State of Maryland

A Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer Lead is the lead level of work in the containment, mitigation and clean-up of hazardous materials releases and petroleum spills generally involving other local, State and federal environmental and public safety agencies.  Employees in this classification respond to emergency incidents to mitigate and contain hazardous materials releases and petroleum spills and coordinate clean-up activities to ensure public safety and eliminate or minimize environmental damage.  Employees in this classification lead lower-level Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officers and direct and advise staff from various other government agencies and private industry contractors at spill sites.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from a Haz-Mat Emergency Response Supervisor.  Employees are required to work evenings and weekends and are subject to call-in during non-working hours in response to environmental emergencies.  The work is performed primarily outdoors under varying weather conditions and requires frequent travel throughout the State.  Employees respond to hazardous materials accidents that present a substantial and imminent threat to human health and the environment.  The work may require walking considerable distances over uneven and contaminated terrain while wearing heavy protective gear and carrying heavy equipment and materials weighing 20-100 pounds.  The work requires climbing ladders and entering confined or enclosed spaces such as large tanks, trucks, storm drains and containers as well as facilities such as chemical plants, treatment plants and steel mills.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer Lead is differentiated from the Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer II in that the Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer  Lead assigns, reviews and approves the work of  and trains lower-level Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officers while the Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.   The Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer Lead is differentiated from the Haz-Mat Emergency Response Supervisor in that the Haz-Mat Emergency Response Supervisor has supervisory responsibility for lower-level Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officers.

Assigns, reviews and approves the work of lower-level Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Officers;

Trains lower-level Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officers as well as individuals from local, State and federal agencies and industrial and civilian organizations on hazardous materials emergency response procedures and operations, and on environmental laws and regulations as they apply to emergency response activities;

Serves as the Incident Commander for spills involving other responding agencies to evaluate risk factors associated with released or spilled substances and to determine the number of personnel and the type and amount of equipment needed at the scene;

Reviews spill incident activity reports for accuracy and sufficiency;

Assesses environmental emergency response operational problems;

Responds to hazardous materials release and petroleum spill incidents throughout the State to direct and participate in release mitigation and spill containment activities or, as the sole or first responder on the scene, to initiate containment and mitigation activities and clean-up actions;

Serves as a duty officer on a rotating basis to receive calls concerning hazardous materials releases and petroleum spills and dispatches the on-call Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officers if an emergency response is required;

Determines the need for response and which State or federal agency(s) should respond to the incident based on an assessment of the information received during the initial call;

Testifies in court and at hearings as an expert witness on the safe and lawful storage and disposal of hazardous waste and hazardous materials;

Represents the Department at public meetings and gatherings and to the media;

May be required to assume command over volunteer assistants from local jurisdictions;

May develop or revise hazardous materials emergency response plans and standard operating procedures;

May conduct safety inspections and quality control calibrations of emergency response equipment;

May conduct follow-up investigations of petroleum spill and hazardous materials release incidents;

May serve as the Department's liaison with local, State and federal hazardous materials emergency response personnel;

May review and approve purchase requisitions and service contracts for clean-up contractors, equipment maintenance and supply inventories;

May organize and direct distribution of containment supplies to local fire departments;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the State and federal environmental laws, regulations, procedures and techniques applicable to the containment, mitigation and clean-up of hazardous materials releases and petroleum spills;

Knowledge of federal hazard classifications and chemical identification systems;

Knowledge of hazardous materials packaging and cargo transport systems;

Knowledge of chemical properties and the reactivity potentials of hazardous materials;

Knowledge of common chemicals used in industry and the safety precautions required for handling, control, storage and disposal;

Knowledge of decontamination procedures;

Skill in conducting and directing hazardous materials spill containment and mitigation activities;

Skill in interpreting and applying a wide variety of hazardous materials safety and spill response reference resources;

Skill in the use of a wide variety of environmental emergency response safety, containment and transfer equipment, tools and devices;

Skill in preparing accurate and concise reports;

Ability to assign and review the work of others;

Ability to train lower-level Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officers, personnel from local, State and federal agencies, and individuals from private industry;

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff personnel and officials from local, State and federal agencies, police and fire departments, private industry and the general public;

Ability to represent the Department at public meetings and gatherings and to the media;

Ability to make decisions quickly and calmly when on the scene of an emergency spill incident.

Education:   Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: Three years of full-time work conducting hazardous materials and petroleum spill containment or directing spill clean up.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute additional experience or experience in the control or disposal of toxic waste or hazardous materials on a year-for-year basis for the required education.

2. Candidates may substitute education at an accredited college or university, including twelve credit hours in physical, natural or environmental science or emergency services, at the rate of thirty credit hours for each year of required experience.

3. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer in industrial hygiene classification or industrial hygiene specialty codes in the hazardous material/hazardous waste field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

1. Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of motor vehicles, including commercial vehicles. Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator's license valid in the State of Maryland.

2. Prior to appointment, candidates for positions in this classification must present written verification of competency in the areas specified in the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) 1910 Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response. Information about these regulations is available in the Human Resources Office of the Maryland Department of the Environment or may be obtained at the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration web site.

3. Employees in this classification must maintain competency in the areas specified in the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) 1910.

1. Employees in this classification are subject to substance abuse testing in accordance with the Code of Maryland Regulations 17.04.09, Testing for Illegal Use of Drugs.

2. Employees in this classification are subject to ongoing medical testing in accordance with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) 1910.

3. Employees in this classification are subject to call-in on a twenty-four hour basis and, therefore, will be required to provide the employing agency with a telephone number where they can be reached.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit C- Regulatory, Inspection and Licensure classes.  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime as provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.