Spill Responder (Environmental Specialist 3) (In Training)

Spill Responder (Environmental Specialist 3) (In Training)

Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

The Department of Ecology is hiring a Spill Responder (Environmental Specialist 3) (In Training) within the Spill Prevention, Preparedness, and Response program.

Location:

• Bellingham Field Office in Bellingham, WA.
• Must live within a 60-minute commuting distance of the Bellingham Field Office.
• This position is eligible for a 10% Spill Response Assignment Pay once all training requirements and certifications are met and maintained. This position also has periods of mandatory overtime. Additionally, this position is required to participate in an after-hour on-call duty rotation.

Schedule:

• This position is eligible for telework and flexible schedule options.
• This position requires field work and emergency response, while there is some office work and you may telework most of your office work time with occasional in-person meetings and activities.
• Schedules are dependent upon position needs and are subject to change.

Application Timeline:

• Apply by July 28, 2026.

• Applications submitted after the date above may not be reviewed unless additional qualified applicants are needed.

Duties

In this role, you will work with a multi-disciplinary team and use science to solve complex environmental challenges. Working with other federal, state, local and tribal response partners, you will serve as Ecology's State On-Scene Coordinator leading the response and cleanup of complex environmental spills. Your efforts will result in immediate improvements to the safety of Washington residents and our environment.

• Conduct responses to spills of oil and hazardous substances, abandoned waste, fish kills and other environmental and human health emergencies.
• Serve as initial incident commander and State On-Scene Coordinator for spills of petroleum products and hazardous materials on water and land.
• Conduct operations to control, contain and cleanup spills, investigate the cause of spills and response actions taken by parties responsible for spills, directs environmental response contractors, and coordinates responses with appropriate private, local, state and federal representatives involved.
• Open containers of unknowns, take samples, overpack and transport abandoned chemical wastes for final disposal.
• Offer technical assistance and limited regulatory interpretation to parties involved in spill incidents and drug lab cleanups.
• Prepare and complete all documentation and reporting associated with such incidents.

Qualifications

For detailed information on how we calculate experience, please visit our Recruitment website.

To qualify at the Environmental Specialist 2 level (In-Training)

Pay Range 47 $4,300 - $5,779 monthly Five (5) years of combined experience and/or education.

Experience: Performing environmental-based work, OR work related to any of the following:

• Incident Command and Emergency Response Leadership Experience serving as an initial Incident Commander or State On-Scene Coordinator, applying Incident Command System (ICS) principles to manage complex oil and hazardous materials incidents involving multiple agencies and competing priorities.
• Advanced Spill Response and Hazardous Materials Operations Skill in planning, directing, and performing hands-on response actions for oil spills, hazardous substance releases, abandoned waste, and illegal drug manufacturing facilities, including containment, cleanup, and mitigation in high-risk environments.
• Hazard Identification, Sampling, and Field Analysis Knowledge of hazardous substance identification, sampling techniques, field testing, and hazard classification, including safe handling of unknown materials and interpretation of monitoring data against health-based and regulatory standards.
• Dangerous Waste Management and Regulatory Compliance Knowledge of federal and state dangerous waste regulations and ability to ensure compliant waste handling, storage, transportation, disposal, inventory tracking, reporting, and emergency response planning.
• Interagency and Law Enforcement Coordination Skill in coordinating and leading response activities with local, state, federal, and tribal partners, including law enforcement agencies.
• Emergency Spill Response Operations Ability to independently respond to oil spills, hazardous substance releases, abandoned waste, and other environmental and human health emergencies, performing containment, control, and cleanup actions in accordance with established procedures.
• Incident Command System Participation Skill in functioning effectively within the Incident Command System as an Incident Commander for routine incidents or as a Command/General Staff member or technical specialist during complex responses under direction.
• Hazard Identification and Field Safety Knowledge of hazardous materials recognition, site safety principles, and hazard assessment, including safe work practices in IDLH environments and proper use of Levels B and C personal protective equipment.
• Sampling, Monitoring, and Waste Handling Experience in collecting environmental and waste samples, operating field monitoring instruments, interpreting results using established guidance, and safely packaging, labeling, and transporting hazardous and dangerous waste for disposal.
• Regulatory Knowledge and Application Knowledge of applicable state and federal spill response and dangerous waste regulations, with the ability to apply regulations, guidance, and standard operating procedures to incident response and compliance activities.
• Contractor and Responsible Party Management Experience observing, documenting, and/or supporting response actions conducted by spillers and environmental response contractors, escalating issues or non-compliance to supervisors as appropriate.
• Technical Communication and Documentation Skill in preparing clear, accurate, and timely incident documentation, reports, and data entries, and communicating technical information effectively to supervisors, response partners, and regulated parties.
• Equipment Operation and Readiness Demonstrated ability to safely operate and maintain spill response equipment, vehicles, boats, and monitoring instruments, and to maintain personal gear and assigned equipment in a state of readiness for emergency response.
• Teamwork, Reliability, and Adaptability Experience working effectively as part of a response team, with the ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions, maintaining professionalism under stress, and supporting inclusive, respectful working relationships.

Experience must include demonstrated competence in the following skill sets:

• Using critical / analytical thinking and problem-solving skills to make decisions or determine a course of action.
• Reviewing / assessing information and data to draw conclusions and recommending decisions or actions.
• Conducting research and performing data analysis on both qualitative and quantitative data

Education: in environmental science, engineering, chemistry, biology, or a closely related scientific or technical field that provides knowledge of emergency hazardous materials response.

Examples of how to qualify:

• 5 years of experience.
• 4 years of experience AND 30-59 semester or 45-89 quarter college credits.
• 3 years of experience AND 60-89 semester or 90-134 quarter college credits (Associate's degree).
• 2 years of experience AND 90-119 semester or 135-179 quarter college credits.
• 1 years of experience AND a Bachelor's degree.
• Master's degree or higher.

Must have ICS 100, 200, 700 and 800 certifications. Free on-line ICS training and certification is available at:

• ICS 100:
• ICS 200:
• ICS 700:
• ICS 800:

To qualify at the Environmental Specialist 3 level (Goal Class)

Pay Range 53 $4,980 - $6,708 monthly

Six (6) years of combined experience and/or education.

Experience: Performing environmental-based work, OR work related to any of the following:

• Incident Command and Emergency Response Leadership Experience serving as an initial Incident Commander or State On-Scene Coordinator, applying Incident Command System (ICS) principles to manage complex oil and hazardous materials incidents involving multiple agencies and competing priorities.
• Advanced Spill Response and Hazardous Materials Operations Skill in planning, directing, and performing hands-on response actions for oil spills, hazardous substance releases, abandoned waste, and illegal drug manufacturing facilities, including containment,