U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Program Contract Service Center (3803R), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460-0001

A -- PROJECT XL COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS PHASE III SOL C91053 DUE 072399 POC Sharon Hargrove -- No phone calls accepted. E-MAIL: hargrove.sharon@epamail.epa.gov, hargrove.sharon@epamail.epa.gov. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a request for proposals to which the Government intends to award a firm fixed price contract using the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR Part 13. The EPA is FACNET certified. Any contractor/vendor able to meet the needs of the requirement must demonstrate in writing by the closing date. You may E-mail the Contract Specialist at hargrove.sharon@epamail.epa.gov. Please include the following: Company name; Address; Phone number; Business Class; and E-mail address. NO PHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED. All questions must be addressed in writing no later than 15 days of the notice of this solicitation. This is a combination synopsis/solicitation for these services and will be the only solicitation to be issued. Any contractor/vendor able to meet the needs of the requirement must demonstrate in writing by the closing date. Award will be made to the firm whose offer provides the greatest value to the Government, price, quality and delivery performance considered. Award may be based on lowest overall evaluated cost and/or cost related factors. Two copies of all proposals, for the following statement of work, should be delivered to the following address, (fax/e-mail copies will not be accepted): Mail to: US EPA; 401 M Street, SW; Bid and Proposal Room -- 6th floor; Mail Code 3803R; Washington, DC 20460, Attn: Sharon D. Hargrove -- HANDCARRY TO: 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW; Bid and Proposal Room -- 6th floor; Washington, DC 20003; Attn: Sharon D. Hargrove -- Due Date: July 22, 1999; -- 2:30pm EST (Any proposal received after the due date will not be considered.)STATEMENT OF WORK TITLE: Project XL Cost-Benefit Analysis Phase III PURPOSE: This statement of work is for a follow-on assignment for Phase III of the Project XL Cost-Benefit Analysis. Phases I and II, which are currently underway, will result in the development of a cost-benefit sampling plan that has been piloted at 2 XL facilities. The contractor shall use the work completed in the first two phases as the basis for conducting Phase III. The sampling plan from Phases I and II will have already been modified and improved so that Phase III sampling can proceed. BACKGROUND: In Phase III, the contractor shall conduct sampling and analysis for the remainder of the XL projects that are in the implementation phase at the time of the study. Phase III data will be used to provide answers to the same questions posed in the Phase I and II study effort: a. Are the economic benefits for this facility greater than their costs in participating? What are the environmental benefits? Which kinds of transaction costs are the most important? What are the regulatory transaction costs for this project? What would they be if this approach was taken across the country? What are the costs involved in stakeholder participation? What are the benefits? Were the primary industrial costs that were mitigated regulatory in nature, or more process-based? Building on Phases I and II, the sampling and analysis of the remaining projects will help to provide a strong assessment of the costs and benefits of XL projects to all participants and stakeholders and enable decisions about which projects will show the greatest potential for improved performance and cost reductions to industry and regulators. It can also provide participants with guidance on the kinds of economic data that could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of XL projects. STATEMENT OF WORK: Using the final analysis from Phase III as a basis, the contractor shall form a model of the relationship between economic and environmental performance for Project XL. The model will allow projections of the economic costs and benefits of implementing XL projects on a national basis. For example, the model will be used to make projections of costs and benefits based on type of environmental improvements or emissions reductions achieved (air vs. water vs. waste) or on facility size, or as a function of the regulatory approach. The contractor shall provide a "summary" of how the data collection methodology can be used in further assessments of regulatory flexibility projects. Task 1: Prepare Workplan. The contractor shall prepare a workplan detailing the items that are to be performed in response to this SOW. It shall include a schedule of sequential tasks and an estimate of the costs broken down by item. The draft workplan will be reviewed by the PO prior to final acceptance. DELIVERABLES: Draft and Final Workplan Task 2: Gather Data. The contractor shall propose a sampling schedule to the PO and upon approval, collect the data using the sampling and analysis plan approved by the PO in the previous phases of this project. This means that industrial data from the remainder of the XL projects in the implementation phase and the data from all regulators and stakeholders to those projects shall be gathered, or estimates shall be made if the data is not readily available. The contractor shall collect data on-site for industry, state regulators and EPA regional offices, and willrely on meeting documentation and interviews for stakeholder data. The contractor shall develop a written invitation letter, in draft for comment by the PO, for transmittal to all participants prior to phone calls, interviews and other interactions. Using Phases I and II as a guide, the contractor shall determine what portion of the data gathering effort can be conducted by questionnaire prior to each site visit so that on-site interaction with participants can be conducted efficiently and time kept to a minimum. The contractor shall compile and report the data to the PO as each project is completed. DELIVERABLES: Invitation Letter, Sampling Schedule and Data Reports. Task 3: Analyze Data and Prepare Report and Briefing. The contractor shall fully analyze the data from the collection exercise and shall prepare a draft report for review by the PO prior to final approval. The report shall answer for each of the XL projects the questions outlined in the background section above. The report shall include a modelmethodology that can be used to determine what kinds of projects show the greatest potential for superior performance and cost reductions and how the data collection methodology can be used in further assessments of regulatory flexibility projects. Prior to final delivery of the report, the contractor shall present the results to OR staff in a briefing at EPA; the briefing package being subject to review and approval by the PO prior to presentation. DELIVERABLES: Draft and Final Report and Methodology, and Briefing. The contractor shall prepare monthly delivery order reports and shall provide weekly phone updates, at a minimum, on the progress of the work to the PO. EPA's assessment of satisfactory progress will be the basis for approving any progress payments. The contractor shall provide two copies of each draft and final document according to the Task Deliverables noted above. All documents shall be provided in Word Perfect format or in a format approved by the PO as being compatible with EPA computer software. For each deliverable noted above, the contractor shall provide two draft copies to the PO for comments, corrections and approval prior to submitting final deliverables in duplicate to the PO. SCHEDULE OF TASKS AND DELIVERABLES: Task 1, Deliverable -- Draft Work Plan, due 5 days (after award). Task 1, Deliverable -- Final Work Plan, 2 weeks (after award). Task 2, Deliverable -- Sampling Schedule, 4 weeks (after award). Task 2, Deliverable -- Data Reports (5 months after Phases I and II are completed). Task 3, Deliverable -- Draft Report and Methodology, and Briefing (6 months after Phases I and II are completed). Task 3, Deliverable -- Final Report and Methodology (7 months after Phases I and II are completed). PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Date of the award thru one year. EVALUATION CRITERIA: Award of this contract will be made on a "best value" basis. Contract price and the following factors will be used in making the award decision: PERSONNEL: Specific experience of the proposed individuals in interacting with high level senior officials from the groups identified to aid in the research, including Project XL participants, stakeholders and regulators . Knowledge of the Project XL program and its evolution, and its approach to innovative environmental management. Specific experience of the proposed individuals with industrial environmental and economic performance data collection, storage and analysis including quantitative data collection and issues related to its confidentiality. Specific experience of the proposed individuals with environmental cost accounting, environmental management systems assessment, environmental economics, and cost-benefit analysis. Past performance and experience of the proposed individuals with the interview approach to environmental performance data gathering and to evaluation and analysis of environmental management systems. Resumes to be submitted must include years and level of experience of the proposed individuals who will provide senior-level stakeholder interactions and perform the analysis. PAST PERFORMANCE: We are requesting a minimum of two references for similar services provided to the Government or private sector within the last three years. References must provide summary of specific services performed, sample documents, dates of performance, and point of contact for confirmation. The following items must be submitted for a quote to be evaluated: a. A description of how the organization meets the required qualifications, including a description of the organization's experience as it relates to the evaluation criteria; b. A detailed account of the proposed approach that will be taken to meet the needs of this request as outlined and described in this SOW, and the associated costs; c. Resumes of the proposed review team members. NOTICE REGARDING GUIDANCE PROVIDED UNDER THIS STATEMENT OF WORK: Guidance is strictly limited to technical and analytical support. The contractor shall not engage in activities of an inherently governmental nature such as the following: 1) Formulation of Agency policy 2) Selection of Agency priorities 3) Development of Agency regulations. Should the contractor receive any instruction from an EPA staff person that the contractor ascertains to fall into any of these categories or goes beyond the scope of the contract or work assignment, the contractor shall immediately contact the EPA Contracting Officer. **All questions and answers regarding this solicitation will be posted in the CBD as they come in. Posted 06/29/99 (W-SN348406). (0180)

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