The State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is hiring an Environmental Analyst 2 to work in Hartford, Connecticut within the Office of Equity and Environmental Justice in the Office of the Commissioner.

DEEP is charged with conserving, improving and protecting the natural resources and the environment of the state of Connecticut as well as making cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy available for the people and businesses of the state. The agency is also committed to playing a positive role in rebuilding Connecticut’s economy and creating jobs – and to fostering a sustainable and prosperous economic future for the state.

If you're an experienced environmental analyst who is passionate for geospacial processing, we invite you to apply to this position!

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU:

• Visit our new State Employee Benefits Overview page!
• The opportunity to work for a Forbes top company: 'Forbes' State of Connecticut Ranked One of the Best Employers of 2023 - State of CT Receives National Recognition for Offering Job Growth, Competitive Benefits, and Flexible Schedule
• Professional growth and development opportunities
• A healthy work/life balance to all employees

Our state has a lot to offer - from fun activities for all ages, to great food and shopping, to beautiful state parks and forests, to our diverse cultures and rich history. Connecticut is a great place to live! Learn more about Connecticut here.

POSITION HIGHLIGHTS

• Full Time (35 hours per week)
• First shift, Monday through Friday with a flexible schedule available between the hours of 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
• Hybrid schedule, based in Hartford, CT

OUR MISSION

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is charged with conserving, improving and protecting the natural resources and the environment of the state of Connecticut as well as making cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy available for the people and businesses of the state. The agency is also committed to playing a positive role in rebuilding Connecticut’s economy and creating jobs – and to fostering a sustainable and prosperous economic future for the state.

The Office of Equity and Environmental Justice focuses, for the agency and its partners, on (1) Environmental Justice, (2) Tribal Affairs, and (3) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the agency. Your work within the office will support, for the state, meaningful community engagement and public participation, promote environmental justice and equity considerations in decision-making throughout the Department, support government-to-government consultation with tribes, and effectuate meaningful DEI reforms. You will report to the Office Director within the Office of the Commissioner and work with a team of environmental justice advocates.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEEP

The Office of Equity and Environmental Justice is seeking an individual to support the GIS data-based work of the office. The candidate is expected to assist in project-specific geospatial processing for the Office in collaboration with other parts of the agency in day-to-day tasks and GIS products.

The primary role of this position is contributing to the development of and the maintenance of an EJ Screening Tool and a Cumulative Impacts Tool. The first tool is one that began with a recommendation from the Governor’s Council on Climate Change’s Equity and Environmental Justice Working Group for a state-specific environmental justice screening tool that provides a visual representation of the spatial distribution of environmental, public health and climate change vulnerabilities across CT.

The second tool was mandated by the Legislature in 2023, when it adopted Public Act 23-202, amending the state’s EJ statute. This legislation expanded the notice requirements for certain permitting applications to provide more meaningful public participation. It also, most relevant to this position, authorized the Commissioner to consider the cumulative impact of environmental and health stressors for those applications. As part of the cumulative impacts analysis, the agency will be developing, with its partners, a cumulative impacts tool to help permit applicants and the agency evaluate those impacts.

These mapping tools must be able to identify communities with adverse cumulative effects of climate change, environmental pollution, health disparities and other social and economic injustices. This position must be able to perform geographic and statistical analyses of environmental public health parameters and/or other factors, develop underlying spatial data, and other related duties. While these tools are being developed by an external contractor, DEEP holds the responsibility for maintaining these tools and their usage for relevant stakeholders.

THE ROLE WE ARE SOURCING FOR

This position includes assisting in the development of and leading the maintenance of multiple mapping tools and related products and materials to support environmental justice (EJ) communities (described in more detail below). Some of these mapping tools already exist, such as the EJ Communities Map and Affecting Facilities Map, while others like the EJ Screening Tool and Cumulative Impacts Tool are under development through a third-party vendor.

This position is newly created to support and oversee the development of the EJ Screening Tool and Cumulative Impacts Tool described above. A third-party vendor will be working on developing the first tool into a version 3.0 and on creating the second tool. This position will involve providing expert guidance to contractors and proficient understanding of the underlying methodology to calculate cumulative impacts.

Additionally, this position will be helping to explain to stakeholders from EJ Communities and Regulated Industry are able to understand how the tools work and the outputs.

After the development of these tools, this position will focus on routine maintenance of the tools and datasets, and ongoing cartographic needs including developing new resources for stakeholders, updating existing resources, and supporting stakeholder engagement with these tools. The candidate is expected to assist in project-specific data processing for the Office in collaboration with other parts of the agency in day-to-day tasks.

The position will assist the office and other programs across the agency in any available time and as needed on GIS and data analysis projects, especially after the two tools and related materials have been finalized and Connecticut communities have become familiar with them.

Duties include, but not limited to:

• Tracking affecting facilities throughout the state and maintaining accurate and updated databases;
• Developing maps in coordination with CT’s state-recognized tribes;
• Leading efforts on public-facing maps and story boards related to environmental justice issues and initiatives;
• Creating guides in order to facilitate multi-stakeholder engagement around tool utility;
• Updating maps in accordance with dataset changes; and
• Maintaining the state’s EJ Screening Tool and Cumulative Impact Tools.

More details can be found in the class specification. 

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