Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Closure Specialist; Environmental Specialist

Description

Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

The Department of Ecology is hiring a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Closure Specialist (Environmental Specialist
3) within the Nuclear Waste Program.

Location:

• Richland Field Office in Richland, WA.
• Upon hire, you must live within a commutable distance from the selected duty station.

Schedule:

• This position is eligible for telework and flexible schedule options.
• You may telework most of your work time with occasional in-person meetings and activities.
• Schedules are dependent upon position needs and are subject to change.

Application Timeline:

• Apply by September 13, 2026
• Applications submitted after the date above may not be reviewed unless additional qualified applicants are needed.

In this role, you will perform permit application review, permit development, and compliance assurance for assigned Hanford facilities to achieve compliance with state and federal regulations and cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Facility. You will respond to incidents and deviations for closure activities and implement necessary modifications to the plan to achieve clean closure.

What you will do:

• Conduct review of documents, reports, and permit applications to determine compliance with applicable state and federal requirements and to determine consistency with guidance, policy, and past precedence.
• Coordinate closure document and report reviews. This ensures we have the appropriate Subject Matter Expert(s) (SME)(s) included for review of documentation and the closure report.
• Coordinate planned and unplanned site visits to ensure compliance to closure plan.
• Oversight of compliance and waste management work at permitted and regulated facilities by supporting compliance inspections, reporting suspected noncompliance to the compliance team and reviewing technical data for consistency with permitting documents and applicable state and federal regulations.
• Coordinate and lead internal and external meetings with Ecology technical staff and the permit tees.
• Represent the agency on Hanford cleanup issues through public presentations, technical meetings, interested party meetings, negotiations, and consultations.

For detailed information on how we calculate experience and responses to other frequently asked questions, please visit our Recruitment website.

Required Qualifications:

Six years of experience and/or education related to the essential functions and key activities of the position, which includes the following:

• Critical Thinking - Ability to problem-solve and evaluate complex technical and regulatory information, assess risk and uncertainty, and apply sound judgment when making compliance decisions.
• Project Management – Ability to plan, coordinate, and track project activities to ensure environmental review, permitting, and compliance tasks are completed accurately and on schedule.
• Workload Management – Ability to organize work, manage competing timelines, and adjust priorities to maintain consistent progress across multiple facilities and project assignments.
• Data Analysis and Regulatory Interpretation - Ability to review, interpret and evaluate environmental data to determine regulatory significance and accuracy.
• Technical Permit Writing
  - Ability to develop, draft and finalize environmental permits, modifications and regulatory decisions that are clear, accurate, enforceable, and compliant with state and federal environmental regulations.
• Regulatory Decision Negotiation - Ability to negotiate permitting decisions with regulated entities, public interest groups, and partner agencies.

Education: Involving a major study in environmental, physical, or one of the natural sciences; environmental or natural science interdisciplinary studies; environmental planning, or an academic discipline related to the duties of the position.

Examples of how to qualify:

• 6 years of experience.
• 5 years of experience AND 30-59 semester or 45-89 quarter college credits.
• 4 years of experience AND 60-89 semester or 90-134 quarter college credits (Associate’s degree).
• 3 years of experience AND 90-119 semester or 135-179 quarter college credits.
• 2 years of experience AND a Bachelor’s degree.
• a…