Lower Duwamish River/Portland Harbor NRDA

Sources Sought Notice The Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grant Office (AGO), Eastern Acquisition Division (EAD) located in Norfolk, Virginia, is conducting market research to determine potential sources capable of providing Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) support services for the Lower Duwamish River and the Portland Harbor needs described herein for the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). NOAA is seeking assistance to evaluate the effects of hazardous substance releases, exposure to natural resources, and injury to exposed natural releases, as they relate to the natural resources and associated services of interest to NOAA in support of the Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (DARRP) of the National Ocean Service, the Office of General Counsel, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. This information is sought for planning purposes only. The ultimate goal of a NRDA is to determine the appropriate type and amount of restoration to compensate the environment and public for injured natural resources and associated lost services as a result of incidents related to previously mentioned natural resources. The Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD), headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, will oversee this task order in consultation with the ARD program office in Seattle, Washington. No solicitation document exists at this time. Issuance of this Notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure these items or services or to issue a solicitation. In addition, the Government is under no obligation to pay for information submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice, and responses to this Notice cannot be accepted as offers to form a binding contract. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such. The intent of this announcement and the information provided in response to this Notice will assist the Government in identifying potential sources, including small businesses and socio-economic sources, capable and qualified to fulfill the requirements identified in this announcement. The General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) deemed most appropriate is 00CORP, The Professional Services Schedule: Special Item Number 899 -1, Environmental Consulting Services. The anticipated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code is 541620, "Environmental Consulting Services." The small business size standard for this NAICS code is $15 million. The nature of the work pertains to providing contract support services to support NRDA efforts which include, but are not limited to: (1) Develop a defensible strategy for documenting and quantifying injury; (2) Design and implementation of pathway, exposure, and injury studies; (3) Preparation of injury determination reports; (4) Provide support for injury quantification; (5) Preparation of restoration and compensation determination plans and reports of assessment; (6) Implement and manage the projects to ensure that they are consistent with the overall case strategy, project objectives, and NRDA requirements; (7) Facilitate interaction among scientific (natural sciences, economics, and resource restoration) disciplines and between legal and scientific perspectives by coordinating or leading conference calls and meetings, and proactively managing the effective interaction of studies towards a common goal/purpose; (9) Proactively coordinate the interaction and communication between natural resource agency trustee representatives and project stakeholders; (10) Provide services of consulting and/or testifying experts on behalf of NOAA in the event of litigation; and (11) Undertake all of the preceding in a manner that will readily support litigation. For informational purposes, a DRAFT Statement of Work (SOW) is attached to assist in gaining a more in-depth understanding of the overall needs. (Attachment A) Additionally, a list of Potential Responsible Parties (PRPs) is attached to assist sources in determining if their firm possesses any conflicts. (Attachment B) All sources that believe they have the capabilities to provide the required services must furnished detailed information concerning their capabilities in capability statement. Submitted Capability Statements shall include the following: (1) Company name and address (2) DUNS number (3) GSA Number and SIN (3) Type of business (e.g., large business, small business, 8(a), veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and/or women owned small business) as validated via the System for Award Management (SAM) (5) Company point of contact - name, phone, and e-mail address (6) Demonstrate capability by providing supporting document to show the following: (a) Depth and breadth to successfully manage, administer, coordinate and facilitate a task order of this nature based solely on internal resources, i.e., without need of subcontractors. (b) Working knowledge in dealing with oil and chemical spill response, cleanup/remedial work, and marine debris assessments. (c) Coordinating NRDA with Federal, State, and local agencies who serve as natural resource trustees and successfully addressing and resolving trustee-responsible party issues and conflicts. Provide a minimum of two examples. (d) Working knowledge in developing NRDA claims and litigating those claims when necessary under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and Oil Pollution Act. Describe knowledge in the context of litigation, e.g., expert witnesses, consulting experts, etc. Provide examples. (e) NOAA NRDA cases sometimes become the subject of litigation holds, including document preservation and production requirements. Describe record management procedures, specifically related to the following: 1) Internal procedures for communicating, implementing, and enforcing litigation holds, and 2) Internal procedures for segregating electronic documents, emails, etc., by case, client, and presence and/or absence of confidential business information. * For all the above, please provide references and reference contact information. Standard brochures and a reiteration of the information found in the draft of Statement of Work will not be considered a sufficient response to this notice. Interested sources shall submit an electronic copy of their Capability Statement to Tracy Trickett, Contract Specialist, at tracy.trickett@noaa.gov, no later than 9:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. Responses will not be returned. Any questions or responses to this notice shall be directed to Tracy Trickett via the email provided. No feedback will be provided regarding individual Capability Statements. Information received will be considered solely to make informed decisions regarding a potential procurement. No reimbursement for costs will be made associated with providing information in response to this announcement or follow-up information requests, if applicable.