Regional Environmental Intern

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance (OEPC) in the Office of the Secretary, is seeking interns to work at the OEPC's Oakland, CA office. OEPC provides national and regional leadership in coordination and development of policy and program evaluation related to natural resources and the natural environment. To ensure the Department of the Interior acts as one entity, OEPC coordinates and unifies response on environmental and natural resource issues that affect multiple Federal bureaus.

OEPC's mission is to actively foster cooperation among Department of the Interior's bureaus and other Federal and state agencies; to encourage joint initiatives and to stimulate consideration of environmental and natural resource aspects of any proposed or continuing project or undertaking. The office provides independent environmental and technical advice to the Interior Secretary, Deputy Secretary and Assistant Secretary, and acts as an advocate for programs that enable bureaus to accomplish their missions in an efficient and effective manner.

Position Overview:

As an intern with OEPC, you will become an integral part of the functioning of the office, and will be responsible for understanding existing and evolving environmental laws, regulations and resources, coordinating with Department of the Interior bureaus and other Federal, state and tribal agencies, critically analyzing status reports, reviewing proposed agency actions, cooperating with EPA personnel on projects, and updating the status of the Department of the Interior's activities.

You will have a hand in several of OEPC's ongoing projects, which include Water Policy, Air Quality, Energy Regulations, Environmental Impact Statement Review, U.S. / Mexico Border Cooperation, Hazardous Waste Cleanup and Response, and Regional Response Team activities.

Interns gain contacts in the California and national environmental communities, knowledge of ongoing projects and policy developments, outstanding interviewing and coordinating skills, document analysis and critique skills, public speaking practice, and an understanding of government agencies, all in a supportive and flexible environment.

You will do the work that the full time staff does and work side by side with people from various government agencies. You will meet people from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, the EPA as well as numerous other agencies. We value your time and will have you doing meaningful, and important work.

Qualifications:

• MUST RECEIVE ACADEMIC CREDIT
• Must be willing to learn
• Must be reliable
• Must be flexible
• Must have good communication skills
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or have a right to work in the U.S.

Compensation: Assignments are unpaid, last for 3 months at 40 hours a week or for 6 months at 24 hours a week and can involve work on one or multiple projects. Interns work a minimum of 24 hours per week, and 4 of these hours may be completed outside the office. Schedules are flexible.

Interns must be available to travel locally to attend meetings related to their projects or other topics of interest. Guidance is provided, but OEPC is looking for interns willing to take initiative.