Pretreatment Compliance Specialist - Austin Water

About This Position

• ABOUT AUSTIN WATER:
• For over 100 years, Austin Water has been committed to providing safe, reliable, high-quality, and affordable water services to our customers. Today, we serve over 1,000,000 people in the Austin metropolitan area, across more than 548 square miles. As one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, we’re not just keeping up—we’re leading the way with sustainable infrastructure, advanced treatment technology, and environmental innovation.

Austin Water consistently ranks among the best in the country when it comes to water quality. We also treat, return, and recycle wastewater in ways that protect environmental resources. Austin Water exceeds federal and state requirements for clean water and environmental compliance at our water and wastewater treatment plants.

Job Description:

Purpose:

Under limited supervision and using comprehensive knowledge of concepts, practices, procedures, and regulations, verifies and ensures compliance of the pretreatment regulated community in accordance with authority delegated by EPA/TCEQ. Responsible for projects and programs that are of diverse scope and complexity.

Duties, Functions and Responsibilities:

Essential duties and functions, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following. Other related duties may be assigned.

• •Conducts, participates in, and reports on investigations, audits, surveillance, monitoring, inspection, sampling, analyses, research, training, outreach, recognition, permitting, registration, enforcement and other environmental and pretreatment-related activities and programs related to general industrial users and liquid waste haulers.
• •Initiates negotiation to resolve cases or enforcement proceedings for environmental, pretreatment, and pollution prevention issues of diverse scope and complexity related to residential customers and general industrial users.
• •Reviews and ensures that all site and building plans and proposals meet or exceed all Federal, State, and Local code, ordinance, and regulation pretreatment guidelines and criteria.
• •Collects, processes, analyzes, and evaluates information and data submitted within permit applications, contracts, schedules, proposals, self-monitoring reports and laboratory reports to provide approvals and recommendations and assesses compliance with applicable regulations related to general industrial users.
• •Interprets and explains City policies and procedures, and provides technical information, advice, assistance, and training for internal and external customers.
• •Conducts and assists with case file preparation, initiates and participates in administrative and criminal enforcement proceedings, and provides testimony in legal proceedings for alleged violations of regulations related to residential customers, general industrial users, and liquid waste haulers.
• •Researches, recommends, and implements changes to specifications, standards, policies, procedures, codes, regulations, and ordinances.
• •Participates in public outreach efforts, task forces, and committees. Represents department at board and commission meetings. Conducts and makes presentations for internal and external customers.
• •Performs field sampling at sample ports for compliance and financial measurements. Reviews analytical data to establish surcharges and violation notifications for extra strength pollutants of concern and sanitary sewer overflows.
• •Performs rotational on-call duty and responds to spills and emergency events, incidents, complaints, actions, and other related situations.

Responsibilities - Supervisor and/or Leadership Exercised:

May provide leadership, work assignments, evaluation, training, and guidance to others.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Must possess required knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience and be able to explain and demonstrate, with or without reasonable accommodations, that the essential functions of the job can be performed.

• •Knowledge of applicable Federal, State and Local regulations.
• •Knowledge of City practices, policies, and procedures.
• •Knowledge of architectural and engineering principles and practices.
• •Skill in oral and in written communication.
• •Skill in handling multiple tasks and prioritizing.
• •Skill in using computers and related software applications.
• •Skill in data analysis and problem solving.
• •Skill in planning and organizing.
• •Skill in providing leadership, training, guidance, and technical support.
• •Ability to conduct research and/or investigations.
• •Ability to provide customer service and problem solving.
• •Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with city employees and the public.

Minimum Qualifications:

• •Graduation with a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major/minor course work in a scientific field related to the job, plus four (4) years of relevant experience
• OR
• •Graduation with an Associate's degree from an accredited college or university in a scientific field related to the job, plus six (6) years of relevant experience
• OR
• •Graduation with a Master’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in a scientific field related to the job, plus two (2) years of relevant experience.
• •One (1) additional year of experience may substitute for one (1) year of the required education with a maximum substitution of four (4) years.

Licenses and Certifications Required:

• •Valid Texas Class C Driver License.
• •US Fats, Oils, and Grease Coordinator Certification from the US FOG Alliance or the ability to obtain within six (6) months of hire.
• •Pretreatment Facility Inspection Certification from an accredited college or the ability to obtain within six (6) months of hire.

Preferred Qualifications:

• •Professional work experience in Natural, Environmental or Physical Science
• •Experience with pretreatment or environmental/field investigations, or other regulatory compliance related activities and knowledge of local, state or federal water and regulations
• •Experience collecting and analyzing field samples in support of regulatory compliance work.
• •Experience providing technical advice and assistance to internal and external customers





Compensation Range:

The annual hiring range for this position is $28.07-$33.96



Notes to Candidate:

Position Overview: The position performs environmental compliance work for Austin Water’s approved pretreatment program. This critical work ensures that the City meets all federal and state requirements for administering a program to protect the City’s wastewater treatment and collection systems from adverse effects of industrial and commercial wastewater pollutant discharges to the City’s system. The pretreatment program helps to make sure that the wastewater treatment operations are protected and effective in assuring that the millions of gallons of wastewater treated each day at our facilities meets the strictest water quality standards and permit effluent for discharging to receiving streams in our community. This program is also responsible for ensuring that pollutant sludge standards are met consistently to allow the City to continue producing biosolids that can be re-used beneficially. The position requires someone with environmental regulatory expertise and an ability not just to learn and understand existing and new complex regulations, but also to teach commercial and industrial stakeholders and community members about these regulations and how to comply with them in furtherance of these goals. The Pretreatment Compliance Specialist position being advertised will play a large role in sample collection activities for the program, but will also be expected to contribute and develop experience and expertise in all other program areas and activities.

Position(s) will be filled at the following location: Glen Bell Service Center; 3907 S Industrial Dr, Austin, TX 78744 (moving to north location at