USDA, Forest Service, Region 1, Procurement and Property, P.O. Box 7669, Missoula, MT 59807

C -- CERCLA/RCRA RELATED SERVICES SOL R1-00-08 DUE 041300 POC For additional information contact Contracting Officer, Selena Odlin at (406) 329-3229. E-MAIL: USDA Forest Service, Region 1, Acquisition Management,, sodlin/r1@fs.fed.us. The USDA Forest Service, Region 1, intends to secure the professional services of one or more Contractor(s) to provide services for the following activity areas: Activity I -- Complete various evaluations, studies, reports and response actions as specified in the National Contingency Plan (NCP) found in 40 CFR 300. Under this activity area, the Contractor(s) will most likely be requested to complete work in support of removal actions. We anticipate that the majority of this work will involve historical mine sites and may encompass many sites at one time; for example, all mining sites in a watershed. Contractor(s) are expected to be able to complete all needed work from the discovery of a CERCLA site to development of a construction bid package and post-construction requirements. Activity II -- Respond to emergency spills and provide additional related services. Under this activity the contractor will respond to illegal dumps and spills, or other hazardous material contamination problems at various sites, as they are discovered. This activity is likely to involve containment of pollutants, identification of unknowns, site characterization, site cleanup, and proper disposal of wastes and contaminated soil. This activity also includes petroleum products. Other tasks may involve providing training and environmental audits of Forest Service facilities. Projects within the two activity areas may be located anywhere throughout National Forest System lands in Region One of the Forest Service. This includes northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and northwest South Dakota. Some work sites are likely to be in remote areas and/or include areas with mine-related disturbances. All personnel for all activity areas who will physically work on a site shall be certified as having received at a minimum the 40-hour Hazardous Waste Site Operations training, in compliance with OSHA Regulation 29 CFR 1910.120. CERCLA/RCRA related activities on an "as-needed" basis at sites on or adjoining National Forests located in Montana, Northern Idaho, North Dakota and South Dakota. The services to be provided include 1) work in support of, and/or specified in the National Contingency Plan (40 CFR 300) with an emphasis on removal actions at historical mine sites; and 2) response to illegal dumps and spills of hazardous materials, including petroleum products. Projects will be negotiated prior to starting work and will be on an individual order basis for the period May 2000 through May 2001 with options to extend the services for up to four additional 12 month periods. Potential Scope of Work for activities is as follows: Activity I -- National Contingency Plan (NCP) Work: Work under this activity will most likely include investigations and studies in support of removal actions at historical mine sites. The contractor will be expected to be familiar with all phases of time-critical and non-time critical removal actions as described in 40 CFR 300. The types of work most likely to be ordered include the completion of site characterization studies, an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA), and construction design and support activities. Site Characterization: The contractor will be expected to perform field sampling to determine the level and extent of contamination and then, identify contamination pathways and targets at risk. The contractor is expected to be familiar with EPA protocol, Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) requirements, and other applicable sampling requirements needed to produce the proper level of data quality. The contractor will be expected to complete Sampling and Analysis Plans (SAP) that will be approved by EPA. The Contractor shall assume financial responsibility for re-sampling if data is unusable because of identified problems with sampling techniques, handling or shipping problems, sampling requirements (insufficient sample material collected, inappropriate sample preservation, inappropriate sample location), laboratory error or laboratory contamination. Workplans/Reclamation Alternatives: The objective is to determine the initial problem, identify data gaps from existing data collections, and provide possible alternative to be considered and the timeframes. The contractor is expected to be familiar with current technologies suitable for dealing with waste rock dumps, mill tailings, and other mine-related wastes. In particular, the contractor is expected to have experience and be familiar with containment design, modeling of leachate quantities through various containment designs, and related reclamation practices. Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA): The objective of the EE/CA is to present a preferred response action for a site. Many of the sites we deal with involve historical mine sites. We expect the EE/CAs to be focused documents that evaluate in-depth a limited number of alternatives. The streamlined risk assessments will include no more information than is needed to show a risk exists and a response action is justified. In addition, the contractor needs to be familiar with Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARARs) for each project and how to evaluate whether they need to be considered and then, if the proposed response action will meet them. Construction Design and Support: The contractor will be expected to design a response action at a site. This task will require the contractor to complete engineering plans and specifications that are suitable for advertisement. The contractor will be expected to complete a Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QA/QC) plan, if needed, for the construction work. The contractor may also be requested to review bid documents and construction submittals; and complete a final construction report, post construction monitoring plan, and an operation and maintenance plan. Timeframes -- Tasks associated with this activity are, on the average, expected to be completed within the following timeframes: Site Characterization Studies, 3 months; Workplans/Reclamation Alternatives, 1 month; EE/CAs, 3 to 5 months; Draft without preferred alternative, 1 to 2months; Work with Forest Service to develop preferred alternative, 1 to 2 months; Complete final, 1 month; Designs completed, 2 1/2 months; Submit 30% design, 1 month; Submit 90% design, 1 month; Submit final design, 1/2 month; and QA/QC plan for construction, 1 month. The Forest Service will generally return comments to the contractor within three weeks of receipt of a document. The contractor will be responsible for incorporating all comments or explaining why a comment was not incorporated. Other possible tasks, though not anticipated in any large number, could involve work in support of remedial actions, natural resource damage assessments, removal/remedial site evaluations, community relations (plans), action memorandums, serving as an on-site inspector during construction, inventory of suspected CERCLA sites, environmental audits related to real estate transactions, and other related studies and field work. In addition, any work under this activity may include sites other than those associated with mining; for example, landfills. Timeframes for these tasks will be negotiated. For all work ordered under this activity, the contractor will be expected to be familiar with affected and interested State agencies and laws/rules. Most of the work is anticipated to be in Northern Idaho and Montana. Also, the contractor is expected to be familiar with applicable federal laws/regulations and the latest EPA guidance for any work requested under this activity. The contractor is expected to attend, participate and possibly give presentations at internal and public meetings, when requested. All personnel who will physically work on a site under this activity shall be certified as having receive the 40-hour Hazardous Waste Site Operations training, in compliance with OSHA Regulation 29 CFR 1910.120. Project safety plans will be submitted for each project and all appropriate personal protective equipment and safety equipment, as outlined in the plan, shall be provided. Generic safety plans covering one or more projects which involve similar types of work and sites may be submitted with prior approval of the Forest Service. Generally about 15 copies of documents will be requested. Activity II: Emergency Response and RCRA Related Tasks, Emergency Response: Occasionally, illegal dumping of drums or other suspected hazardous materials is discovered on National Forest System lands. The Forest Service expects the contractor to be able to respond quickly to situations like this (within 2 to 10 hours). The Contractor will be expected to determine the appropriate level and type of response including completion of the following: secure the site to ensure public safety; contain any releases to the extent practicable; sample and identify any unknown materials; remove the materials to a secure off-site location if necessary; cleanup of site; once the material is identified, arrange for and ensure proper disposal of the materials and associated contaminated media; and prepare a final report. Site Cleanup: The type of work envisioned under this task includes the investigation and cleanup of hazardous materials at a site. The type of sites expected to be cleaned up include sites with historical spills or contamination, cleanup of small wood treating operations, drug lab cleanup, minor leaks from tanks, cleanup of indiscriminate dumping, etc. The contractor will be expected to sample and characterize the site in terms of contaminants; determine the extent of contamination; develop an appropriate plan for cleanup or treatment of the site; and prepare a final report. The Forest Service is unaware of any sites like this that currently exist; yet, two or three seem to be discovered every year. However, the Forest Service cannot guarantee that any such sites will be discovered in any one year. Timeframes: Emergency Response, Arrival On-site, 2 to 10 hours; Completion of Cleanup -- mutually agreed between Forest Service and contractor; Completion of report, 15 days; Site Cleanup -- Initial site visit, 2 to 10 days; Completion of cleanup, additional 10 days; Completion of report, additional 5 days. Other miscellaneous work may be requested by the Forest Service under this activity including: special studies involving the handling, usage and disposal of certain materials; conducting environmental compliance audits at selected Forest Service facilities; and putting on training for Forest Service employees such as first responder, worker hazard communication standards, etc. Timeframes for these tasks will be negotiated. The contractor is expected to understand all applicable reporting requirements and advise the Forest Service when and how to comply with these requirements. All actions and recommendations submitted by the Contractor shall be in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and all other applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations as related to the specific project. The Contractor is required to obtain and/or prepare all necessary permits, licenses, or other documents necessary to accomplish the prescribed work. The Forest Service already has, or will obtain, the required EPA identification number for generator sites. All work on this contract must be accomplished under the direct on-site supervision of a trained and experienced project manager. All personnel who will physically work on a site under this activity shall be certified as having the appropriate level of training in compliance with OSHA Regulation 29 CFR 1910. Project safety plans will be submitted for each project and all appropriate personal protective equipment and safety equipment, as outlined in the plan, shall be provided. Generic safety plans covering one or more projects which involve similar types of work and sites may be submitted with prior approval of the Forest Service. Only experienced EPA certified transporters may be used to haul hazardous wastes. Generally about 6 copies of documents will be requested. Other selection criteria to be evaluated include: 1. Demonstrated efficiency of their streamlined organization (mix of core project staff including licenses); 2. Access to various specialists on an as-needed basis; 3. Location of project management personnel; 4. Working knowledge of Montana, North and South Dakota, and Idaho state environmental laws (ie. water quality, waste disposal, stream restoration); 5. Experience in high altitude reclamation and project management; 6. Response time to spills and unknown midnight dumpings and access to disposal contractors; and 7. Experience in mining reclamation, stream restoration, ground and surface water reclamation. This contract will be an Indefinite quantities contract. Two (2) awards shall be made as a result of this solicitation. There is no solicitation package to request. This solicitation is not set-aside for small business. Interested firms should submit one (1) copy each of Standard Forms (SF) 254 and 255 for the project, referencing the solicitation number listed above for the project they are responding to. All submissions must be received by close of business April 13, 2000. Posted 03/14/00 (W-SN434333). (0074)

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