SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Fish Counting Services in the Snake and Columbia River Basins in Support of the Portland and Walla Walla Districts, US Army Corps of Engineers, Fish Program
- Notice Date
- 9/23/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- USACE District, Walla Walla, 201 N. Third Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362-1876
- ZIP Code
- 99362-1876
- Solicitation Number
- W912EF-11-R-SS-48
- Response Due
- 10/18/2011
- Archive Date
- 12/17/2011
- Point of Contact
- Vicky Challis, 509-527-7210
- E-Mail Address
-
USACE District, Walla Walla
(vicky.r.challis@usace.army.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Request for Information / Source Sought for Fish Counting Services in the Snake and Columbia River Basins in support of the Portland and Walla Walla Districts, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fish Program The Government will use the responses for information and planning purposes regarding the availability of commercial sources to perform the described fish counting services. Responses to this Request for Information / Sources Sought, (RFI) are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. See Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.215-3 - Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes, at the end of this document. 1.0. SUBJECT This Request for Information / Source Sought (RFI) is seeking to identify contractors able to meet specific requirements that have been identified through the Fish Program for the Portland and Walla Walla Districts. This RFI is limited to business concerns that have previous work experience in the same or similar requirements as specified in Section 3.0. Responses are due to this RFI by 4:00 PM on 18 October 2011. 2.0. DESCRIPTION This Request for Information / Source Sought is to determine the availability of potential contractors for counting adult fish passing through ladders at the Corps' eight mainstream dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Portland District and Walla Walla District. These projects include Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, McNary, Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite dams. The fish counting is to produce technical information that will assist the Corps in making engineering and operational decisions to provide safe, efficient fish passage through the migration corridor. Also, research based on the fish counts is conducted by a variety of organizations including the Corps, NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, state fishery agencies, tribes, universities, and private businesses. These adult fish counting services are part of the required operations of these Corps projects. The base period of performance is to begin on March 1, 2012 and end February 28, 2013 with four optional periods. Each option period will run from March 1 to February 28 for four successive years. 3.0. REQUIREMENTS The information below presents the specific objectives and methodology that are the subject of this RFI. 3.1. Preparation of an annual fish counting plan. The plan includes details on staffing, scheduling, and quality control with submission to the Corps each year before fish counting begins. Quality control by the contractor ensures that fish are properly identified and counted. Quality control reports are provided to the Corps on a quarterly basis. 3.2. Furnishing accurate enumeration of adult fish passing though 14 fish ladders at 8 Corps projects (Bonneville Dam to Lower Granite Dam). Fish are counted visually and by videotape, from 16 to 24 hours per day and 7 to 12 months per year. Nine species of fish are counted, including Chinook salmon, coho salmon, sockeye salmon, pink salmon, chum salmon, steelhead, bull trout, American shad, and Pacific lamprey. Chinook and coho are also counted as either adults or jacks, based on length. Wild and hatchery steelhead must be distinguished through the presence/absence of an adipose fin. Fish tags/marks, injuries, and signs of gas bubble trauma are noted. A Government-furnished computer system is used to tally each fish. The contractor will, upon occasion, be requested by the Corps to conduct special counting activities for other federal and state fishery agencies. 3.3. Providing the Corps with the daily numbers of fish counted by species. These numbers are disseminated to other interested agencies and parties. For the mainstem projects, a Government-furnished computer system is used to send the fish counts to a Corps database in Portland, Oregon. 3.4. Attending monthly meetings of the Fish Passage Operations and Maintenance Coordination Team (FPOM). FPOM, under the auspices of the Corps, includes representatives from NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and Bonneville Power Administration. Topics deal with fisheries engineering, operations and maintenance of dams and fish passage facilities, and fish species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA, 16 USC 1531-1544). The contractor assists with coordination of fish counting requirements and procedures with the various fishery agencies and tribes. 3.5. Participating in dewatering of fish ladders. The contractor assists Corps fishery biologists in removing fish from fish ladders when they are dewatered for annual maintenance. The contractor ensures that fish are counted and safely released back into the Columbia or Snake rivers. After a fish ladder is dewatered the contractor does a physical inspection of the dewatered portion of the ladder, completes a Fish Ladder Dewatering Report, and provides the report to the Corps. 3.6. For the mainstem projects only, assisting with preparation of the Annual Fish Passage Report. The Corps provides to the contractor summaries of the adult fish counts at each dam. The contractor then reviews the summaries and provides corrections to the Corps. A copy of the draft Annual Fish Passage Report is also provided to the contractor for review, and feedback on the report is provided to the Corps. 3.7. Submission of weekly reports. The contractor provides weekly reports to the Corps via email throughout the year. The weekly report provides details on personnel training, the field supervisor's activities, counting problems, problems with adult fish passage, personnel problems which affected fish counting, suggestions for improvement, descriptions of ladder dewatering and fish salvage activities, and any special counts conducted. 3.8. Submission of an annual report. By December 31 of each year, the contractor provides an annual report, by district, to the Corps that details counting activities. Topics covered by the annual report are the same as those in the weekly report. 3.9. For the mainstem projects, the base period and options will be evaluated at the end of each period. Options are discretionary and may or may not be exercised based on the availability of funds and contractor performance. For the Mill Creek Project, funding may not be available for any of the work described above. 4.0. RESPONSE GUIDELINES. The prospective contractor shall describe the firm's ability to meet the requirements in Section 3.0 by responding with a Preliminary Proposal that conforms to the guidelines below. 4.1. Basic Information. 4.1.1. Company name, mailing address, phone number(s), and relevant e-mail address(es). 4.1.2. Dun & Bradstreet Number 4.1.3. CAGE Code 4.1.4. Date of submission. 4.2. Description of Similar or Related Services Over the Past Five Years. (For each project provide a statement of the following.) 4.2.1. Goal(s) and/or objectives(s). 4.2.2. Methodology/services provided. 4.2.3. Length of service. 4.2.4. Performance and client contact information. (Respond to bullets below.) The offeror shall submit evidence of performance on all contracts involving similar or related services over the past five years with the Corps of Engineers and other organizations (both commercial and Governmental). This evidence shall include: 1) name and address of the organization for which services were performed, 2) current telephone number of a responsible representative of the organization, and 3) contract type and number, if applicable. The offeror shall list any contracts that were terminated for convenience of the Government within the past three years, and any contract that was terminated for default within the past five years. Briefly explain the circumstance in each instance. 4.3. Staff Experience, Qualifications, and Organization. 4.3.1. Offerors should submit information regarding the professional qualifications of those they would have performing these services. Please do not submit Budget Proposals. 5.0. EVALUATION 5.1. The Government will be using this information to determine if there is a commercially qualified and available firm to perform these services. 6.0. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. If the RFI is marked Proprietary, please provide a second version of the RFI lacking the proprietary information that can be freely distributed. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. In accordance with FAR 15.202, responses to this notice are not an offer and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. 7.0. CONTACT INFORMATION Following is the Point of Contact (POC) for this RFI. Ms. Vicky Challis, Contract Specialist U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 201 North Third Street Walla Walla, WA 99362-1876 509-527-7210 vicky.r.challis@usace.army.mil Please submit responses as described in Section 4.0 via surface mail or e-mail attachments by 4:00 PM on 18 October 2011. 52.215-3 -- Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes. Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997) (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. (c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of: determination of available commercial sources. (End of Provision)
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USA/COE/DACA68/W912EF-11-R-SS-48/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: USACE District, Walla Walla 201 N. Third Avenue, Walla Walla WA
- Zip Code: 99362-1876
- Zip Code: 99362-1876
- Record
- SN02589845-W 20110925/110923235052-d84c498bc86b2eac719a3f240cb72e24 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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