U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Contracts Management Division (MD-33), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

B -- TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR AIR POLLUTION CONTROL PROGRAMS POC Sandra Clark, Contract Specialist (919)541-2213, Sue Miller, Contracting Officer (919)541-2213 E-MAIL: click here to contact the contracting officer via e-mail, clark.sandra@epamail.epa.gov. This is a correction to the notice submitted earlier today regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's current contract, number 68D30033, with Eastern Research Group. The earlier notice is deleted and replaced with the following: The Environmental Protection Agency has a current contract, number 68D30033, with Eastern Research Group, Incorporated. This level of effort cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is in its final option period and requires the contractor to provide technical support for air pollution control programs, including EPA's technical assistance programs for state and local air pollution control agencies in their efforts to regulate various sources of air pollutants. Specifically, this contract provides support to respond to identified control problems or to review and evaluate those problems requiring local, state, regional, multi-regional, or national analysis. Problems investigated at the state and local level will generally deal with the planning, development, and implementation aspectsof State Implementation Plans (SIP's) for achieving and maintaining the ambient air standards; other Clean Air Act regulatory approaches such as New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS); and other developing regulatory approaches that will attain acceptable levels for air toxics and indoor pollutants. The current contract expires on September 30, 1997. However, services that are a continuation of work assignments in progress on the current contract, or additional tasks that are a logical progression of current work, need to be continued without interruption, so that the Agency does not jeopardize the ability to provide the national compliance and emissions data base for statutory deadlines on work being performed by ERG in support of the Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS) Facility Subsystem (FS). Only an extension of the present contract can provide uninterrupted, critical analytical support to meet congressional and statutory deadlines. Therefore, the Government intends to extend the period of performance of this contract up to 4 months from October 1, 1997 to January 31, 1998, to allow for the continuation and completion of critical on-going work and to allow for the issuance of work assignments that are a logical progression of work. The Government's best estimate of the additional labor hours required to complete the existing work for 4 months is 3,088 hours. No additional hours on the existing level of effort contract are required, only a time extension. Only the incumbent contractor has the knowledge and "know-how" to continue working with the on-going work without an extensive training and start-up period. It may not be practicable for the Government to substitute a replacement contractor(s) during the extended period of work due to the limited time work is needed, the Government's need to meet statutory deadlines, and the expense of multiple transitions. The work to be completed during this time period requires the same expertise and qualifications as is currently required to perform the work assignments under the contract. Specifically, in order to provide technical support for the development of a regulation, the contractor must have as a minimum knowledge, and the ability to respond to identified control problems or to review and evaluate those problems requiring local, state, regional, multi-regional, or national analysis. It may not be possible to have another firm(s) pick up the ongoing tasks and complete them as currently scheduled because of the loss of efficiency and unnecessary duplication of costs. Any other firm would require extensive training and familiarization with the on-going programs. The incumbent contractor has in place a qualified/trained contract acclimated staff in place which matches the unique immediate needs of the Agency to complete the on-going project on schedule to meet statutory deadlines. Interested parties who believe they can provide the required services are invited to submit, in writing, an affirmative response demonstrating an ability to immediately assume the on-going projects without disruption to the current operations and demonstrating a cost benefit to the Government in view of the short period of performance and the ongoing recompetition. Any written response must be received no later than 15 days after publication of this synopsis. In order to be responsive, the correspondence must be accompanied by a written narrative statement of capability, including detailed technical information sufficient to permit agency analysis in order to determine a bonafide capability to meet the Government's requirements. Responses without the required documentation will be considered non-responsive. This is NOT a formal notice of solicitation. No telephone or facsimile request will be honored. See Numbered Note 22.***** (0192)

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