EPA - Research Opportunity

Evaluating OLEM Program Impacts and Encouraging Renewable Energy Development on Contaminated Land

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

A complete application consists of:

• An application
• Transcripts – Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
• Two educational or professional recommendations

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

If you have questions, send an email to EPArpp@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity in your email. 

Description

A research opportunity is available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), Office of Communications, Partnerships and Analysis (OCPA) located in Washington, DC.

OLEM Programs and regional colleagues regularly work in communities across America: cleaning up Superfund sites, responding to emergencies, assisting tribes, states and local governments in the cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated properties, brownfield sites and underground storage tanks sites; and establishing protections for the management of hazardous waste. OCPA serves as the principal office to the Assistant Administrator for OLEM planning, facilitating, and conducting analysis of OLEM programs and policies. Current areas of focus are renewable energy on contaminated land (specifically, the RE-Powering America's Land Initiative), sustainability, economic impacts and benefits of land cleanup or prevention, program evaluation , and performance measurement.

Under the mentorship of OCPA staff, the research participant will learn about a variety of OLEM programs and will have the opportunity to participate in two project areas, while gaining experience in one or more of the activities listed under each project:

• Benefits analyses and program evaluations of OLEM programs:
• Collaborate on research projects with economists and program evaluation experts to identify the impacts of OLEM programs
• Analyze the impacts of OLEM programs including study design, statistical analysis, geographic information systems analysis, and preparation of results for manuscripts, reports and briefing documents
• Collect, review, organize, verify, and analyze OLEM program data
• Review scientific literature and develop syntheses and summaries of information for technical and nontechnical audiences
• RE-Powering America's Land Initiative:
• Research obstacles and opportunities associated with the promotion of landfills, federal sites, mining sits, etc. as sites for renewable energy development and communicate any results/findings
• Analyze trends, etc. associated with renewable energy development on contaminated lands, landfills, and mine sites using statistical analyses and geographic information systems
• Analyze factors/incentives/markets that encourage renewable energy development generally and on contaminated lands, landfills or mine sites, specifically
• Explore and implement methodologies associated with metrics to measure the benefits associated with siting renewable energy on contaminated land

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: June 17, 2019 

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a master's or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields, or be currently pursuing one of the degrees and will reach completion by the start date of the appointment. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date. 

Preferred skills/experience:

• Geographic information systems
• Data analysis
• Census data
• Communicating science and/or policy to both technical and non-technical audiences

Application Due: May 15th at 3pm 
Apply here