Partnerships for Innovation
A postgraduate internship is available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Wastewater Management (OWM) in Washington, DC. The internship will be served in the Water Permits Division.
About the Program:
Wastewater collection systems collect domestic sewage and other wastewater from homes and other buildings and convey it to wastewater sewage treatment plants for proper treatment and disposal. The collection and treatment of municipal sewage and wastewater is vital to the public health in our cities and towns. The proper functioning of wastewater systems is among the most important factors responsible for the general level of good health enjoyed in the United States. When these conveyance systems fail and release untreated sewage, however, they can pose risks to public health and the environment.
EPA estimates that between 23,000 and 75,000 sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) events occur per year in the United States (excluding basement backups). Overflows of untreated wastewater may present serious risks of human exposure when released to certain areas, such as streets, private property, basements, and receiving waters used for drinking water, fishing and shellfishing, or contact recreation. Untreated sewage contains pathogens and other pollutants, which are toxic.
EPA partners with authorized states and tribes to manage the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program to protect and restore the environment health of the nation’s waters. Numerous NPDES authorities are making progress identifying SSO occurrences and their causes, and that NPDES permit requirements establishing clear reporting, record keeping and third party notification of overflows from municipal sewage collection systems, as well as clear requirements to properly operate and maintain the collection system. Many NPDES authorities need to improve implementation of NPDES permit requirements for SSOs and sanitary sewer collection systems to improve the performance of municipal sanitary sewer collection systems and improve public notice for SSO events, which would:
Project Description:
OWM is seeking an individual who is interested in being trained to support efforts to implement the national SSO program regulations and initiatives, and to assist with evaluating and implementing ways to strengthen the program.
Specific Tasks:
The applicant may be involved in a couple of projects. The first is to become familiar with the SSO program and ongoing initiatives. The intern may be involved in conducting analyses of data used to evaluate the implications of different strategies for improving the program. This would require some knowledge of SSO control techniques and regulatory approaches. In addition to data analysis, the applicant will be involved in preparing reports summarizing the findings.
The second project may include a variety of activities to assist EPA in developing a proposed rulemaking addressing NPDES requirements for SSOs and sanitary sewer collection systems. This may include assisting with organizing and conducting meeting with stakeholders, preparing reports, bulletins, and other documents and reviewing models and the effectiveness of different SSO control technologies.
Expected Results:
The intern will gain an in depth knowledge of all aspects of EPA’s SSO program and an appreciation of the challenges that regions and states face in implementing the program. In addition, the intern’s contributions will help to improve EPA’s efforts to strengthen the SSO program.
Intern Qualifications and Skills:
Applicants must have received a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in environmental science, engineering, biology, or related areas within four years of the desired starting date. Applicants should demonstrate an interest in water quality, sanitary sewer collection system management and/or public administration, possess good writing and analytical skills, be creative and technology savvy, and have the ability to perform in a fast-paced, team environment. Applicants should also have experience with the MS Office Suite of applications and comfort with a wide variety of office computer applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation graphics.
The program is open to all qualified individuals without regard to race, sex, religion, color, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, or status as a Vietnam era or disabled veteran. U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status is preferred (but can also hold an appropriate visa status, however, an H1B visa is not appropriate). The intern must show proof of health and medical insurance. The intern does not become an EPA employee.
Stipend and Length of Appointment:
The appointment is for one year and may be renewed annually for up to three years. The intern will receive an annual stipend ranging from $43,000 to $48,000 depending on educational level and experience. Housing, transportation or relocation costs will not be paid by EPA.
The EPA mentor for this project is Kevin Weiss. He can be reached at (202) 564-0742 or at weiss.kevin@epa.gov in the EPA Office of Water, Office of Wastewater Management, Water Permits Division. The internship location is at the EPA East Building, 1201 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20004.
The Internship Program for EPA Water is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). Please reference Project # EPA Water 2009-149 when calling or writing for information. For additional information and application material contact: Internship Program - EPA Water, Attn: Betty Bowling - MS 36, ORISE, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 Phone: (865) 576-8503 Fax: (865) 241-5219 email: betty.bowling@orau.org
Sam Bryant serves as the EPA Office of Water internship program coordinator. His email address is bryant.samuel@epa.gov.
An application can be found at http://www.orau.gov/orise/edu/EPA/app-gugrgpd.pdf.