Department Information

OPEN ONLY TO CURRENT RESIDENTS OF COLORADO

Are you interested in investing in a career that makes a difference?
Consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. It’s our mission to manage and conserve Colorado’s natural resources for the benefit of people today – and tomorrow. That means we have to balance development with conservation so the state we all love provides similar opportunities for our children and their children.
We invite you to explore our website at https://dnr.colorado.gov/about-us to find out more about the work we do to manage Colorado’s natural resources for today – and tomorrow.
The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply.

In addition to offering rewarding, meaningful work, we offer:

• 
  Medical and Dental plans
• Strong, flexible retirement plans including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus pre-tax 401K and 457 plans
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Employee Wellness programs
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• 10 paid holidays per year plus generous vacation and sick leave
• Flexible work schedule options and remote-work options
• Career advancement opportunities throughout the State system

Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more information, go to: https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/pslfFlow.action#!/pslf/launch

About COGCC:

• 
  The protection of public health, safety, welfare, environment and wildlife

• The efficient exploration and production of oil and gas resources
• The prevention of cumulative impacts from oil and gas development

• Cooperative relationships between COGCC and local governments as well as state and federal agencies with oversight of oil and gas operations

The Compliance team is tasked with determining Operator compliance with rules adopted by the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) to protect public health, safety, welfare, the environment and wildlife resources. The team includes field compliance specialists, enforcement officers, supervisors for those two employee groups, a quality assurance specialist, drone/fleet/safety coordinator and the unit manager.

The Compliance team performs the following functions:

• Compare conditions of approval for oil and gas location permits, production well permits, injection well permits, waste management facility permits, waste management plans, remediation plans, plugging and abandonment plans, and technical well information against as is field installations and construction activity to determine whether or not the installed facility complies with the permit conditions and Commission rules;

• Respond to inquiries from the public and investigate complaints regarding the compliance status of oil and gas facilities;

• Refer onsite environmental and engineering issues that require additional review or investigation to the Environmental or Engineering Units for follow up investigation;

• Collect initial “screening level” samples (soil, oily waste, soil gas, etc) or if necessary, request assistance from the Environmental Unit;

• Design procedures, and work with the IT and Information Managers and Enforcement Officer to develop forms and processes for efficiently managing and tracking inspection and enforcement information;

• Evaluate and determine whether recommendations from other stakeholders that have been incorporated as COAs into an approved permit are appropriate and needed to protect public health safety, welfare, and the environment including wildlife resources;

• Monitor field operations under the EPA delegated UIC program;

• Initiate enforcement actions when compliance cannot be obtained cooperatively;

• Negotiate enforcement actions to pursue cooperative settlement;

• Prosecute contested enforcement actions before Hearing Officer or Commission;

• Train industry, local government, land owners, environmental groups, and other interested parties on operating procedures that comply with COGCC rules and orders;

• Educate operators on issues and methods for minimizing and mitigating impacts from surface disturbance related to oil and gas operations;

• Provide technical knowledge and guidance to the regulated community and Local Governmental Designees;

• Identify orphaned wells and wells sites and refer to Orphaned Well Program;

• Evaluate and propose new rules and regulations or modifications to existing rules and regulations for implementation by COGCC;

• Provide expert testimony to Commission or other regulatory agency regarding compliance of oil and gas facilities with Commission rules and the Colorado Oil and Gas Act.

• Represent the COGCC at public outreach events and meetings and conduct stakeholder meetings.

Description of Job

This position independently assesses the compliance status of various types of oil and gas facilities by comparing the status and condition of the facility against relevant permits, court and commission orders, and commission rules. It requires a comprehensive understanding of both the Oil and Gas Act and Commission Rules as well as an expert knowledge and understanding of oil and gas operations. It must assess the overall compliance of a facility based on its own knowledge, applying administrative discretion to determine the most appropriate way to communicate the results of their assessment with the operator. It must contemplate the potential consequences of its judgement and application of the rules and determine whether training, corrective action, or enforcement is the most appropriate course of action to take with the operator.

• Determine the compliance status of oil and gas facilities by comparing onsite conditions to permit conditions, commission orders, and commission rules.
• Coordinate with local relevant government inspectors or other COGCC staff. Determine, based on their independent assessment and knowledge of rules and industry standards, whether conditions warrant informal communication with the operator, an inspection comment, a corrective action, or the initiation of formal enforcement proceedings.
• Results of the compliance assessment will be documented in COGIS and shared with other agencies or COGCC staff as appropriate.
• Compare the activity of sites to permit conditions, commission orders, and commission rules.
• Determine what activity is the most critical operation to observe and make arrangements to attend.
• Determine whether other agencies or COGCC staff would benefit from observing the operation and coordinate their visit to the site.
• Determine what additional follow-up is appropriate from continued observation, information communication with operator, initiation of an enforcement action, or an emergency safety shutdown of the operation.
• Determine how to best assess the current state of compliance as well as ascertain the conditions at the time of the complaint.

Must be willing to reside within 20 mile radius of Dacono, Colorado

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights

Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in a field of study related to the work assignment.

AND

Two (2) years of professional experience in an occupational field related ot the the work assigned to the position.

Please note: The required experience must be substantiated within the work experience section of your application. Your resume will not be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications; only the work experience section of your application will be reviewed to determine this. “See Resume” statements on the application will not be accepted. In addition, part-time work will be prorated.

Substitutions:

• Satisfactory completion of course work (BS degree) from an accredited, non-correspondence college or university in a field of study such as Geology, Petroleum Engineering or any field of study directly related to the assignment will substitute for up to four (4) years of the required general experience.
• Satisfactory competition of course work (A.A.S. Degree) from an accredited college in a field of study such as Petroleum Geology, Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum Operations or Oil and Gas Technology will substitute for up to two (2) years of the required general experience.
• Satisfactory competition of course work Master's Degree from an accredited college in a field of study such as Petroleum Geology, Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum Operations or Oil and Gas Technology will substitute for up to two (2) years of the required general experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

Although all desirable candidates must demonstrate a broad range of skills, knowledge and experience related to the job, the highly desirable candidate will have experience in any of the following focus areas as they may relate to oil and gas operations:

• Current or former State experience relevant to this position
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Familiarity of Colorado oil and gas rules and regulations
• Working knowledge of maps and orienteering
• Experience with oil and gas operations in Colorado
• Two years related to subsurface (downhole) operations such as well drilling, downhole well maintenance and completion, stimulation activities or wireline operations
• Knowledge of oil and gas well construction and production operations
• Knowledge of drilling, workover, cementing and completions
• Knowledge of upstream oil and gas production equipment, gathering systems and process piping
• Prior experience conducting site inspections and storm water inspections, certifications such as CDOT Erosion Control Supervisor
• Prior regulatory experience
• Experience working with local governments
• Customer service experience, previous public service experience, experience dealing with public, experience with complaint intake/response
• Experience with field equipment and technical equipment (FLIR cameras, sound meters, air monitoring, drones, etc.)

Conditions of Employment:

• State of Colorado residency is required at the time of application.
• Must be willing and able to possess and maintain a State of Colorado Driver's License
• Must be willing and able to travel to out of town hearings of the COGCC
• May be required to work in other parts of the State for short periods of time
• Must be willing and able to occasionally exert up to 20 lbs. of force to move objects
• Must be willing to reside within 20 mile radius of Dacono, Colorado

APPEAL RIGHTS:

It is recommended that you contact the Human Resources Specialist listed below to resolve issues related to your possession of minimum qualifications. However, if you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for this position, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director.

An appeal or review must be submitted on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative. This form must be delivered to the State Personnel Board by email, US Mail, faxed or hand delivered within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department’s action.

For more information about the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it to the State Personnel Board go to spb.colorado.gov or refer to 4 Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, at spb.colorado.gov under Rules.

Supplemental Information

• All applications received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed by an HR Specialist against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement.
• Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted based on merit and fitness through a comparative analysis process. Part of, or all of, the comparative analysis for this position will be a structured application review by Subject Matter Experts.
• Resumes and cover letters ARE REQUIRED for this position. Applications submitted without both documents will not be considered for intial review .
• Resumes, cover letters and other attachments are not considered as part of initial reviews, therefore, it is important to document in your application your education, experience, minimum qualifications, and preferred qualifications as outlined in the job announcement .
• Please thoroughly answer all supplemental questions (if listed) since question responses may be evaluated for content, writing ability, spelling, grammar, and effective communication.
• This recruitment may involve additional testing and/or exams to arrive at the top group for interviews.