Freelance Environmental Health & Safety Jobs in Rhinelander, WI

Requisition Number: 29556 

A subsidiary of UGI Corporation, UGI Energy Services supplies and markets natural gas, liquid fuels, renewable natural gas, and electricity to 42,000 customer locations across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern US. We are a supplier, marketer, and midstream services provider - one backed by 135 years of natural gas experience, plus our own expanding energy infrastructure. Along with buying and selling energy commodities at the wholesale level, UGIES owns and operates key midstream natural gas assets.

Job Summary:

The EHS Specialist serves as the dedicated on-site EHS professional at the Synthica Saint Bernard (SSB) Food Waste Anaerobic Digestion and Renewable Natural Gas facility in Saint Bernard, Ohio. This role carries a dual mandate: in the near term, overseeing contractor construction crews to complete pre-commissioning tasks while simultaneously building the site-specific EHS programs, procedures, and training frameworks that will govern safe work at SSB; and on an ongoing basis, owning and continuously improving those programs as the facility transitions to full in-house operations under UGIES management. The right candidate brings the technical foundation to develop sound programs and the field presence to effectively manage and sustain them.

In addition to safety responsibilities, this role incorporates site-level environmental compliance functions, including air permit data collection, discharge permit compliance, stormwater and SPCC inspections, Tier II reporting, and waste tracking, managed in coordination with the UGIES Environmental Department. 

A successful candidate is one who is energized by the full lifecycle of safety and environmental management: developing, implementing, maintaining, and continuously improving a facility-specific safety and environmental management system. This individual will work under the direction of and in close coordination with the UGIES Manager of Safety, with access to a broader safety and environmental compliance team and organizational resources.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead contractor safety oversight during the pre-commissioning construction phase, including review of contractor-submitted safety plans, conducting site orientations, and verifying permit-to-work compliance, while contributing to the build-out of site operational staffing and EHS infrastructure in parallel.
• Develop site-specific EHS programs, procedures, and training curriculum from the ground up, including the Emergency Action Plan, Spill Response Plan, SOP template, LOTO procedures, PPE matrix and procurement, HAZCOM program, new hire orientation, establishing the foundation for ongoing EHS management at SSB.
• Conduct field safety assessments, job site inspections, and hazard identification activities across facility operations and contractor work scopes to verify that risks are recognized and controlled before work begins, and that work execution aligns with established safe work practices.
• Conduct and organize role-based safety and environmental training for SSB operations staff, including sourcing and coordinating third-party delivery where applicable, covering HAZWOPER, emergency response, respiratory protection, equipment operation, chemical safety, spill response, and site-specific procedural training; maintain training records in alignment with the SSB training matrix.
• Investigate incidents, near misses, and high-potential events using structured methodology; identify contributing factors; drive corrective and preventive actions; and support a culture where reporting is valued and learning drives improvement.
• Manage site-level environmental compliance responsibilities, including air permit data collection (OEPA), stormwater/NPDES inspections, Tier II reporting, SPCC inspection and training, and waste tracking, in coordination with the UGIES Environmental Department.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to build trust and credibility with contractors, field employees, supervisors, and management in a complex industrial environment
• Working knowledge of hazard identification, risk assessment, and hierarchy of controls as applied to wastewater treatment, biogas/RNG, or chemical manufacturing operations
• Familiarity with industrial hygiene principles, including atmospheric monitoring, exposure assessment, gas detection equipment, and respiratory protection program administration
• Experience developing safety programs, procedures, and training materials, including JHAs, SOPs, confined space programs, Respiratory Protection Programs, HAZCOM, HAZWOPER compliance, and NFPA70e in a pre-operational or startup environment
• Knowledge of contractor safety management principles, including contractor qualification, pre-task planning review, permit-to-work systems, and on-site oversight
• Thorough knowledge of applicable regulations: OSHA 29 CFR 1910 and 1926, ANSI/NFPA standards, and basic familiarity with EPA environmental compliance requirements (SPCC, EPCRA/Tier II, NPDES, Clean Air Act)
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to translate regulatory requirements into clear, actionable field guidance
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent program development workstreams in a dynamic pre-commissioning environment
• Intermediate proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, SharePoint, Teams); experience with EHS management platforms (EcoOnline, Veriforce, ISN or similar) preferred.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in occupational safety, environmental science, engineering, or a closely related field
• 3+ years of EHS experience in an industrial environment; prior experience in wastewater treatment, natural gas, RNG, pharmaceuticals, or chemical manufacturing strongly preferred.

UGI Energy Services, LLC  is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Company does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, disability, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other legally protected class in its practices.

The pay for this position ranges from $71,900.00 to 100,600.00, depending on circumstances including an applicant's skills and qualifications, certain degrees and certifications, prior job experience, market data, and other relevant factors. 

This is the Company's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of compensation for this position as of the time of posting.  The Company offers a wide array of comprehensive benefit programs and services including medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts to our benefits-eligible employees. Additional benefits include retirement savings plans like 401(k) and paid days off such as parental leave, military leave, vacation/paid time off, sick leave in compliance with state law, as applicable, paid holidays, and disability coverage. Some benefits offerings are subject to any legal requirements or limitations, employee eligibility status, and where the employee lives and/or works.