Position Announcements

EPA Internship Opportunity

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Region 8
Office of Ecosystems Protection and Remediation
Denver, Colorado

Project # EPA Water 2006-66

An internship is available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 8 office in Denver, Colorado.

Project Description:

An internship is available with the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Team. The TMDL team is in the Ecosystems Protection Program (EP) of the Office of Ecosystems Protection and Remediation. The team is in the same unit as the monitoring and assessment team and the standards team. Other programs in EP include wetlands protection, tribal water quality, nonpoint source, groundwater and source water, strategic planning, and water quality coordination.

The TMDL Team is responsible for leading Region 8’s TMDL program and supporting related watershed protection activities. The mission of the program is to work towards healthy watersheds by assisting states, territories, and tribes to meet their water quality standards. Under the program established by Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, states identify impaired waterbodies and develop TMDLs for these waters. A TMDL specifies the amount by which a specific pollutant must be reduced to meet water quality standards and allocates pollution control responsibilities among the sources in the watershed. EPA reviews and approves the lists of impaired waters and develops TMDLs where necessary. TMDLs are a critical analytic underpinning for watershed decisions and can serve to integrate solutions to water quality problems from point and nonpoint sources and to protect drinking water sources, wetlands, and other aquatic resources.

Specific Tasks:

The intern will be assigned to EPA Region 8, Denver. The intern will be involved in reviewing Region 8 TMDL approvals to identify appropriate information that is then entered into the National TMDL Tracking System (NTTS). The intern will assist with performing quality assurance on the Region 8 portion of NTTS and making revisions so that it accurately portrays all TMDL approvals to date as well as the status of impaired water bodies in Region 8 for strategic planning and measurement purposes. Other project involvement may include:

Performing quality assurance check on the Region 8 portion of NTTS and making revisions as necessary. That may include reviewing the Region 8 state-by-state impaired waterbody lists in NTTS to ensure that they match the hardcopy lists approved by EPA Region 8; and reviewing the Region 8 TMDL approvals in NTTS to ensure they match the hardcopy approval files;

Entering TMDL approval information into NTTS to bring the Region 8 TMDL approval count up to date;

Entering water body delisting information into NTTS to allow Region 8 to accurately report on measure L and W strategic targets;

Assisting the Region in getting the state ADB files for the 2006 Integrated Report and coordinating with EPA Headquarters and contractors to get the 2006 information into NTTS and NAD;

Assisting in developing strategic targets based on NTTS and projecting TMDL development pace to provide annual measures;

Participating in a Regional work group to determine Regional capability to answer questions about the status of the environment and water quality programs using existing databases.

Developing a matrix comparing Region 8 state assessment methodologies; and

Tracking a watershed permitting pilot project in Wyoming which may also have elements of watershed pollutant trading.

Expected Results:

This internship will provide exposure to a broad range of environmental and policy issues surrounding aquatic resource protection. Through formal training and self-tutoring, the intern will become proficient in NNTS. The intern will have the opportunity to present the results of the projects listed above in briefings for management and in other documents.

Intern Qualifications and Skills:

The applicant should have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the environmental sciences or a related field within three years of the desired starting date. Knowledge of watershed planning and experience with federal and/or state agencies on environmental issues is advantageous. The ability to understand and organize scientific issues and develop written materials based on interpretation of environmental data is highly desirable. Experience with data management systems such as Excel spread sheets and Oracle data bases will be important. Excellent oral and written communication skills, ability to perform collaboratively in a team environment with diverse people, and strong self initiative are essential. The intern must be able to perform under tight deadlines, respond quickly to unanticipated requests, juggle multiple projects, find solutions with minimal supervisory assistance and be comfortable in a cubicle office environment. The Denver office will be moving to a new building during the intern’s tenure.

Stipend and Tenure:

The appointment will initially be full-time for a one year period and may be renewed for up to two additional years depending on funding. The annual stipend will range from $35,000-$45,000 depending on experience. The intern does not become an EPA employee.

The EPA contact person for this project is Karen Hamilton. Her e-mail is hamilton.karen@epa.gov. The mentor is Vern Berry. His e-mail is berry.vern@epa.gov.

The Internship Program for EPA Water is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Please reference Project # EPA Water 2006-66 when calling or writing for information. For additional information and application materials contact: Internship Program – EPA, Attn: Betty Bowling, MS 36, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 Phone: (875)576-8503 FAX: (865)241-5219 e-mail: betty.bowling@orau.org.

Sam Bryant serves as the EPA internship program coordinator. His e-mail address is Bryant.Samuel@epa.gov.

An application can be found at http://www.orau.gov/orise/edu/EPA/app-gugrgpd.pdf.