Career Details
Career Details
Back to top

Career Details

13-1041.01 - Environmental Compliance Inspectors


Inspect and investigate sources of pollution to protect the public and environment and ensure conformance with Federal, State, and local regulations and ordinances.


Key Facts
Expand or Shrink Accordion
Bright Outlook
Career Details
Green Job
Career Details
Current Employment
260,300
Estimate
Forecasted Employment
269,000
Estimate
Change in Employment
+8,700
Estimate
Change in Employment %
+3.3%
Estimate
Tasks
Expand or Shrink Accordion
Tasks
The tasks listed below can be performed to prepare you for a career in this field.
Core
  • Determine the nature of code violations and actions to be taken, and issue written notices of violation, participating in enforcement hearings, as necessary.
  • Examine permits, licenses, applications, and records to ensure compliance with licensing requirements.
  • Prepare, organize, and maintain inspection records.
  • Interview individuals to determine the nature of suspected violations and to obtain evidence of violations.
  • Prepare written, oral, tabular, and graphic reports summarizing requirements and regulations, including enforcement and chain of custody documentation.
  • Monitor follow-up actions in cases where violations were found, and review compliance monitoring reports.
  • Investigate complaints and suspected violations regarding illegal dumping, pollution, pesticides, product quality, or labeling laws.
  • Inform individuals and groups of pollution control regulations and inspection findings, and explain how problems can be corrected.
  • Determine sampling locations and methods, and collect water or wastewater samples for analysis, preserving samples with appropriate containers and preservation methods.
  • Verify that hazardous chemicals are handled, stored, and disposed of in accordance with regulations.
  • Research and keep informed of pertinent information and developments in areas such as EPA laws and regulations.
  • Determine which sites and violation reports to investigate, and coordinate compliance and enforcement activities with other government agencies.
  • Observe and record field conditions, gathering, interpreting, and reporting data such as flow meter readings and chemical levels.
  • Learn and observe proper safety precautions, rules, regulations, and practices so that unsafe conditions can be recognized and proper safety protocols implemented.
  • Participate in the development of spill prevention programs and hazardous waste rules and regulations, and recommend corrective actions for hazardous waste problems.
Supplemental
  • Inspect waste pretreatment, treatment, and disposal facilities and systems for conformance to federal, state, or local regulations.
  • Evaluate label information for accuracy and conformance to regulatory requirements.
  • Inform health professionals, property owners, and the public about harmful properties and related problems of water pollution and contaminated wastewater.
  • Analyze and implement state, federal or local requirements as necessary to maintain approved pretreatment, pollution prevention, and storm water runoff programs.
  • Perform laboratory tests on samples collected, such as analyzing the content of contaminated wastewater.
  • Review and evaluate applications for registration of products containing dangerous materials, or for pollution control discharge permits.
  • Research and perform calculations related to landscape allowances, discharge volumes, production-based and alternative limits, and wastewater strength classifications, making recommendations and completing documentation.
  • Maintain and repair materials, work sites, and equipment.
  • Conduct research on hazardous waste management projects to determine the magnitude of problems and treatment or disposal alternatives and costs.
  • Respond to questions and inquiries, such as those concerning service charges and capacity fees, or refer them to supervisors.
  • Prepare data to calculate sewer service charges and capacity fees.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Knowledge
Expand or Shrink Accordion
Knowledge

The items listed below are organized into sections that contain knowledge useful for pursuing a career in this field. Each section also contains a "Percentage of Importance" statistic that shows how relevant an item is to the occupation.
 English Language
  • 84%
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
 Law and Government
  • 82%
    Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
 Computers and Electronics
  • 69%
    Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
 Chemistry
  • 68%
    Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
 Customer and Personal Service
  • 67%
    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
 Mathematics
  • 62%
    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
 Public Safety and Security
  • 60%
    Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
 Biology
  • 58%
    Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
 Engineering and Technology
  • 57%
    Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
 Administration and Management
  • 55%
    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
 Education and Training
  • 55%
    Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
 Clerical
  • 53%
    Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
 Physics
  • 50%
    Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Tools
Expand or Shrink Accordion
Tools
The tools listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Ladders and scaffolding
  • Aluminum ladders
  • Scaffolding
 Miscellaneous optical components
  • Optical beamsplitting devices
 Pumps
  • Hand sampling pumps
  • Bladder pumps
  • Centrifugal water sampling pumps
  • Water sampling gear pumps
  • Progressive cavity sampling pumps
  • Reciprocating piston sampling pumps
 Sampling equipment
  • Bacon bomb samplers
  • Bottom fill bailers
  • Double check valve bailers
  • Thief samplers
  • Composite liquid waste samplers COLIWASA
  • Kemmerer depth samplers
  • Liquid grab samplers
  • Passive diffusion bag PDB samplers
  • Pond samplers
  • Van Dorn samplers
  • Wastewater samplers
  • Weighted bottle samplers
  • Wheaton dip samplers
  • Atmosphere monitors
  • Sample bottles
  • Sample collection chambers
 Laboratory pumps and tubing
  • Groundwater sampling peristaltic pumps
  • Suction-lift pumps
  • Syringe pumps
 Weight measuring instruments
  • Laboratory analytical balances
 Indicating and recording instruments
  • Surface acoustic wave sensors SAWS
 Transducers
  • Piezoelectric sensors
 Chemical evaluation instruments and supplies
  • Chlorophyll-a probes
  • Continuous flame ionization detectors FID
  • Photoionization detectors PID
 Gas analyzers and monitors
  • Fuel fluorescence detectors FFD
  • Laser-induced fluorescence LIF instruments
  • Total petroleum hydrocarbon TPH analyzers
  • Ultraviolet fluorescence UVF test kits
  • Chlorine samplers
  • Mercury vapor analyzers
 Liquid and solid and elemental analyzers
  • Enzyme immunoassay kits
  • Volatile organic compound VOC measurement devices
  • Continuous water quality monitors
  • Water quality data sondes
 Soil measuring equipment
  • Benthic grab samplers
  • Box corers
  • Bucket augers
  • Ekman grab samplers
  • Gravity corers
  • Hand corers
  • Hydraulic vibracorers
  • Membrane interface probes MIP
  • Mobile cone penetrometer MCP systems
  • Ponar dredge samplers
  • Power augers
  • Russian peat borers
  • Sampling triers
  • Sand corers
  • Shelby tube samplers
  • Split core samplers
  • Split spoon samplers
  • Van Veen grab samplers
  • Waste pile samplers
  • Wireline samplers
 Radar and sonar systems and components
  • Ground penetrating radar GPR
 Light and wave generating and measuring equipment
  • Interferometers
  • Helium-neon lasers
  • Differential photometers
  • Colorimetric field sampling devices
 Spectroscopic equipment
  • X ray fluorescence XRF spectrometers
  • Laser-induced breakdown spectrometers LIBS
  • Mass spectrometers
  • Portable mass spectrometers MS
  • Spectrophotometers
  • Graphite furnace atomic absorption GFAA spectrometers
  • Extractive Fourier transform infrared FTIR spectrometers
  • Infrared IR spectrometers
  • Inductively coupled plasma ICP spectrophotometers
 Electrochemical measuring instruments and accessories
  • pH indicators
  • Ion selective electrode ISE testers
  • Conductance meters
  • Specific conductance probes
  • Dissolved oxygen probes
 Chromatographic measuring instruments and accessories
  • Portable gas chromatographs GC
  • Liquid chromatographs LC
 Personal communication devices
  • Portable two way radios
 Computers
  • Laptop computers
  • Desktop computers
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Technology
Expand or Shrink Accordion
Technology
The technologies listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Business function specific software
  • Microsoft ProjectHOT
  • Microsoft SharePointHOT
  • Microsoft OfficeHOT
 Finance accounting and enterprise resource planning ERP software
  • Enterprise resource planning ERP softwareHOT
  • SAP softwareHOT
 Content authoring and editing software
  • Microsoft WordHOT
  • Word processing software
  • Microsoft PowerPointHOT
  • Microsoft ExcelHOT
 Content management software
  • Adobe Systems Adobe AcrobatHOT
 Data management and query software
  • Salesforce softwareHOT
  • Database software
  • Microsoft AccessHOT
 Industry specific software
  • Autodesk AutoCADHOT
  • DQO-PRO
  • Environmental Knowledge and Assessment Tool EKAT
  • Field Operations and Records Management System (FORMS) II Lite
  • Fully Integrated Environmental Location Decision Support FIELDS
  • HRS Quickscore
  • Mass Flux Toolkit
  • Monitoring and Remediation Optimization System MAROS
  • Rapid Assessment Tools R.A.T.
  • Scribe
  • Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance SADA
  • Sustainable Management Approaches and Revitalization Tools SMARTe
 Information exchange software
  • Microsoft OutlookHOT
  • Geographic information system GIS softwareHOT
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Certifications
Expand or Shrink Accordion
Certifications
The certifications listed below are useful to pursue if you are interested in a career in this field.
 Specialty
 Advanced
 Core
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Licensing
Expand or Shrink Accordion
Licensing
The licensing information below is organized into sections and is useful for pursuing if you are interested in a career in this field.
No specific licensing information is listed for this occupation in the area you have selected.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Related Programs
Expand or Shrink Accordion
Programs related to this career, offered by participating institution(s), are listed below.

Clicking on the Degree programs in the list below will take you away from the Careers page.
INSTITUTION
PROGRAMS
Peirce College
Jobs
Expand or Shrink Accordion
Jobs related to this career may be found on Indeed.com or on the Google Job Search page.