palm springs fo youth chuckwally groundwater.doc

UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

CALIFORNIA

BLM CA Youth Opportunity to Support the Groundwater Monitoring and Data Management Chuckwalla Basin - Youth Internship in Hydrology Public Lands Corps Act, 1993 (Amended 2005); PL 109-154; Title 16 U.S.C. Chapter 37, Subchapter II Sec 1721-1729, excluding Sec 1725 – Resource Assistant

This is a specific project for BLM CA, California Desert District, Palm Springs FO under

MASTER

Funding Opportunity Announcement No. L15AS00154 CFDA Number:

15.236 – Environmental Quality and Protection Resource Management

Applicants are required to apply under the above Funding Opportunity Announcement through Grants.gov. All terms and conditions will remain the same. The only thing different will be the proposal format and evaluation criteria, see below:

Applications due by: August 10, 2015 at 8:00am California Time Contact Information: Leona B. Parker, California Grants Management Officer (GMO)

Phone: 530-252-5338, Email: Lparker@blm.gov Program Officer/Technical Contact: Alfred “Russell” Scofield, CA State Office, Palm Springs FO - Natural Resource Specialist, Phone: 760-833-7139, Email: ascofiel@blm.gov

SECTION I.

Project Title: Youth Groundwater Monitoring and Data Management Chuckwalla Basin - California Desert District Project Background Information: The Chuckwalla Valley is located in eastern Riverside County California between Palm Springs and the Colorado River. It contains most of the designated Riverside East Solar Energy Zone (SEZ), which was designated in the 2012 Solar PEIS. BLM-managed land makes up about 80% of the land within the Chuckwalla Valley. The Riverside East SEZ is the largest of the seventeen SEZs that the Solar PEIS designated in the western US. The Chuckwalla Valley and adjacent Palo Verde Mesa together have the largest concentration and acreage of proposed and under-construction solar energy projects in the US, and possibly the world. It is also the site of the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project, a water-intensive project designed to generate power during high-usage periods. Together, these projects propose to extract a significant volume of groundwater during both construction and operational phases. Such extraction could impact local residents, springs, riparian vegetation, and ultimately the Colorado River.

BLM and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) are collaborating to assess, monitor, and model groundwater flows and the overall water budget for the Chuckwalla Groundwater Basin, which includes the Chuckwalla Valley and adjacent tributary valleys. Current data, however, is incomplete. To understand long-term cumulative impacts from renewable energy development in the basin, it is necessary that groundwater levels are monitored, tracked, assessed, and archived.

Project Objective:

a. BLM, California Desert District has an opportunity to introduce youth to careers in the BLM under the Soil, Water, and Air Area, specifically hydrology. The District has a Hydrologist on staff and would like to a provide work experience to youth for their career and educational benefit. This will be accomplished by providing them opportunities to gain experience, learn about public lands, further their understanding and appreciation of natural and water resources, and pique their interest in Soil, Water, and Air Management careers. From this, they will gain an increased appreciation and understanding of our public lands and of the value of public service, and are likely to become life-long advocates for those values.

b. This opportunity will be focused on inventory and monitoring of ground water resources and water levels. This project would be especially appropriate for a recent graduate of a hydrology program or student studying hydrology and will provide opportunities to enhance basic career skills such as organization, writing, detail, data management, data mining, and communication, well as field skills including the data collection. Previous experience with any or all of these skills would significantly enhance the student experience.

Estimated Total Funding: FY 15 $35,000.00, additional funding will be added on modifications (only when funds are available and funds are not guaranteed every year).

Program/Project Performance Goals

1. Develop a spatial database of groundwater levels in the Chuckwalla Basin that will be a data source for groundwater modeling activities in support of renewable energy permitting.

2. Expose young men and women to public service while furthering their understanding and appreciation of the Nation’s natural resources and gain experience.

3. Stimulate interest among the youth and young adults in conservation careers by exposing them to conservation professionals in land managing agencies, by providing conservation projects that qualify for the noncompetitive hiring status for a period of not more than 120 days.

4. Promote and stimulate public purposes such as enhancing classroom learning by providing education, job training, and development of responsible citizenship and productive community involvement of youth and young adults in the care and enhancement of natural resources.

5. Assist qualified members of the Youth Conservation Corps or similar programs or organizations an experience in conserving or developing natural and cultural resources and enhancing and maintaining environmentally important lands and waters through the use of the Nation’s young men and women.

Duties:

The successful youth applicant will assist the District Hydrologist in developing a database of groundwater levels in the Chuckwalla Basin. Opportunities exist for both fieldwork in the Chuckwalla Basin and office work in either the Moreno Valley California or Palm Springs California BLM Offices. Fieldwork includes locating new monitoring wells and water level monitoring (well depth sounding). Office duties will largely consist of mining internal data, working with partners/permittees to obtain data, and development of a spatial database to manage the collected data.

Fieldwork experience will be conducted largely independently in a desert environment and will require the operation a government or leased four-wheel-drive vehicle off road. In the office, duties will consist of locating data in existing government files, contacting partners and permittees to obtain data and developing and entering data into an Access-type database.

The participant has the choice to work out of the California Desert District Office in Moreno Valley California or remotely in the Palm Springs Field Office in Palm Springs California. Regardless, the project will be coordinated by the California Desert District Hydrologist in Moreno Valley. Fieldwork will be done in a remote backcountry setting and could require strenuous exertion. Weather and terrain conditions may be extreme (e.g. heat, cold, wind, thunderstorms, steep badlands).

BLM’s Involvement:

There will be substantive BLM programmatic involvement by BLM professional staff who will work daily side by side with the recipient on all projects and who will also be providing project orientation and hands-on training and mentoring. BLM will have the right to intervene by modifying the project management plan, if project is not staying on schedule, technical issues arise, etc. In addition, BLM and recipient will meet weekly to discuss progress and track project outcomes; review any training needs; and then make a decision what direction to take in finalizing project or moving to the next phase.

Period of Performance:

a. Estimated Start Date: September 1, 2015 or upon award.

b. Estimated Period of Performance: From: September 1, 2015 or upon award through about February 26, 2016 depending on the participants schedule, however the agreement will not end until September 30, 2019, therefore if funds become available a modification can be processed to extend projects.

Work Schedule:

Monday through Friday, generally 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, for 24 weeks, with flexible start dates in August through October and end dates in January through March. It is anticipated the participant will not work the weeks of Christmas or New Years.

Qualification Requirements:

As stated in the duties, this opportunity will require time outdoors and fieldwork that is often under somewhat rigorous physical conditions. Applicants must also meet the following criteria: 1) Pass a DOI security background check; 2) Possess a valid state driver’s license and pass DOI defensive driving; 3) Be able to safely operate a 4-wheel drive vehicle off-road; and 4) Have basic Access-type database skills.

Housing:

Agency cannot provide housing but may be able to assist in locating appropriate clean housing. A housing stipend of $3000.00 may be provided if needed. A personal vehicle is NOT required for the position but is strongly encouraged as public transportation to the office may be limited. The closest airports are Ontario California and Palm Springs California.

Expected Field Travel: No overnight travel or on-site camping is anticipated.

Section II – Reporting Requirements: (Refer to Full Announcement for details) A. SF425 – Federal Financial Report’s- semi-annual

B. Performance Report due semi-annual or at the end of the project

C. Youth Reporting due semi-annual to Program Officer

SECTION III. The Application Package – Also refer to Funding Opportunity Announcement Section D. Application and Submission Information for further detailed information.

Applications must include all required Standard Forms (SF) shown below, a Proposal (Attachment A), a Budget Detail with narrative (mandatory) (Attachment B), and a copy the applicant's approved federal agency Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), if applicable. Non-governmental organizations that have not previously received award funds or have not had an active award within 3 (three) years must complete a Financial Assistance Evaluation Questionnaire. A copy of the questionnaire may be requested by contacting the individual(s) listed on the application coversheet.

WHAT TO SUBMIT:

SECTION III. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Along with the above requirements listed: What to Submit- above through Grants.gov.

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

California State Office

Grants & Cooperative Agreements

PROJECT PROPOSAL

Instructions: A Project Proposal must be submitted with the Standard Form (SF) 424 Application for Financial Assistance for all Financial Assistance Agreements. A new proposal must be included with any request for modification, which involves a revision to funding, project scope, period of performance, or key personnel.

Organization Name:

Name & Title of Person Submitting Proposal:

*If a specific start work date is needed with pre-award costs for specific BLM Project, contact BLM Program Officer (PO) to discuss details, so PO can discuss with Grants Management Officer. Do not start work without prior approval from the Grants Management Officer, unless project is a specific project to your organization is already working on and you are requesting for further financial assistance.

1.

Purpose, Objectives, and Relevance:

(Describe why the project is needed, the applicant's objectives, how the applicant's objectives support their mission, and how this project benefits the general public.)

2.

Technical Approach:

(Describe how the project will be conducted. The project design must contain enough detail to show the development of the project, including the relationship between the partners, and objectives. Clearly describe the techniques, procedures, and methodologies to be used; the data collection, analysis, and means of interpretation; the expected program/project goals and/or outcomes; and the procedures for evaluating project effectiveness, including appropriate performance goals and the probabilities of obtaining them.)

The proposal must include the detailed project plan/schedule. The project plan must be supported by a narrative description of each of the activities to be undertaken. The schedule should include proposed work, reporting, major tasks, and project milestones including the identification of the anticipated start and ending dates of all major stages/tasks of the project proposal. The following table may be used to summarize the project schedule.

Start Date Planned Completion Date

3.

Qualifications, Experience, and Past Performance:

(Describe who will carry out the project activities. List all project personnel, including consultants, contractors, sub-recipients, etc., and their contact information. Describe your recruiting techniques in recruiting a diverse pool of candidates. Describe their responsibilities and the amount of time each will dedicate to the project. Briefly describe how their experience and qualifications are appropriate to successfully achieve the stated objectives and performance goals. Describe past completed natural and cultural youth conservation projects on public lands with accomplishments. Describe successful of your program placing qualified youth interns in conservation careers.)

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