameters, specific to and required by acceptable methodologies are performed with each data set.
• Prepare statistical/metric reports for aquatic, terrestrial, and wetland evaluations.
• Analyze environmental and/or other information, such as monitoring records, site inspections, sampling data to determine if further action is necessary and to evaluate trends.
• Prepare plans, maps or reports of findings relating to health and environmental data.
• Analyze environmental data using mathematical and statistical methods.
• Aid in developing standards.
• Perform laboratory or field tests based specific sample requirements.
• Review plans to ensure protection of human health and the environment.
• Interpret analytical results to determine data quality and usability.
• Aid in conducting studies of environmental pollution or ionizing radiation and any socioeconomic effects.
• Perform inspections and/or investigations when required by a specific TDEC program area such as air pollution, water resources, remediation, underground storage tanks, solid waste management, radiological health, natural areas, etc. to determine compliance with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Enforce environmental or other standards, laws, rules, regulations, and/or administrative policies and procedures, taking corrective action as warranted.
• Determine if documents (i.e., permits, applications, National Environmental Policy Act, licenses, accreditations and certifications, etc.) may be approved by reviewing and evaluating information submitted by applicant or acquired by site inspections and/or other informative sources used for determining minimum environmental or other compliance with established standards.
• Adequately adhere to requirements specified in Standard Operating Procedures and any applicable federal and/or state standards.
• Absolutely ensures statutory obligations are fulfilled.
• Oversee environmental sampling and/or investigations to assure that acceptable procedures are followed.
• Compare environmental and/or health related data to applicable criteria.
• Review and evaluate applications, forms, plans, inspection documents, general correspondence, reports or other records to ensure technical adequacy.
• Audit third party inspections of facilities to determine compliance with regulatory standards.
• Assess fees based on the regulatory standards.
• Collect environmental samples and/or monitoring data (e.g., soil, rock, air, water, sediment, sludge, biological), under physically demanding conditions.
• Perform physical activities, such as walking (i.e. ditches, uneven terrain, etc.), wading in water, climbing, lifting (such as coolers, generators, etc.), operating field equipment (backpack shockers, augers, core samplers, or probes), etc.
• Operate, carry or handle equipment/machinery unassisted that may weigh up to 50 pounds.
• Perform physically demanding, ecologically-based stewardship and natural resource management on state natural areas, (utilizing equipment, such as backpack sprayer, chainsaw, bush hog, lawnmower, tractor, etc. in the management of rare species habitat, controlled fire, trail maintenance, boundary maintenance, invasive species control, etc.)
• Document and maintain complete and accurate records, reports, logs, databases, chain-of-custody and correspondence based on established guidelines and procedures.
• Maintain records of observations made during field evaluations to document data collection, ambient site conditions, and the location of the evaluation.
• Document all relevant work activities, contacts, and meetings.
• Perform environmental or health investigations, remediation, and/or monitoring work, including sampling and evaluation of pollutants to determine compliance with environmental or other standards.
• Serve as a technical advisor to emergency responders for incidents/accidents.
• Review monitoring data to determine permit compliance, environmental standards and/or ecological conditions.
• Comply with safe handling, storage and disposal procedures for samples, laboratory reagents and other chemicals.
• Verify expiration dates of chemicals and supplies, disposing of expired materials as required by safety rules and regulations.
• Maintain and repair electronic equipment, such as radiation detection meter, photo ionization detector, pH meter, GPS, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) as needed.
• Provide technical expertise in handling events involving radiation and radioactive material, including transportation, and industrial incidents as well as natural catastrophes.
• Provide consultative, technical, or educational services to industry, municipalities, counties, individuals, or groups in the necessity and methodology of enhancing environmental stewardship, health or other standards, practices, and safety.
• Update regulatory information to stakeholders.

  Requirements

  Necessary Special Qualifications:

• Applicants for this class must: Possess a valid motor vehicle operator's license at the time of appointment in some positions.
• Applicants for the TDEC Environmental Scientist 1* or Health Physicist 1* in the Division of Radiological Health must successfully complete the training courses offered by the Division of Radiological Health.
• Failure to do so may result in termination.
• TDEC Environmental Scientist's 1* performing geologic duties the major portion of their time must: have completed the required college course work at the time of appointment to be eligible to take the licensing examination offered by Tennessee's Department of Commerce and Insurance's Board of Professional Geologists, or b.) hold and maintain a current Geologic license from the State of Tennessee during employment or hold a current Geologic license from another State that Tennessee has evaluated and granted reciprocal licensing rights.
• Some TDEC Environmental Scientist 1* positions assigned to function as Biologists must meet the specific educational requirements for Biologists, as follows: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree, including at least 36 quarter hours (or 24 semester hours) in biology, in one of the following areas: (1) biology or biological sciences, (2) botanical sciences, (3) environmental or conservation sciences, (4) zoological sciences, or (5) aquatic, terrestrial, or wetland biology or ecology or other acceptable biological science related field.

  Qualifications

  Education and Experience:

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in environmental science, physical sciences (e.g. physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology), ecology, sustainability or applied science in sustainability, life sciences (e.g. biology, microbiology, health physics or biophysics), environmental health, pre-medicine, engineering or other acceptable science or natural resource related field.