|
THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS FOR CAPABILITIES STATEMENTS ONLY. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is performing a Sources Sought Synopsis for market research purposes to determine capabilities and qualifications of small businesses (including Small Businesses, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) businesses, 8(a) firms, and Small Disadvantage Business (SDB)) in preparation for a future procurement. It is anticipated that any future contract for these services will be an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity type contract with both Time & Material and Fixed Price task orders, with the predominance being Fixed Price. It is anticipated that the period of performance for these services will be a one-year base with four one-year options for a maximum potential period of performance of five years. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, with a size standard of $15 million.
Any interested firm should submit a Capabilities Statement with information which clearly demonstrates their capabilities to provide the services described below and in the attached Draft Performance Work Statement (PWS). Standard company brochures will NOT be considered a sufficient response to this Sources Sought Synopsis.
Responses to this sources sought notice shall not constitute responses to a solicitation, which is not currently available. Responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. The Government intends to consider all comments and the responsive capability statements when developing its final acquisition strategy. The decision to solicit for a contract shall be solely within the Government's discretion. This sources sought synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government reimburse any costs associated with the submission of information in response to this notice. Respondents will not be individually notified of the results of any government assessments.
DESCRIPTION
The EPA, pursuant to its statutory authorities, implements programs that can require parties to clean up the release of hazardous substances, wastes, and other materials in the environment. The EPA Office of Site Remediation Enforcement (OSRE), located within the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), has primary responsibility for enforcing the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and the corrective action provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C, as well as underground storage tanks (UST). OSRE serves as the primary contact for these enforcement activities, many of which involve significant or difficult financial and corporate organizational questions, within EPA regional offices.
The purpose of this requirement is to supply the services of expert financial and corporate analysts for the Office of Enforcement Compliance (OSRE), Office of Site Remediation Enforcement (OSRE), Regional Support Division (RSD) to support Superfund/CERCLA enforcement cases during every stage of enforcement actions. This support shall include: expert financial analysis and verification of CERCLA ability-to-pay claimants, including the extent of their ability to fund or contribute to funding cleanup at Superfund sites; expert corporate structural analysis of companies and businesses to assist EPA in making liability determinations; and assistance during settlement negotiations and/or expert testimony at trial.
The contractor must possess a high level of expertise in corporate, municipal, and individual finance and accounting, and must have expert financial analysts and economists readily available to support the EPA regional enforcement team at every stage of its enforcement action, including during a judicial proceeding if settlement efforts are unsuccessful. The contractor will be expected to confer frequently with EPA and Department of Justice (DOJ) enforcement case teams on issues that arise during the course of the tasks assigned, and must be able to explain to the case teams the underlying factual and economic principles applied and the methods of analysis used. The contractor must also possess a thorough understanding of the structure and operation of various corporate entities, as well as a high level of knowledge of the statutory and regulatory requirements of CERCLA, and, to a lesser extent, RCRA Subtitle C and UST, so that expert advice may be rendered to enforcement personnel on corporate organizational issues that might impact enforcement. In the event that enforcement activity results in litigation, the contractor might also be directed to provide expert witness testimony.
Specific technical areas to be addressed in capability statements submitted by respondents are included in the attached Draft PWS, summarized as follows:
Task 1 Financial Analysis of Individuals
Task 2 Financial Analysis of Businesses
Task 3 Financial Analysis of Government Organizations
Task 4 Financial Analysis of Non-profit Organizations
Task 5 Analysis of Financial Assurance Documents
Task 6 Analysis of Investment Parameters
Task 7 Organizational Analysis of Complex Business and Organizations
Task 8 Assist with Settlement Negotiations with Superfund Potentially Responsible Parties
Task 9 Provide Expert Witness in Administrative Hearings or Judicial Cases
Task 10 Review Compliance with Superfund Settlements and Orders
Task 11 Develop and Test Financial Analysis Tools
The estimated level of effort for this requirement, in professional labor hours, is 3,300 hours per year, for an approximate total of 16,500 hours over the entire period of performance, including all options.
CAPABILITY STATEMENT
To help determine if this potential requirement may be set-aside for small business concerns, the government is seeking input from the small business community regarding their interest and capability in performing the tasks reflected in the draft PWS. The Government requests demonstration of capability by interested parties through submittal of capability statements. The government will evaluate the qualifications of interested parties based on their responses regarding capability of performing the draft PWS.
As a reminder, small businesses are required to perform at least 50 percent of the costs of the contract performance with their own personnel (FAR 52.219-14). The EPA reserves the right to set this action aside for small businesses. The Government¿s evaluation of the capability statements received will factor into whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as a full and open competition or as a set-aside for small businesses, or any particular small business designation (e.g. SDVOSB, HUBZone, 8(a), SDB, WOSB, VOSB, etc.).
Please submit all Capability Statements by 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 22, 2017 via the FedConnect portal.
All capability statements must:
1. Not exceed and will be restricted up to five (5) single-sided pages in length.
2. Include the firm¿s current size status for NAICS code 541990 and any applicable small business classification(s), e.g. 8(a), HUBZone, SDB, SDVOSB, WOSB, VOSB, etc.
3. Address technical competencies and management/personnel experience relative to: (a) the task areas in the draft PWS; and (b) the overall business demands of the proposed acquisition for the best mix of cost, performance, and schedules.
4. Demonstrate experience in conducting projects of similar size, scope, and complexity.
5. State the (a) average number of employees of the concern; (b) average annual receipts based on the last 3 fiscal years; (c) other current business commitments (i.e., contracts, etc.); and (d) a description of the concern¿s accounting system for estimating and accumulating costs under cost-reimbursement contracts¿and whether or not those system(s) have been audited and/or approved by any Government agency.
6. Demonstrate the management capability, corporate structure, and financial capability to meet the needs of the anticipated level of effort and scope of this requirement. Note that any resulting solicitation under set-aside procedures will include FAR 52.219-14 Limitation on Subcontracting.
The synopsis, amendments, and other information related to this announcement, as well as any subsequent procurement notifications including RFPs and modifications, will be posted using the FedConnect web portal. Capabilities Statements in response to this Sources Sought Synopsis MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE FEDCONNECT PORTAL. Any questions regarding the content of this sources sought synopsis announcement must be submitted through the FedConnect portal. You must register with FedConnect to submit documents, questions, and to view responses. FedConnect can be accessed at https://www.fedconnect.net/Fedconnect/. All interested parties should check the FedConnect site frequently for updates.
FedConnect is a web portal that connects agencies and vendors to streamline the process of doing business with the federal government. Through FedConnect contractors will be able to receive, review and respond to contract pre- and post-award actions and documents such as correspondence, request for proposals, tasking instruments and contract modifications. The use of FedConnect also furthers the EPA¿s commitment to moving towards a paperless acquisition environment by reducing its carbon footprint and conducting its business in an ecologically friendly manner. There is no charge to use FedConnect.
Vendors can register with FedConnect at www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/. For assistance in registering or for other FedConnect technical questions please call the FedConnect Help Desk at (800) 899-6665 or email at support@fedconnect.net.
In addition, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), as this facilitates registration for FedConnect. Please note that vendors MUST have their SAM profile set to ¿public,¿ otherwise FedConnect will not be able to access the SAM information required to validate vendor credentials. Registration may be completed and information regarding the registration process may be obtained at http://www.sam.gov. There is no charge for registration in SAM.
CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions or concerns regarding this Sources Sought Notice announcement, please contact the Contracting Officer, Jose Ortiz, at Ortiz.jose@epa.gov.
|