EPA Special Agents
Overview
Introduction
EPA special agents are specially trained law enforcement officers who work for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), helping to enforce federal environmental laws. They work in the EPA's criminal enforcement program and help protect land, water, and air resources. They are authorized to carry firearms, to serve warrants, and to place known environmental violators and fugitives under arrest. The EPA has 350 specially trained investigators, chemists, technicians, engineers, lawyers, and support staff in its Criminal Investi...
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
EPA special agents are federal government employees. The federal government usually assigns a pay system grade to each position and a level or step within each grade through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The OPM calls this pay-scale system the General Schedule, or GS. The GS grade level starts at 1 and goes up to 15, thus jobs are ranked GS-1 through GS-15. The steps within the 15 g...
Work Environment
EPA special agents work in offices and have at least 40-hour workweeks. Hours vary and increase when cases are heating up. Some travel is required for the job. For instance, a recent requirement for an EPA supervisory criminal investigator position in Atlanta, Georgia, required travel of six to 10 days per month. Agents may also spend time outside to conduct investigations. When outdoors, speci...
Outlook
The U.S. Department of Labor does not provide employment projections specifically for EPA special agents. However, it does project little employment change for detectives and investigators who work for federal government agencies (including the EPA). Despite this prediction, environmental laws and regulations will continue to be passed, amended, and maintained. Unfortunately, there will always ...
