WHAT DOES AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT DO?
Published: Feb 14, 2025 - An Environmental Consultant oversees the delivery of environmental and planning approvals, coordinating complex documentation and managing technical studies for major projects, including airport planning. Expertise in Queensland environmental legislation is applied to ensure compliance and enhance client consultations while maintaining strong relationships with government departments and industry stakeholders. The role involves mentoring and leading team members in environmental assessments and audits, contributing to sustainable development and regulatory adherence through comprehensive analysis and strategic advice.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Environmental Consultant
1. Environmental Consultant Duties
- Environmental Site Assessment: Conducts all levels of contaminated site investigations including Phase 1 and Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessments, Remediation, Risk Assessments, and field work appropriate to level of experience.
- Project Management: Manages all aspects of the project with senior technical support and review available.
- Hydrogeological Analysis: Conducts hydrogeological investigations, and monitoring programs, and performs studies for the evaluation of environmental risk assessment for regulatory requirements.
- Data Interpretation: Compiles and interprets site hydrogeological conditions from geological maps, reports, survey plans, air photos, and collected physical and chemical data.
- Client Relations: Advises and liaises with clients on a broad range of technical issues related to contaminated site investigation.
- Business Development: Responsible for building network and strengthening relationships within the industry to attract and retain clients.
- Mentorship: Provides technical direction and mentoring to junior staff; conducts technical review of junior staff work projects.
- Protocol Development: Contributes to the development of internal protocols and procedures.
- Site Inspection: Performs visual site inspections to collect samples and evaluates analytical data from samples collected.
- Technical Reporting: Prepares drawings and writes comprehensive, technical reports describing the property and the work performed.
- Regulatory Compliance: Evaluates compliance with regard to state and federal health and safety regulations, laws, rules, and codes.
- Analytical Techniques: Understands and applies environmental analytical techniques.
- Consultant Support: Assists senior consultants with more complex environmental projects, data collection, and proposals.
- Client Interface: Interfaces effectively with field consultants, management, and client organizations.
2. Environmental Consultant Details
- Environmental Project Management: Manages the delivery of environmental and planning approvals and technical studies for major projects.
- Documentation Coordination: Coordinates and prepares complex environmental approval documentation.
- Environmental Planning: Prepares and manages environmental management plans and delivers environmental audits.
- Client Consulting: Provides advice and recommendations to clients on environmental aspects across the full project lifecycle.
- Field Survey Management: Scopes and manages environmental field surveys and data analysis.
- Technical Reporting: Manages and prepares technical content in reports, proposals, and correspondence.
- Legislative Compliance: Applies strong working knowledge of Queensland environmental legislation to projects in the state.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Engages with a range of Queensland government departments and regulators.
- Client Relationship Management: Maintains and grows client relationships, builds profile at industry seminars and events, and actively promotes capability to key target clients.
- Mentorship: Mentors juniors and peers across the business.
- Environmental Data Analysis: Oversees the collection, analysis, and presentation of pertinent environmental and land use data in support of airport planning and environmental studies.
- Technical Advice: Provides advice, technical assistance, and written recommendations on airport planning and environmental studies.
- Environmental Compliance: Manages the development of draft and final environmental documents required to satisfy federal (National Environmental Policy Act) and state environmental regulations.
- Impact Analysis Management: Manages technical studies that analyze potential environmental impacts of proposed airport projects, including noise, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and other resource categories required by federal and state regulations.
3. Environmental Consultant Responsibilities
- Environmental Impact Assessment: Assesses the impact that existing or proposed developments may have on the environment, including greenhouse gas emissions and potential contribution to climate change across a variety of building types and infrastructure projects.
- Sustainable Solutions Identification: Identifies and evaluates solutions to reduce the environmental impact of the development and operation of buildings and infrastructure.
- Sustainability Strategy Development: Assists with the development of environmental and sustainable strategies for buildings and infrastructure to protect the surrounding environment and preserve both indigenous and non-indigenous heritage.
- Regulatory Compliance Guidance: Identifies and provides guidance on environmental laws and regulations to ensure compliance in the development and operations of buildings and infrastructure.
- Green Infrastructure Planning: Assists in the preparation of Green Infrastructure Plans that consider natural services (e.g., stormwater control, amenity, pollution reduction), identifying opportunities and setting objectives to manage climate change, wellbeing, and biodiversity effectively.
- Climate Risk Assessment: Interprets climate models to determine potential climate changes around developments and completes risk assessments, including the surrounding green infrastructure, to mitigate these risks.
- Indoor Environmental Quality Monitoring: Undertakes monitoring of indoor environment quality parameters, including pollution, and advises on potential impacts on occupants and the environment.
- Environmental Tools Proficiency: Demonstrates familiarity with environmental assessment tools like Green Star, NABERS, NatHERS, WELL.
- Environmental Auditing: Assists with environmental audits, including waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Environmental Compliance: Ensures all activities are performed in compliance with environmental requirements and regulations of relevant codes and standards.
- Presentation and Communication: Presents results of studies to clients, various federal, state, and local agencies, and the public.
- Data and Information Management: Responds to requests for data and information from internal staff and external clients, organizations, and various agencies.
- Project Scoping and Budgeting: Prepares scopes of work and budgets for environmental studies, reflective of federal and state environmental regulations and client direction.
4. Environmental Consultant Job Summary
- Leadership and Office Management: Leads the Irvine office, mentors project managers and maintains quality and profitability on TRC's projects.
- Team Development: Assists with managing and developing the skill sets of Project Managers and other employees to ensure projects are executed with high efficiency and technical excellence.
- Strategic Business Development: Leads strategic pursuits, including proposal development and client meetings, and maintains strong relationships with key leaders within the geographic region and TRC Environmental Sector.
- Project Management: Supports and develops new business opportunities, delivers high-quality environmental compliance and/or investigation and remediation consulting services.
- Budget and Schedule Management: Develops, monitors, and adheres to budgets, scopes, and schedules for tasks and projects managed.
- Strategic Client Engagement: Works with senior management, market directors, and project managers on strategic pursuits, including proposal development and client meetings, maintaining strong relationships with key planning leaders within Southern California.
- Quality Control: Conducts Quality Analysis/Quality Control of key deliverables related to projects and tasks managed, as well as those managed by others; responsible for implementation of firm quality procedures at project and task levels.
- Technical Oversight: Provides technical oversight in the preparation of technical documents and reports.
- Market Expansion: Pinpoints and markets new clients within the greater Southern California area.
- Client Relationship Management: Maintains and grows existing client accounts.
- Mentorship: Mentors other engineers and environmental staff.
- Proposal Development: Reviews RFQs and prepares proposals.
5. Environmental Consultant Accountabilities
- Environmental Compliance Coordination: Coordinates, maintains, and supports compliance with NEPA, NHPA, ESA, CZMA, Executive Orders, and other applicable environmental laws or regulations to avoid and prevent negative impacts on project timelines.
- Regulatory Compliance Assurance: Ensures regulatory compliance of projects for the Department of Homeland Security and Coast Guard.
- Project Review and Input: Reviews project concepts, scopes, designs, and specifications of work, providing input to the project designer.
- Communication and Coordination: Prepares letters/emails, consultations/notifications, and coordinates with appropriate Federal, State, and local regulatory agency representatives for projects.
- Environmental Document Preparation: Conducts and prepares environmental compliance documents, coordinates regulatory permit applicability assessments, and provides advice and input on environmental aspects and controls.
- Specialist Advice on Statutory Planning: Provides specialist advice in relation to statutory planning, planning and environmental approvals, environmental management, and impact assessments to facilitate project outcomes.
- Project Management and Stakeholder Engagement: Manages approval processes, including leading stakeholder engagement, coordination of specialist assessments, interfacing across project teams, and documentation.
- Client Service Excellence: Delivers client services and project management excellence.
- Relationship Building: Leverages existing client relationships and builds new relationships to support the development of a more diverse and robust business.
- Team Mentorship: Mentors junior environment and sustainability team members to build capability in a team-focused, positive environment.
- Proposal Development: Leads and supports the development of proposals and bid submissions.