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Hazardous Materials Specialist III

Salary information:

$40.85 - $55.03 Hourly

Salary may be negotiable within the range listed above, based on position requirements and successful candidate's qualifications, subject to appropriate authorization.

Deadline to apply:

This position is open to the public for a minimum of five (5) business days and will remain open on a continuous basis until 11:59pm (PST) on the day the department's needs are met. Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply immediately.

The first round of consideration is Thursday, July 31, 2025.

This recruitment will establish an open eligible list. This list will be used to fill current and future Hazardous Materials Specialist III positions within the Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division. This recruitment may also be used to fill positions in similar and/or lower classifications throughout the County.

The County of Orange, Health Care Agency (HCA) is a dynamic organization dedicated to creating and supporting an environment that promotes the achievement of optimal individual, family and community health. Under the leadership of the Agency Director, a dynamic executive team with an organizational structure comprised of five (5) service areas - Administrative Services, Behavioral Health Services, Correctional Health Services, Public Health Services, and Specialized Medical Health Services - is committed to meeting the health needs of the diverse Orange County community.

The Environmental Health Division (EH) is comprised of various programs aimed toward protecting the health and safety of Orange County residents and visitors from harmful conditions in the environment. Staff enforce laws and regulations and emphasize education to assist businesses with providing healthy and safe communities. Services include retail and wholesale food protection, foodborne illness investigations, public pool inspections, childhood lead exposure prevention, water quality, ocean water protection, solid waste facility oversight, hazardous materials surveillance and mitigation oversight, underground and aboveground storage tank oversight, body art facility and practitioner oversight, medical waste management inspections and a used oil recycling education program.

The Hazardous Materials Surveillance Section (HMSS) manages the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA), medical waste, and body art regulatory inspection programs. The CUPA programs consist of the hazardous materials, hazardous waste, above-ground petroleum tanks, underground storage tanks (UST), and the California Accidental Release Prevention (CalARP) inspection programs. In addition to the regulatory oversight programs, the HMSS manages two CalRecycle grants, the Waste Tire Enforcement grant and the Used Oil Recycling grant. The Land & Water Quality (LWQ) Section manages the Site Mitigation program including Local Oversight programs (LOP) and Industrial Cleanup (IC), which provide regulatory oversight for cleanup of current/former industrial facilities and leaking underground storage tanks (USTs). The IC program serves all the cities and unincorporated areas of Orange County. The LOP serves a similar area; however, excludes the cities of Anaheim and Fullerton.

The LWQ Section also manages the Solid Waste (SW) program that protects public health and safety, and the environment by ensuring that solid waste is collected, stored, processed and disposed properly. Solid waste facilities in Orange County are required to hold permits from the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA).

The opportunity:

The Hazardous Materials Specialist III (HMS III) is the journey level class in the Hazardous Materials Specialist series and typically reports to a Supervising Hazardous Materials Specialist.

CUPA HMS III duties:

• Assist management with state audits, as well as CUPA and Participating Agencies' (PA) evaluations. Coordinate with senior staff in fire agencies to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Be on-call for the Health Hazmat Team in emergency incidents, disasters involving spills, releases of hazardous materials/waste, or threats to public health and the environment.
• Work on/participate in enforcement hearings, draft enforcement orders and work with the District Attorney's office on case referrals.
• Provide expert-level training to large groups at a state-wide conference and promote learning outside of the agency at the annual California CUPA conference.
• Serve as a lead representative for the CUPA programs state-wide technical advisory group (TAG).
• Lead Resource Conservation and Recovery ACT (RCRA) Large Quantity Generator and Hazardous Waste treatment inspections at larger manufacturing facilities and sites with multiple programs.
• Conduct UST installation inspections. The number of installations throughout the County is projected to increase due to the sunset date for single-walled tanks.
• Conduct CalARP inspections at Level 3 facilities which involve complex chemical processes, significant offsite consequences, or have a history of accidents.

LOP/IC HMS III duties:

• Apply extensive knowledge of State of California laws and regulations regarding leaking UST and non-UST contamination, investigation, and remediation. Prepare directive letters and Notices of Violation to enforce regulatory compliance.
• Review and evaluate human health risk assessments submitted by responsible parties and consultants; prepare comment letters as necessary; consult with Department of Toxic Substances Control and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment regarding technical issues related to human health risk assessment and mitigation measures.
• Lead interagency meetings with the State or Regional Water Boards and Department of Toxic Substances Control in evaluating site conditions and potential impacts.
• Apply general principles of hydrogeology, chemical fate and transport, toxicology, risk analysis, public health and safety, and assessment and remediation to provide technical evaluations of reports submitted to the program.
• Prepare presentations for the public, regulated community, individual responsible parties and business owners. Provide responsive information to all stakeholders at appropriate levels.
• Review new or updated regulations and draft workflows/checklists to ensure staff compliance with changes.
• Assist with HMSI/HMSII staff development, including training and cross-training.

LEA HMS III duties:

• Prepare and review complex reports, reviews, and other documents with minimal or no supervisor assistance. Technical reports include but not limited to soil analysis and remediation data and plans.
• Conduct complex inspections independently and submits final reports to Supervisor for review. Complex inspections include sites that may have multiple waste streams, redevelopment plans, changes to the site, a history of violations or combination of these factors.
• Work in conjunction with the Senior Civil Engineer on projects for post closure land use plan and landfill gas mitigation systems. Provides confirmation that the base information is accurate to ensure comprehensive and encompassing review.
• Apply principles and knowledge of geology to read, interpret and analyze soil test reports.
• Serve as the LEA lead in interagency meetings with State Water Boards, CalRecycle, community members and other stakeholders. Provide timely and responsive information at appropriate levels.
• Assist County Counsel in the preparation of LEA legal documents, confirming accuracy of information and providing all relevant regulatory background information.

Desirable qualifications:

The ideal candidate will possess at least three (3) years of experience in hazardous materials, solid waste management, site mitigation, or hazardous waste management. For Body Art programs, the ideal candidate will be in possession of the following: a valid certificate of registration as an Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

The ideal candidate will also possess knowledge and experience in the following competencies:

Professional and Technical Expertise:

• Perform independently inspections of hazardous materials, business emergency plans, hazardous waste, underground storage tanks, aboveground storage tanks, Cal-ARP, drilling, soil, soil vapor, groundwater sampling, well installations, underground storage tank removals, active and closed landfills, transfer stations, composting facilities, and city maintenance yards.
• Utilize and maintain compliance with uploading requirements within the following databases: Geotracker, California Environmental Reporting System (CERS), and/or Solid Waste Information System (SWIS).
• Understand, interpret, and apply State and Federal laws and regulations regarding CUPA hazardous materials, business emergency plans, hazardous waste, underground storage tanks, aboveground petroleum storage tank programs, solid waste, and management of various cleanup projects.
• Review and interpret Federal and State laws and regulations as they pertain to Environmental Health.
• Investigate illegal activities associated with hazardous materials and waste programs.
• Use computer hardware and software to enter and retrieve data, review state forms, and complete reports.
• Proficiency with a variety of computer software, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, Outlook, etc.

Building and Maintaining Relationships:

• Develop and maintain professional working relationships and continuously work to improve relationships, contacts, and networks with peers, supervisors, managers, clients, and the public.
• Understand the interrelationships, roles, and responsibilities of internal and external stakeholders.
• Treat others with sensitivity, respect, fairness, and consistency.

Oral and Written Communication:

• Communicate effectively verbally and in writing, presenting