C -- A&E Wetland Design Assistance

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Indiana is seeking qualified A&E firms to prepare engineering designs, engineering plans and provide engineering services for a wetland restoration on the Wilder WRP Project in Linton, IN. This federal project is located in southwest Indiana in Greene County. The site covers an area of about 6,000 acres of which approximately 4,000 acres are planned to be inundated for wetland restoration in 10 separate areas. In order to be qualified, a firm will be required to have extensive knowledge in wetland restoration, hydraulics, soil mechanics, and reinforced concrete. Design activities required may consist of but are not limited to the following: soil and geologic investigation, design of earthen levees, design of large inlet and outlet control structures, preparation of design reports, preparation of construction plans (drawings), preparation of construction specifications, preparation of cost estimates, preparation of bid schedules, and preparation of a performance time schedule for construction. The inlet and outlet control structure types may include reinforced concrete, corrugated metal, corrugated metal pipe or other as recommended. The firm will be required to perform engineering design activities in accordance with NRCS standards and certify that designs meet NRCS standards. A quality assurance plan will need to be developed for construction activities. All drawings will be computer generated in *.dwg format. Well documented electronic copies and original hard copies are to be furnished to NRCS. The estimated starting date for design work is April 2004 with the design being done in phases. The first design phase will have an estimated completion date of July 2004, with additional phases to follow. Selection Criteria 1. Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance (20%). Evaluation will be based upon the number of qualified personnel and their knowledge and level of experience associated with the type of work described above and their availability to perform work on this contract. 2. Specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required (40%). Evaluation will be based on the extent of directly related experience in performing engineering designs wetland restorations and other similar water resources projects; specialized education at the university level and all other applicable education, training and certifications. Consideration will be given to those firms with knowledge of and direct experience of wetland restorations and other similar water resources projects in the Midwest. Evaluation criteria will include experience using HEC-RAS, TR-20, following NRCS TR60 guidelines for complex hydrologic and hydraulic designs and following TR67 guidelines for the design of reinforced concrete for water resources structures. Examples of work shall be documented for review and described on SF-254 and SF-255. This work will be evaluated based on the complexity and the similarity to the work described above. 3. Capacity to accomplish the work (15%). Evaluation will be based on the number of personnel available in the disciplines necessary to accomplish the work described above, the quantity of existing work under contract by the firm and the schedules for completion of the work. 4. Past performance on contracts with government agencies and private industry (15%). Evaluation will be based on the firm's past experience with other government agencies and the private sector to perform the requirements described above in terms of cost control, quality of work and timeliness of performance under previous contracts. References with telephone numbers must be provided. 5. Location in general geographical area of the project and demonstrated knowledge of the locality of the project (10%). This Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) project will be awarded under an A&E Firm Fixed Price contract. Firms interested in providing these services and which meet the requirements described in this announcement are to submit 5 copies of Standard Form 254 and 255. Please submit forms to: USDA NRCS Attn: Marla Sparks, Contract Specialist 6013 Lakeside Blvd Indianapolis, IN 46278 All SF254's and SF255's must be received in this office no later than 4:00 p.m. on March 3, 2004.