Job Profile: EH&S Coordinator

Job Overview

The EH&S Coordinator for Cultivation & Agronomy Services serves as the central nervous system for operational integrity within a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facility. This role is the critical guardian of both the billion-dollar biological asset—the cannabis crop—and the human capital responsible for its care. The position operates at the complex intersection of industrial facility management, agricultural science, and a dense matrix of regulations from OSHA, the EPA, and state-level agricultural and cannabis control boards. The coordinator’s primary function is to engineer safety and environmental compliance directly into the workflows that manage the facility's atmosphere, irrigation, and lighting. This involves mitigating risks unique to large-scale cultivation, such as atmospheric dangers from CO2 enrichment systems, chemical hazards from concentrated fertigation nutrients, and high-voltage electrical risks from advanced lighting grids. The successful EH&S Coordinator ensures that the precisely controlled environment that produces a high-value crop also functions as a secure and compliant workplace, directly preventing catastrophic crop loss, regulatory shutdowns, and workforce injuries.

A Day in the Life

The day begins in the facility’s control room, analyzing overnight data from the Building Management System (BMS). The coordinator reviews logs for the grow rooms, specifically checking for alarms or deviations in CO2 concentration, temperature, and humidity levels. An alert from Flower Room 4 indicates a CO2 sensor reading slightly below the programmed enrichment setpoint. This triggers an immediate physical inspection. On the floor, the coordinator uses a calibrated, handheld gas monitor to verify ambient CO2 levels around the room’s distribution lines and emitters, ensuring there isn't an active leak creating an oxygen-deficient atmosphere for the early-arriving cultivation technicians. The investigation confirms the BMS sensor requires recalibration, and a work order is submitted to the facilities team. This proactive data analysis and verification prevents both a potential safety incident and a disruption to the plants' photosynthetic cycle.

The focus then shifts to the fertigation control room, a central hub of chemical and water management. Before the day’s primary feeding schedule begins, the coordinator conducts a scheduled audit. This includes inspecting the secondary containment berms around the large stock tanks of concentrated nutrients like calcium nitrate and potassium phosphate, verifying their integrity. Eyewash stations and emergency showers are tested for proper function and water pressure. The coordinator reviews the chemical inventory and cross-references it with the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) binder to ensure all documents are current. They observe a technician donning PPE—splash goggles, nitrile gloves, and an apron—before beginning the nutrient mixing process, providing coaching on proper ergonomic posture for lifting heavy bags of soluble fertilizer to prevent back strain.

Midday is dedicated to proactive risk management. The facilities team is scheduled to replace several high-intensity discharge (HID) light ballasts in a vegetative growth room. The EH&S Coordinator leads the pre-work safety briefing. They review the Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedure for the specific electrical circuit, ensuring every maintenance technician understands the steps to de-energize and verify zero energy state. They confirm the team has the appropriate arc-flash rated PPE and insulated tools required for the task. This direct oversight ensures that high-risk, non-routine maintenance is executed without electrical incident, protecting both employees and expensive equipment.

The afternoon pivots to documentation, compliance, and continuous improvement. The coordinator logs the results of the morning's audits into the EHS management software. They then analyze recent water quality test results from the facility's irrigation runoff. The data shows slightly elevated phosphate levels, approaching the limit specified in the site’s EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The coordinator collaborates with the Head Agronomist to review the recent nutrient recipes. Together, they identify a slight over-application during a specific growth phase. They adjust the formula and schedule more frequent water testing to ensure the correction is effective. This data-driven collaboration prevents a costly environmental violation and demonstrates proactive compliance. The day concludes with a final walkthrough, ensuring all hazardous materials are properly stored and all automated environmental systems are functioning correctly for the night cycle.

Core Responsibilities & Operational Impact

The EH&S Coordinator's duties are structured around three pillars of operational excellence:

1. Environmental Systems Risk Engineering

• Hazardous Atmosphere Management: Develops and implements the safety protocol for CO2 enrichment, including sensor calibration schedules, alarm response procedures, and confined space entry permits for system maintenance.
• Chemical Process Safety: Authors Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the safe handling, mixing, and storage of concentrated agricultural nutrients and pH adjusters, ensuring compliance with OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard.
• Electrical Safety Program Oversight: Manages the facility’s LOTO program for all environmental control equipment, including high-voltage lighting, HVAC units, and fertigation pumps, to prevent accidental energization during service.
• Workforce Training & Competency: Delivers hands-on training for cultivation staff on topics such as the EPA Worker Protection Standard (WPS) for pesticide handlers, ergonomic techniques for trimming and de-leafing, and proper use of PPE for specific tasks.

2. Regulatory Compliance & Auditing

• Environmental Permit Management: Maintains and monitors compliance with all environmental permits, including water discharge (NPDES) and air quality permits, by collecting data, performing analysis, and preparing reports for regulatory agencies.
• Systematic Facility Inspections: Executes a rigorous schedule of internal audits covering all environmental control systems, life safety equipment (fire extinguishers, egress paths), and chemical storage areas to ensure constant readiness for unannounced regulatory inspections.
• Waste Stream Management: Oversees the compliant disposal of all waste streams, from universal waste like light bulbs and ballasts to regulated cannabis plant material, ensuring it is properly documented and rendered unusable to prevent diversion.

3. Data Analysis & Performance Improvement

• Incident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis: Leads investigations into all safety and environmental incidents or near-misses, such as a nutrient spill or an unexpected HVAC shutdown, to identify systemic causes and implement robust Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA).
• Meticulous Record-Keeping: Manages all required documentation, including OSHA 300 logs, pesticide application records, employee training certifications, and equipment maintenance logs, ensuring they are accurate, complete, and readily accessible for auditors.
• Leading Indicator Analysis: Tracks and analyzes leading safety indicators, such as the number of safety observations reported or the percentage of safety work orders completed on time, to proactively identify and address risks before they result in an injury or compliance issue.

Strategic Impact Analysis

The EH&S Coordinator’s performance directly translates into measurable impacts on the organization's financial health and operational stability:

Chain of Command & Key Stakeholders

Reports To: This position typically reports directly to the Director of Cultivation, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the corporate Director of EHS or Chief Compliance Officer to ensure functional independence.

Similar Roles: In the broader market, this role shares core competencies with titles such as Facilities & Safety Coordinator, Agricultural Compliance Specialist, or Industrial Hygiene Technician in a manufacturing setting. The unique synthesis of environmental science, industrial safety, and agricultural compliance makes it a hybrid role. Look for parallels in positions that manage controlled environments, such as in cleanroom manufacturing or data center operations, which also require strict control over atmospheric and mechanical systems.

Works Closely With: Daily collaboration is essential with the Head Agronomist, Facilities Manager, and Cultivation Team Leads. Strategic alignment occurs with the Compliance Manager and Head of Operations.

Technology, Tools & Systems

Mastery of the following technologies is essential for high performance in this role:

• Building Management Systems (BMS/SCADA): Deep proficiency in navigating and interpreting data from systems like Argus, Priva, or custom SCADA interfaces that control all aspects of the grow environment (HVAC, CO2, lighting, fertigation).
• EHS Management Software: Use of platforms like Pro-Sapien, Intelex, or others for digital incident reporting, audit tracking, chemical inventory management, and corrective action follow-up.
• Environmental Monitoring Instruments: Competent use of handheld multi-gas monitors (O2, CO2, LEL), water quality meters (pH, EC, DO), light meters (PAR), and sound level meters to validate BMS readings and assess workplace hazards.
• Compliance & Data Entry Systems: Meticulous data entry and management within state-mandated seed-to-sale tracking systems (e.g., METRC) for pesticide applications and cannabis waste disposal records.

The Ideal Candidate Profile

Transferable Skills

Candidates with experience in other highly regulated, process-driven industries are exceptionally well-suited for this challenge:

• Commercial Agriculture & Greenhouse Operations: Direct experience with the EPA Worker Protection Standard, pesticide safety, integrated pest management (IPM), and large-scale irrigation systems is immediately applicable.
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing: A background in managing water treatment systems, sanitation protocols (GMP), ammonia refrigeration safety, and process hazard analysis provides a strong foundation.
• Wastewater Treatment Operations: Expertise in environmental sampling, water chemistry, permit compliance (NPDES), and managing complex pumping and control systems translates directly to fertigation runoff management.
• Industrial Facilities Management: A strong understanding of industrial HVAC, electrical safety (NFPA 70E), Lockout/Tagout, and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) is highly valuable.

Critical Competencies

Beyond technical skills, the role demands a specific mindset:

• Regulatory Fluency: The ability to not only understand but also interpret and practically apply complex, often overlapping regulations from different agencies (environmental, agricultural, and cannabis-specific) to daily operations.
• Collaborative Influence: The skill to embed safety and compliance as a core value within the cultivation team. This involves coaching and persuading, not just policing, to achieve results through partnership with agronomists and technicians.
• Systems-Level Problem Solving: The capacity to diagnose issues that span mechanical, biological, and human systems. For example, tracing a plant health issue back to an incorrect HVAC setting that also creates an unsafe ergonomic condition for employees.

Top 3 Influential Entities for the Role

The landscape of this role is shaped primarily by these key regulatory and standards bodies:

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The EPA's authority is paramount in cultivation. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) governs which products can be used, while the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) dictates how they are used safely. The Clean Water Act regulates all water discharge, a critical compliance point for large-scale irrigation.
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): OSHA sets the baseline for all worker safety. In cultivation, key standards include Hazard Communication (for nutrients and chemicals), Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout for environmental equipment), Electrical Safety (NFPA 70E), and Respiratory Protection.
• State Departments of Agriculture & Environmental Protection: These state-level agencies are often the primary enforcement bodies. They create state-specific lists of approved pesticides for cannabis, set rules for water usage and waste disposal that can be more stringent than federal standards, and are typically the agency conducting on-site compliance inspections.

Acronyms & Terminology