Environmental Planner

The Suffolk County Water Authority on behalf of the Central Pine Barrens Commission is seeking an Environmental Planner to review development projects, referrals and land use management plans. The position performs environmental review of projects for conformance with environmental regulations to minimize potential impacts to natural resources. This position is interdisciplinary in nature requiring a working knowledge of planning principles, municipal land use zoning, natural resource protection, and environmental regulations. This position reports directly to the Policy and Planning Manager.

Central Pine Barrens

 

Responsibilities include:

• Performs review of development projects, project referrals and land use management plans and related environmental analysis for conformance with the Central Pine Barrens Commission’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan and the 1993 Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act.
• Assesses potential environmental impacts to natural resources and other environmental subjects such as critical natural resources, flood and erosion hazards, significant geological, ecological or scenic resources related to various land use activities and projects;
• Prepares hearing notices, drafts staff reports and other pertinent materials for public hearings on development projects;
• Prepares aerial photographs, maps, diagrams and overlays necessary to identify various ecosystems and their present status;
• Proposes guidelines for planning based on analysis of resource capabilities;
• Performs land use data analyses using GIS and other database and spreadsheet programs;
• Responds to inquiries from the public and other agencies related to Division work and projects as appropriate;
• Participates in the preparation of environmental resource inventories, including all protected areas, by means of field studies, aerial photographs and outside reports;
• Serves as secondary staff support to the pine barrens credit program, a transfer of development rights program managed by the Central Pine Barrens Commission as needed.
• All other duties as assigned.

 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, natural resources, land use/environmental planning, or related field required.
• 2 years’ experience with working knowledge of the principles, concepts and methods of community and regional planning, as applied to the preservation of environmental resources;
• Working knowledge of current literature, sources of information and modern developments in the field of environmental planning;
• Ability to analyze environmental impacts related to various forms of land use and conformance with local, state and environmental regulations, especially the NYS Environmental Quality Review Act;
• Ability to identify plants, shrubs, trees and other natural and native vegetation particular to the Central Pine Barrens for site investigations and restoration monitoring.
• Ability to use ArcGIS to prepare maps, interpret and analyze aerials and data;
• Ability to conduct site investigations to document field conditions and prepare related reports for projects.
• Ability to translate into map and diagrammatic form field data gathered on land use and ecosystems;
• Ability to understand and interpret scientific data pertaining to natural resources while evaluating project applications and utilize this information in crafting planning decisions;
• Familiarity with applicable State, County and local land use codes and regulations
• Ability to interface and communicate clearly and effectively with municipal planning staff and other agency staff to obtain project information and make project inquiries;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work cooperatively with others, individually or as part of a team.
• Skills must include proficiency in MS Office, Excel, Adobe Acrobat and other standard operating software.

*The Authority may accept an equivalent combination of education and experience to meet the requirements*

Interested candidates should submit their application, resume, and transcripts, including salary requirements, via the SCWA website (www.scwa.com) and click on “Career Opportunities.” Salary is commensurate with education and experience within a range of $65-70K. Suffolk County residency is highly preferred.

(The Authority shall not employ relatives of employees as defined to mean an employee’s spouse, child, stepchild, stepparent or direct descendant of grandparents of the employee as defined in the NYS General Municipal Law 810.)