Environmental Affairs Professional

Bachelor's degree in a related field of science or engineering and 2 years of professional experience

• Technical Expertise - Possesses advanced knowledge and extensive technical expertise in the area of environmental regulatory permitting and compliance and has the ability to understand related actions to find or to organize a process to find the relevant technical information needed to address a problem and /or a solution. Extensive knowledge of State and Federal environmental regulations as well as nationally accepted standards, guidelines, and other related conventions on compliance. Expert knowledge of environmental monitoring and sampling methods.

• Leadership Aptitude - Has clear focus on customer service as well as safety and compliance; ability to work within a strong and effective team gaining synergy across discipline boundaries

• Analytical Thinking - Identifies causal relationships, often through the use of a chain of inferences; breaking apart a large problem into manageable pieces in a systematic manner versus trying to fit a previous experience into a situation.

• Planning - Uses a planning model or a systematic method with the planning process to create an organized approach to planning. This will result in a clear plan of action where responsibilities are defined, benchmarks established and a recycling process is included.

• Relationship Building - Networks to build and maintain friendly relationships or contacts with people who are or might someday be helpful in achieving work-related goals. Builds rapport with others as well as actively pursuing and maintaining a wide breadth of contacts to deepen effectiveness within his or her network, both through work related chats and friendly social relationships. Utilizes a network for needed information, advice, or assistance. Utilizes an individual with a network to influence someone else or bringing people in a network together to accomplish a task, find a better solution, or identify a problem. Ability to work within a strong and effective team gaining synergy across discipline boundaries.

• Impact and Influence - Persuades, influences, or convinces others in order to elicit their support for his or her point of view and/or wishes resulting in a specific impact upon the thoughts, feelings, or behaviors of others.

• Negotiating Skills - Identifies and meets the basic needs of others as opposed to dealing only with the presented or stated need. Exhibits a great deal of flexibility around the means by which other people's needs are met, i.e., through offering and/or seeking creative solutions.

• Perseverance - Avoids the temptation to drop a goal because there are obstacles, opposition, difficulties, or personal risks that seem high if one moves forward. It is not expressed as persevering with a doomed course of action but sticking with the problem. The common theme is not abandoning the problem.

• Achievement Orientation - Accomplishes goals in an improved, better and faster, or more effective way. Measures or quantifies results or potential results in cost/benefit and business terms. Optimizes actions taken by weighing both business and environmental compliance tasks and searches for a moderate-risk course of action to achieve goals. Proactively pursues return on investment and often assumes direct leadership of the return on investment.

• Order, Accuracy, and Clarity - Drives to reduce uncertainty; keeping clear and carful records; developing and using systems to organize and keep track of information; monitors other's work to ensure established protocols are followed.

• Self-Control - Inhibits personal needs or desires in service of organizational needs by weighing the cost benefit to the group, organization, or system before expressing or advancing personal needs or desires. Remains cool under stress. Sees justice and equity as important and shifting or changing to be just and fair. Is self-disciplined; changing the approach to problem solving or priorities of work assignments; implementing a solution in order to meet organizational needs even if personal needs are subordinated. Displays professionalism and integrity in representing the Environmental Safety Division

• Serves and supports the University mission in the area of Environmental Compliance. Has the ability to oversee incorporation and implementation of university, state, federal and local regulations, policies, standards, best practices, and guidelines.
• Applies extensive knowledge and understanding of environmental regulatory principles, practices, and equipment to determine if proper methods and procedures are utilized and to assure compliance with university, state, federal, and local requirements.
• Designs and implements corrective actions for non-standard situations/occurrences requiring immediate attention.
• Tracks emerging issues where limited information exists.
• Serves as a member, ex officio member, or technical expert for institutional safety and/or compliance committee(s) as applicable and other subject matter committees as appropriate.
• In collaboration with the Environmental Affairs Manager and the AVP for Environmental Safety, plans, develops, implements, and improves compliance initiatives and programs that are significant in scope and in compliance with University, State, and Federal laws and regulations such as:

1. Title V Air Quality Program (Clean Air Act)
2. Public Drinking Water Systems (Safe Drinking Water Act)
3. Wastewater Treatment and Discharges to Surface Waters (Clean Water Act)
4. Underground Injection Control (Georgia Water Quality Act)
5. Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plans (Clean Water Act)
6. Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (Georgia Water Quality Control Act)
7. Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction Activities Plans (Clean Water Act)
8. Universal Waste Plans (Resource Recovery and Conservation Act)
9. Used Oil Program (Resource Recovery and Conservation Act)
10. Petroleum Storage Tank Management Program (Georgia Underground Storage Act)
11. Environmental Spill or Release Response (Georgia Oil or Hazardous Spills or Releases Act)
12. PCBs in Building Materials Monitoring Plans (Toxic Substances Control Act)
13. Groundwater Remediation Site Management (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)

• Works directly with administrators, faculty, and staff to assess proposed activities or operations to determine permitting requirements.
• Works directly with local, state, and federal regulatory agencies to determine necessary permits, complete the application process, and obtain the permits to allow proposed activities and operations to proceed. Tracks the status of active permits and works directly with the permit user and the permitting agency to begin the renewal process in a timely manner to prevent any lapse in permit coverage.
• Coordinates the University's permit compliance reporting to state and federal regulatory agencies through the current online electronic systems and processes such as GEOS and NetDMR.
• Conducts audits of various programs administered by less experienced practitioners; investigate difficulty/complex situations that have significant consequence of error; determine and adapt procedures and/or practices based on a broad variety of regulations impacting assessment and corrective action.
• Identifies potential areas of compliance vulnerability and risk; develops and implements corrective action plans for resolution of problematic issues; provides general guidance on how to avoid or address similar situations in the future.
• Informs the Environmental Affairs Manager and the AVP for Environmental Safety of important programmatic, regulatory, University leadership, campus, and media concerns in area of environmental compliance.
• Serves as a primary resource for information, instruction, or clarification for about any aspect of environmental compliance.

• Supports UGA Dining Services in the acquisition and maintenance of all food service permits, permanent or temporary, granted by the Athens Clarke County Health Department.
• Communicates any changes in policy or enforcement to affected Dining Services, UGA Athletics and Georgia Center for Continuing Education managers and employees.
• Works with Dining Services and the Athens-Clarke County Health Department to complete variance applications as necessary.
• Tracks health inspection scores and inspection dates.
• Coordinates with Athletics and Athens-Clarke County Health Department on food service inspections for large-scale events on campus.
• Reviews and provides comments on plans for all new construction and renovation projects for compliance and applicable law.
• Serves as liaison between Dining Services and Athens Clarke County Health Department on issues pertaining to federal, state and local food safety and sanitation laws and their enforcement.
• Serves as the departmental point of contact and resource for circumstances related to federal, state and local food safety and sanitation laws.
• Contributes to the management of food safety training needs and interpreting feedback from management, staff and administration.
• Conducts food safety mock inspections.
• Provide excellent customer service to internal and external customers regarding food safety
• On-Site Sewage Management Systems
• Coordinates with Athens-Clarke County Health Department on septic tank permits, repair permits, existing system evaluations, site evaluations, and proposed system plan reviews in accordance with state law and to ensure correct installation and proper repair of UGA owned on-site sewage management systems.

• Coordinates with Athens-Clarke County Health Department on compliance inspections to assure adherence to design, operation, and maintenance rules as well as complaint investigations associated with pools or spas on campus.

• Serves as the University's Public Employee Hazardous Chemical Right-to-Know Coordinator
• Develops, reviews, updates, and implements the University Right-to-Know Plan to ensure institutional compliance with state law.
• Coordinates with the University System of Georgia (USG) Environmental Health and Safety Manager to facilitate consistency of implementation system wide.
• Compiles and submits a complete inventory of the chemicals present at the University to the USG Environmental Health and Safety Manager semi-annually.
• Coordinates the management and availability of Safety Data Sheets for all hazardous chemicals present at the University.
• Coordinates UGA's three phase approach to Right-to-Know training through University Human Resources Onboarding Training (Phase 1), University Human Resources, Professional Education Portal (Phase 2), and work unit specific training by PIs and supervisors (Phase 3).
• Serves as a primary resource for information, instruction, or clarification about any aspect of the University's Public Employee Hazardous Chemical Right-to-Know program.
• Serves as the University's Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Coordinator
• In coordination with the USG Environmental Health and Safety Manager, develops, reviews, updates, and implements the University's Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Standard Operating Procedure in compliance with federal law and Board of Regents Policy.
• Coordinates with the University System of Georgia (USG) Environmental Health and Safety Manager to facilitate consistency of implementation system wide.
• Submits required reports of chemicals exceeding federally designated quantities to the State Emergency Planning Commission, the Local Emergency Planning Commission and the Local Fire Department through the E-Plan system.
• Coordinates the report of any release of toxic chemicals exceeding the federally designated reportable quantity to the state emergency planning commission and the local emergency planning commission.
• Serves as the point of contact for the state emergency planning commission, the local emergency planning commission, and the local fire department with regard to the University's Emergency Planning Community Right to Know program.
• Serves as a primary resource for information, instruction, or clarification about any aspect of the University's Emergency Planning Community Right to Know program.

• Provides training to UGA stakeholders in the area of environmental compliance and assists in the development of new training related to environmental compliance.
• Serves as the University's Alternate Responsible Official for the environmental compliance area in the absence of the Environmental Affairs Manager.
• Occasionally performs duties of a Senior Safety and Compliance Officer.
• Participates in the Programs for Research, Environmental, Health and Safety (PREHS) incident response team, responding to releases and spills of hazardous chemicals, infectious agents, radioactive materials, and /or other environmental releases after hours or on holidays.
• Other duties as assigned by the Environmental Affairs Manager or the AVP for Environmental Safety.