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Region 5 Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) contract supports Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Goal 3 - Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development - Objective 3 - Restore Land. The removal and remedial programs investigate and remediate land polluted by industrial activity, illegal dumping, natural disasters, and other emergencies. In addition, this contract supports both objectives under Goal 2 - Protecting America's Waters. The remedial and removal programs protect human health (Objective 1) and protect and restore watersheds and aquatic ecosystems (Objective 2) by addressing pollution in lakes, rivers, and groundwater that serve as drinking water resources and aquatic ecosystems. A description of the START Program is attached.
THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the EPA is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.
Section 1 of the white paper shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following as a minimum:
1. Company Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact.
2. Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business) based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541620.
SUBSECTION REQUESTED INFORMATION:
A large portion of START Program work would be considered emergency, immediate, or otherwise time-sensitive (see description sections 2.A and 2.C.2). The START program generates a large number of low-dollar orders under an indefinite-quantity contract. The FAR calls for competition when multiple awards are made for indefinite-quantity contracts. If multiple awards are made for the START Program, potential vendors would have to compete for tasks under the established post award competition regulations.
- Please describe in detail how this would impact the administration of the START contract in your Organization.
- Provide examples of your past experience in Superfund Removal, Remedial, Oil Pollution Act program, Stafford Act and other applicable experience.
- While performing tasks in the START Program, staff may respond to radiation contamination or biological attacks. Do you have policies regarding radiation exposure and biological countermeasures? If yes, please provide.
- The START Program is currently structured without a fixed team (dedicated personnel); personnel are assigned based on skills and availability for a particular project. Do you believe a fixed team is better fit for the START Program? Why or why not? If so, how many personnel should be on the fixed team? What labor categories would make up the fixed team?
- Desired response times are listed in Attachment 1. Given the desire to minimize response times, where would you locate START Program personnel in Region 5?
SUBSECTION EQUIPMENT:
- In order to perform work for the START program (see description of Attachment I in section 2.A.1), START currently maintains dedicated emergency equipment (see attachment 2). What changes would you suggest to the current equipment list (see Attachment 2)? Where would you recommending staging the equipment listed.
- If the START Program were to maintain non-emergency response equipment, i.e. equipment retained on the contract level that can be mobilized for long term sites, what equipment would you suggest?
- What technology or equipment capabilities should the START Program maintain for Region 5?
- What technologies/equipment can you deploy to provide tentative identifications of unknown chemicals in air, water and soil?
- What new or innovative technologies would your organization have available to support the START Program described in Attachment 1?
- Can you suggest equipment capabilities that could improve efficiency of collecting data, ensuring accuracy of collected data, and sharing/distributing information from the field to offsite locations?
SUBSECTION LABOR:
- What staff turnover rate would you expect during performance of work under the START Program?
- In completing work under the START Program, what experience and certifications should staff have in environmental data management tools commercially available? Examples include SQL Server, ArcGIS, ProRAE Guardian, ORACLE, MS Access, EQUIS, and others?
- In completing work for the START Program, contractor staff would be expected to have experience in EPA specific environmental data acquisition and management tools, e.g. SCRIBE and VIPER - as well as cost tracking management tools, e.g. RCMS. Is there significant experience with these systems or would you expect EPA to provide training?
- What data management training, initial and ongoing, do you generally provide to your staff, and will that meet the needs of the START Program?
- To eliminate/minimize accidents, what kind of staff training program would you suggest for the START Program?
- To eliminate/minimize the learning curve for new staff, what initial training would you provide for the START Program?
- Please rank in order of importance and describe the top 10 labor categories the industry would typical use to complete the work described for the START Program.
- What staff capabilities and expertise can you provide that can improve the efficiency of collecting data, ensuring accuracy of collected data, and sharing/distributing information from the field to offsite locations?
- We would like to add new key personnel (data manager attachment 3) to the START Program. The qualification and contract responsibilities of that person is attached. Would you have to propose several people to satisfy this role? Is there any part of the responsibilities or qualifications you would augment?
RESPONSES: Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a White Paper.
White papers in Microsoft Word for Office 2010 or higher are due on or before January 9, 2018 @ 2:00PM CST. Responses are limited to 20 Pages double sided on FONT 11 or higher and submitted via e-mail only to Harrison.Thomas@epa.gov, Contracting Officer and King.Sara@epa.gov, Contracting Specialist.
Confidential Business Information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED.
QUESTIONS: Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to the Contracting Officer and the contract specialist email address on or before 2:00PM CST December 7, 2017. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions will be answered by posting answers thru FEDBIZOPS; The Government does not guarantee that questions received after the above date and time will be answered.
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