State of Maryland

A Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer Trainee is the entry 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 learn to respond to emergency incidents to mitigate and contain hazardous materials releases and petroleum spills, and to direct clean-up activities to ensure public safety and eliminate or minimize environmental damage.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officers.

Employees in this classification receive close 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 Trainee, Haz-Mat Emergency Officer I and Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer  II are differentiated on the basis of the degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees. The Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer Trainee performs duties under close supervision. The Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer I performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed.  The Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Learns to contain and mitigate hazardous materials releases and petroleum spills by assisting more experienced Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officers in responding to hazardous materials releases and petroleum spill incidents throughout the State;

Learns to identify hazard classifications and assess the extent of spill and the public safety risks caused by the incident;

Learns to determine the appropriate personal protective gear, containment equipment and methods to be used at an incident site;

Learns to conduct containment and mitigation activities, such as drilling holes in a tanker and placing absorbent material on the spillage;

Learns to initiate clean-up operations by contacting the party responsible for the spill and/or hiring a pre-approved contractor;

Learns to oversee emergency clean-up operations and determine if and when the site clean-up has been conducted and completed in accordance with proper procedures and environmental regulations;

Learns to prepare spill incident activity reports;

Serves as a duty officer on a rotating basis to receive calls concerning hazardous materials releases and petroleum spills and notifies a more experienced Haz-Mat Emergency Response Officer if an emergency incident exists;

May learn to participate in in-service training for department staff and assist in the training of local police, fire departments, businesses, and community organizations concerning hazardous materials containment, mitigation and clean-up operations;

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

May learn to conduct follow-up investigations of petroleum spills and hazardous materials release incidents;

Performs other related duties.

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

Ability to learn federal hazard classifications and chemical identification systems;

Ability to learn hazardous materials packaging and cargo transport systems;

Ability to learn chemical properties and the reactivity potentials of hazardous materials;

Ability to learn the common chemicals used in industry and the safety precautions required for handling, control, storage and disposal;

Ability to learn hazardous materials spill containment and mitigation activities;

Ability to learn to interpret and apply a wide variety of hazardous materials safety and spill response reference resources;

Ability to learn to use a wide variety of hazardous materials safety and containment equipment, tools and devices;

Ability to learn to prepare accurate and concise reports;

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

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

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

Experience: None.

Note: Candidates may substitute experience conducting hazardous materials or petroleum spill containment or experience in the control or disposal of toxic waste or hazardous materials on a year-for-year basis for the required education.

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 completion of the probationary period, employees in this classification must successfully complete training 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 ongoing medical testing in accordance with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) 1910.

2. 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.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.