Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Procurement Operations Branch, MS2500, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817

B -- REFINING AND REVISING THE GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION HIGH PROBABILITY MODEL FOR HISTORIC SHIPWRECK SOL 1435-01-00-31054 DUE 032400 POC Betty M. Estey Contracting Officer, (703) 787-1352 or Lane Donley (703) 787-1346 E-MAIL: The Contracting Officer's email address, Betty.Estey@mms.gov. The Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Region (GOMR) intends to competitively award a "Cost Plus Fixed Fee" contract to refine and revise the existing historic shipwreck model currently being used to determine which leases require archaeological surveys and to re-evaluate the existing survey methodology. The following information will describe the prospective effort and advise potential offerors how to respond. The MMS GOMR does not know the precise locations of the 400 historic shipwrecks thought to exist on the Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS); we rely on an existing model to reduce the area where these more expensive surveys must be conducted by designating certain leases as "high-probability" areas. At the present time, the GOMR is using the shipwreck model that was developed from a MMS study completed in 1987. After twelve years of using this model, the Region's archaeologists have determined that model must be up-dated to incorporate additional shipwreck reference sources and databases not considered in the original study. In addition to the need for refining the shipwreck model, new developments in marine survey technology, that may significantly improve our ability to detect potential historic shipwrecks, also need to be evaluated. he selected Contractor must furnish the necessary personnel, equipment, materials, facilities, and have the capabilities and qualifications required for the successful performance and completion of the work tasks. The primary tasks of this study are to: (1) up-date and expand the existing MMS shipwreck database by examining primary and secondary sources for shipwreck information. The existing shipwreck database will expand to include specific identifying characteristics of shipwrecks located on the OCS. (2) Determine the spatial correlation between: a) shipwreck locations listed in the updated shipwreck data base; b) recorded seafloor hang sites listed on the MMS GOMR/NOAA sponsored "Fisherman's Contingency Fund" or otherpublished or private fisherman's hang books; and c) side-scan targets and anomalies representing potential shipwreck sites identified during previous OCS lease-block surveys. Then, to ground-truth selected locations where hang sites and reported shipwreck locations appear to correlate to determine if hang sites are shipwrecks. (3) conduct a marine magnetometer survey over several verified shipwreck sites using both the "industry standard" proton precession magnetometer and the new cesium magnetometer to determine whether there is a significant difference in their performance in detecting shipwrecks. (4) based on the results from objectives (1), (2) and (3) prepare a revised predictive model for shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico Region, and recommend survey instrumentation and strategies that would be the most effective in locating these shipwrecks. The study area comprises Federal waters that fall within the jurisdiction of the Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico Region. More specifically, GOMR's jurisdiction is defined as Federal waters bordering the states of Florida (10 miles offshore), Alabama (3 miles offshore), Mississippi (3 miles offshore), Louisiana (3 miles offshore), and Texas (10 miles offshore) out to the two hundred-mile limit of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone. The range of the budget is expected to fall within a range between $350,000.00 to $400,000.00. To Respond: In order to compete for this contract, interested parties must demonstrate that they are qualified to perform work by providing Capabilities Statements by 4:00 PM on March 24, 2000 Detailing: (1) Your key personnel, scientific and technical, (those who would have the primary responsibility for performing and/or managing the project) with their qualifications and specific expertise and experience. Particularly relevant is their expertise in the fields of anthropology, archeology with training and experience in marine archeology and marine remote sensing instrumentation deployment, survey and interpretation ;. (2) Your organization's experience with this type of work and a description of your facilities; and (3) Specific reference (including project identifier/contract number and description, period of performance, dollar amount, client name, and current telephone number) for work of this nature that your personnel or organization is currently performing or has completed within the last three years. Also please include any negative references and your rebuttal explaining your side of the story. All references will be checked to validate the information provided. Offerors shall submit an original and four (4) copies of the Capabilities Statement to Ms. Betty Estey, Contracting Officer, Minerals Management Service, Procurement Operations Branch, 381 Elden St., MS 2510, Herndon, VA 20170-4817. Eight (8) additional copies shall be submitted to Ms. Connie Landry, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, MS 5431, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394. It is the responsibility of the offeror to ensure that the Capabilities Statements are received by the dates and time set forth above. Timeliness of receipt of submissions will be determined by the time received in the Procurement Operations Branch, Herndon, Virginia. Your capabilities statement will be evaluated based on: (1) Past performance which includes: adherence to schedules and budgets, effectiveness of cost control, the acceptability of previous products delivered, effectiveness of program management, and the Offeror's willingness to cooperate with the customer in both routine matters and when confronted by unexpected difficulties. (2) The degree of comparability of past projects to the current project, including number, complexity, and size; (3) The experience and expertise of all scientific and technical Key Personnel. Evaluation factors include the length and quality of experience for each person assigned to perform specific tasks, their experience and expertise in the fields applicable to the performance of this study. (4) Your ProjectManager's demonstrated leadership ability and experience with managing a multi-disciplinary team and the interdisciplinary processes required for this study, and ability to control costs and to keep project performance and document preparation on schedule. Following Step (1) which is the review and evaluation of all Capabilities Statements only those determined from the evaluation factors described above to be most qualified to successfully perform the effort will be invited to Step (2) and provided a detailed Request for Proposal . All offerors will be contacted after Step (1) by telephone. Offerors are strongly discouraged to use the telephone numbers submitted below to receive answers to their questions but written, E-mail or faxed inquires are strongly encouraged. Please send questions as soon as possible to Betty.Estey@mms.gov and send a cc to Lane.Donley@mms.gov. Please include your RFP Number 1435-01-00-RFP-31054 as well as your full name, organization name, address, phone and FAX numbers. If it is necessary to call for information contact Betty M. Estey or Lane Donley between the hours of 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. EST Monday-Friday at (703) 787-1354 or by FAX on 703-787-1357. Posted 03/06/00 (W-SN431446). (0066)

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