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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
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POSITION DESCRIPTION FOR JOB POSTING |
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Position Number: 00122703 |
Description Activated On: 5/11/2026 10:19:10 AM |
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. The Air Quality Specialist, generally, assures that existing or potential air contamination sources operate in a manner consistent with the Federal Clean Air Act, the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act, the Rules and Regulations of the Department specific to Air Resources, and Deputate and Regional policies. If the position is filled as an Environmental Trainee, the incumbent will participate in a one-year formal and on-the-job training program to learn the duties of an Air Quality Specialist. If the position is filled as an Air Quality Specialist, the incumbent will perform a variety of duties within an assigned geographical area of the Commonwealth involving the regulation of the facilities to ensure compliance with the Commonwealth's Rules and Regulations, permits and environmental laws. |
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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. The employee will participate in a one-year formal and on-the-job training program to learn the duties of an Air Quality Specialist. I. ADMINSTRATIVE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Ensure that the District Supervisor is promptly informed of issues which involve: (1) potential media, legislative or EPA interest; (2) violations involving federal, state or local government entities; (3) legal liability to the Commonwealth; (4) hostile work environment; (5) potential setting of new policy or precedent, and; (6) disagreement with a regulated entity or district stakeholder regarding the interpretation or application of a policy or regulation. 2. Appropriately represent DEP and the Southcentral Region when communicating directly or in writing with: other government officials; the regulated community; co-workers, and; the public. 3. Serve as a positive professional representative of DEP. This includes being adaptable and flexible, having sound judgment and maintaining a positive attitude. 4. Ensure timely and proper CATS and AWS reporting. 5. Prepare a monthly report for the District Supervisor detailing significant activities during the month. 6. Maintain current knowledge of regulatory and policy changes. 7. Ensure that the Regional Office obtains copies of correspondence sent to the district office by the public or the regulated community. 8. Comply with file room signout and coding procedures appropriate to the office where each file is stored. 9. 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. II. GENERAL SAFETY-RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Ensure one’s own personal safety as well as ensure that one’s own actions do not endanger other individuals. 2. Be familiar with and comply with all Commonwealth safety-related policies, regulations and procedures. 3. Promptly inform the District Supervisor of any unsafe conditions or practices. 4. Immediately report all work-related injuries to the District Supervisor or other available supervisory personnel. 5. Comply with motor vehicle laws, be conscious of road safety and demonstrate safe, professional driving and other good road safety habits while driving a Commonwealth vehicle or a personal vehicle while on Commonwealth business 6. Do not knowingly enter or remain in a work area contaminated, or suspected to be contaminated above a Published Exposure Limit while conducting routine job duties. 7. Do not enter confined spaces, as defined by DEP policy, and exercise extreme caution when working near confined space openings. III. AIR INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (AIMS)/AES ONLINE 1. Ensure that assigned facilities submit all emission inventory data as required. 2. Review emission inventory data for assigned facilities to ensure that it is complete and accurate. Follow up to ensure corrections of any errors or inaccuracies. 3. Ensure that all emission inventory data is properly entered and finalized in DEP’s computer data systems by the deadlines established by management. 4. Conduct inspections of commercial and industrial plants as needed to ensure that all emission inventory sources have been reported and, if appropriate, permitted. 5. As assigned, write technical reports or memoranda concerning special issues that may arise in the emission inventory collection process. IV. INSPECTIONS 1. Conduct routine inspections and complaint inspections at or around commercial and industrial facilities and other sources of air pollution to determine compliance with air quality regulations, policies and permit conditions. Inspections should be scheduled, as practicable, when the majority of sources are operating at any given facility. 2. Complete assigned inspections and submit inspection reports to the District Supervisor within the time frames established by management. 3. Leave legible handwritten field inspection reports with regulated entities to document all inspections, unless no company contact is available to receive the report. 4. Ensure that each inspection and its associated report(s) cover a level of detail suitable to its purpose. FCE’s should verify the operational status of all sources and control devices, obtain meaningful equipment operating parameters, confirm the status of visible emissions from each source, and verify the facility’s compliance status regarding all inspectable permit conditions. Letters or follow up memoranda may need to be written to appropriately follow up on certain inspections. 5. Conduct followup inspections in the event that key air pollution sources are not operating during an initial inspection, or are operating in violation of the Department’s regulations. 6. Inspections may involve the use of sampling equipment to determine operational parameters necessary to assess compliance with operating permit conditions and the regulations, as needed; this may include taking and transporting samples of harmful or hazardous materials or petroleum products in areas that do not exceed published exposure limits. 7. Based on the results of each inspection, make recommendations for appropriate enforcement action as needed. 8. Ensure the timely input of all necessary information regarding inspections, and violations and complaint responses into Department data systems. 9. Ensure that complaints are properly communicated to the Regional Complaint Coordinator, and that timely documentation of complaint responses is logged in the Department’s complaint tracking database. 10. Conduct stack test observations as assigned by the District Supervisor. Promptly process any assigned stack test items in the Department’s PSIMS database. V. COORDINATION WITH PERMIT STAFF 1. Provide comments to the Permitting Section Chiefs regarding any possible improvements that district staff observe may be needed to draft or existing permit or plan approval conditions. 2. Confer with Permit staff as needed regarding coordination of engineer and air quality specialist inspections of facilities with pending permit actions. VI. ENFORCEMENT 1. Promptly discuss all discovered violations with the District Supervisor. 2. When an NOV is called for per DEP policy, send the NOV within the time frames prescribed by the policy, after review of the draft NOV by management. 3. Promptly conduct abatement inspections, or otherwise collect relevant information, to show correction of all violations related to assigned inspections, NOVs or reports. 4. Review compliance status of facilities and compliance plans and provide feedback to management as needed. 5. Participate in the planning and development of case enforcement efforts with the Compliance Specialist, District Supervisor, other management and/or DEP attorney. 6. Participate in negotiations with regulated entities to enter into orders or penalty assessments. 7. Issue summary citations. 8. Testify before district magistrates, the Environmental Hearing Board, or other judicatory bodies, as required. 9. Ensure that assigned company reports such as MACT reports and Title V Annual Compliance Certifications are promptly evaluated for the existence of repetitive, lengthy or potentially controversial violations, or violations involving significant excess emissions. If such violations are found, prepare appropriate follow up documentation (NOV or violation closure memo, etc.). VII. OTHER WORK-RELATED DUTIES 1. Participate in joint program (multi-media) inspections and/or Office of Energy and Technology Deployment (OETD) activities or grant-review work, as assigned. 2. Implement the asbestos renovation and demolition program as required by the Federal National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), and as assigned by the District Supervisor. This may involve, but is not limited to: (1) proper training and certification; (2) evaluation of asbestos notification forms; (3) inspection of project sites, and; (4) initiation of appropriate enforcement action. 3. Participate in activities with the Bureau of Air Quality and other Regional offices, as assigned. This may involve (1) assist management in providing information for special air pollution studies conducted by the Bureau of Air Quality and in evaluating the impact of new regulations on sources or facilities within the district; (2) attend meetings and seminars organized by Central Office on technical projects and studies. 4. Attend job-related training courses as required. 5. Communicate Air Quality program activities and requirements with industrial and municipal officials, consultants, and interested citizens. 6. Recognize and promote opportunities for pollution prevention and energy efficiency. Promote the Governor’s Awards program. 7. Upon request by the District Supervisor, participate in compliance assistance workshops for the regulated community, or other non-routine projects. 8. Operate a motor vehicle to travel to various field sites. 9. Promotes the Department’s mission. This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. 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. The District Supervisor assigns casework based on geographic area, existing workload, and expertise. The employee schedules and completes work assignments; however, the District Supervisor may assign priority cases or adjust the schedule or due dates, as necessary. The District Supervisor annually assigns facilities requiring either AIMS input, or annual or semi-annual inspections with a date by which related work must be completed. The District Supervisor periodically assigns complaint, permit, asbestos, and other work, on an as-needed basis. The employee is responsible for scheduling and completing all work within the specified time and submits reports to the District Supervisor for review after completion of all assignments. The trainee level requires direct supervision by the supervisor for a period of 12 months, not to exceed 24 months. Employee performance is reviewed under the Commonwealth’s EPR system, with a review occurring at least semi-annually. |
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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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