Department of Civil Service

Description:

One of the Bureau of Hazardous Waste and Radiation Management missions is to ensure that hazardous waste management facilities across New York State are operated properly and safely. This goal is accomplished through the permitting process, site inspections, and compliance with associated enforcement. An internship with the Hazardous Waste Compliance and/or Hazardous Waste Permitting sections is comprised of:

RCRA Reporting & Manifest Record Management
*Processing hazardous waste manifests in NYS information system pulled from EPA: RCRAInfo
*Reviewing hazardous waste manifests from the previous three years with regards to missing annual report submittals for EPA and NYS DEC records

Permits, Engineering Report & Plan Review
*Collaborating in the development and revision of Corrective Action and Post-Closure Care permit boilerplates
*Learning RCRA-regulated listed and characteristic hazardous waste commonly found in groundwater and soil, and its associated remediation methods; Contaminants such as VOC's (PCE and TCE), metals, and other contaminants of concern (PFAS)
*Assisting Corrective Action and Post Closure science/engineering staff reviewing work plans and reporting on: soil vapor intrusion, groundwater monitoring, remediation site management, and long-term groundwater inspections
*Applying geological and hydrological principles to evaluate corrective action measures
*Applying regulatory requirements and technical guidance standards to analyze groundwater and soil sampling results

Communications Development
*Working with staff on developing hazardous waste outreach and guidance materials for internal/external websites
*Assisting staff in the preparation of public outreach and guidance materials required for writing and implementing new hazardous waste regulations/policies
*Aiding staff in planning and coordination of annual NYS hazardous waste inspector training
*Partnering with staff on updating compliance inspection forms to capture regulatory changes
*Working with staff to create templates for permit modules

Regulatory Research & Development
*Assisting staff by locating and acquiring background documents required for hazardous waste regulatory packages and hazardous waste regulatory fee bills
*Working with staff on background research for new regulatory proposals
*Authenticating and correcting cross references within the hazardous waste regulations
*Researching historic formal enforcement cases to cumulate the use of individual violations to ascertain assessed penalties associated with each violation

Archival Records Management
*Paper (sort/verify and cull/file) and electronic(scan/name/e-file) document management
*Records Retention (prepare and package records/create transfer lists/send to retention)

This internship will be completed at NYS DEC Central Office in Albany. Candidates should expect to complete their hours during Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 8am-4pm in office.

Skills:

Proficiency with MS Office suite

Experience with information systems

Excellent communication / organization

Ability to work independently

Efficient functioning in a team setting

Internship Areas: Engineering, Environmental Conservation, Planning/Analysis/Research, Policy Enforcement