About This Job

The Department of Environmental Quality/Office of Environmental Services has two vacancies.

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.

Join the Water Permits Division in the Office of Environmental Services, where Environmental Scientists play a key role in supporting permitting actions. Your work will follow established rules, regulations, and policies—using sound scientific judgment and attention to detail to help shape responsible environmental outcomes. Direct supervision is provided by the Unit Supervisor.

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:

Job Duties and Other Information

The Environmental Scientists are responsible for performing duties in support of permitting and other actions taken by the Water Permits Division in the Office of Environmental Services. Work is performed in accordance with departmental rules, regulations, policies, quality management plans, state and federal laws, and internal policy based on historical precedents, draft regulations, and best professional judgment. Direct supervision is received from the Supervisor of the Permits unit.

Job Duties Include:

Perform professional scientific duties of reviewing, writing and maintaining water discharge permits and associated supporting documents.
Technical and administrative duties may include but are not limited to reviews and evaluations covering: general files, discharge monitoring reports, facility compliance histories, biomonitoring requirements, technically-based limits, and sampling and analysis plans. Review, evaluate and prioritize LPDES permit applications. Interact with EPA during the preparation and issuance of preliminary draft, draft and final permits. Obtain additional information from the permit applicant as necessary. Participate in site visits to various facilities. These duties are performed with technical advice and guidance from Environmental Technical Staff and Environmental Scientist Supervisor.
Insure permits are in compliance with all applicable regulations and departmental policies and guidance. Communicate potential enforcement referrals to supervisory staff. Calculate water quality based and technology based effluent limitations using mathematical water quality models and spreadsheets. Prepare permit package and route for signature/issuance. Complete TEMPO, PCS code sheets, and other applicable data management system requirements.
Attend water permitting related meetings and address questions that arise. Attend public hearings for relevant facilities as needed. Prepare Basis for Decision documents including Response to Comments made during the public comment period and make necessary changes to draft and final permits. Communicate with the regulated community, the general public, and other state and federal agencies.
Attend technical training and other professional development classes.

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.

Environmental Scientist 1- $20.91 per hour

Environmental Scientist 2- $22.38 per hour

Environmental Scientist 3- $25.62 per hour

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.

Office of the Secretary
Office of Management and Finance
Office of Environmental Services
Office of Environmental Compliance
Office of Environmental Assessment

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.

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.

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

Information to support your eligibility for this job title must be included in the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education). Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.

Contact Information:

For further information about this vacancy, contact:

Heidi Dorward

Human Resources

LA Department of Environmental Quality

P.O. Box 4303

Baton Rouge, LA 70821

225-219-3867

Louisiana State Government represents a wide variety of career options and offers an outstanding opportunity to make a difference through public service. With an array of career opportunities in every major metropolitan center and in many rural areas, state employment provides an outstanding option to begin or continue your career.

As a State Employee, You Will Earn Competitive Pay, Choose From a Variety Of Benefits, And Have Access To a Great Professional Development Program:

Insurance Coverage More information can be found at https://info.groupbenefits.org/

Parental Leave – Up to six weeks paid parental leave

More information can be found at https://www.civilservice.louisiana.gov/Parental-Leave/Default.aspx

Holidays and Leave – State employees receive the following paid holidays each year:

New Year's Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
Mardi Gras,
Good Friday,
Memorial Day,
Independence Day,
Labor Day,
Veteran's Day,
Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Additional holidays may be proclaimed by the Governor

State employees earn sick and annual leave which can be accumulated and saved for future use. Your accrual rate increases as your years of service increase.

Retirement – State Of Louisiana Employees Are Eligible To Participate In Various Retirement Systems (based On The Type Of Appointment And Agency For Which An Employee Works). These Retirement Systems Provide Retirement Allowances And Other Benefits For State Officers And Employees And Their Beneficiaries. State Retirement Systems May Include (but Are Not Limited To):

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (www.lasersonline.org). LASERS has provided this video to give you more detailed information about their system
Teacher's Retirement System of Louisiana (www.trsl.org),
Louisiana School Employees Retirement System (www.lsers.net), among others

01

Do you have any technical writing experience? This can be professional or classroom experience. If yes, please detail your technical writing experience.

02

Do you have any experience with programs such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Access, Word Perfect, and/or Excel? If yes, please describe which programs you’ve worked with and your level of experience.

03

Do you prefer working in an office setting, a laboratory setting, or working in the field? Are you willing to perform both office work and field work?

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Do you have any experience in public speaking? This can be professional or classroom experience. If yes, describe your level of experience with each.

05

Do you have any experience in working with merge forms (creating and/or performing merges)? If yes, please describe your level of experience with merge forms.

Required Question

State of Louisiana

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