Local recruitment: DC Summer Internship 2024

Location:                           Washington, DC

Availability:                       Summer 2024

Description: The American Water Works Association (AWWA) is Dedicated to the World’s Most Important Resource®. We provide knowledge, information and advocacy to improve the quality and supply of water in North America and beyond. AWWA advances public health, safety and welfare by uniting efforts of the full spectrum of the water community.

AWWA is offering internships for summer 2024.  AWWA’s Government Affairs Office is in Washington, DC and is minutes away from Capitol Hill, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House. AWWA staff closely coordinate their many activities through the Water Utility Council (WUC) to develop action plans to initiate, evaluate, respond, and comment on legislative, regulatory, and other matters which directly affect water utilities. You can read more about AWWA’s Government Affairs Office on our website. AWWA is a non-partisan organization.

The selected internship candidate(s) will assist the government affairs team on regulatory, legislative, and other federal policy issues.  Examples of such activities include:

• Attend and report back on congressional, agency, and other meetings on relevant issues
• Review and assist in the analysis of pending legislation, regulations, and other federal activities and develop talking points for the government affairs team
• Complete a comprehensive water-policy related project, or a series of smaller projects.
• Other activities in support of the government affairs office as needed.

There are several current opportunities for water-sector work that this internship could pursue. To be considered for this internship, applicants must include a cover letter detailing their interest in one or more of these topics or another water policy topic of interest, along with their ideas on what work could be accomplished in a project over the course of the internship:

• Climate Change Funding and Regulatory Systems. Review the Inflation Reduction Act and any other relevant laws for funding and policies that may provide either challenge or opportunity to water utility operations.  Explore current and upcoming funding opportunities to identify how they are being used and be accessed by water utilities. Examine the structure of existing climate change regulatory systems, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) and examine how water utilities engage and are impacted in existing systems and how new law may interact with these and potential future policies. Develop case studies linking these national factors with state and local initiatives, such as city supported climate goals.

• Research on Water and Wastewater Involvement in Superfund Litigation. Research historical/existing litigation to better understand the frequency and nature of water and wastewater utilities in litigation related to the Comprehensive Emergency Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund).  Specifically, identify municipalities involved in CERCLA litigation and identify how frequently water utilities are included as potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and identify common themes of such litigation. A successful proposal for this project will demonstrate understanding of legal research.

• Other Water Policy Issues. Explore another water policy issue relevant to water utilities and develop a paper and/or other materials to benefit the sector. Proposed projects should represent new work and demonstrate awareness of prior work in the proposed area of study.

Selected candidate will be responsible for helping to design and implementing a project through data collection, analysis, and writing a final report suitable for publication, with some assistance and oversight from staff.

Applicants must include a cover letter discussing their interest and/or experience with one of these subjects or another subject important to the water sector and AWWA, and describe how they plan to execute their proposed project.  Applicants will not be considered without a cover letter or if the cover letter does not discuss at least one water policy issue with a potential associated project.

Qualifications

• Graduate or undergraduate student having completed at least their sophomore year pursuing a degree in public policy, environmental science, political science, environmental engineering, economics, or a similar field. Recent graduates will also be considered.
• Excellent communication and research skills
• Must be able to work independently with minimal supervision

Wage/Salary Information: $23 – $24 / hour. Work schedule can be full or part time to fit student’s summer schedule. Internship is in-person with some hybrid flexibility

Deadline to Apply:February 29, 2024 – 5 pm EST

Recent Drinking Water Policy Intern Papers

Franco, S. and A.T. Carpenter. 2024 (In Press). Characteristics of 101 Closed WIFIA Loans. Journal AWWA.

Jones, J. and A.T. Carpenter. 2024 (In Press). Water Assistance for Low-Income Households: Analysis of LIHWAP Performance. Journal AWWA.

Li, S. and A.T. Carpenter. 2023. The Human Right to Water: UN Definitions, Implication, and Effects. Journal AWWA 115:10:50-55. https://doi.org/10.1002/awwa.2199.

Murphy, J., and A.T. Carpenter. 2020. USDA Source Water Protection Funding: Successes and Opportunities. Journal AWWA. 112:4:50-59. https://doi.org/10.1002/awwa.1481.

Brodmerkel, A., A.T. Carpenter, and K. Morley. 2020. Federal financial resources for disaster mitigation and resilience in the U.S. water sector. Utilities Policy 63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2020.101015.

Tran, T., A.T. Carpenter, and P. Kenel. 2019. Doing More with Many: Case Studies of Regional Collaboration in Management and Shared Infrastructure. Journal AWWA. 111:3:49-60. https://doi.org/10.1002/awwa.1253.

Yeager, N. and A.T. Carpenter. 2019. State Approaches to Addressing Cyanotoxins in Drinking Water. AWWA Water Science. e1121. https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1121

Evans, J. and A.T. Carpenter. 2019. Utility Approaches to Evaluating the Effectiveness of Consumer Confidence Reports. Utilities Policy. 58:136-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2019.05.004.