Environmental Permitting Support Coordinator (Environmental Regulatory Coordinator - CPPW) - 2025-00247

The Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) Collection System and Watershed Operations and Maintenance Group is looking for a motivated Environmental Regulatory Coordinator to support the bureau’s environmental permitting for capital projects and maintenance activities and to coordinate the Environmental Regulatory Streamlining Committee (aka Streamlining Team; www.portland.gov/bes/streamlining-team).

BES established the Environmental Regulatory Streamlining Committee more than two decades ago to provide an opportunity for early and meaningful engagement with regulatory agencies and to ensure expeditious and effective compliance with all state, federal, and local environmental regulations and permit requirements. The Streamlining Committee currently includes representatives from Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW), and Portland Permitting and Development (PP&D).

BES has an annual capital budget of approximately $200 million, with about 400 active capital projects each year. This position plays a critical role in permitting and compliance for capital projects and maintenance activities that might affect regulated environmental resources, including waterbodies (rivers, streams, and wetlands) and wildlife (habitat and species). This position is directly responsible for ensuring all BES capital projects, some operations and maintenance projects, and similar projects at other City bureaus (primarily Transportation, Parks, and Water) secure and comply with all necessary federal, state, and local environmental permits.

This position is responsible for:

• convening a monthly meeting of seven state, federal, and local regulators to review projects and advise the bureaus on environmental permit requirements and pathways;
• advising project teams on environmental regulatory applications and compliance;
• ensuring that all required permits are acquired and tracked;
• tracking compliance throughout the project and post project;
• participating on capital project teams to support permitting strategy and track permitting efforts.

BES is seeking an Environmental Regulatory Coordinator to oversee, manage, and coordinate the BES Environmental Regulatory Streamlining Committee, to provide highly technical support for project managers whose project must meet state, federal, and local environmental regulations, to track compliance with environmental permits, and to be a liaison between the City and state and federal agencies that implement environmental regulations. In addition, this position will support other certain permitting needs for projects and maintenance activities, such as stormwater permitting (DEQ 1200-CA permit), City of Portland building and zoning permits, and historic compliance (Oregon State Historic Preservation Office; SHPO), as needed.