C--INDEFINITE DELIVERY CONTRACT FOR A-E SERVICES FOR CORE DRILLING AND LABORATORY TESTING WITHIN THE FLORIDA BOUNDARIES OF THE JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT, PUERTO RICO, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, AND THE CARIBBEAN AREA

*** CONTRACTOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CAN BE VIEWED BY CLICKING THE "ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION" LINK BELOW *** 1. CONTRACT INFORMATION: These contracts are being procured in accordance with the Brooks A-E Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. Firms will be selected for negotiation based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work. See Numbered Note 24 for general information on the A-E selection process. The services will consist of core drilling and geotechnical subsurface sampling via continuous and/or standard SPT techniques, large diameter coring within rock units, sonic drilling, vibracoring, field and in situ testing, geophysical site investigations, field and laboratory testing of materials (including construction Q/A testing), chemical analytical laboratory testing, site preparation, and establishing coordinate locations for projects located within the Florida boundaries of the Jacksonville District, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Caribbean area. The primary purpose of these proposed contracts are to provide services for projects located within the geographic boundaries of the Jacksonville District. Secondarily, these contracts may be used to provide services within the geographic boundaries of the other U.S. Army Corps of Engineers districts within the South Atlantic Division. The contractor will have the right to refuse orders for services to be performed outside the geographic boundaries of the Jacksonville District. North American Industrial Classification System code is 541330, which has a size standard of $4,500,000 in average annual receipts. It is the intent of the Government to initially award two (2) contracts, one (1) contract from the 8(a) set aside and one (1) Small Business set aside. However, if there are no highly qualified 8(a) small businesses, the award will be made from the highly qualified small business firms. No one firm will receive more than one award as a result of this solicitation. Only firms considered highly qualified will be awarded a contract. Indefinite delivery contracts will be negotiated and awarded from this solicitation with subsequent work issued by negotiated firm-fixed-price task orders. This announcement will result in up to two (2) awards. Criteria used in allocating task orders among contracts include performance and quality of deliverables under current task orders, current capacity to accomplish the order in the required time, specialized experience, equitable distribution of the work among the contractors, and other relevant factors. The contracts will be for a period of one year from date of award, with options to extend for four additional years; not to exceed a total of five years. While the estimated dollar amount per year is $1,000,000.00, the actual obligation per year may be greater than or less than the $1,000,000.00. Maximum order limit is $5,000,000 for the life of the contract, including options. The Director of Defense Procurement has issued a final rule requiring that contractors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database before receiving a contract from any activity of the Department of Defense. The rule authorizes contracting officers to reject offers from contractors that have not registered. For more information, visit the CCR website at http://www.ccr.gov. You must also be registered in Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) in order to receive an award from this solicitation. The ORCA website is located at http://orca.bpn.gov. Contractors submitting an offer as a joint venture must provide a written copy of the joint venture agreement with the initial proposal. The joint venture agreement must be signed by all parties and will be subject to review by Office of Counsel. If an 8(a) small business joint venture is contemplated, approval by the Small Business Administration will be required and the joint venture agreement must comply with the applicable requirements of 13 CFR Part 124. The joint venture must be registered in CCR as a joint venture in order for an award to be made. In addition, all documents and future documents (task orders, etc.) must be signed by all parties. Your attention is directed to FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting which states in part: At least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern. 2. PROJECT INFORMATION: Services will include core drilling and geotechnical subsurface sampling via continuous and/or standard SPT techniques, large diameter coring within rock units, sonic drilling, vibracoring, field and in situ testing, geophysical site investigations, field and laboratory testing of materials (including construction Q/A testing), chemical analytical laboratory testing, site preparation, and establishing coordinate locations. Use of automatic hammers and strict adherence to calibration requirements will be required. Use of manual hammers with appropriate calibration will be accepted by exception only and must be approved in advance. Maximum possible recovery of sampled materials is mandatory. A geologist or geotechnical engineer, knowledgeable in the geology of Florida, must observe all drilling operations and prepare detailed field logs to document sampling procedures and materials recovered. A registered surveyor must validate all coordinate locations and elevations obtained. Firms will be required to maintain, either in-house or through association with qualified subcontractors, Corps of Engineers validated geotechnical laboratory testing facilities for each test type during the performance period of the basic contract and all task orders. Firms will be required to submit documentation confirming that it has obtained or is in the process of obtaining Corps of Engineers validation of geotechnical laboratory testing facilities for this contract at time of contract award. No task orders will be issued until Corps of Engineers validation of geotechnical laboratory testing facilities has been successfully completed. The chemical analytical laboratory performing chemical analysis of environmental samples must participate in USEPA's National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) and be accredited by the State of Florida's accrediting authority, Department of Health, where applicable. The analytical laboratory must be capable of analyzing environmental samples utilizing USEPA-derived analytical methods and have a sound quality assurance program. The analytical laboratory must also be capable of implementing project specific QA/QC procedures as outlined in the Quality Assurance Systems Requirements of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (available from http://www.evergladesplan.org/pm/qaot_plan.aspx ) and prepare data deliverables in the format specified in http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/clp/overview.htm and ftp://ftp.saj.usace.army.mil/pub/ or www.lab-data.com for electronic data sets. Firms will be required to provide electronic data contingent upon the type of project, including ADaPT Electronic Data Deliverables (AEDD), Automated Data Review (ADR), or MS Excel Software. The Government may at any time conduct audits (including requests for pertinent data or information) to confirm compliance with the specified chemical analytical laboratory requirements. A summary geotechnical report including an expert opinion and geotechnical recommendations will be required as part of each assignment. 3. SELECTION CRITERIA: The selection criteria are listed below in descending order of importance (first by major criterion and then by each sub-criterion). Criteria a-f are primary. Criteria g-h are secondary and will only be used as "tie-breakers" among firms that are essentially technically equal. a. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence. Firms shall demonstrate specialized experience, expertise, competence, and professional qualifications in the tasks and specialties listed below. (1) Drilling Firms shall clearly demonstrate specialized experience and expertise in the following field data collection procedures: Standard Penetration Testing (SPT); rock coring; sonic drilling; vibracoring; wash probing; undisturbed sampling; test pits; monitoring well and piezometer installations. Firms shall clearly demonstrate specialized expertise in varied field conditions including: upland, swamp (partially inundated or tidally inundated), on water, and unusual or difficult access situations. Firms must demonstrate experience obtaining site access (rights of entry, site clearing, and heavy equipment operation); and establishing coordinate locations (horizontal and vertical) on land and in water. (2) Geotechnical Laboratory Testing Firms shall clearly demonstrate specialized experience and expertise in the following laboratory analyses: Index Testing (grain size distribution, carbonate content, Atterberg limits, moisture content, specific gravity, and organic content); triaxial tests; consolidation; compaction tests; permeability tests; and unconfined compressive strength testing. (3) In Situ and Field Testing Firms shall clearly demonstrate specialized experience and expertise in the following in situ and field data collection procedures: Cone Penetration Testing (CPT); other in situ and field data collection procedures (Dilatometer Testing (DMT), Vane Shear Testing (VST), and Pressuremeter Testing (PMT)); field data collection procedures (recharge tests, slug tests, percolation tests); and aquifer testing (drawdown (specific capacity), well casing pressure, Aquifer Performance Tests (APT)). (4) Geophysical Investigations Firms shall clearly demonstrate experience in the following geophysical methods and technologies: seismic (reflection, refraction, crosshole, and tomography); electrical (self-potential, resistivity, and induced polarization); ground penetrating radar (GPR); and borehole logging (spontaneous potential, resistivity, electrical, natural gamma, gamma-gamma, neutron, caliper, temperature, flow meter, sonic, and borehole camera). (5) Chemical Analytical Laboratory Testing Firms shall clearly demonstrate, either in-house or through association with qualified subcontractors, specialized experience and expertise in the following: chemical analytical laboratory testing (microbiological, organic, inorganic, and radiochemical analyses). Chemical analytical laboratory facilities must demonstrate participation in the NELAP program and be accredited by the State of Florida's accrediting authority, Department of Health, for the methods, analyses, and matrices grouped above. Chemical analytical laboratory facilities must demonstrate experience working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and utilizing QA/QC Data Validation Software-ADaPT Electronic Data Deliverables (AEDD). b. Professional Qualifications. A resume is required for key personnel, showing relevant education, training, registration, and certifications. Note: one individual possessing the required expertise of more than one discipline is acceptable but the resume must clearly demonstrate meeting the required length of experience of each discipline. Firms must have, either in-house or through association with qualified subcontractors, adequate staff with specialized experience and knowledgeable in the geology of Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Caribbean Area, to perform the work in the required time. (1) Registered Professionals: Key personnel must have a bachelors or masters degree from an accredited university in geology, physical science, engineering, geomatics, land surveying, or related field. Key personnel must have a professional license in Geology, Engineering or Land Surveying. The minimum number of key personnel required and minimum years experience is shown in parentheses for the following disciplines: a registered geologist (1 - 5 years of recent experience), a registered geotechnical engineer (1 - 5 years of recent experience), and a registered surveyor (1 - 5 years of recent experience). (2) Other Professionals: The minimum number of key personnel required and minimum years experience is shown in parentheses for the following discipline: drillers (2 - 3 years of recent experience). c. Equipment Available to the Firm. Firms must have all necessary drilling equipment, including but not limited to: drill rigs; amphibious or track-mounted drill rigs; floating plant for protected waters; in situ testing equipment; geophysical equipment; and survey equipment. Firms must indicate whether the equipment is owned or leased. For drill rigs, firms must indicate whether drill rigs are equipped with automatic or manual hammers. d. Past Performance. Firms must demonstrate its past performance in accomplishment of similar work. Firms must submit information for current relevant contracts and subcontracts started or completed within the past 5 years (measured from the date of this synopsis), including the name, address, and telephone number of references. Firms may include supporting information in the proposal, such as letters of commendation from clients on past performance on recent similar contracts, and include information on problems encountered in prior contracts and discuss actions taken to remedy unsatisfactory performance. Past performance will be reviewed on DoD and other contracts with respect to cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules, as determined from ACASS and other sources. e. Capacity to Accomplish the Work. Firms must have the capacity to commence work and accomplish it in a timely manner once a notice to proceed is issued and accomplish it in accordance with scheduled completion dates. The Prime firm shall clearly demonstrate at least minimal drilling capabilities of one drill rig, an experienced drill crew, and at least one recent project example. f. Knowledge of the Locality. Firms must clearly demonstrate recent project experience within Florida. The following secondary criteria will be used as tiebreakers, if necessary: g. Geographic Proximity. Location of the firm in the general geographical area of Florida. h. Equitable Distribution of DoD Contracts. Volume of DoD A-E contract awards in the last 12 months, with the objective of effecting an equitable distribution of DoD A-E contracts among qualified firms, including small business and small disadvantaged business. 4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested firms having the capabilities to perform this work must submit one copy of SF 330 Part I, for the proposed combined team (firm and joint venture and all subcontractors), and one separate copy of SF 330 Part II for the firm or joint venture and each subcontractor to the above address not later than 4:00 P.M. on the response date indicated above. Submittals received after this date and time will not be considered. Solicitation packages are not provided. This is not a request for proposal. Verbal requests for information must be directed to the contract specialist POC appearing in the synopsis. Collect calls cannot be accepted. Written requests for explanation must be sent to the person identified as the contract specialist and may be sent via facsimile to +1 (555) 000-0000, inquires and requests that are directed to any other person may not be relayed to the proper person and; therefore, may not be answered. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or other presentations beyond those sufficient to present a complete and effective response to this announcement are not desired. All firms responding to this announcement MUST identify in which category they are submitting. All firms must state the words (8(a)) or (small business) after the solicitation number on the SF 330 Part I, A, Block 3. A separate response (SF 330) MUST be submitted for each category in which the firm wants consideration. Responses to this announcement should be in writing only; telephone calls and personal visits are discouraged. The required forms shall be submitted to the following address: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CESAJ-EN-TA, 701 San Marco Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32207-8175, or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CESAJ-EN-TA, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019. NOTE: If the offeror intends to hand deliver the offer, access to this building is controlled by security personnel. Visitors requiring access must present a drivers license, current passport, or similar positive identification. Facsimile copies are not acceptable. Security personnel are neither Government employees nor Government contractor employees. For purposes of determining whether an offer is late, delivery into the hands of security personnel will not constitute delivery to the Government. In order to ensure delivery to the Government, the person that hand-delivers the offer should call the contract specialist whose name appears in the procurement and ask the specialist to send someone to the security desk to take possession of the offer.