Lead Specialist, Environmental

Lead Environmental Specialist

The Lead Environmental Specialist will provide leadership and overall management of environmental compliance activities for AES Harding Street and AES Georgetown generating stations. This role is responsible for ensuring that all site environmental obligations are completed accurately, fully, and on time, including compliance with applicable air, water, waste, and other environmental regulatory requirements. The position will work under the supervision of the Manager, Environmental, and in close collaboration with site Operations & Maintenance teams, plant leadership, Environmental Affairs, and other internal stakeholders.

The Lead Environmental Specialist will serve as a key environmental compliance resource for the sites, providing guidance, training, data management, permitting support, regulatory tracking, compliance reporting, audit support, and leadership for AES environmental programs and objectives.

• Ensure compliance with all applicable environmental regulations, permit conditions, corporate environmental requirements, and site-specific obligations at AES Harding Street and AES Georgetown generating stations.
• Collect, compile, verify, manage, and analyze environmental data to prepare, review, submit, and maintain accurate environmental compliance and regulatory reports, permits, inspections, and program documentation, ensuring timely completion of all agency and corporate reporting requirements.
• Ensure required inspections, tests, records, reports, submittals, and environmental compliance deliverables are completed in a timely manner.
• Manage and maintain the AES Environmental Management System for the assigned generating stations, including development and tracking of site-specific environmental objectives, environmental audit activities, and corrective action closure.
• Provide environmental compliance guidance, coaching, and training to Operations, Maintenance, leadership, contractors, and other applicable stakeholder groups to improve environmental awareness and ensure understanding of site compliance requirements.
• Review operational and environmental data to identify potential permit deviations, compliance trends, deficiencies, excursions, or regulatory concerns, and communicate issues promptly to appropriate internal and external stakeholders.
• Report, support, and provide management direction for correction, mitigation, and prevention of environmental deficiencies, excursions, regulatory violations, and audit findings.
• Support routine permitting efforts and coordinate with Environmental Affairs subject matter experts on relevant rule making, regulatory changes, permit issues, comment development, and impact evaluations, as requested.
• Provide change management support for new or changing environmental priorities, methodologies, policies, rules, and regulations affecting environmental compliance obligations at the assigned generating stations.
• Support environmental audits, lead or assist with internal auditing activities, and ensure findings and corrective action plans are addressed in a timely manner.
• Develop, track, and support site-specific environmental budgets, including proactive communication of budget deviations and integration of environmental requirements into business planning.
• Implement and maintain environmental compliance processes, operating procedures, data management practices, and continuous improvement initiatives that support consistent environmental program execution across facilities.
• Participate in environmental inspections, EHS walks, sustainability opportunities, environmental awareness initiatives, and environmental performance activities that support AES environmental goals and objectives.
• Work collaboratively with plant personnel to respond to environmental questions, concerns, permit requirements, regulatory issues, inspections, data requests, and compliance needs.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Management, or a closely related technical or science-based field.
• Minimum of six years of professional environmental compliance experience, including experience in industrial, processing, manufacturing, utility, or power generation environments.
• Strong working knowledge of Indiana environmental regulations and applicable federal, state, and local environmental regulatory requirements.
• Experience with Clean Air Act, Title V air permitting and compliance, Clean Water Act, NPDES permitting and compliance, hazardous waste permitting and compliance, and multi-media environmental compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to collect, review, verify, analyze, and report environmental operating data accurately and on time.
• Excellent verbal, written, interpersonal, and computer skills, with the ability to communicate environmental requirements clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail,…