[Federal Register: November 6, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 215)]
[Notices]               
[Page 62782-62784]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06no03-46]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7584-3]

 
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 $750,000 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 $150,000 per year with a duration of 
up to five years. It is anticipated that OSWER would provide funding 
for up to fifteen (15) 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 cannot be used to cover housing or student 
round-trip travel 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.

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.

ADDRESSES: 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


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. 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.

[[Page 62783]]

    Since the inception of the summer internship program in 2000, OSWER 
has placed an average of approximately 10-15 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 a technology assessment 
report about the current state of permeable reactive barriers (PRB's); 
collecting biennial report data and setting up a data base to store 
incoming queries; and, collecting information on successful 
Environmental Justice projects.

II. Award Information

    1. Depending on the availability of funds, it is anticipated that a 
total of approximately $750,000 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 $150,000 per year with a duration of 
up to five years. It is anticipated that OSWER would provide funding 
for up to fifteen (15) interns per summer, for a twelve-week summer 
internship, at a stipend of approximately $10,000 per intern. The 
project period, however, would run from April to April of each year. 
Funding will only cover stipends and cannot be used to cover housing or 
student round-trip travel 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%.
    3. Other: Only one proposal per applicant is permitted under this 
announcement.

IV. Proposal 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 must 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: Acknowledgment 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 
intern for a twelve (12) week internship per summer from June to August 
with approximately fifteen (15) interns per internship. Applicants 
should describe the following in detail in proposals:
    [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 Recordkeeping: 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).

[[Page 62784]]

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

V. Proposal Review Information

    1. Criteria/Scope:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Criteria                              Points
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Effectiveness of overall work plan, including evaluation            32
 plan and time-frame, that is detailed and reasonable.
 Additionally, a clearly-stated detailed and appropriate
 budget should be included.................................
--Formal program in place or experience in administering a            24
 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 record keeping, 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.....................................................
--Proximity of 50-100 mile radius to the Washington-                  12
 Metropolitan area.........................................
--Formal curricula in civil, chemical, electrical                     32
 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...........................
    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 to be determined whether they meet the basic 
requirements of this document. Only those proposals that meet all of 
these basic requirements will enter the full evaluation phase of the 
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 website 
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 website.

    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. 03-27951 Filed 11-5-03; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P