Class Specification: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST III

ITEM NUMBER: 5672

APPROVAL DATE: 10/06/2003

DEFINITION:
Performs specialized environmental health inspections and investigations of complex environmental health problems; or provides lead supervision to field staff who are enforcing environmental health and consumer protection laws by making inspections, initiating investigations and taking appropriate enforcement action.

CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS:
Positions allocable to this class receive administrative and technical supervision from a Chief, Environmental Health Specialist and may receive lead supervision from an Environmental Health Specialist IV. Incumbents perform one of the following two assignments. Incumbents assigned to a County-wide specialized environmental management program independently perform complex technical inspections and investigations to identify and solve environmental health problems in food, mobile food vehicles, water and sewage, plan check, multiple housing and institutions, garment and laundering industry, solid waste, water pollution, vector management, public swimming facilities, and dairy plants. Positions in this class may also provide technical supervision to professional staff performing in one of the specialized fields or be assigned to develop and implement staff training programs or perform administrative studies and complete reports. Incumbents assigned to a District Health Office or a District suboffice exercise technical supervision over an assigned staff of environmental health personnel and related support staff. Incumbents are concerned primarily with guiding, reviewing, and expediting the work of subordinates to ensure technical competence and accuracy. Incumbents assist subcases. May act in the absence of the Chief Environmental Health Specialist and perform delegated staff functions. Assignments are made in terms of objectives to be achieved and are reviewed on completion, but work methods used to obtain results are not reviewed. Specific instructions are given on only the most unusual and sensitive assignments.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES:
Conducts periodic specialized technical field inspections and investigations of manufacturing, industrial, or other large scale facilities and institutions in such areas as food and drug, water, sewage control, multiple housing and institutions, garment manufacturing, laundering facilities, public swimming facilities, water pollution control and dairies and milk products plants to determine compliance with relevant public health laws and regulations; completes reports of areas in violation.

Verifies the proper manufacture, storage, preparation and transportation of foods, drugs, and dairy products ensuring process is free from contamination, adulteration, or mislabeling; investigating suspected food poisonings and other complaints; inspecting such facilities as hotels, motels, jails, mental institutions, multiple housing, and boarding homes for compliance with established environmental standards; approving plans for the construction of public swimming facilities and the installation and maintenance of facility equipment; ensuring that potable water meets Federal, State, local, physical, chemical, and bacteriological standards; approving sewage disposal installations and inspecting water treatment, sewage disposal and water reclamation plants; and conducting specialized testing procedures to ensure that no potentially dangerous connections exist between industrial equipment, industrial processing water and plumbing fixtures whereby toxic chemicals, sewage or contaminated water could be introduced into the domestic water supply system.

Meets with concerned parties from private industry and companies to provide current information on environmental procedures and public health laws, to discuss correction of deficiencies, to develop a corrective plan, and to obtain compliance through appropriate enforcement action, including quarantine, embargo, condemnation of food or drug products, the issuance of citations, and the confiscation of evidence of violation including equipment, and by providing expert testimony in criminal prosecution.

Develops and implements staff development and training programs designed to provide Environmental Health staff with current information on environmental health procedures and public health laws, and to improve the quality of environmental health inspections, investigations, and services to the public.

Performs administrative studies or analyses of public health laws and ordinances by comparing Federal, State, and local codes in a specific area such as food service to determine their impact on environmental health programs and operating methods.

Provides technical direction to district environmental staff who are inspecting, investigating, and enforcing laws pertaining to environmental health and consumer protection by reviewing work, both administratively and in the field, advising on methods and techniques applied, and determining their effectiveness in enforcing applicable public health laws.

Conducts special investigations such as food poisoning; or provides support in the resolution of the more difficult investigations.

Reviews the preparation of evidence for the prosecution of environmental health cases on non-compliance with public health laws and regulations by ensuring that subordinate staff have prepared samples of adulterated foods according to prescribed methods, that the findings of tests conducted by laboratory technicians are available and in the prescribed format and that all material required by city or the District Attorney for prosecution has been provided.

May act in the absence of the District Chief Environmental Health Specialist.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:
Two years' experience as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist for a health department.*

LICENSE:
Certificate as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist issued by the California State Department of Health Services. Environmental Health Specialists II engaged in dairy and milk products inspection also must be Registered Dairy Inspectors by the Department of Food and Agriculture, State of California.

A valid California Class C Driver License is required to carry out job-related essential functions.

PHYSICAL CLASS:
3 - Moderate.

SPECIALTY REQUIREMENTS:

*OUT OF COUNTY DAIRY PROGRAM SUBSTITUTION:

DAIRY AND MILK PRODUCT INSPECTION SPECIALTY
TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE: Two years' experience as a Registered Dairy Inspector for a milk inspection service approved by the Director of the Department of Food and Agriculture, State of California. LICENSE: Certificate as a registered Dairy Inspector issued by the Department of Food and Agriculture, State of California. A valid California Class C Driver License is required to carry out job-related essential functions.