Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Environmental Protection Specialist

Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

You will be responsible for providing technical guidance concerning all Federal-aid Highway Program environmental programs, activities, and analyses within a State or, as a shared resource in multiple States. 

Overview

Help
Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
09/19/2018 to 09/28/2018
Salary
$68,031 to - $106,004 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Glastonbury, CT
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Some travel is required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation expenses are authorized for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Drug test
No
Announcement number
FHWA.FO-2018-0316
Control number
511284800

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

Open to U.S. Citizens

Duties

Help

As an Environmental Protection Specialist you will

  • Assist in assuring that environmental programs, studies, and documents on Federal-aid highway projects comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, archeology, noise impacts, Presidential Executive Orders, and other Federal environmental laws and requirements.
  • Provide guidance and technical assistance to the FHWA Division Office, State DOT, State and local transportation partners, Tribal Governments, and Federal resource and regulatory agencies, and participate in process reviews related to the environmental aspects of all program areas.
  • Represent the Division Office and serve as a technical advisor on FHWA policy, laws, regulations, Executive Orders, and directives related to NEPA and FHWA’s project development process.
  • Advise FHWA stakeholders and Federal and State partner agencies on Federal responsibilities and the requirements of NEPA, the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508), and FHWA regulations, policies, and guidance.
  • Ensure environmental laws are addressed and integrated into the NEPA decision-making process.
  • Provide feedback on environmental documents and studies.
  • Collaborate with and advises stakeholders of special environmental concerns such as those related to context sensitivity, environmental justice, community impact assessments, wetlands, cultural resources, Section 4(f), biological resources, ecosystems, hazardous wastes and brownfields, greenhouse gas emissions, project level air quality conformity and global climate change, and highway traffic noise.
  • Conduct field reviews to resolve complex environmental issues/problems and provides technical assistance to the Division Office’s transportation customers.
  • Review and/or coordinate the review of NEPA documents and other environmental documentation within the Division Office to ensure compliance with requirements.
  • Provide technical assistance to resolve program and project-specific issues.
  • Conduct program and process reviews of Federal-aid projects to ensure that Federal requirements and environmental commitments are achieved.

Ideal candidate:  Federal-aid Highway environmental activities within Connecticut. You will assure that environmental studies on Federal-aid highway projects comply with National Environmental Policy Act, Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and other Federal requirements. You work on environmental activities with FHWA staff, State and local transportation partners, Tribal Governments, and other Federal agencies.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
  • Review Required Documents Section as documents are required by closing date
  • Announcement also advertised Status & VEOA Applicants: FHWA.FO-2018-0315.
  • This position is eligible for telework.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet either the education or specialized experience requirements for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify on for the GS-11 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-09, it must include BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING:

  • Experience applying environmental standards, methods, and practices to assure full implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental laws, regulations or policy (such as Section 4(f) of the DOT Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, laws concerning archeology, endangered species, noise impacts, project level Air Quality conformity determinations, or Executive Orders).
  • Experience preparing and reviewing environmental documents including, but not limited to Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), Environmental Assessments (EA), Categorical Exclusions (CE), Environmental Assessments, Purpose and Needs Statements, Alternative Analyses, etc.

 

To qualify for the GS-11 on Education alone, you must have:

  • 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.
  • You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience.  

 

To qualify on for the GS-12 on Experience (in addition to the GS-11), you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11, it must include ALL of the following:

 

  • Experience applying environmental standards, methods, and practices to assure full implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental laws, regulations or policy (such as Section 4(f) of the DOT Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, laws concerning archeology, endangered species, noise impacts, project level Air Quality conformity determinations, or Executive Orders);
  • Experience preparing and reviewing environmental documents including, but not limited to Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), Environmental Assessments (EA), Categorical Exclusions (CE), Environmental Assessments, Purpose and Needs Statements, Alternative Analyses, etc.,  AND
  • Experience working with other Federal and/or State agencies to advance projects in accordance with NEPA requirements.

 

You cannot qualify on education at this level, you must have experience.

 

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).  Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.  You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.

Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.


Additional information

Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.

EEO STATEMENT: The Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains a model federal work environment that is free of discrimination. DOT ensures equal employment opportunity for employees and applicants for employment, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), genetic information, age, disability, sexual orientation, or protected activity.

This vacancy may be used to fill similar positions within 90 days for this location.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze, which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.

Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package.  If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers.   The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.


To preview questions please click here.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.