B99 or B100 Biodiesel for Vessels for the NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

Proposed Federal Business Opportunities - Sources Sought Notice This is NOT a solicitation announcement. This is a Sources Sought Notice and Request for Information Notice only. The purpose of this announcement is for market research purposes to determine if capable, businesses (large business or small businesses which include service disabled veteran-owned small business (SDBOSB), veteran-owned small business (VOSB), women-owned small business (WOSB), historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) businesses, 8(a) firms, small disadvantaged business (SDB) ) relative to North American Industry Classification system (NAICS) code 324110* are available to supply and deliver Biodiesel (B99 or higher) to support NOAA's Research Vessels located at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL). The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory is one of seven Federal research laboratories within the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research line office of NOAA. GLERL was formed in 1974 to provide a focus for NOAA's environmental and ecosystem research in the Great Lakes and coastal marine environments. An integral part of GLERL research is vessel operations. The Lake Michigan Field Station, in Muskegon, serves as home port for all of GLERL's research vessels throughout the Great Lakes. The GLERL fleet is currently comprised of three large vessels and six small boats. The large research vessels are R /V Laurentian, R/V 5501,and R/V Huron Explorer. Committed to playing a leadership role in environmental stewardship, GLERL's three large research vessels have operated petroleum-free since April 2006. They were the first ships in the U.S. fleet to operate without the use of petroleum products. The ships use 100 biodiesel for engine fuel, canola-based motor oil, and rapeseed-based hydraulic oil for its deck crane, winches, transmission, and steering gear. The government is providing a copy of the Draft Statement of Work to assist firms in determining whether they are capable or interested in this requirement. We are also interested in soliciting comments regarding the Draft Statement of Work. Any information will be considered by the government and may or may not be incorporated into the final document. Responses to this sources sought and request for information shall not constitute responses to any solicitation, which is not currently available. As stipulated in FAR 5.201, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No solicitation currently 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 be individually be notified of the results of any government assessments. The Government's evaluation of the capability statements received will factor into whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as a small business set-aside, full and open competition, or sole-source procurement. Firms that believe that they are capable and interested in providing these supplies may submit a capability statement or proposal which shall be considered by the agency. The capability statement shall be no more than ten (10) pages in length and shall address the following topics: - Organization's name, Address, Phone Number, Email, and Point of Contact Information - Brief summary describing your organization and how it fits into this requirement - Delivery Information. Advise if you deliver to our required locations; familiarity with deliver of B99 or greater; equipment; ability to fill the vessels; brief mention of quality standards or participation in BQ-9000; any limitations in regards number of gallons minimum or maximum; limitations on delivery due dates; ability to accept the government purchase card as a method of payment or EFT; any other pertinent commercial business practices not mentioned in the Statement of Work that is relevant if a contract is sought, if applicable. - Include your business size classification (e.g. large business, small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDB, SDVOSB, WOSB, VOSB, etc.) - Any other comments or suggestions on the Statement of Work not mentioned elsewhere, if applicable. Submissions will not be accepted after July 27, 2012, 4:00 PM CST. Electronic responses are required and shall be submitted to Joan Clarkston at contact@example.gov. All documentation shall become the property of the Government. Unless otherwise stated herein, no additional information is available. Information provided herein is subject to change and in no way binds the Government to solicit or award a contract. *NAICS Code Information - The petroleum refiner must be a concern that has no more than 1,500 employees nor more than 125,000 barrels per calendar day total Operable Atmospheric Crude Oil Distillation capacity. Capacity includes owned or leased facilities as well as facilities under a processing agreement or an arrangement such as an exchange agreement or a throughput. The total product to be delivered under the contract must be at least 90 percent refined by the successful binder from either crude oil or bona fide feedstocks.