SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- MANUSCRIPT DEVELOPMENT FOR URBAN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT RESEARCH
- Notice Date
- 7/27/2006
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541710
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
- Contracting Office
- Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Acquisition Management, EPA/Ohio, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45268
- ZIP Code
- 45268
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-OH-06-00199
- Response Due
- 8/11/2006
- Archive Date
- 8/26/2006
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- MANUSCRIPT DEVELOPMENT FOR URBAN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT RESEARCH This is a combined synopsis/request for quote (RFQ) for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. The identifying RFQ number is RFQ-OH-06-00199. The RFQ and incorporated provisions/clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 05-11. This requirement is 100% set-aside for small businesses. From (1) one to (6) six firm fixed price purchase order(s) may be awarded as a result of this RFQ. The NAICS code is 541710, and the size standard is 500 employees. STATEMENT OF WORK INTRODUCTION These project topics will investigate various approaches to controlling and treating Wet-Weather Flow (WWF) discharges in the urban watershed. WWF pertains to storm induced discharges which can come from Non-Point Source (NPS), stormwater outfalls, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) and Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO). Dry-weather overflows, which are prohibited for sanitary or combined systems, are typically an indication of failing infrastructure and maintenance problems and storm systems are typically an indication of cross connections (i.e., improper connections or illegal discharges). The Urban Watershed Management Branch (UWMB) of Edison, New Jersey seeks to develop innovative urban technologies and assist municipalities and utilities in the selection of appropriate technologies to control urban discharges especially those caused by WWF or failing infrastructure and cross connections. BACKGROUND WWF including CSO, SSO and stormwater discharges are one of the leading causes of water-quality impairment in the United States today and improvement of controls remains a priority water focus area of the EPA. Pollution problems stemming from these WWF are extensive throughout the country. Problem constituents in WWF include visible matter, pathogens, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), suspended solids, nutrients, and toxicants (e.g., heavy metals, pesticides, and petroleum hydrocarbons). National estimates have projected costs for WWF pollution abatement in the tens of billions of dollars. Municipalities therefore need alternatives to control the high costs of WWF treatment prior to release. In urban areas, there is limited space to implement stormwater controls. Land is more valuable developed than devoted to stormwater control devices which typically require significant surface area. Therefore, innovative technological advances and risk management approaches are necessary to reduce the severity of pollution and the cost of treatment. The design of stormwater systems is still evolving. With separation of stormwater from sanitary systems, a new pollution routing mechanism was created. Originally, stormwater conveyance systems discharged collected runoff to the nearest receiving water, without storage or treatment, increasing downstream flooding. To rectify flooding, detention basins were mandated for new developments prior to discharge. However, stormwater systems and detention basins increased pollution to receiving waters, so the extended detention concept was introduced to overcome limitations of flood control detention ponds. Extended detention provided more and better control of the smaller and more frequent storm events that just passed through flood basins. Over the years, other Best Management Practice (BMP) designs have been developed to address the complexities of storage and treatment with varying results. Many municipalities are increasingly subject to Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) on solids, nutrients and pathogenic indicators. While existing BMPs may be capable of reducing solids to receiving waters, the benefits of installing BMPs for other TMDLs are not proven. BMPs typically are not optimally designed to remove nutrients or pathogenic indicators. A more active approach to stormwater management using proven concepts for routing, storage and treatment developed for sanitary systems and waste-water treatment plants subject to intense wet-weather flow may be warranted for urban areas subject to TMDLs. This is especially true of many urban areas that still discharge stormwater without any retention and/or treatment and do not have the available space to implement existing stormwater BMP designs. Many European nations opted to continue to use combined sewer systems instead of switching over to separate sanitary and storm sewer systems so as to treat stormwater centrally with high rate treatment mechanisms. The practice of installing new combined sewers in the U.S. is not popular. However collecting a portion of the urban stormwater that is driving implementation of TMDLs and pumping it through an aggressive treatment or pumping to a waste water treatment plant (WWTP) may help to address TMDLs. Helping municipalities identify urban areas for pump and treat, will also be a goal of this project. Municipalities also need alternatives to control the high costs of wastewater treatment. The implementation of grey water plumbing adjustments, require a knowledge base of treatment rates and cost effectiveness. With more municipalities in the United States looking for flexible ways to process and treat potable water and wastewater, developing grey water systems is a vital initiative for the EPA. Domestic sanitary wastewater that has been exposed to fecal material is black water and requires extensive treatment. Grey water is wash water that has not been exposed to fecal material. Grey water is far less polluted or dangerous and does not require as aggressive treatment. There are varying definitions of grey water but it is typically from the following waste streams: showers, sinks, and appliances. Volumetrically, grey water is estimated to be 40 to 85% of the per capita waste stream. Grey water recycling and treatment serves the dual purpose of reducing potable water demand and wastewater volumes. Performance and cost research for grey water is needed for municipalities and private entities to decide to implement this technology. Grey water recycling and onsite treatment can be a benefit to both sewered areas suffering from WWF issues including CSO, SSO and unsewered areas that use septic systems. Diverting grey waters to recycle or alternative treatment systems will reduce the volume to septic systems, averting untimely failures and providing greater detention times for treatment. Waste streams diverted from sanitary systems will also reduce volumes of overflows and at wastewater treatments. Performance data are required so that clear performance goals for grey water control by onsite treatment systems can be incorporated with other urban watershed controls. OBJECTIVES These requirements shall investigate a range of technology topics for urban watershed management control. This will be done through literature searches, data collection, desktop analyses and evaluation, modeling, and possibly field/pilot studies with sampling and analysis, and development of a final manuscript with conclusion and recommendations for each of the particular topics. APPROACH From one to six separate purchase orders will be awarded under this Statement of Work for the six project topics listed below: 1. Disinfection optimization approach to WWTP design 2. Stormwater pathogen indicator routing for TMDL effectiveness 3. Recycling greywater for non-potable uses and irrigation 4. Treatment of greywater using wetlands 5. CSO concepts for stormwater treatment 6. Advanced drainage design concepts A more thorough description of these project topic areas is provided below. The studies shall be comprised of literature searches, desktop analysis, modeling and sampling and analyses. The specific project topic(s) for quote submittal and award are below: (Note: One order or up to six separate orders can be issued to an offeror. Additionally, offerors can submit a quote for each individually or any combination of up to all six topics): 1) A disinfection optimization approach to WWTP design or WWTP retrofitting or upgrading: This relates to the EPA?s national CSO policy which requires primary treatment plus disinfection, (i.e., disinfection in states where required and to EPA?s SSO blending rulemaking effort). Disinfection often can only effectively disinfect the free floating or surface microorganisms due to the relatively short residence time of the WWF, and, depending on the degree of upstream treatment, may not be effective if microorganisms are contained in larger protective solids. The degree of primary treatment vs the degree of disinfection is often an overlooked component of both policies, but there is a clear need for optimizing the treatment approaches as both primary treatment and increased disinfection cost money. 2) Development of a method for stormwater pathogen indicator routing for TMDL effectiveness and receiving water impacts: Nationally, many TMDL contraventions are based on requirements to reduce indicator organisms, e.g. fecal coliform/total coliform. In many TMDL approaches, the recommended mechanism for this indicator microorganism reduction is the use of BMPs but there is little, if any data supporting BMP effectiveness for indicator organism reduction. Limited studies for BMP microorganism indicator reduction show little effect or even a magnification of indicator microorganism concentrations. Conventional BMP removal mechanisms, (i.e., settling and filtering) typically at best only remove the fraction of indicator organisms attached to the fraction of particulate matter that settles. Implementation of BMPs should not contribute to compromising the receiving water's desired use. This project would attempt to show a way for watershed districts to analyze the problem on a scientific and engineering basis to determine what is really needed to satisfy TMDLs. Ultimately, it may be necessary to route more watershed runoff through proven disinfection technologies. 3) A desktop analysis of greywater recycling for urban watersheds in different hydrologic regions: A volumetric analysis would be modeled to determine seasonal raw water supply requirements, wastewater volumes produced, and river flows under various scenarios for greywater recycling supplemented with captured runoff. A final manuscript will be provided detailing costs of the various scenarios, including water and wastewater utility costs, costs of the greywater and runoff capture systems and compared with costs of conventional water and wastewater services. A discussion of environmental effects and human health issues will accompany each scenario. The results shall be useful to identify when and where greywater recycling and/or stormwater capture for recycling is feasible and cost effective. 4) A greywater study to examine the efficacy of on-site wetland treatment: Stressors to be analyzed include indicator microorganisms and pathogens, selected viruses, organic material (TOC, BOD), suspended solids (SS), and nutrients. The study should describe findings and recommendations regarding the viability of wetland treatment of greywater, and further research needs. Tests shall use experimental design procedures to assess statistical significance. A minimum of 10 sampling events shall be used for monitoring, however a statistically valid amount of sampling events and an acceptable amount of experimental error must be determined in the Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP -described in further detail below). 5) CSO control and treatment methods to improve separate stormwater systems: Separately-sewered stormwater systems are increasingly subject to permitting and treatment and control methods for discharges to address TMDLs. This topic shall investigate and develop implementable concepts for stormwater systems that range from simple concepts like increased storage for stormwater through in-pipe storage to more aggressive concepts like what is being instituted in parts of the country where municipalities have begun onsite treatment of stormwater or discharge to the WWTP, to control storm systems and BMPs subject to loadings from cross connections, homeless, excessive sprinkler systems, car washing, pool discharges, in addition WWF. CSO systems have already been developed to address the storage concepts and high-rate intermittent treatment necessary to remove storm flow pollutants. The goal will be to maximize the treatment capacity of the existing systems. Different technologies originally done for CSO control that could be evaluated for this topic area are: storage with bleed back to WWTP for treatment during low-flow periods; swirl/vortex separators with underflow discharged to sanitary system; street storage with regulator modification; and determining effective rates of catch basin cleaning for storm drainage systems. 6) New urban areas or upstream additions to older combined sewer system (CSS), especially highly impervious areas, will be better off using advanced designs concepts requiring larger diameter sewers to add storage capacity to the system. Steeper-sloped sewers with more effective bottom cross-sections will alleviate, or possibly eliminate, antecedent DWF pollutant deposition by maintaining flushing velocity and will result in reduction of concentrated storm flushes (sometimes referred to as first flush). The additional cost of an advanced CSS would be incrementally small considering overall cost of installing a conventional CSS or a two-pipe separate (storm and sanitary) sewer system, and cost effectiveness for storm-flow pollution control. The use and continued installation of CSS is an acceptable practice in foreign countries, e.g., Germany, Japan and Switzerland. Interest in CSS for new development gets added impetus when the adverse water quality impact of stormwater runoff is considered. With a CSS, at least some of the runoff would be captured and routed through treatment before release into the receiving waters. In southern Germany, CSSs are being designed with state-of-the-art upland BMPs for stormwater attenuation to reduce the volume of stormwater entering the system. With reduced stormwater input of upland practices like low impact development (LID), rainwater harvesting (i.e., cisterns and rain barrels) and other BMPs, the number and volume of overflows are reduced over a traditional "old-fashioned" CSO, thus only discharging CSO during large, infrequent events, when the receiving water is most likely to be at high flow conditions also. In addition, designing WWTP that service a CSS to include treatment of CSO, and not just treatment for peak DWF conditions would reduce overall polluted discharges. This project topic would look at these and other potential advances to sewer design to minimize pollution removal. Providing evidence that combined sewer advances will reduce pollution rather discharging untreated stormwater may assist watershed managers in their choice of alternatives to address TMDLs. Tasks 1-4 for each Project Topic Task 1: Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) The contractor shall comply with all requirements as delineated in Attachment 1 ?NRMRL QA Requirements and Definitions?. The EPA requires a quality assurance narrative statement. A QAPP is necessary if the contractor will sample environmental measurements during the project period (Sampling and Anlysis Project), use secondary data (Secondary Data Project) or provide results based on computer modeling (spreadsheet analyses do not constitute modeling) (Model Development Project). The QAPP shall contain the data collection strategy and target ending date in relation to the QAPP approval. The QAPP for sampling and analysis shall address the long term maintenance and calibration requirements or real-time monitoring equipment. The QAPP requires a schedule of sampling and monitoring equipment checks and calibrations so that all events can be monitored. The emphasis on the QAPP shall be to determine the amount of samples to develop statistically valid results. Graphs and equations are available in Chapter Five of ?Stormwater Effects Handbook: A Toolbox for Watershed Managers, Scientist, and Engineers,? by G. A. Burton, Jr. and R. E. Pitt (2002) available online: http://www.epa.gov/ednnrmrl/publications/books/handbook/index.htm. Other statistical references can be used, but must be cited. The contractor shall not collect data before receiving QAPP approval. As necessary, once the original QAPP is accepted, the QAPP can be updated with addendums. NRMRL provides guidance on developing a QAPP in Attachment A. Task 2: Sample and Analysis Modeling The contractor shall provide technical reports to the EPA Project Officer (PO) via e-mail on the first working day of each month. The report shall be in letter format and reporting by e-mail is acceptable. The brief reports shall contain the following elements: a. Narrative discussion of progress and findings to date. b. Schedule status. c. Discussion of problems encountered and their resolution or current status. d. Appendices including meeting reports, trip reports, economic cost analysis, etc. f. Narrative description of plans for the next month's activities. Task 3: Draft and Final Manuscript The results of this study shall be made available to the public. Results shall also be presented at appropriate conferences and symposia. Information regarding this project may also be posted to the EPA and the contractor?s websites. The Final reporting manuscript for this project will be either a stand alone final report or a chapter in a compendium report, anticipated to be entitled ?Urban Watershed Practices.? The decision as to the final publication mechanism will depend on the quantity of relevant material. The target audience for this final manuscript will be municipalities, state agencies and academia; it is not intended to be a reference guide for residential individuals. The final manuscript should summarize the study, present relevant literature, present results and pertinent graphics, draw conclusions and make recommendations for future research. Guidelines for report writing will be provided. Specific information for each project topic(s) to be included in the final manuscripts: Pollution reduction, cost comparisons with conventional practice, and cost savings on an annualized basis A clear evaluation of each approach, with schematics where appropriate Projects specific results are also needed, the following two examples are provided: for greywater systems: Design specifications including plants used and growth medium Potable water use reduction on an annualized basis Related benefits, energy balances on buildings and potential savings and, method for analyzing BMP effectiveness for pathogen indicator reduction identifying portion of runoff that would require additional disinfection treatment vs. potential runoff that would not Tabulated Data For those orders that collected data, the contractor shall submit one copy of all data and related statistical values of each parameter collected during the experiments and evaluation. The data shall be in a format compatible with dBASE IV. The data shall be submitted on CD ROM. DELIVERABLE SCHEDULE The proposed schedule is for 12 months after the award of the order. TASK DATE Task 1: QAPP Eight weeks after award of purchase order Task 2: Sample and analysis, modeling Data collection and analysis shall begin after approval of QAPP Task 3: Draft submittal final manuscripts Eleven months after award Task 3: Final draft submittal Twelve months after award ***Note: Due to the length of the SOW, Technical Evaluation Criteria, and Attachments, the EPA could not post the entire information to the Fed Biz Ops website. If a contractor or consultant is interested in this requirement, please submit a request in writing via email to Scott Fogle at fogle.scott@epa.gov requesting an electronic copy of the SOW, Technical Evaluation Criteria and Attachments. All requests for these documents need to be submitted by close of business August 07, 2006. The following clauses apply to this request for quote: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items; FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items, and the specific evaluation criteria: (See Technical Evaluation Criteria attachment) Offers shall provide information to demonstrate/substantiate that its quote meets the requirements in the Statement of Work; FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations & Certifications-Commercial Items, shall be completed by offeror and submitted with quote, unless the offeror?s registered with CCR; FAR 52.212-4, Contract terms & Conditions-Commercial Items; The following FAR clauses in paragraph (b) of FAR clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms & Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items will apply, 52.222-3, 52.222-19, 52.222-21, 52.222-26, 52.222-35, 52.222-36, 52.222-37, 52.225-13. FAR 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration; all clauses can be found at: http://farsite.hill.af.mil/VFFARA.HTM. In addition, the following US EPA EPAAR clause is applicable to this RFQ: EPAAR 1552.233-70, Notice of Filing Requirements for Agency Protests, and 1552.211-79, Compliance with EPA Policies for Information Resource Management. These EPAAR clauses are available at http://www.epa.gov/oam/ptod/epaar.pdf. The government anticipates award, using simplified acquisition procedures, of (1) one to (6) six purchase order(s) resulting from this solicitation to the responsive/responsible offeror whose quote conforms to the solicitation, and is most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. Offerors shall clearly specify which project topics are being quoted. Offerors shall also make sure that each project topic is priced (Firm Fixed Price) separately. Offers shall submit 1 copy of their quotation that references RFQ-OH-06-00199, no later than August 11, 2006 at 3:00 PM (EST) to Scott A. Fogle, at fogle.scott@epa.gov or via fax at 513 487-2107. Questions or comments may also be directed to Scott A. Fogle, at 513 487-2049, or at fogle.scott@epa.gov. The last day for Technical Questions is August 03, 2006.
- Place of Performance
- Address: US EPA, Urban Watershed Management Branch (UWMB), Edison, New Jersey
- Zip Code: 08837
- Country: UNITED STATES
- Zip Code: 08837
- Record
- SN01099858-W 20060729/060727221616 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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