SOLICITATION NOTICE
H -- Mining Permit, Practices, and Policy Review
- Notice Date
- 7/17/2009
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- Contracting Office
- Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Acquisition Management, EPA/Headquarters, Environmental Protection Agency, National Procurement Contract Service Center, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Nw 3803r, Washington, DC 20460
- ZIP Code
- 20460
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-DC-09-00243
- Response Due
- 8/2/2009
- Archive Date
- 9/2/2009
- Point of Contact
- Point of Contact, Harold Honegger, Purchasing Agent, Phone (202) 564-6234<br />
- E-Mail Address
-
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(Honegger.Harold@epamail.epa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NAICS Code: 213113 The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Office of Acquisition Management, intends to issue a Time & Material purchase order for support in reviewing the policy and practices of surface coal mining for direct impacts to aquatic resources, effects on thephysical, chemical, and biological integrity of downstream waters, and overall environmental impacts. The Request for Quote (RFQ) will be issued under full and open competition and conducted under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 - Simplified Acquisitions approximately 15 days after the posting date of this notice. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 213113 - Support Activities of Coal Mining. Any firm interested in receiving the RFQ should send a request to Harold Honegger at honegger.harold@epa.gov. To determine whether this procurement can be set aside, such a request should include the firm's socio-economic status as well as a capability statement not to exceed 10 pages. I. Introduction: EPA's National Water Program is reviewing the policy and practices of surface coal mining for direct impacts to aquatic resources, effects on the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of downstream waters, and overall environmental impacts. 108 backlogged permit applications for mining operations are currently working through an Enhanced Coordination Process (ECP) for compliance with applicable statutes and regulations. EPA, the Corps, and other federal and state agencies also continue to review and issue permits for surface coal mining operations as new applications come in. In addition, EPA, the Corps and the Department of Interior (DOI) are reviewing existing practices, policies and regulations used to address surface coal mining operations in Appalachia generally. Additional information about the ECP and EPA, Corps, and DOI's review of existing practices, policies, and regulations can be found at http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/mining.html. In order to support these project specific and general policy reviews EPA is seeking a technical assessment of the mining practices and policies. The contract will be awarded with base level funding however the government has the unilateral right to exercise optional hours in increments of their choosing, provided the options are exercised no later than 12 months after award. The optional hours will be to provide additional services under any combination of the four tasks laid out in the Statement of Work. II. Task Descriptions - Statement of Work: Technical information and collaboration with EPA Headquarters and Regions 3, 4, and 5 will be a part of the following tasks, however, all travel and work on specific permits, practices or policies must be approved in advance by Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). Deliverables shall conform to EPA standards for double sided copying and shall be presented on electronic media to the extent practicable. The contractor shall track and report expenditures by task to allow accurate accounting of activities. All deliverable products under this contract are the property of the U.S. EPA and may not be released or used for other purposes without the authorization of the COR. TASK #1 - SCOPING AND REVIEW MEETINGS Attend meetings in person or through web conferencing with representatives of EPA at locations including but not limited to EPA offices in Atlanta, Washington DC, and Philadelphia. Meetings may include: -scoping of the tasks and subtasks to be addressed by the contract-review of progress reports -analysis of specific mine permits-presentation of mining analysis tools and review methods-technical analysis of mining policy alternativesAn initial scoping conference call will be convened by the COR within seven (7) calendar days of contract award. TASK #2 - PERMIT REVIEW Evaluate Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404, 402, and 401 and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) permits prepared by surface coal mining companies to review proposed excess spoil handling plans, compliance with AOC and AOC+ policies, minimization of impacts, surface water drainage, cumulative hydrologic impacts, storm water run-off, sediment control, potential alternative mining sequence, and potential alternative mine configuration. EPA will identify the permits for review and the type of reviews necessary for each permit. At that time EPA COR and the contractor will agree to a delivery date for each permit review. Summary reports identifying the key factors and detailing the results of the identified analysis will be prepared for each permit reviewed and provided to the EPA COR and others designated by the EPA COR. TASK #3 - MINING PRACTICE AND POLICY ANALYSIS At the direction of EPA COR, the consultant will prepare technical assessment(s) of identified mining policies and practices (current, proposed, or conceptual). At that time EPA COR and the contractor will agree to a delivery date for each draft technical assessment. Technical assessments will build from experience from Task #2 permit reviews combined with past knowledge of mining policy and practices. These technical assessments may take the form of: -a policy or practice technical analysis for agency consideration in decision making-technical recommendations for regulatory personnel to follow when reviewing permits for proper application and implementation of specific mining practices and / or policies-a reference document highlighting best practices All assessments will be provided to the EPA COR and other offices as directed. All assessments will first be provided in draft form to the EPA COR for review and comment before finalizing. TASK #4 - MONTHLY UPDATE REPORTS The consultant will prepare and submit monthly invoices identifying expenditures for each task and subtask - for each permit, practice, policy or meeting during that month. The invoice will also be accompanied by a summary status report that identifies the permits reviewed and key factors assessed, mining policy or practice assessments worked on, and review meetings attended. The summary status report will also identify impediments encountered and corrective actions taken for all tasks / subtasks. At the completion of the project, the Contractor shall provide all project files in CD ROM or other electronic storage format to the COR in order to facilitate public accessibility to these records. III. Period of Performance: The period of performance for this contract shall be from award through September 30, 2010. IV. Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan: All task(s) identified in the Statement of Work above are subject to review and approval by the EPA based on the project specific quality assurance surveillance plan requirements identified below. Performance RequirementsPerformance Standards Surveillance Methods Performance Standards are applicable to all requirements and will be utilized to determine eligibility for Additional Hours.Programmatic Requirement: The contractor shall develop products that are based on best available information and resources.Programmatic Standard: Outputs are based on best available information and resources; Documentation of sources used, not used, and limitations of available data and methods; Description of methodological choices made both conceptually and in data selection. Assumptions utilized in environmental planning and applying engineering principles are clearly documented.EPA will review all products for conformance with the requirements of the SDWA Amendments, Clean Water Act and other related mandates, including Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 1996 (SBREFA) and Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA).Cost Control RequirementThe Contractor shall perform all work in an efficient and cost effective manner, applying cost control measures where practical.Cost Control Standard: Implementation of cost control system to monitor and track project status, that indicate level of budget utilized and forecast remaining budget needs to complete project. The contractor shall notify project COR immediately in cases where issues impact project cost are identified.The EPA Project Officer will routinely discuss the work progress and contract level and work assignment expenditures before invoice payments are authorized.Schedule RequirementThe Contractor shall provide services and submit deliverables in accordance with agreed upon task milestones and schedules.Schedule Standard: Services and deliverables shall be in accordance with schedules agreed upon for each task item. Unless amended or modified by an approved EPA action, a deliverable that is received 7-days past the due date, will be considered unsatisfactory performance. EPA will closely monitor task milestone and deliverable schedules and review the Contract Monthly Progress Reports and any special reporting requirements to compare actual delivery dates to those agreed uponDocument Development Requirement: The Contractor shall provide documents that are technically and factually accurate, and suited to the intended audience.Document Development Standard: Information to be disseminated by EPA will meet the requirements of OMB's "Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity for Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies (67 FR 8451)EPA will review drafts to assess technical accuracy and editorial quality. EPA will identify all inaccuracies and needed edits and corrections to the Contractor in the initial review of draft documents All inquiries should be directed to the point of contact for this purchase order, Harold Honegger, at honegger.harold@epa.gov
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