About the Role:
The King County Wastewater Treatment Division is seeking dedicated, talented staff to help support the Industrial Waste program. We need compliance investigators who will leverage their pretreatment knowledge and expertise to strategically address and resolve challenges and effectively improve our program that serves our industrial customer base.


The Environmental and Community Services Section advances the values of King County and the Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) by protecting public health and the environment and providing equitable, inclusive services to residents and businesses across King County. To our agency, success means providing clean water safely and reliably to the next generation. It also means being accountable to our ratepayers and operating a well-managed agency. We are committed to the principles of equity and social justice. We value diverse perspectives and life experiences in our workforce and are committed to building a culturally diverse and inclusive environment.

The Compliance Investigator I position is an entry level position for the unit that performs core work such as issuing simpler forms of control documents, inspecting industrial facilities, and assisting with enforcement actions. The Compliance Investigator I may be assigned to assist in sampling efforts. The Compliance Investigator I position is expected to assist Investigator II staff on special projects and work groups.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work for a progressive utility focused on providing essential wastewater services to the public in an equitable and inclusive environment. The Compliance Investigator I works under close supervision and learns to perform assigned investigator and associated duties with increasing technical independence. Experience working as an Investigator I is a good career path position which can eventually lead to advancement as an Investigator II

What You Will Be Doing: 

• Learn to conduct inspections of commercial and industrial entities to determine the nature of their discharge processes and to determine compliance with pretreatment regulations.
• Inspect less complex industrial and commercial dischargers.
• Maintain records of inspections and correspondence.
• Learn to write and manage industrial waste discharge permits and other discharge authorizations for less complex facilities in accordance with pretreatment regulations.
• Participate in establishing compliance schedules, fines and other enforcement measures.
• Participate in conducting enforcement actions, including representing King County in appeals processes.
• Provide general information and technical assistance to the public and businesses regarding source control and discharges to the sewer.
• Learn to identify, respond to and investigate violations, complaints, spills and emergencies.
• Respond to the less complex complaints, spills and emergencies.

Qualifications You Bring:

• Basic knowledge of federal, state, and local environmental regulations as well as hazardous waste handling, pollution prevention and chemical storage requirements.
• Basic knowledge of safety hazards associated with sampling, industrial inspections and wastewater treatment and conveyance systems.
• Basic knowledge of environmental monitoring; including sample collection, handling, analysis, interpretation, and documentation.
• Skill in using computers and applications such as databases and MS Office products. Skill in reading and interpreting graphs, maps, and plans.
• Ability to set priorities and manage workloads with multiple competing priorities. Skill in using independent reasoning and judgment.
• Skill in establishing and maintaining working relationships with coworkers and customers. Ability to deal effectively with groups and individuals in difficult circumstances.
• Skill in oral and written communication including conveying technical information to a variety of audiences.