EPS II - Enforcement Specialist - 874

Work Unit

The Drinking Water Compliance Assurance Section (DWCAS) exists to complete assigned compliance assurance, compliance assistance and formal enforcement activities in accordance with DWCAS standards for work quality, timeliness, business processes and procedures. DWCAS is responsible for adopting and implementing regulations, data management and reporting, maintaining accurate and complete information in the database(s) of record, establishing regulatory monitoring requirements, providing compliance assistance, reviewing and analyzing self-reported analytical data and other compliance information and applying regulation and policy to assess compliance, notifying water systems of non-compliance, entering and tracking violations in the database(s) of record, conducting informal enforcement and developing formal enforcement orders and tracking and following up on issued orders. 

The Enforcement Unit, in conjunction with the Section’s North, South, and Mobile Home Park Compliance Units, is responsible for researching compliance history, negotiating
compliance schedules, developing enforcement intent letters, developing and issuing enforcement orders, issuing cease-and-desist orders, calculating penalties, tracking/following up on enforcement orders, and developing Program and EPA metrics (e.g., drafting the Section’s quarterly response for the EPA’s Enforcement Targeting
Tool, responding to EPA’s National Compliance Initiative questions, Safe Drinking Water Program’s Strategic Plan, etc.). This unit also ensures that the Section and Program
meet all of our primary drinking water enforcement responsibilities by addressing enforcement targets, whether identified by EPA or internally, in accordance with federal,
EPA, and state regulations, guidance, and policy.

 

About the position

This position specializes in two important and innovative enforcement initiatives for the state of Colorado. This position may be assigned other enforcement duties related to
Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations (Regulation 11) and the Water and Wastewater Facilities Operator Certification Requirements (Regulation 100) to address a backlog due to increased workload within the program.

The first initiative is Colorado’s Mobile Home Park Water Quality Act. Colorado lawmakers passed the Act to address a regulatory gap affecting over 500 mobile home park communities in the state. It requires all mobile home park owners, regardless of park size or water source, to remediate identified water quality issues within the park. As highlighted in the Department’s “Action Plan: Water Quality in Mobile Home Parks" https://cdphe.colorado.gov/mobile-home-parks ” one of the innovations of this Act is that, in addition to requiring remediation of health risks, it also incorporates community feedback and aims to address welfare issues (such as color, taste, odor, and other problems). This position is responsible for coordinating and completing work related to enforcement actions against park owners who fail to meet the requirements to provide water that is safe and healthy to drink. This position identifies enforcement targets, drafts legal orders, manages enforcement cases, issues penalties, and closes orders. This position may be required to support litigation proceedings and may be required to testify in adjudicatory hearings. This position works closely with a wide range of divisions and agencies. For example, this position participates in a grant award committee, coordinates with environmental justice stakeholders, and consults with Assistant Attorneys General.

The second initiative assigned to this position is managing enforcement cases in 17 small, rural communities that have naturally occurring radionuclide contamination in their groundwater in the Lower Arkansas Valley in southeastern Colorado. These communities are participants in the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a 130-mile pipeline that will serve safe drinking water to 50,000 people in rural communities east of Pueblo, Colorado. The economically disadvantaged communities of the Lower Arkansas Valley have been waiting for the construction of the pipeline since the US Congress authorized the project in 1962. The Bureau of Reclamation broke ground on the $1.3 billion trunk pipeline project in 2020 expects to be able to serve the first community in the near future. This position manages the enforcement cases for participants of the Arkansas Valley Conduit https://secwcd.org/content/arkansas-valley-conduit . This position builds and enhances local relationships, provides compliance assistance, and connects the communities to resources to support their capacity (technical, managerial, and financial capacity) to operate their drinking water systems and manage their individual construction projects.

Minimum Qualifications

Six  (6) years of professional compliance and enforcement experience with environmental laws. 

OR

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in engineering, environmental science, natural science, physical science or a closely related field.

 AND 

Two years of professional compliance and enforcement experience with environmental laws.

OR

Substitutions

Professional compliance and enforcement experience with environmental laws may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for the bachelor's degree.

A master's degree from an accredited college or university in one of the above-referenced fields may be substituted for the bachelor's degree and two years of the required six years of experience.

 

The required experience must be substantiated within the work experience section of your application. Your resume will not be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications; only the work experience section of your application will be reviewed to determine this. "See Resume" statements on the application will not be accepted. In addition, part-time work will be prorated.

 

Preferred Qualifications and Essential Competencies

• Experience with compliance and/or enforcement specific to state and federal drinking water (i.e., Safe Drinking Water Act or Regulation 11 of the Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations) and/or clean water (i.e. Clean Water Act, NPDES, etc.).

• Critical thinker with demonstrated talent for analyzing and assessing all sides of a question or an issue in order to make a more informed decision.

• Excellent problem solving skills including the ability to handle difficult or unexpected situations in the workplace as well as complex business challenges.

• Demonstrated ability to present information accurately, effectively, and concisely, both verbally and in writing.

• A working knowledge of drinking water treatment processes and operations.

• The ability to effectively and efficiently utilize spreadsheets for performing calculations and for analyzing and trending data.

• Experience working with databases and with utilizing queries for accessing the information in the databases.

• Experience developing, coordinating with other staff, and implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs).

 

Conditions of Employment

A pre-employment background check will be conducted as part of the selection process. Should your background check reveal any charges and convictions, it is your responsibility to provide the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Human Resources office with an official disposition of any charges.

Appeal Rights:

If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for the position or that as a result of no longer being considered, you were discriminated against, you may protest the action by filing an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the date you receive notice of the elimination. Also, if you wish to challenge the selection and comparative analysis process, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the receipt of notice or knowledge of the action you are challenging. If an applicant seeks to have an allegation of discrimination reviewed by the Board, that person must file an appeal (petition for hearing) within 10 days of the action or receipt of any final written selection decision. Refer to Chapters 4 and 8 of the State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, 4 CCR 801, for more information about the appeals process. The State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures are available at www.colorado.gov/spb. A standard appeal form is available at: www.colorado.gov/spb. If you appeal, your appeal must be submitted in writing on the official appeal form, signed by you or representative, and received at the following address within 10 days of your receipt of notice or knowledge of the action: Colorado State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director, Attn: Appeals Processing, 1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver, CO 80203. Fax: 303-866-5038. Phone: 303-866-3300. The ten-day deadline and these appeal procedures also applies to all charges of discrimination.

Applicant Checklist: The following must be submitted by the application deadline.

1. A completed State of Colorado application submitted online via colorado.gov/jobs by the application deadline.
2. A cover letter that describes how your experience aligns with the minimum and preferred qualifications of this position. Cover letters must be uploaded as an attachment to your colorado.gov/jobs application. Cover letters will not be accepted after the closing date and time of the announcement.
3. If using education to qualify, submit a copy of your transcripts. An unofficial copy will be accepted.

The Selection Process:  Applicants will be notified at each step in the selection process via email. Emails will come from info@governmentjobs.com.  

1. All applications that are received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications proceed to the next step. 
2. Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted based on merit and fitness through a comparative analysis process.
   1. Part of, or all of, the comparative analysis for this position may be a structured application review, which involves a review of the information you submit in your application materials by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) against the preferred qualifications. 
3. A top group, up to six candidates, will be invited to schedule an interview with the hiring manager.

E-Verify: CDPHE uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
 

ADAAA Accommodations: 

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them.  Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator, or call 303-692-2060, option 5.