Economist

Job Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Serves as an Economist for the Bureau of Reclamation responsible for implementing the economic portions of the Central Valley Project (CVP) Final Cost Allocation Study (FCAS) and other California-Great Basin Region economic and cost allocation studies.
• Oversees the implementation of CVP FCAS and Regional cost allocation studies, applying Reclamation's separable costs-remaining benefits method, and leads preparation of Regional economic analyses-including direct and indirect benefit estimation and construction-related economic impacts-in alignment with Reclamation policies, standards, and federal guidelines.
• Assesses the technical scope, level of effort, and funding required for conducting complex economic and financial evaluations.
• Implements the FCAS two-cost/two-period repayment approach and designs research plans supporting cost allocation integration into water rate setting methodologies.
• Conducts quantitative and qualitative economic and financial analyses, including benefit-cost and financial feasibility studies, using advanced economic tools such as SWAP, Reclamation's Farm Budget Tool, optimization models, input-output models, market analyses, and other statistical techniques required for CVP project benefit evaluation.
• Prepares technical reports for planning studies, environmental documents, land classification reports, water service rate setting proposals, water rights settlements, litigation support, legislative proposals, congressional testimony, and other specialized purposes. Reviews economic components of studies prepared by other Federal, State, and local agencies.
• Serves as the Region's subject matter expert supporting the Denver Technical Services Center and Denver Policy Office in developing policy, directives, standards, and guidance related to cost allocation, payment capacity, ability-to-pay, and other economic studies. Develops Regional guidance and contributes to Reclamation-wide policy development.
• Participates in interagency task forces and work groups involving Federal and State agencies on planning, project formulation, and economic evaluations of resource management and development proposals.
• Plans, directs, performs, and reviews complex Regional economic studies forming the technical basis for evaluating economic and financial effects of current and potential water and related land resource programs. Formulates and executes research plans for studies where objectives and solutions have not been predefined, and develops procedures for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting Regional economic and financial data.
• Leads the Region's agricultural economic analyses, including evaluation of water contractors 'payment capacity and ability-to-pay for potential relief from applicable water charges using complex farm budgeting methods. Analyzes agricultural economic conditions, trends, and repayment ability for contractors in the Rehabilitation and Betterment Loan Program, Safety of Dams Program, and during water service and repayment contract negotiations. Conducts agricultural surveys, prepares farm budget studies, designs research plans for payment capacity estimates across land classes, and performs Class I equivalency determinations consistent with Reclamation Reform Act requirements.