Aerial Burn Sources Sought

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE CONTROL NUMBER: PANMCC-20-P0000-012031 THIS IS A Sources Sought Notice ONLY. The U.S. Government desires to procure a Fully Contractor-Operated and Maintained Exclusion Use Helicopter to Support Government Natural Resources Mission on a small business set-aside basis, provided 2 or more qualified small businesses respond to this sources sought synopsis with information sufficient to support a set-aside. Be advised that the U.S. Government will not be able to set aside this requirement if 2 or more small businesses do not respond with information to support the set-aside. We encourage all small business concerns, in all socioeconomic categories (including, 8(a) Business Development Program, Small Disadvantage Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Women-Owned Small Business concerns), to identify their capabilities in meeting the requirement at a fair market price. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ, IFB or RFP in the future. This notice does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service. Further, the U.S. Government is not seeking quotes, bids or proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals in response to this sources sought notice. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice. Submittals will not be returned to the responder. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future RFQ or IFB or RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Governmentwide Point of Entry. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor the Governmentwide Point of Entry for additional information pertaining to this requirement. The anticipated NAICS code(s) is: 115310, size standard $8 million. A need is anticipated for a Fully Contractor-Operated and Maintained Exclusion Use Helicopter to Support Government Natural Resources Mission which is currently being fulfilled through current contract # W9124M-18-D-0003. Attached are the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) and Performance Requirements Summary (PRS). Key Tasks 1. Government personnel will determine helicopter mission, start and stopping times for ignition, grid spacing, and other parameters. Pilot shall decide if conditions are safe for the proposed flight. Pilot and aircraft shall be available on a one-hour notice or at the time specified by the government. 2. The pilot and the government personnel will confer on the mission to settle logistics, method of operation and other details. 3. Flight time for contractor payment purposes shall be determined by the engine hour meter. The pilot and government personnel will record and initial start and stop times to the nearest 1/10th hour on a form sheet. The start time shall be when the helicopter takes off from WAAF. Stop time will be when the helicopter has landed. Time shall be recorded to the nearest 1/10th hour on a form sheet initialed or signed by the pilot and the government employee. The original flight ticket will be supplied to the COR and payment will be invoiced in accordance to the original flight tickets. 4. Government personnel will be responsible for selection of the burning site, coordination with the military (except Marne Radio and/or Wright Tower) and other users of the site, delineating the burning site by pre-burning or other means, informing the pilot where to position the helicopter for the first run, and the spacing required between subsequent flight lines. The pilot is responsible for maintaining the specified distance between flight lines. The pilot (Contractor) is not responsible for fires that escape from the burn site to the undesignated areas. 5. Government personnel may ride in passenger seats to help navigate, make course corrections while aiding the pilot in staying on flight lines, observing wildfires and similar duties. 6. Flights shall be terminated at any time by the pilot when weather conditions or mechanical conditions are unsafe. Flights shall be terminated by government personnel when weather conditions adversely affect the prescribed burn, when military use restricts the airspace, when the prescribed burn endangers other ground areas or users of the burning site or when government personnel deem the flight unsafe or no longer necessary. 7. Flights may be made for government personnel to check the progress of burns, to assess the damage of previous burns, or to check wildfires on or within the GFC Cooperative Firefighting Area adjacent to Fort Stewart. Flight time will be in accordance with paragraph 5.4 above except burning attachments will not normally be used. 8. Contractor shall be required to complete forms listed below and secure written approval through WAAF Base Operations or Hunter Army Airfield before 1 December each year (telephone: WAAF: 912-435-3065 Hunter Army Airfield: 912-315-5110) to conduct flights on Ft. Stewart/HAAF: 8.1 DA Form 2400 (Certificate of Insurance) 8.2 DA Form 2401 (Civil Aircraft Landing Permit) 8.3 DA Form 2402 (Hold Harmless Agreement) 9. The FIRB is responsible for submitting and canceling flight plans with WAAF or relay to Wright Tower/Marne Radio to alert Air Traffic Control of proposed departure times. 10. Pilot will establish radio communications with Air Traffic Control (Wright Tower or Marne Radio) prior to departure from the area. (Telephone contact may be made with Air Traffic Control at 435-3065.) 11. Pilot will have a discrete beacon code permanently assigned by Wright Air Traffic Control and squawk code prior to departure to allow rapid identification. 12. Contractor will be expected to comply with FS Regulation 95-1(Aviation General Provisions and Local Flying Rules). 13. Government personnel and pilot shall wear PPE to include Nomex clothing and flight helmet during all prescribed burning and fire suppression operations. 14. Quality Assurance Inspection will be performed on all equipment as determined by the government COR. List other key criteria that are critical for capability, without which the small business concern is not capable. 1. A pilot and/or alternate with a minimum of 1500 hours helicopter experience with 500 hours of air taxi experience (FAR Part 135), 500 hours of aerial application (FAR Part 137); and at least 100 hours of PSD experience. The helicopter must pass an annual FAR Part 135 inspection. Not more than three pilots (one primary and two alternates) will be used each year (1 August - 31 July). The Contractor must provide pilots log books to verify experience prior to any flights conducted by the pilot. All pilots must be approved by the COR prior to any changes in personnel. 2. One helicopter equivalent to or above a Bell 206L Long Ranger with: Minimum 4- place passenger/pilot seating, minimum of one single turbine engine with a minimum of 640 shaft horsepower and must be capable of carrying a Premo MK III PSD machine, eight extra boxes of plastic spheres for ignition operations, and pilot with two government employees on a burning flight or carry pilot plus up to four government personnel on an inspection flight. 3. Alternate pilot if primary pilot cannot fly for any reason for an expected 24-hour period or longer. The alternate pilot shall be onsite and ready to fly within 24 hours after the primary pilot becomes unavailable. The alternate pilot shall remain on duty until the primary pilot returns. Access to a replacement helicopter if primary helicopter cannot fly due to maintenance or repair problems for an expected 24-hour period or longer. The replacement aircraft should be ready to use within 24 hours after the primary helicopter becomes unserviceable. The replacement helicopter shall remain in service until the primary helicopter returns to duty. 4. On board, dash-mounted radio for the pilot to communicate with WAAF Control Tower and/or Marne Radio at frequencies 126.25 MHz and 127.35 MHz and/or HAAF Tower, 124.975 mhz, HAAF BASOPS: 126.2 respectively. Contractor must comply with Marne Radio and/or Wright Tower requirements, i.e., notification when entering or leaving Fort Stewart air space, stops for fueling, etc. Notification on the Forestry radio net is not acceptable, except in emergencies or aircraft radio failure. Two fully operational Premo MK III PSD machines, one in the helicopter with one spare in case of mechanical failure and sufficient ethylene glycol to inject 300,000 balls. (Government will furnish PSD balls). The PSD machines should be identical. Special Elements 1. The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and any other items or non-personal services necessary to perform aerial prescribed burning on Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, as defined in this Performance Work Statement (PWS), except for those items specified as government furnished property and services. The Contractor shall perform in accordance with (IAW) the terms and conditions of the contract and consistently with the established standards in this PWS and contract. 2. The Contractor shall utilize a PSD ignition system compatible with the aircraft to prescribed burn ranges and timberland on Fort Stewart. The PSD system will ignite ground fuel on a grid system with spots located from 30 to 100 feet apart as prescribed by the aerial Firing Boss at the prescribed burning site. 3. The Contractor shall be responsible for igniting the grid pattern with an accuracy of +/-20% at a ground speed of 60 M.P.H. with ground winds 20 M.P.H. or less. 4. The contractor may occasionally be required to operate on Townsend Bombing Range or Fort Jackson, SC, 1-5 days a year for prescribed burning or wildfire reconnaissance. The helicopter will return to MidCoast Regional Airport at Wright Army Airfield (WAAF) at the end of each day. 5. The contractor shall develop, implement and maintain a system to inspect their services and equipment to ensure compliance with PWS requirements, and applicable laws and regulations. It shall specify tasks or equipment to be inspected on a scheduled or unscheduled basis, the manner in which inspections are to be conducted, and the titles of the individuals who will perform the inspections. 6. The contractor shall keep records on-site of all inspections and maintenance conducted by the Contractor and any necessary corrective action taken. These documents shall be available for inspection by the Government during the term of the contract. In response to this sources sought, please provide: 1. Name of the firm, point of contact, phone number, email address, DUNS number, CAGE code, a statement regarding small business status (including small business type(s)/certifications(s) such as SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.) and the corresponding NAICS code. 2. Identify whether your firm is interested in competing for this requirement as a prime contractor or not. Identify subcontracting, joint ventures or teaming arrangement that will be pursued, if any. 3. Identify what percentage of work will be performed by the small business prime contractor and all similarly situated entity subcontractors. Note: A similarly situated entity subcontractor is a small business concern subcontractor that is a participant of the same SBA program that qualified the prime contractor as an eligible offeror and awardee of the contract. 4. Identify type(s)/certifications(s) such as SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.) of the proposed subcontractors because the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 amended in 2016 deems work done by similarly situated entities not to be subcontracted work for purposes of complying with the limitations on subcontracting requirement. 5. Information in sufficient detail regarding previous experience (indicate whether as a prime contractor or subcontractor) on similar requirements (include size, scope, complexity, timeframe, government or commercial), lead time for implementation, pertinent certifications, etc., that will facilitate making a capability determination. 6. Information to help determine if the requirement is commercially available, including pricing information, basis for the pricing information (e.g., market pricing, catalog pricing), delivery schedules, customary terms and conditions, warranties, etc. 7. Identify how the Army can best structure these contract requirements to facilitate competition by and among small business concerns. 8. Identify any condition or action that may be having the effect of unnecessarily restricting competition with respect to this acquisition. Please contact the MICC Advocate for Competition, Scott Kukes, at scott.d.kukes.civ@mail.mil or 210-466-2269, if you believe that this action is unreasonably restricting competition. Include the subject of the acquisition, this announcement, and the MICC POC information from the FedBizOpps notice. Provide the specific aspects that unreasonably restrict competition and the rationale for such conclusion. 9. Recommendations to improve the approach/specifications/draft PWS/PRS to acquiring the identified items/services.