ECMC Compliance Inspector - Southwest Colorado.

Department Information

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

Are you interested in investing in a career that makes a difference?

Consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. It’s our mission to manage and conserve Colorado’s natural resources for the benefit of people today – and tomorrow. That means we have to balance development with conservation so the state we all love provides similar opportunities for our children and their children.

We invite you to explore our website at https://dnr.colorado.gov/about-us to find out more about the work we do to manage Colorado’s natural resources for today – and tomorrow.

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply.

In Addition To Offering Rewarding, Meaningful Work, We Offer

• Medical, Vision and Dental plans
• Strong, flexible retirement plans including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus pre-tax and Roth 401K and 457 plans
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Employee Wellness programs
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• 11 paid holidays per year plus generous vacation and sick leave
• Flexible work schedule options and remote-work options
• Career advancement opportunities throughout the State system
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
  
  

For more detailed information, please visit State of Colorado Employee Benefits

About Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC)

The Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) regulates the development and production of Colorado's natural resources, including oil and gas, geothermal energy, and carbon capture and storage. The ECMC's mission is to do so in a way that protects the environment, public health, safety, and welfare.

The Compliance Team Is Tasked With Determining Operator Compliance With Rules Adopted By The Energy And Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) To Protect Public Health, Safety, Welfare, The Environment And Wildlife Resources. The Team Includes Field Compliance Specialists, Supervisors And The Unit Manager. The Compliance Team Performs The Following Functions

• Compare conditions of approval for oil and gas location permits, production well permits, injection well permits, waste management facility permits, waste management plans, remediation plans, plugging and abandonment plans, and technical well information against as is field installations and construction activity to determine whether or not the installed facility complies with the permit conditions and Commission rules;
• Respond to inquiries from the public and investigate complaints regarding the compliance status of oil and gas facilities;
• Refer onsite environmental and engineering issues that require additional review or investigation to the Environmental or Engineering Units for follow up investigation;
• Collect initial “screening level” samples (soil, oily waste, soil gas, etc.) or if necessary, request assistance from the Environmental Unit;
• Design procedures, and work with the IT and Information Managers and Enforcement Advisors to develop forms and processes for efficiently managing and tracking inspection and enforcement information;
• Evaluate and determine whether recommendations from other stakeholders that have been incorporated as COAs into an approved permit are appropriate and needed to protect public health safety, welfare, and the environment including wildlife resources;
• Monitor field operations under the EPA delegated UIC program;
• Initiate enforcement actions when compliance cannot be obtained cooperatively;
• Negotiate enforcement actions to pursue cooperative settlement;
• Prosecute contested enforcement actions before Hearing Officer or Commission;
• Train industry, local government, land owners, environmental groups, and other interested parties on operating procedures that comply with ECMC rules and orders;
• Educate operators on issues and methods for minimizing and mitigating impacts from surface disturbance related to oil and gas operations;
• Provide technical knowledge and guidance to the regulated community and Local Governmental Designees;
• Identify orphaned wells and wells sites and refer to Orphaned Well Program;
• Evaluate and propose new rules and regulations or modifications to existing rules and regulations for implementation by ECMC; and
• Provide expert testimony to the Commission or other regulatory agency regarding compliance of oil and gas facilities with Commission rules and the Colorado Oil and Gas Act.
• Represent the ECMC at public outreach events and meetings and conduct stakeholder.
  
  

Description Of Job

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

Position Summary: This position independently assesses the compliance status of various types of oil and gas facilities by comparing the status and condition of the facility against relevant permits, court and commission orders, and commission rules. It requires a comprehensive understanding of both the Oil and Gas Act and Commission Rules as well as an expert knowledge and understanding of oil and gas operations. It must assess the overall compliance of a facility based on its own knowledge, applying administrative discretion to determine the most appropriate way to communicate the results of their assessment with the operator. It must contemplate the potential consequences of its judgement and application of the rules and determine whether training, corrective action, or enforcement is the most appropriate course of action to take with the operator.

Compliance Assessments : Determine the compliance status of oil and gas facilities by comparing onsite conditions to permit conditions, commission orders, and commission rules. Coordinate with local relevant government inspectors or other ECMC staff. Determine, based on their independent assessment and knowledge of rules and industry standards, whether conditions warrant informal communication with the operator, an inspection comment, a corrective action, or the initiation of formal enforcement proceedings. Results of the compliance assessment will be documented in COGIS and shared with other agencies or ECMC staff as appropriate.

• Determine whether the operations and conditions at an oil and gas location comply with the Commission rules, specific permit conditions for the subject facility, and general industry standards.
• Determine what course of action to take regarding any and all aspects of noncompliance, ranging from informal communication/training to the initiation of formal enforcement proceedings.
• Based on general guidance provided by risk based assessment tools, determine which sites to visit, whether a follow-up visit is warranted, and, if so, how quickly to revisit the facility.
  
  

Observe Construction Activities : Determine the compliance of specific oil and gas activities, including casing cementing, plugging, mechanical integrity tests, or other operations as they are performed by the operator. Compare the activity to permit conditions, commission orders, and commission rules. Coordinate with local relevant government inspectors or other ECMC staff. Determine, based on their independent assessment and knowledge of rules and industry standards, whether activities conform with commission rules and industry standard and, if not, what level of communication is warranted ranging from informal communication with the operator, an inspection comment, a corrective action, the initiation of formal enforcement proceedings, or an immediate safety shutdown of the operation. Results of the compliance assessment will be documented in COGIS and shared with other agencies or ECMC staff as appropriate.

• Determine what activity is the most critical operation to observe and make arrangements to attend.
• Determine whether other agencies or ECMC staff would benefit from observing the operation and coordinate their visit to the site.
• Based on their expert industry knowledge and knowledge of the rules, determine what additional follow-up is appropriate from continued observation, information communication with operator, initiation of an enforcement action, or an emergency safety shutdown of the operation.
  
  

Investigate Complaints: Determine whether complaints received by the public constitute an issue with compliance by reviewing the complaint and assessing the compliance of the facility or operation that is the subject of the complaint. In addition to providing the results of the compliance assessment to the complainant, this position will determine what action to take with the operator based on their judgement and application of administrative discretion. Actions could vary from information communications to a safety shutdown.

• ECMC is committed to promptly assessing compliance associated with a public complaint and responding to the complaint. This position must determine what level of response is required based on its working knowledge of conditions at the subject site and what, if any, actions should be taken.
  
  

Other Duties Assigned.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions Of Employment & Appeal Rights

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

Minimum Qualifications

Five (5) years of professional experience in exploration, production and/or permitting in relation to oil/natural gas.

OR

Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Geology, Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum Operations or Oil and Gas Technology from an accredited institution in a field of study related to the work assignment.

AND

One (1) year of professional experience in exploration, production and/or permitting in relation to oil/natural gas.

Please note: The required experience must be substantiated within the work experience section of your application. Your resume will not be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications; only the work experience section of your application will be reviewed to determine this. “See Resume” statements on the application will not be accepted. In addition, part-time work will be prorated.

Preferred Qualifications

Qualifications: Although all desirable candidates must demonstrate a broad range of skills, knowledge and experience related to the job, the highly desirable candidate will have experience in any of the following focus areas as they may relate to energy resource operations:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Familiarity of Colorado oil and gas rules and regulations
• Experience working with or around Indian tribes
• Experience with coal bed methane exploration and production
• Working knowledge of maps and orienteering
• Experience with oil and gas operations in Colorado
• Two years related to subsurface (downhole) operations such as well drilling, downhole well maintenance and completion, stimulation activities or wireline operations
• Knowledge of oil and gas well construction and production operations
• Knowledge of drilling, workover, cementing and completions
• Knowledge of upstream oil and gas production equipment, gathering systems and process piping
• Experience with oil and gas HSE. Current safety training certificates.
• Customer service experience, previous public service experience, experience dealing with public, experience with complaint intake/response
• Experience with field equipment and technical equipment (FLIR cameras, sound meters, air monitoring, drones, etc.)
• Current or former State experience relevant to this position.
  
  

Conditions of Employment:

• Selected candidate will be required to have a response time to Durango, CO within thirty (30 minutes) time. Will be provided a State fleet vehicle.
• Selected applicant will be provided a fleet vehicle and must be willing and able to possess and maintain a valid Driver's License.
• Must be willing and able to respond to emergency safety situations on weekends, holiday, and evenings as needed.
• Must be willing and able to travel to out of town hearings of the ECMC.
• Must be willing and able to occasionally exert up to 20 lbs. of force to move objects.
• Duties have assigned work area including Dolores, San Juan, Montezuma, La Plate, Archuleta, Hinsdale, Saguache, Alamosa, Rio Grande, Mineral, Conejos and Costilla counties. There are no exceptions to this condition of employment.
• Exposure to industrial materials and workplace hazards found at oil and gas sites may occur.
• Inspectors travel on public, private and oil and gas lease roads on a routine basis. This may involve driving during rain, snow, or high winds. Overnight travel in order to cover the large territories that are assigned may occur on a monthly basis. This will include use of a State fleet vehicle.
• Extended overnight travel may be required to attend meetings and training in other areas of the State.
• The inspector is required to find locations that may be in remote areas with limited access. Will find locations using a map, GPS unit /or verbal directions.
• The inspector must possess more than minimal computer skills in Microsoft Office with emphasis in Excel, Word and Google.
• You must be legally eligible to work in the United States to be appointed to this position. DNR does not sponsor non-residents of the United States.
  
  

Supplemental Information

The Assessment Process

• All applications received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed by an HR Specialist against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement.
• Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted based on merit and fitness through a comparative analysis process. Part of, or all of, the comparative analysis for this position will be a structured application review by Subject Matter Experts.
• Resumes, cover letters and other attachments are not considered as part of initial reviews, therefore, it is important to document in your application your education, experience, minimum qualifications, and preferred qualifications as outlined in the job announcement .
• Please thoroughly answer all supplemental questions (if listed) since question responses may be evaluated for content, writing ability, spelling, grammar, and effective communication.
• This recruitment may involve additional testing and/or exams to arrive at the top group for interviews.
  
  

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

The Department of Natural Resources is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator, at dnr_hr_employeebenefits@state.co.us

ADAAA Accommodations

Any person with a disability as defined by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) may be provided a reasonable accommodation upon request to enable the person to complete an employment assessment. To request accommodation, please contact our Benefits Specialist at dnr_hr_employeebenefits@state.co.us at least five business days before the date that any accommodation will be required to allow us to evaluate your request and prepare for the accommodation. You may be asked to provide additional information, including medical documentation, regarding functional limitations and type of accommodation needed. Please ensure that you have this information available well in advance of the assessment date.

E-Verify

DNR uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify , including your rights and responsibilities.

Toll–Free Applicant Support - Technical Help

If you experience technical difficulty with the NEOGOV system (e.g. uploading or attaching documents to your online application) call NEOGOV at 855-524-5627, Mon-Fri between 6 am and 6 pm (Pacific Time). The Human Resources Office will be unable to assist with technical issues.