SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- INVESTIGATION OF DREDGING GUIDELINES TO MAINTAIN AND PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF OFFSHORE RIDGE AND SHOAL REGIMES/DETAILED MORPHOLOGIC EVALUTION OF OFFSHORE SHOALS - NSL NO. NT-06-02
- Notice Date
- 3/24/2006
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- MMS Procurement Operations Branch, Attn: Ms. Rhonda Fernandez 381 Elden Street, MS 2100 Herndon VA 20170
- ZIP Code
- 20170
- Solicitation Number
- 0106RP39692
- Archive Date
- 3/24/2007
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- The U. S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) has a requirement for a scientific/technical study to be performed, the objective of which is to formulate and recommend offshore dredging guidelines to protect and maintain the geomorphic integrity of the ridge and shoal features found on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) which are being targeted as sand borrow sites for beach and coastal restoration efforts. The guidelines are to be developed through the implementation of a field measurement program in and around a representative sand ridge/shoal field within Federal waters and the subsequent application of a numerical computer modeling effort. The modeling effort will encompass the integration of a phase-resolving wave and hydrodynamic model coupled with a two-dimensional sand transport model to assess the changes in the physical regime on and around the shoal feature as a result of offshore dredging and the subsequent removal of large volumes of sand. Using the information and results obtained from the field and modeling efforts, the prospective contractor will develop and recommend dredging guidelines such that the integrity of shoal features located on the OCS can be maintained and the overall environmental risk to the physical and biological environments on the shoals and within the ridge systems can be minimized or avoided in the advent of dredging operations. The prospective contractor will be required to prepare a scientific/technical report containing all relevant information pertaining to the field and modeling portions of the study and all technical information collected and analyses undertaken. The report must include a complete analysis and discussion of the recommendations/dredging guidelines that should be adopted to preserve the integrity of sand shoals situated in OCS waters if they are to be considered as long-term sources of sand borrow material for beach nourishment and restoration projects and activities. The format and organization for the manuscript will be agreed upon between the Program Manager (PM) and the MMS-COTR prior to preparation. A draft final report shall be submitted to the MMS for review prior to preparation of the final document. The prospective contractor will be required to prepare draft and final Technical Summaries in the format prescribed by MMS after completion and acceptance of the final report, as well as a scientific journal paper describing the study, its purpose, methods, conclusions, etc. for submission to an appropriate technical journal. The prospective contractor will be required to present details of this study at a scientific/technical conference as agreed upon between the Program Manager and the MMS COTR. It is expected that the work effort will take a total of 32 months. The cost of this effort is Not to Exceed $400,000. The MMS Leasing Division, and specifically, the Division's Marine Minerals Branch has been focusing on integrating geologic and environmental information, developed through partnerships with coastal States and contracted or cooperative study efforts, to identify suitable Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sand deposits for beach and coastal restoration and to provide needed environmental information in regards to environmental management of these resources. The MMS has jurisdiction over all mineral resources on the Federal Outer Continental Shelf. Public Law 103-426, enacted October 31, 1994, gave the MMS the authority to convey, on a noncompetitive basis, the rights to OCS sand, gravel, or shell resources for shore protection, beach or wetlands restoration projects, or for use in construction projects funded in whole or part or authorized by the Federal Government. Offshore sand dredging for beach nourishment projects employ hydraulic dredges almost exclusively and are normally either cutterhead or hopper-type dredges. Regardless of the dredging method employed, however, the process could potentially result in adverse effects on various components of the marine or coastal environment if the possible effects are not properly assessed pre-dredging, and if mitigation, in the form of area avoidance or engineering modifications is not employed properly. The primary areas under investigation on the OCS as sand borrow sites have been the submerged sand shoals located offshore. Some of these shoals have already been dredged and are being considered as a long-term source of material for beach replenishment efforts. Investigators have postulated that, from a physical impact perspective, the disappearance or deflation of these shoal features could have serious consequences relative to changes to wave patterns between the shoal and the shoreline. This subsequently could result in adverse changes in sand transport patterns and shoreline erosion and accretion rates. In addition to possible adverse effects on the physical environment, subsequent habitat changes and effects on local biology could be encountered should the shoal morphology drastically be altered. There is likely a critical depth below which offshore shoals should not be dredged if wave action that sustains the shoals is to be maintained. Over the long term, if a shoal's volume is reduced, its relief off the seafloor would gradually become less as the shoal continues to evolve in balance with the newer reduced volume. Presumably, following removal of some critical portion of a shoal's volume and subsequent shoal evolution, a critical depth of dredge cut might be "hit" over a significant enough portion of a shoal such that its long-term geomorphologic integrity would be threatened. Therefore, it might be possible to logically adopt a dredging guideline requiring that some minimum threshold volume of a shoal be maintained (presumably variable as a function of ambient water depth and other local physical environmental factors) in order to minimize this risk. This is a 100% small business set aside being issued in accordance with FAR Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 19, Small Business Programs. Interested parties must email their request for a copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) to Rhonda Fernandez, Contract Specialist, Rhonda.Fernandez@mms.gov; fax: 703-787-1348, by 4:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday, April 10, 2006. All inquiries must include the solicitation number, your full name, organization name, address, e-mail address, and phone and fax numbers.
- Web Link
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- Record
- SN01014491-W 20060326/060324212628 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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