[Federal Register: November 6, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 215)]
[Notices]               
[Page 62780-62782]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06no03-45]                         


[[Page 62780]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7584-2]

 
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Internship 
Assistance Agreement Competition: Solicitation Notice

SUMMARY: This document solicits cooperative agreement proposals from 
educational institutions and non-profit organizations that are 
interested in obtaining EPA financial assistance to provide educational 
and training opportunities, in the form of internships, for students in 
the hazardous waste management field. These cooperative agreements will 
be awarded under Section 311(b)3 and (9) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act and Section 8001 
of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. This cooperative agreement would 
enable students to (1) gain knowledge of alternative or innovative 
treatment technologies and real work experience in the hazardous waste 
management field, and (2) earn academic credit.
    Depending on the availability of funds, it is anticipated that a 
total of approximately $250,000 over five years, including direct and 
indirect costs, will be awarded in FY04. Proposals may request funding 
with a total project cost of up to $50,000 per year with a duration of 
up to five years. It is anticipated that OSWER would provide funding 
for up to five (5) interns per summer, for a twelve-week summer 
internship, at a stipend of approximately $10,000 per intern. The 
project period, however, would run April to April of each year. Funding 
will only cover stipends and student round-trip travel costs. Stipends 
may be used to cover housing costs.
    Eligibility Information: Only accredited four (4)-year educational 
institutions subject to OMB Circular A-21 and non-profit organizations, 
as defined in OMB Circular A-122, are eligible to apply. However, non-
profit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal 
Revenue code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 
of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply. For 
profit training schools are not eligible.
    Deadline to Submit Proposals: Proposals must be submitted no later 
than February 4, 2004. Please do not e-mail proposals.
    Proposal Format Requirements: Proposal length is limited to fifteen 
(15) pages, with 1-inch margins, and no attachments.

Address

    Proposals must be mailed to:

1. Official Mailing Address

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response (OSWER), Mail Code 5103T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460, Attention: Nancy Allinson. Telephone 
Number: 202-566-1915. Fax Number: 202-566-1943.

Agency Points of Contact:

    Nancy Allinson, Project Officer, 202-566-1915 (tel), 202-566-1943 (fax), Nancy.Allinson@EPA.Gov, (Eligibility/process issues).
    Loren Danforth, Alternate Contact, 202-566-1921, Loren.Danforth@EPA.gov.
    Please submit all content-related questions to http://clu-in.org/proposals/oswerintern
.

Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Internship 
Assistance Agreement Competition: Solicitation Notice

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    This document solicits cooperative agreement proposals from 
educational institutions and non-profit organizations that are 
interested in obtaining EPA financial assistance to provide educational 
and training opportunities for students in the hazardous waste 
management field. This cooperative agreement will be awarded under 
Section 311(b)3 and (9) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation and Liability Act and Section 8001 of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act. The cooperative agreement would enable students to (1) 
gain knowledge of alternative or innovative treatment technologies and 
real work experience in the hazardous waste management field, and (2) 
earn academic credit.
    Since the inception of the summer internship program in the 1990's, 
OSWER has placed an average of approximately 5-10 students in 
internships at Headquarters and some Regional offices each year. 
Students who participate as interns come from culturally diverse 
backgrounds and have majors including engineering (e.g., civil, 
industrial, chemical and environmental) physics, information systems, 
general science, public policy, environmental science, economics, and 
international studies. Examples of projects are: Preparing an 
assessment of the successes and failures of different remediation 
technologies; scanning five year reviews on Superfund and Landfill 
sites to obtain data on the components and condition of installed cap 
cover systems for analysis; developing protocols to aid first 
responders in suspicious powder releases (counter terrorism); and, 
researching nationwide innovative treatment technologies for input to a 
database.

II. Award Information

    1. Depending on the availability of funds, it is anticipated that a 
total of approximately $250,000 over five years, including direct and 
indirect costs, will be awarded in FY04. Proposals may request funding 
with a total project cost of up to $50,000 per year with a duration of 
up to five years. It is anticipated that OSWER would provide funding 
for up to (5) interns per summer, for a twelve-week summer internship, 
at a stipend of approximately $10,000 per intern, of which some portion 
may be used for round trip travel costs. The project period, however, 
would run April to April of each year. Funding will only cover stipends 
and student round-trip travel costs. Stipends may be used to cover 
housing costs.
    Based on CERCLA statute 311(b)(3), EPA requires cost sharing at a 
minimum of 5%. The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) is 
66.607.
    2. The resulting award will be a Cooperative Agreement. Cooperative 
Agreements involve substantial involvement between EPA Project Officer 
and the selected applicant. Anticipated substantial Federal involvement 
for this project will include:
    a. The Project Officer will be part of the final evaluation of the 
interns for placement. The final decision rests with the recipient.
    b. EPA's project officer will closely monitor the recipient's 
performance to ensure that Agency funding for stipends is used solely 
for that purpose.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Only accredited four (4)-year educational 
institutions subject to OMB Circular A-21 and non-profit organizations, 
as defined in OMB Circular A-122, are eligible to apply. However, non-
profit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal 
Revenue code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 
of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply. For 
profit training schools are not eligible.
    2. Cost-Sharing or Matching: Based on CERCLA statute 311(b)(3), EPA 
requires cost sharing at a minimum of 5%.

[[Page 62781]]

    3. Other: Only one proposal per applicant is permitted under this 
announcement.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Official Mailing Address

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response (OSWER), Mail Code 5103T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention: Nancy Allinson, Telephone 
Number: 202-566-1915. Fax Number: 202-566-1943.

2. Proposal Format

    The proposal should conform to the following outline:
    1. Title of Proposal.
    2. Applicant (Organization) and contact name, phone number, fax and 
e-mail address.
    3. Summary of funds requested by EPA.
    4. Project period: Beginning and ending dates (for planning 
purposes, applicants should assume funds will be available in April 
2004).
    5. Project work plan (including a description of all tasks, dates 
of completion, products and deliverables, and proposed budget).
    6. Evaluation plan.
    7. Student application processing and evaluation plan.
    8. Process plan for management/training of students.
    9. Tracking plan.
    10. Report schedule: Acknowledgement of quarterly report 
requirement (schedule established by EPA) and planned final report 
submission date.
    11. Budget (Please provide with a narrative explanation for the 
following categories):

--Personnel
--Fringe Benefits
--Contractual Costs
--Travel
--Equipment
--Supplies
--Other
--Shared or matched costs
--Total Direct Costs
--Total Indirect Costs (must include documentation of accepted indirect 
rate)
--Total Cost

    Costs proposed in the budget must be linked directly to the 
proposal. Note: Proposal length is limited to fifteen (15) pages, with 
1-inch margins, and no attachments.

3. Program Design

    EPA anticipates student stipends to be approximately $10,000 per 
student for a twelve (12) week internship per summer from May--August 
with approximately five (5) interns per internship. Applicants should 
describe the following in detail:
    [sbull] Cultural Diversity: Mechanisms in place to enhance cultural 
diversity within student population, and a strong network of student 
organizations geared to providing career and employment information and 
academic advice.
    [sbull] U.S. Citizenship: According to EPA's training grant 
regulations cited in 40 CFR 45.135(a), interns, who are grant funded 
trainees, must be citizens of the U.S. or of its territories or 
possessions, or must be lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent 
residence. Applicants must specify the percentage of their student 
population that meets that requirement.
    [sbull] Stipends: Ability to process student stipends.
    [sbull] Reporting and record keeping: Ability to maintain records 
of students according to major, project summary, dates of internship, 
and any other pertinent information to be used in final reports.
    [sbull] Student Application Processing and Evaluation: Recipients 
must have a system to process and evaluate applications. At a minimum, 
the application process must evaluate potential interns on the basis of 
their computer skills, academic record, awards and writing skills. 
Students must have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher to meet 
eligibility requirements at EPA.
    [sbull] Eligibility requirements for internships: Students must be 
enrolled in a four year accredited college or university. Students 
enrolled in a four year college or university must have achieved at 
least second semester sophomore standing, or have completed 45 credit 
hours of academic study.
    [sbull] Student Application Process: Applicants should describe 
development of a tracking system for students, internship management, 
and how they foresee interaction with EPA.
    [sbull] Formal program in place or experience in administering a 
student internship program, especially with a Federal agency or 
department, and experience with Federally funded grants programs.
    [sbull] Applicants should describe training for students (i.e., 
environmental, math, science courses).

4. Proposal Submission Deadline

    Proposals must be submitted no later than February 4, 2004. Please 
do not e-mail proposals.

V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria/Scope

    Criteria: Points:

--Effectiveness of overall work plan, including evaluation plan and 
time-frame, that is detailed and reasonable. Additionally, a clearly-
stated detailed and appropriate budget should be included. 32
--Formal program in place or experience in administering a student 
internship program, especially with a Federal agency or department, and 
experience with Federally funded grants programs. Successful applicant 
should have an overall familiarity with Federal government operations 
as well as have the ability to process stipends, a system for reporting 
and recordkeeping, and the capacity for processing and evaluating 
student applications. Applicants must identify and explain any adverse 
Federal audit findings or terminations of grants, or special terms and 
conditions imposed on grants within the last five (5) years. 24
--Cost effectiveness for Federal monitoring and mentoring to/from 
Reagan National Airport or Dulles International Airport (e.g., travel 
costs per trip). In order to qualify for the full 12 points, the round-
trip costs must be $500 or less. Please note that EPA travels on the 
Federal government contract program which can be found on http://www.fedtravel.com/gsa/.
 12
--Formal curricula in civil, chemical, electrical engineering and 
industrial engineering as well as the natural and physical sciences, 
computer science, business and public administration. Academic 
departments that are developing new curricula with an emphasis in 
environmental engineering with courses focusing on hazardous waste 
management, hydrology and water resources, remediation, and renewable 
natural resources. 32

    Total points possible: 100

    Note: points assigned to each criterion are the maximum number 
of points applicant can receive).

2. Review and Selection Process

    Proposals submitted to EPA headquarters will be evaluated using the 
defined criteria. Proposals will be reviewed in two phases--the 
screening phase and the evaluation phase. During the screening phase, 
proposals will be reviewed for applicant eligibility and cost-sharing. 
Only those proposals that meet all these basic requirements will enter 
the full evaluation phase of the

[[Page 62782]]

review process. During the evaluation phase, proposals will be 
evaluated on the quality of their work plans. EPA officials, who will 
serve as reviewers, will conduct the screening and evaluation phases of 
the review process. At the conclusion of the evaluation phase, the 
reviewers will score work plans, on a one hundred point scale. EPA 
senior Agency management will consider the reviewers' recommended 
rankings, along with other special considerations, such as the number 
of eligible students in the school's population. EPA will ask the 
applicant selected by senior management to select a complete 
application package by March 1, 2004. We reserve the right to make no 
awards.

VI. Award Administration Information

Award Notices

    The recipient of a selected proposal will be notified by a separate 
letter saying that the proposal has been selected and that a completed 
application must be submitted by the due date of March 1, 2004. After 
the application is received, it must be reviewed and approved by EPA. 
The grant award signed by EPA's Award Official is the legal document, 
which will be provided through postal mail or by electronic means. 
Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by letter.

VII. Agency Contacts

    Pre-application assistance: EPA will provide pre-application 
assistance by responding to all content-related questions (for example, 
technical questions pertaining to the EPA statutes (CERCLA and Solid 
Waste Disposal Act), grants management issues, or information to the 
Agency's approach to evaluating or ranking applications) which are 
submitted to the Web site http://clu-in.org/proposals/oswerintern.

    Note: Applicants are responsible for the content of their 
applications and pre-application assistance must not in any way 
provide applicants with a competitive advantage. It is for this 
reason that all questions and answers can be viewed by the public on 
this Web site.

    EPA points of contact, listed on next page, may provide pre-
application assistance on process-related questions, via e-mail, (for 
example, eligibility requirements, deadlines, proposal format, etc.).

    Note: If applicants do not have e-mail capacity, it is 
permissible to call points of contact. Please note that EPA points 
of contact may not prepare applications, share ideas with an 
applicant that are contained in a competing application, review and 
comment on draft applications, or provide any information that is 
not already provided in the proposal solicitation.


    Note: Receiving information and assistance from EPA does not 
guarantee funding.

    Agency Contacts: Nancy Allinson, Project Officer, 202-566-1915 (tel), 202-566-1943 (fax), nancy.allinson@epa.gov, (Eligibility/process 
issues).
    Loren Danforth, Alternate Contact, 202-566-1921, loren.danforth@epa.gov.

    Dated: October 24, 2003.
Laurie J. May,
Director, Organizational Management and Integrity Staff (OMIS).
[FR Doc. 03-27950 Filed 11-5-03; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P