|
THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE FOR CAPABILITIES STATEMENTS ONLY. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PROPOSALS. 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 if capable, qualified 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)) relative to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541620 - Environmental Consulting Services (size standard of $15,000,000 in gross annual receipts or income as defined in 13 CFR § 121.104) possess the capability to support EPA¿s Hazardous Ranking System (HRS) and National Priorities List (NPL) Technical Support requirement. 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 decision to solicit for a contract shall be solely within the Government's discretion. This sources sought notice 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 individually be notified of the results of any government assessments.
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. 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.).
DESCRIPTION
The intent of this notice is to request information from small business concerns for EPA¿s Hazard Ranking System and National Priorities List Technical Support. EPA is seeking market research into whether capable small business sources are able provide the technical and analytical services to provide support to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA¿s) Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) in assessing and implementing National Priorities List (NPL) activities.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), enacted on December 11, 1980, as amended, established broad authority for the Government to respond to problems posed by releases or threats of release of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Responsibilities under CERCLA include: Section 104, Response Authorities; and Section 105, National Contingency Plan.
CERCLA required the Federal Government to establish criteria for setting priorities among releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants. EPA responded by developing the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), a scoring system which serves as the primary decision tool for determining which sites are placed on the National Priorities List (NPL). The HRS evaluates four pathways of exposure: groundwater, surface water, soil exposure, and air. For each pathway, the HRS evaluates: (1) the likelihood of release to the media, (2) characteristics of waste (toxicity, quantity, etc.), and (3) targets (actual or potentially exposed receptors). Sites that score 28.5 or greater are eligible for placement on the NPL. The NPL is EPA¿s list of priority hazardous waste sites. Sites on the NPL are eligible for Federal funding to perform remedial actions.
For the purposes of this sources sought, the site assessment process consists of the evaluation and the 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 an HRS score, all of 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.
ESTIMATED LEVEL OF EFFORT (LOE):
The estimated level of effort for this requirement, in professional labor hours, is:
¿ 30,000 hours per year for a five (5) year contract
¿ 20,000 hours per year for two (2) one (1) year award terms
¿ 10,000 hours per year optional quantities ordered in increments for each Award term of the contract (Maximum potential seven (7) year LOE of 210,000 total hours).
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.
Please submit all Capability Statements by 4:00 P.M. EST on November 4, 2016 via the FedConnect portal.
All capability statements must:
1. Not exceed and will be restricted up to ten (10) single-sided pages in length.
2. Shall be electronically SUBMITTED THROUGH THE FEDCONNECT PORTAL. Any questions regarding the content of this announcement must be submitted through the FedConnect portal. You must register with FedConnect to submit documents, questions, and to view responses.
3. Include small business classification(s), e.g. Small Business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDB, SDVOSB, WOSB, VOSB, etc.
4. Address technical competencies and management/personnel experience relative to: (a) the key 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.
5. List references as well as demonstrate experience in conducting projects of similar size, scope, and complexity over the past 5 years.
6. 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.
7. 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 Government intends to consider all comments and the responsive capability statements when developing its final acquisition strategy. 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. 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 Jose Ortiz at Ortiz.jose@epa.gov.
|