Benefits Methods Development and Other Relevant Analyses for the Evaluation of Air Pollution Control Policies

The purpose of this Notice of Information is to state the Government's intent to execute an in-scope modification to Contract Number 47QFSA21D0002, awarded to Industrial Economics Inc, Inc on 03/12/2021, to increase the total Time and Material (T&M) task order ceiling by approximately <1% from its current total estimated value. This modification will add one language interpretation labor category and document translation materials. Background: The General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), Assisted Acquisition Services Division (AASD) provides acquisition assistance to Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), Durham, NC to procure environmental services within the context of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and related environmental statutes. The environmental services procured in this effort supports OAQPS's primary mission of preserving and improving air quality protective of public health and welfare in the United States. The objective of this contract is to support the development of methods and analyses in support of regulatory and policy development or proposed congressional legislation. These may include National Ambient Air Quality Standards, New Source Performance Standards, standards for air toxics, National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, Volatile Organic Compound rules, New Source Review, Regional Haze, Federal Operating Permit and Implementation Plan Rules, components of reports to Congress, and other regulatory standards to control air pollution (i.e., mobile source programs, regional body policy actions, and cross-media. In-Scope Determination: The Statement of Work states within section C.1 - Background that this effort will be performed within the context of the Clean Air Act (CAA) relevant Executive Orders (EOs); and international agreements and protocols. Section C.2 - Scope of Effort further details that - In terms of international agreements and protocols, the effort includes the development of methods and analysis in support of national and urban-scale air quality management. These may include health benefits assessment, laboratory analysis methodology, policy analysis, as well as support for international cooperation and communication product development. The EPA program office overlooked the need for language interpretation and document translation materials in the original pricing spreadsheet. After careful consideration, it is the Senior Contracting Officer's judgement that the proposed modification is within scope, would not have impacted the position of the offerors bid/no bid decision originally and would have been anticipated by the vendor community considering the original solicitation and pricing attachment. The need for language interpretation and translation is explicit to satisfy international work efforts, although the Statement of Work utilized generalized language to describe the international efforts. Accordingly, a modification (anticipated to be Mod 003) will be executed at the closing of this notice.