MONTORING PRECIPITATION

The U.S. Department of Commerce and the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory in College Park, MD intend to award a purchase order (base and two (2) option years) to the University of Delaware School of Marine Sciences and Policy to service the Atmospheric Integrated Monitoring Network (AIRMoN) research site. In 1992, the Air Resources Laboratory began funding the (AIRMoN), a network designed to determine the effectiveness of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments in reducing deposition of various chemicals via atmospheric pathways and to address regional source-receptor issues. The wet deposition segment of the AIRMoN program is structured to answer many of the questions originally contemplated by MAP3S and mandated for NOAA to study as part of the Title IX of Clean Air Act Amendments. The University of Delaware station at Lewes, DE is a critical member of the A IRMoN precipitation network. In order to continue to generate useful data, the station must remain at the current location and must be managed by a competent operator who has unlimited access to the site. Moving the site would require at least one year of inter-comparison between the current site and the new site, followed by several months of data comparison and statistical comparison. A competent operator must follow all the approved protocols and be able to meet routine maintenance and troubleshooting requirements. Duties include: 1. Continue monitoring precipitation chemistry on a daily basis according to the methods specified by the AIRMoN Central Analytical Laboratory in Champaign, Illinois. This effort requires the following: a. Maintenance of the AIRMoN station located at the University of Delaware of Marine Science & Policy, in Lewes, DE, according to the NADP Site Selection and Installation Manual found at (http://nadp.sws .uiuc.edu/lib/archive/siteinst-a .pdf). 2. Operation of the Lewes, DE AIRMoN station according to the AIRMoN-wet site operator's manual found at (http://www .isws.illinois.edu/pubdoc/MP / ISWSMP- 184.pdf). a. Routine (at least weekly) maintenance of Aerochem Metris precipitation chemistry collector and manual & electronic precipitation gauges b. Collection of all precipitation samp les on a daily basis, 365 days per year c. Conductivity and pH analysis for all precip itation samples with greater than 50 ml volume d. Packaging and shipping of samples according to NOAA AIRMoN protocols at least once per week In addition, operators shall be called upon to participate in AIRMoN program development efforts through telephone conference calls or formal meetings and to participate in special field studies and equipment testing programs. The NAICS code for this requirement is 541990. The proposed contract action is for services for which the government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one known source. This sources sought is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all proposals received by closing date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Interested firms shall include, in writing, the company name, address, point of contact, telephone number, and business size; and a detailed capabilities statement. Submissions received in response to this notice shall be evaluated based on their ability and demonstrated past experience to meet the requirements described above. Interested persons should identify their interest and capabilities to respond to the requirement. Information must can be emailed to Sharon.walker@noaa.gov or sent via fax at 757-664-3845. Vendor must provide a DUNS number (http://www.dnb.com/us/) and register with the Systems for Award Management website (http://www.sam.gov/) to further qualify for this contract.