Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Environmental Compliance Officer

🎯 Role Definition

An Environmental Compliance Officer ensures that the organization operates in full compliance with local, state, and federal environmental laws and company environmental policies. This role leads permit management, environmental monitoring, compliance reporting, internal audits, incident response, and corrective action programs. The officer works cross-functionally with operations, engineering, EHS, legal, and external regulators to mitigate environmental risk, reduce liability, and support continuous improvement of environmental performance. Key focus areas include hazardous waste management, air and water permit compliance, stormwater, spill prevention, environmental management systems (ISO 14001), and community/regulatory liaison activities.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Environmental Technician / Field Technician
EHS Specialist / Health & Safety Technician
Environmental Scientist or Laboratory Technician

Advancement To:

Senior Environmental Compliance Officer
Environmental Program Manager / EHS Manager
Director of Environmental Compliance or Sustainability

Lateral Moves:

Permit Specialist / Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Remediation Project Manager
Sustainability Manager / Corporate Responsibility Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead day-to-day regulatory compliance for federal, state and local environmental requirements (EPA programs, RCRA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA, TSCA) and translate regulatory obligations into actionable company procedures and controls.
Prepare, review and submit environmental permits, applications and renewals (e.g., NPDES, Title V, air permits, stormwater permits, hazardous waste permits) and manage permit conditions and timelines to avoid noncompliance.
Develop, compile and submit required regulatory reports (e.g., TRI, SPCC, biennial hazardous waste reports, air emissions inventories, wastewater monitoring reports) ensuring accuracy, timeliness and auditability.
Plan and execute internal and external environmental audits and inspections (operational site inspections, supplier/vendor audits, contractor oversight), write findings reports, and drive corrective and preventive action plans to closure.
Design, implement and maintain the Environmental Management System (EMS) in accordance with ISO 14001 or company requirements, including policy deployment, objectives, performance metrics and continual improvement.
Conduct environmental site assessments and compliance inspections—identify nonconformances, root causes, and practical remediation steps; monitor corrective action effectiveness and document closure.
Manage hazardous waste operations including characterization, labeling, storage, manifesting, transportation coordination with licensed carriers, and disposal vendor selection to ensure regulatory and RCRA compliance.
Lead environmental incident response and investigation (spills, releases, exceedances), coordinate emergency response teams, notify regulators when required, and prepare incident reports and lessons-learned documentation.
Oversee environmental sampling and monitoring programs (air, soil, groundwater, stormwater) including developing sampling plans, supervising technicians/contractors, and ensuring data quality and chain-of-custody procedures.
Interpret complex environmental regulations and provide concise regulatory guidance to operations, engineering, procurement and senior leadership to enable compliant operational decisions.
Interface with regulatory agencies and local authorities—manage inspections, negotiate compliance timelines, represent the company during enforcement actions, and maintain strong working relationships to expedite regulatory resolutions.
Implement and deliver environmental compliance training and awareness programs for employees, contractors and leadership to reduce risk and embed environmental best practices into daily operations.
Establish and maintain environmental compliance tracking systems and databases (permit trackers, inspection logs, corrective action registries) to provide real-time compliance visibility for management and auditors.
Review and influence capital projects and process changes from an environmental permitting and compliance perspective, providing permit strategy, compliance requirements and mitigation measures during project design and execution.
Support site closure, remediation, and corrective action projects—coordinate consultants, review remedial plans, oversee contractor performance, and ensure compliance with regulatory directives.
Manage vendor and contractor compliance programs—evaluate environmental performance of suppliers, develop contractual environmental requirements, and perform periodic compliance assessments.
Develop and track key performance indicators (KPIs) and dashboards for environmental performance (waste generation, emissions, water use, permit noncompliances) and prepare executive-level summaries and regulatory reports.
Conduct environmental due diligence support for real estate transactions, mergers & acquisitions, and expansions, including Phase I/II ESA coordination and negotiation of environmental covenants/conditions.
Maintain accurate compliance documentation, permit binders, SDS management, and records to meet audit, litigation and regulatory requests and to support timely responses to information requests.
Support sustainability initiatives by identifying opportunities to reduce waste, emissions and resource consumption and by coordinating recycling, energy efficiency and pollution prevention programs.
Provide technical support for product stewardship, chemical inventory management, and safe handling requirements to reduce environmental risk across product life-cycles.
Monitor regulatory developments, proposed rule changes and emerging compliance trends; evaluate impacts and recommend proactive business and policy adjustments to senior stakeholders.
Draft and manage environmental policies, operating procedures and work instructions and ensure these documents are controlled, distributed and incorporated into training and operational processes.
Prepare for and support enforcement response, penalty mitigation negotiations and settlement activities in collaboration with legal counsel; implement compliance measures to prevent recurrence.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc environmental data requests, compile monitoring datasets and provide summary analysis for regulatory reporting, due diligence and management reviews.
Coordinate cross-functional teams to investigate potential compliance gaps and implement corrective actions in operations, maintenance, and engineering.
Assist in development and continuous improvement of environmental training materials and deliver periodic refresher training for operational staff and contractors.
Participate in emergency preparedness and tabletop exercises, ensuring environmental response plans are practical and integrated with site emergency response procedures.
Provide backup oversight for stormwater pollution prevention plans (SWPPP) implementation and perform quarterly/annual visual inspections and reporting.
Collaborate with sustainability and energy teams to align environmental compliance initiatives with corporate sustainability goals and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies.
Support community and stakeholder engagement efforts by preparing fact sheets, responding to inquiries, and participating in public meetings when environmental topics are raised.
Contribute to procurement reviews to ensure purchased equipment, chemicals and services meet environmental compliance and permit conditions.
Assist legal and business development teams with environmental clauses in contracts, bids, and customer/vendor agreements, highlighting compliance obligations.
Evaluate technical proposals from environmental consultants and contractors; manage scopes of work, schedules and budgets for environmental projects.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven knowledge of federal, state and local environmental regulations and permitting programs (EPA, RCRA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, NPDES, CERCLA, TSCA, state equivalents).
Experience preparing and submitting environmental permits, compliance forms and regulatory reports (TRI, NPDES, Title V, hazardous waste biennial reports, SPCC).
Environmental auditing skills (internal audits, third-party audits) with experience documenting nonconformances, corrective actions and verification checks.
Hazardous waste management expertise including waste classification, manifesting, DOT shipping regulations and licensed disposal vendor coordination.
Incident management and spill response capabilities including reporting to regulators and leading root cause analysis and corrective action implementation.
Environmental monitoring and sampling knowledge (air emissions testing, stormwater sampling, groundwater and soil sampling protocols) and familiarity with chain-of-custody.
Environmental Management System (EMS) implementation and maintenance experience, ideally ISO 14001 lead auditor or equivalent exposure.
Strong technical writing and report development skills for regulatory submissions, permit applications, audit reports and executive summaries.
Proficiency with compliance databases, permit tracking tools, GHG inventory tools, and common software (Excel, Word, PowerPoint); experience with GIS, LIMS or EMS software is a plus.
Familiarity with environmental site assessments (Phase I/II ESA) and remediation oversight practices.
Knowledge of occupational health & safety regulations (OSHA) as they intersect with environmental controls and incident investigations.
Basic project management skills: scope, schedule, budget tracking and contractor coordination.

Soft Skills

Excellent verbal and written communication skills—able to translate technical regulatory requirements into clear, actionable guidance for operations and leadership.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.
Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive corrective actions without direct authority.
Organized and deadline-driven with strong time management skills to handle multiple permits, inspections and reporting cycles.
Professional demeanor for interacting with regulators, community stakeholders, contractors and executive leadership.
Adaptability to changing regulations and business priorities; proactive in identifying risks and mitigation strategies.
Ethical judgment and integrity in handling compliance issues, confidential information and regulatory disclosures.
Customer-service oriented mindset for internal clients (operations, maintenance, engineering) and external stakeholders.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Geology, Biology, Environmental Health, or a related technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Management, Environmental Engineering, or related advanced degree.
Professional certifications such as CHMM (Certified Hazardous Materials Manager), CESSWI, REM, ISO 14001 Lead Auditor, or similar certifications preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Environmental Science / Environmental Engineering
Chemical Engineering / Civil Engineering
Geology / Hydrogeology
Environmental Health & Safety
Biology / Chemistry

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3–7 years of progressive environmental compliance, EHS, or environmental consulting experience; mid-level positions typically expect 3–5 years, senior roles 5+ years.

Preferred:

5+ years of industry-specific environmental compliance experience (manufacturing, petroleum, chemical, utilities, mining, construction, or real estate).
Demonstrated track record of managing multi-facility permit programs, regulatory agency interactions, and emergency response.
Prior experience with ISO 14001 EMS implementation, regulatory negotiations, or environmental due diligence for transactions.
Supervisory or project lead experience is a plus.