Environmental Permitting Specialist

AECOM is actively seeking a highly talented Environmental Permitting Specialist with proven Florida experience for immediate full-time employment in the Coral Gables, Florida office. The successful candidate will work within an interdisciplinary collaborative environment that provides career growth opportunities within AECOM’s Environmental Planning and Permitting (EPP) Southeast Region Team. This position will include directing and completing federal, state, and local permitting to include report writing, permitting application preparation, directing environmental/engineering resources support staff, and coordinating with agencies and clients. Experience with threatened and endangered (T&E) species surveys, as well as coastal and marine project experience will also be considered as part of this role. The EPP team largely works on projects throughout the southeast, but particularly in Florida.

The responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Leading preliminary desktop assessments of potential permitting requirements for proposed projects including deliverable coordination/development and/or review of critical issues analysis that is either completed in-house or by a subcontractor.
• Leading development of detailed permit matrices composed of applicable federal/state/local environmental regulations.
• Leading/originating development of initial and subsequent strategy for obtaining Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404/401 permitting and/or other federal, state, and local permits, including coordination with senior staff, clients, and reviewing agencies.
• Lead preparation of permit applications and manage review, submittal, responding to requests for additional information, and processing for permitting such as federal Section 401/404 Permits, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Sovereign Submerged Lands (SSL) Permits, South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Environmental Resource Permits (ERP), Broward County Environmental Resource Licenses (ERL), Miami-Dade County Class I Permit, and others.
• Leading coordination and/or due diligence desktop investigations in support of project planning and permitting. Such efforts may include: T&E species habitat assessment, essential fish habitat (EFH) assessment, and reporting with sub-contractor / agency coordination; and conducting detail and/or technical review of ecological assessment documents, and other associated reports.
• Section 7 requirements with USFWS and NOAA Fisheries
• Familiarity with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and environmental report production, EA/EIS
• Knowledge of and experience utilizing the USACE’s Jacksonville District Biological Opinion (JaxBO)
• Lead and assist with task management according to approved scopes of work and delivering quality deliverables on schedule and within budget.
• Coordinating and leading conversations with clients (internal and external), and various governmental agencies (federal/state/local).
• Serving as a technical lead for environmental, biological, permitting and other impact assessments across the region.
• Assisting Senior Managers with business development activities, including proposals, pre-qualifications, and relationship building with clients and prospective clients.
• Work requires independent research, project ownership, and accountability.