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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
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POSITION DESCRIPTION FOR JOB POSTING |
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Position Number: 00115436 |
Description Activated On: 5/8/2026 1:59:10 PM |
Position Purpose: Describe the primary purpose of this position and how it contributes to the organization’s objectives. Example: Provides clerical and office support within the Division to ensure its operations are conducted efficiently and effectively. This position functions as an Aquatic Biologist Supervisor in the Encroachments Section of the Major Projects Permitting Division (MPPD) within the Bureau of Permitting Coordination, Field Operations Deputate. The position is involved in permitting, implementation and compliance of Chapter 105/106 and the supervision of aquatic biologists that review water obstruction and encroachment permits and other aspects related to aquatic biology. This position also functions to provide technical assistance to both the Ch. 102 and Ch. 105 programs and to regional staff statewide. Promotes the Department’s mission. |
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Description of Duties: Describe in detail the duties and responsibilities assigned to this position. Descriptions should include the major end result of the task. Example: Types correspondence, reports, and other various documents from handwritten drafts for review and signature of the supervisor. Inputs appropriate data in a prescribed format to meet data quality standards set forth by guidance, training, and policy across all of DEP’s electronic data systems; to include ensuring accuracy and completeness of entries, and where available, the use of system specific tools to ensure duplicative entries and data quality issues are minimized. Supervises and reviews work of subordinate biologists. Assigns work to subordinate biologists ensuring that program goals and objectives are met by providing oversight and review of employee's performance, scheduling and adherence to Commonwealth and DEP policies. Coordinates training for subordinate biologists as needed. Provide training and guidance to new and existing employees regarding duties of the position. Attends staff meetings or other briefings in the absence of the Section Chief and/or Program Manager Provides supervisory coverage of the unit and program on an as-needed basis. Provide technical support to the program in the absence of the Chief. Ensures programmatic and departmental Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Program Clarification Memos, and protocols are followed in the performance of the following specific duties: As Supervising Lead Biologist, this position is responsible for ensuring completion of detailed review and processing of Chapter 105/106 Water Obstruction and Encroachment Permit Applications and Environmental Assessments, including those requiring State Water Quality Certifications (per Section 401 Clean Water Act). This review involves general to complex environmental considerations to assure adequacy and conformance with the Department’s Rules and Regulations. Reviews draft Record of Decision (ROD) and deficiency letters with regulatory citations, making recommendations to the Section Chief and Program Manager. Reviews Record of Decisions (ROD) of subordinates. Review and recommend criteria for water obstruction and encroachment environmental reviews, which are to be used in accordance with the Department's Rules and Regulations and current policy. Directs the performance of field investigation of stream encroachments, water obstructions and wetlands and verification of jurisdiction under the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act and the Flood Plain Management Act. These investigations may be prompted by citizen complaints, in-progress permit reviews, referral or other sources. Direct performance of initial site inspections of emergencies and provides necessary information, as requested. Provides technical assistance and interpretation of the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, Flood Plain Management Act, Clean Stream Laws, Clean Water Act, and the Chapter 93, 102, 105, 106 regulations. Provides technical assistance and interpretation of the Pennsylvania State Programmatic General Permit and coordinate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as needed. Reviews and acknowledges General Permit Registrations upon receipt of complete submission. Directs review of requests for waiver of permits and request for permitting determinations for water obstructions and encroachments to determine if a waiver or “no-permit” letter can be granted in accordance with the Rules and Regulations. Implements a monitoring strategy for replacement resources or mitigative measures, as mandated by regulations. Maintains data files regarding impacts to waters of the Commonwealth, authorized by permit and monitor of the success of replacement resources or mitigative measures required by permit conditions. When necessary, assists in the determination of appropriate enforcement action to be pursued against a violator to assure compliance and coordinate appropriate MPPD and/or regional compliance staff. Provide technical assistance to compliance staff regarding the limits, bounds, value of wetland resources, the adequacy of proposed restoration/compliance strategy, and the suitability of replacement resources for cases of interest related to the water obstruction and encroachments. Identifies issues encountered and recommends solutions to Section Chief that would reduce workload and improve program efficiency - while still fulfilling the overall goals and objectives of the permitting/regulatory program. Ensures entry and update of appropriate permit application data into eFACTS and follows Standard Operating Procedure with regard to the Department's Permit Decision Guarantee (PDG) is completed by staff members. Monitors and assists other pertinent staff with permit tracking system, as appropriate. Serves as a witness at district courts, County Court, Environmental Hearing Board, and Commonwealth Court in Commonwealth initiated legal actions to effect compliance with applicable statutes. Provides technical assistance to regions and conservation district technical staff. Participates and/or conducts pre-application meetings with consultants, developers, public officials and property owners. Provides information and technical advice to the public, private consultants, and other governmental agencies by written or verbal means. Establishes and maintains a good working relationship with other federal and state agencies having regulatory and management programs that overlap the Department. Participates in Department and Regional activities, programs and seminars. Reviews and maintains technical reference material and scientific knowledge base dealing with aquatic habitat and utilizes the latest technology practices in the performance of required duties. Shares this information with pertinent staff. Attends meetings to communicate to the general public, governmental officials, engineering groups, and others the varied water resources program areas of the Department. TECHNICAL/LABORATORY Trains staff to conduct taxonomic classification of biological samples collected during the various surveys outlined above. Trains staff to conduct taxonomic classification of soils samples collected during the field investigations. Respond to requests of other DEP bureaus for consultation. Provides support to public relations activities, such as attending meetings, conferences, public hearings, and by conducting public educational programs. COORDINATION: Provides cross-program coordination services at the direction of the Section Chief and/or MPPD Program Manager with the various Departmental Programs that have authority to process permits/authorizations under Chapter 102 and Chapter 105. (e.g. regional offices, Oil and Gas, Dam Safety, Flood Protection, Mining) OTHER Manages the permitting workload by analyzing PowerBI data and other tools to assess the status of pending permit applications. Takes appropriate measures to process permit applications timely and consistent with standard operating procedures while preventing a permitting backlog. Promotes the Department’s mission. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. This position may be required to perform the above duties in times of high volume, or in the case of high profile or unusual scenarios. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by their supervisor. |
Decision Making: Describe the types of decisions made by the incumbent of this position and the types of decisions referred to others. Identify the problems or issues that can be resolved at the level of this position, versus those that must be referred to the supervisor. Example: In response to a customer inquiry, this work involves researching the status of an activity and preparing a formal response for the supervisor’s signature. Employee is supervised by the Environmental Group Manager in the Encroachments Section. A variety of aquatic/wetland biology related work including but not limited to permit reviews, and compliance cases are individually assigned to the Aquatic Biologist Supervisor according to difficulty or complexity of the task. Technical decisions are made based on a review of information submitted by applicants, consultant, and field staff. |
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Requirements Profile: Identify any specific experience or requirements, such as a licensure, registration, or certification, which may be necessary to perform the functions of the position. Position-specific requirements should be consistent with a Special Requirement or other criteria identified in the classification specification covering this position. Example: Experience using Java; Professional Engineer License Experience: Licenses, registrations, or certifications: 1. Class C Driver's License 2. N/A 3. N/A 4. 5. 6. |
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Essential Functions: Provide a list of essential functions for this position. Example: Transports boxes weighing up to 60 pounds.
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