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Environmental Scientist Position

The Department of Environmental Quality / Office of Environmental Assessment has a vacancy.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's (LDEQ) mission is to provide service to the people of Louisiana through comprehensive environmental protection in order to promote and protect health, safety, and welfare.

We're looking for driven, solutions-oriented individuals to join the Office of Environmental Assessment within the Water Planning Divisiona team dedicated to protecting Louisiana's water resources through sound science, planning, and infrastructure investment. As part of the Clean Water Act Programs and DEQ's Water Quality Management Plan, you'll play a key role in assessing and managing water quality initiatives that support both environmental protection and community development.

Minimum Qualifications

A bachelor's degree in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography / geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field; OR a master's degree or doctorate in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography / geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field.

Job Specification

The official job specifications for this role, as defined by the State Civil Service, can be found here.

Job Duties and Other Information

Job Duties : The incumbent of this Environmental Scientist position will perform work in the water quality program, Water Planning and Assessment Division, Office of Environmental Assessment, supporting the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Louisiana Environmental Quality Act (LEQA) and supporting regulations. The incumbent will be responsible for the performance of scientific / technical work associated with statewide water quality management related to water quality standards and assessment. The incumbent will work alone or on a team of ESs; will be involved in the evaluation, analysis, and reporting of laboratory data; state water quality assessments and reporting; water quality and related data compilation, analysis, and summarization; and / or water quality standards development and / or revision. The incumbent should have strong verbal and written communication skills and should possess technical, analytical, and computer skills with an understanding of spreadsheets, word processing, database querying, coding, data reporting tools, and statistical applications. The incumbent should have familiarity with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and general map reading. The work is performed in accordance with Department rules, regulations, policies, quality management plans, applicable state and federal laws, internal policy based on historical precedents, draft regulations, and best professional judgment. The incumbent may receive technical direction from agency water quality standards and assessment staff / senior scientists. The incumbent must have excellent written and verbal skills. The incumbent will work with multi-divisional and / or multi-agency projects and programs. The incumbent will be involved in staff development such as through training / mentoring for environmental scientists. Direct supervision is received from an Environmental Scientist Supervisor.

• Manage water quality program datasets, data quality and basic data reporting; Verify data and coordinate the input / upload of data into appropriate data management system(s), including but not limited to water quality program LEAU database including chemical, biological, and physical data sets and other program databases, EQuIS, and EPA's STORET / WQX and ATTAINS systems, or other appropriate data flows using the Exchange Network and Nodes; Find and report suspected technical inaccuracies to supervisor and coordinate any required revisions to the data; Verification of data is made through contact with laboratory, field, and office personnel; Provide data deliverables, not otherwise available on the internet to internal and external customers; Create basic database queries to generate data reports and deliverables; Coordinate with Environmental Scientists and Supervisor and / or Manager to ensure accuracy and completeness of reports and deliverables; Maintain data tracking systems to assist staff and management in determining whether project datasets meet planned expectations and section milestones in accordance with appropriate Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs), grant work plans, Water Quality Management Plan, or other; Maintain external datasets in accordance with appropriate policies and procedures; Provide assistance, as needed, to information technology staff for the creation and maintenance of databases and tables used to store the technical data for the section; Assist staff in the compilation, organization, and presentation of pertinent data from the water quality standards and assessment programs and other water quality data projects; Review disparate data formats to develop and maintain data set / database standardization for consistent formatting and accessibility; Evaluate water quality data sets for completeness and accuracy; Review and provide documentation of evaluation of water quality data sets for technical acceptability; Perform quality assurance and quality control for data and maintain data documentation for LEAU, WQX, ATTAINS and other databases and data exchanges utilized by the section, and maintain awareness of data documentation for external sources of data, sets utilized by the section.
• Participate in planning sessions and prepare QAPPs, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and other documents providing direction and guidance on water quality programs, projects, and processes; Assist in review of and prepare technical documents to support water quality standards such as in the Triennial Review or other standards development and / or revision activities; Assist in water quality assessments such as through preparation of the Integrated Report of Water Quality (Clean Water Act Section 305(b)); Serve as project lead or on a team for special projects supporting water quality standards and assessment; Prepare technical reports on water quality topics; Use data query tools, statistical applications, and bibliographic software; Use GIS software to evaluate and illustrate water quality data; Summarize statistics for special studies and reports, including water quality standards development and / or revision and water quality assessments (e.g. Integrated Report); Serve on groups or teams to draft proposed regulations, develop fiscal and economic impact statements and other regulatory forms, and respond to comments on advance notice and proposed state rules and water quality standards; Review and comment on proposed federal rules and guidance related to water quality management; Provide routine and as needed updates for grant reporting and event tracking; Provide updates for routine performance indicator reporting; Represent the division and department at hearings, meetings, conferences, on taskforces and workgroups, and when working with the watershed community and other stakeholders affected by the division's activities; Respond to internal and external (public, industry, and university) requests for data and information related to water quality standards, assessment, and other water-related topics; Assist in development and delivery of presentations and project status updates regarding surface water quality conditions, water quality standards, assessment, and specialized water quality monitoring projects.
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisory personnel.

Position-Specific Details : Appointment Type : This position may be filled as either a probational appointment, job appointment (a temporary appointment not to exceed four years), or promotion of permanent classified employee. If the position is filled as a job appointment, it could be converted to a probational appointment should funding become available.

Domicile : East Baton Rouge

Career Progression : This position may be filled as an Environmental Scientist 1, 2, or 3

Compensation : This position offers a Special Entrance Rate (SER) listed below. This is the minimum compensation that may be offered. The job title and salary offered will be determined based on qualifications and experience.

Overview of the five major offices within the agency : It provides information on the mission, function, and organization along with a biography for each member of management.

Louisiana is a State As a Model Employer (SAME) that supports the recruitment, hiring, and retention of individuals with disabilities. Equal Opportunity Employer.

How To Apply : No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.

To apply for this vacancy, click on the "Apply" link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities. Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities page.

This agency participates in the E-Verify system for verification of citizenship and employment authorization.

Please make every effort to attach a copy of your transcript to your application if possible (PDF format preferred). The selected candidate will be required to submit original documentation upon hire.

You must submit an equivalency evaluation statement for any international degree(s) by the closing of this announcement.

For recruitment purposes, applicants who are within 90 days of graduating with a bachelor's degree may be eligible for this position.

This agency participates in the E-Verify system for verification