National Academies Press: OpenBook

Research Needs in Subsurface Science (2000)

Chapter: Appendix A Description of the Environmental Management Science Program

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Description of the Environmental Management Science Program." National Research Council. 2000. Research Needs in Subsurface Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9793.
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Page 135
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Description of the Environmental Management Science Program." National Research Council. 2000. Research Needs in Subsurface Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9793.
×
Page 136
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Description of the Environmental Management Science Program." National Research Council. 2000. Research Needs in Subsurface Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9793.
×
Page 137
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Description of the Environmental Management Science Program." National Research Council. 2000. Research Needs in Subsurface Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9793.
×
Page 138

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A Description of the Environmental Management Science Program . The Environmental Management (EM) Science Program was initiated by the 1 04th Congress to stimulate basic research and technology devel- opment for cleanup of the DOE complex. The program was created in the conference report that accompanied the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bi l l (Publ ic Law 104-46, 1995~: The conferees agree with the concern expressed by the Senate that the Department Of Energy] is not providing sufficient affection and resources to longer term basic science research which needs to be done to ultimately reduce cleanup costs. The current tech- nology development program continues to favor near-term applied research efforts while failing to utilize the existing basic research infrastructure within the Department and the Office of Energy Research. As a result of this, the conferees direct that at least $50,000,000 of the technology development funding provid- ed to the environmental management program in fiscal year 1996 be managed by the Office of Energy Research and used to devel- op a program that takes advantage of laboratory and university expertise. This funding is to be used to stimulate the required basic research, development and demonstration efforts to seek new and innovative cleanup methods to replace current conventional approaches which are often costly and ineffective. The EM Science Program is managed jointly by DOE's Office of Environmental Management and Office of Science. Staff from these two offices work together to develop proposal calls, review proposals, ~ Formerly the Office of Energy Research. The office was renamed by Congress in 1998. A p p e n d i x A 137

and make award recommendations. Staff of these two offices have dif- ferent but complementary roles in the proposal solicitation and review process, as explained below. The program is run on an annual cycle that begins each fall with the publication of a program announcement in the Federal Register inviting investigators in academia, national laboratories, and industry to submit proposals to the program. The proposal submission process has two steps. Initially, investigators are invited to submit short descriptions of their research ideas, or pre-proposals, for consideration.2 These pre-pro- posals undergo an in-house screening to determine whether they meet the criteria laid out in the program announcement, namely, whether the proposed project constitutes basic research (as opposed to technology development, for example) and addresses one or more of the identified priority areas. Investigators whose pre-proposals are judged to meet these criteria are then encouraged to submit full proposals. The review of full proposals is carried out in a two-stage process, the first to assess scientific merit and the second to assess program relevance. This review process is managed jointly by Office of Science and Office of Environmental Management staff. Merit review is obtained through peer review panels, composed of scientists from industry, national laboratories, and universities, organized along disci- plinary lines consistent with normal Office of Science practices. Those proposals that are highly rated in the merit review are then put forward for relevance review, which is performed by a panel of program man- agers from DOE head-quarters and field offices who are knowledgeable of EM's cleanup needs and priorities. Following these reviews, Office of Science and Office of Environ- mental Management program staff provide an overall rating for each of the proposals and make award recommendations to their management. Final award decisions are made by the director of the Office of Science and the deputy assistant secretary for science and technology, Office of Environmental Management. Successful proposals are funded for up to three years, typical Iy at $1 00,000 to $300,000 per year. 2The preappl ication process is vol u ntary. S U B S U R F A C E S C ~ E N C E 138

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Research Needs in Subsurface Science provides an overview of the subsurface contamination problems across the DOE complex and shows by examples from the six largest DOE sites (Hanford Site, Idaho Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Nevada Test Site, Oak Ridge Reservation, Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, and Savannah River Site) how advances in scientific and engineering knowledge can improve the effectiveness of the cleanup effort. This report analyzes the current Environmental Management (EM) Science Program portfolio of subsurface research projects to assess the extent to which the program is focused on DOE's contamination problems. This analysis employs an organizing scheme that provides a direct linkage between basic research in the EM Science Program and applied technology development in DOE's Subsurface Contaminants Focus Area.

Research Needs in Subsurface Science also reviews related research programs in other DOE offices and other federal agencies (see Chapter 4) to determine the extent to which they are focused on DOE's subsurface contamination problems. On the basis of these analyses, this report singles out the highly significant subsurface contamination knowledge gaps and research needs that the EM Science Program must address if the DOE cleanup program is to succeed.

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