|
This is a Sources Sought Notice and is for market research purposes only. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, QUOTATION, OR BID. NO SOLICITATION IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting market research to determine if there are interested and capable offerors in the marketplace with the knowledge, skills and capability to perform the work described below and in the attached DRAFT Statement of Work (SOW).
Responses to this sources sought announcement are to be sent via email to Miranda Smith, Contract Specialist, at smith.miranda@epa.gov, no later than 2:00 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, August 28, 2018.
All interested and capable qualified businesses are encouraged to reply this market survey request by submitting a narrative demonstrating experience in providing technical support in assessing and implementing the National Priorities List (NPL) for the U.S. EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI).
EPA anticipates issuing a single Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with specific work issued via Task Orders (firm-fixed-price and time and materials) for technical support in assessing and implementing the National Priorities List (NPL). The site assessment process consists of the evaluation and placement of sites on the NPL. After discovery, the site is evaluated by the regions, States, or Federal agencies by a preliminary assessment (PA). A PA is an initial screening of the site in which all available data (e.g., past industrial activity, permit history, location of drinking water intakes) are collected and reviewed. If warranted by the PA, a site inspection (SI) is conducted. A SI involves on-site work that usually includes collection and analysis of suspected contaminated soil, surface water, groundwater, and air samples. In many instances, integrated assessments, which combine activities of the PA, SI, and removal assessment, are conducted at sites.
If warranted by the SI, the site is formally evaluated for placement on the NPL. To determine a Hazard Ranking System (HRS) score, all the data gathered during the PA and SI stages are analyzed using the HRS. The HRS packages¿documentation of the Agency's rationale, data, scoring procedures, overall score, and references¿are prepared by the States, EPA regions, Headquarters contractor, and other participants in the NPL process. The packages are submitted through the regional EPA offices to OSRTI. The OSRTI NPL coordinator for each EPA region reviews the initial submission of a site package to ensure basic quality control standards are met. If they are, the HRS package is forwarded to the contractor to provide support by performing a detailed quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) review and analysis. After QA/QC reviews are completed, sites with an HRS score of 28.5 or greater are eligible for proposal to the NPL. For those sites determined to be appropriate for NPL listing, the HRS packages are placed in the Superfund docket for public review when the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register.
Placing sites on the NPL is a two-stage process. First, sites are proposed to the NPL, and a 60-day comment period follows. The public comments on proposed sites are evaluated for technical accuracy and policy issues, and detailed responses are prepared. Second, following analysis and response to the public comments, sites still meeting the scoring criteria are placed on the NPL via a final rule. After a final rule, a period of 90 days is allowed for the public to file legal challenges to the Agency¿s decision to place the sites on the final NPL.
The Site Assessment and Remedy Decisions Branch (SARDB) in OSRTI is responsible for discovering sites, evaluating their potential threat to human health and the environment, implementing the HRS, proposing and adding them to the NPL and maintaining public information regarding these activities via the web and other OSRTI data systems. A key component of implementing the HRS is evaluating exposure pathways, including surface and groundwater contamination.
In addition to regular updates to the NPL, the EPA has proposed a revision to the exiting HRS. The EPA will be preparing a response to public comments on the proposed rulemaking and revising the proposed rule as appropriate. The EPA will also be developing guidance for implementation of the final rule by the EPA Regional offices, States and other stakeholders.
NARRATIVES SHALL BE NO LONGER THAN 10 TOTAL PAGES. Please include a narrative on your capabilities to provide technical support to EPA in assessing and implementing the NPL and discuss any questions/concerns you identify in the DRAFT SOW that need to be addressed/corrected; additional information such as brochures, resumes, and other industry information is not included in the 10-page limitation.
Please include the following information in your response/narrative: (1) Company name, address, and point of contact information; (2) Identification and verification of the company's business status (i.e. Large, Small, Certified HubZone, 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, or Women-Owned Business; (3) Descriptions of Previous experience within the previous five (5) years on projects considered similar in technical scope and complexity to the proposed EPA project. Please include dates of work, references, project costs, and complexity of the projects; (4) A statement on the portion of the work that will be self-performed on this project, and how it will be accomplished; (5) A statement regarding a thorough review of the SOW and any questions/concerns that need to be addressed for the final document.
This market survey is to determine whether or not this project should be set-aside for small businesses or a small business subcategory based on the responses received. If you have any questions, please contact Miranda Smith, Contract Specialist, at smith.miranda@epa.gov. This is NOT a solicitation and does not constitute any commitment by the Government. Responses to this sources sought notice will be utilized by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested sources must respond to future announcements separately from responses to this market survey.
|