[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37466-37467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17909]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7012-4]


Office of Air and Radiation-Immediate Office Environmental 
Internship Assistance Completion: Solicitation Notice

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document solicits grant proposals from educational 
institutions and non-profit organizations to support the Office of Air 
and Radiation Immediate Office's Environmental Internship Program and 
explains the process for submitting such a proposal.

DATES: All applications should be received by September 30, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Zarow, USEPA, Office of Air and 
Radiation, Immediate Office, Ariel Rios Building; 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW.; Washington, DC 20004, mail code 6101A. Telephone (202) 
564-7431; Fax (202) 501-1004; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Contents by Section

I. Background/Purpose
II. Funding Issues
III. Eligibility
IV. Deadlines/Dates
V. Program Design
VI. Criteria/Scope
VII. Proposals/Application Format
VIII. How to Apply
IX. Where and When to Submit
X. Additional Considerations
XI. Pre-application Assistance

I. Background/Purpose

    This document solicits grant proposals from educational 
institutions and non-profit organizations to support the Office of Air 
and Radiation's Immediate Office's Environmental Internship Program 
(hereinafter referred to as ``program'') that will provide 
undergraduate students with internships in various environmental 
positions. This intern program will provide students with work 
experience, orientation, mentoring, career development, and resume 
writing to reflect their environmental training positions. This program 
will enable students to prepare to become future leaders in the 
environmental field and to recognize and appropriately manage complex 
environmental problems. It will also provide students with an 
environmental consciousness to encourage them to pursue environmental 
careers and become environmentally conscious citizens.

II. Funding Issues

    Subject to the availability of funds, EPA anticipates approximately 
$600,000 over a three year period, to be available for this program, 
including all direct and indirect costs. EPA expects to award one 
cooperative agreement for the full amount. Proposals may request 
funding with a total project cost of up to $200,000 per year with a 
duration of up to three years. This cooperative agreement is authorized 
under CAA section 103(b)(3) and no matching funds are required from the 
recipient. The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (FDA) is 
66.606.

III. Eligibility

    Organizations being targeted for this assistance agreement include 
educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations. CAA section 
103 prohibits for-profit organizations from receiving grants from EPA. 
EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards.

IV. Deadlines/Dates

    In order to efficiently manage the selection process, the Office of 
Air and Radiation requests that an ``Intent to Apply'' be submitted by 
August 13. These should be submitted to Linda Zarow; mail code 6101A; 
Room Number 5443K Ariel Rios North Building; Environmental Protection 
Agency; 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.; Washington, D.C. 20460. (Please 
provide project title or subject and e-mail address.) E-mail address: 
[email protected]; Fax # 202/501-1004.
    An ``Intent to Apply'' simply states, in the form of e-mail, 
letter, or fax, that your organization intends to submit a proposal to 
be received by the September 30, 2001 deadline for receipt of pre-
proposals. Please provide your project title or subject and a return e-
mail address. Submitting an ``Intent to Apply'' does not commit an 
organization to submit a pre-proposal. Only those submitting an 
``Intent to Apply'' may submit a pre-proposal. To allow for efficient 
management of the competitive process, OAR is requesting organizations 
to submit an Intent to Apply no later than August 13, 2001.

V. Program Design

    EPA anticipates student stipends should not exceed $4,500 per 
semester with a minimum of seven students per semester. Applicants 
should describe the following in detail:
     Recruitment: Describe your process for recruiting from a 
diverse population of students. Include a list of colleges/universities 
to be targeted for recruitment activities and describe how

[[Page 37467]]

your organization will ensure qualified students have access to 
internship materials.
     Housing: It is anticipated most interns will be from 
cities other than Washington, D.C. and, therefore, will require 
assistance in obtaining housing accessible to public transportation. 
Describe the type of housing assistance you will provide for interns.
     Stipends: Describe your process for tracking and payment 
of student stipends.
     Tracking: Describe your process for measuring the success 
of this program in encouraging students to pursue environmental 
careers.
     Student Evaluation and Application Processing: Describe 
your process for accepting, reviewing and evaluating student 
applications. At a minimum, the application process must evaluate 
potential interns on the basis of their computer skills, academic 
record, awards, and writing skills. Special consideration should be 
given to applicants that have scholarships or fellowships and work 
experience.
     Internship Training Program: Describe your protocol and 
procedures for managing an environmental internship program. At a 
minimum, the protocol and procedures should address college 
accreditation for students, supplemental training for interns and 
evaluation of student performance.
     Student eligibility requirements for internships: Students 
must be enrolled full-time in a four year accredited college or 
university. Full time 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. Students 
must have a grade point average of 2.8 or higher to meet eligibility 
for internships at EPA.

VI. Criteria/Scope

    Review and Selection Process: Pre-proposals submitted to EPA 
headquarters will be evaluated using the criteria defined below. Pre-
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 solicitation. Only those pre-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 based 
upon the quality of their work plans, and how well their proposed 
programs meet the criterion outlined below. Reviewers conducting the 
screening and evaluation phases of the review process will include EPA 
officials and external environmental educators approved by EPA. At the 
conclusion of the evaluation phase, the reviewers will score work 
plans, on a one hundred point scale, based upon the system below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Maximum
                         Criterion                            points per
                                                              criterion
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effectiveness of overall work plan and recruitment time               30
 line, and reasonableness of costs contained in budget
 detail....................................................
Ability to recruit from a diverse population of students              20
 and schools...............................................
Ability to assist students in locating housing arrangements           20
 accessible to public transportation.......................
Adequacy of student accreditation program and supplemental            20
 training..................................................
Ability to evaluate intern performance.....................           10
                                                            ------------
      Total Points Possible................................          100
------------------------------------------------------------------------

VII. Proposals/Application Format

    The pre-proposal should conform to the following outline:
1. Title
2. Applicant (Organization) and contact name, phone number, fax and e-
mail address
3. Summary of funds requested by budget categories contained in SF-424
4. Project period: beginning and ending dates (for planning purposes, 
applicants should assume funds will be available in May 2002 to begin 
recruiting students for placement during Fall 2002)
5. Project work plan (including a description of all tasks, dates of 
completion, products and deliverables, and detailed budget and 
narrative)
6. Evaluation plan
7. Recruitment plan
8. Internship training program
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 for the following categories):
    --Personnel
    --Fringe Benefits
    --Contractual Costs
    --Travel
    --Equipment
    --Supplies
    --Other
    --Total Direct Costs
    --Total Cost

VIII. How To Apply

    Intents to Apply: Intents to Apply may take the form of an e-mail, 
letter or fax and should be sent to: Linda Zarow, Ariel Rios Building, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. Rm. 5433, Washington DC 20004; mail code 6101A, 
fax (202) 501-1004.; email: [email protected]. Please include 
organization name, contact, and phone number.
    Pre-Proposals: A hard copy original and 6 copies of the pre-
proposal should be submitted to Linda Zarow at the address stated 
above. The pre-proposal must be postmarked before midnight September 
30, 2001. Courier or personally delivered applications must be brought 
to Room 5443K Ariel Rios North Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington DC 20004.
    Submission of an Intent to Apply or a pre-proposal does not 
guarantee funding.

IX. Pre-Application Assistance

    To ensure that every interested party has equal opportunity to gain 
any needed additional administrative information useful to the 
application process, OAR will schedule a conference call for those who 
have submitted an intent to apply. EPA will notify applicants 
submitting an Intent to Apply of the date, time and call in number for 
this pre-application discussion. Questions and answers from this 
conference call will be summarized and available by contacting Linda 
Zarow by e-mail ([email protected]). Federal rules protecting 
applicants' equal access to information prohibit any other contact that 
would result in information given to some but not all applicants. 
Therefore, as much as it desires to encourage all interested 
applicants, EPA can give no other assistance prior to final submission 
of applications. Requests for information outside the context of this 
conference call cannot be answered. The content of the call is entirely 
dependent upon questions asked.

    Dated: July 10, 2001.
Linda Zarow,
Program Analyst, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 01-17909 Filed 7-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P