Privatization of the Wastewater Collection System at U.S. Navy Station Mayport, FL

This is a Sources Sought Notice (hereinafter "Notice"). This Notice is an essential step in determining market interest and feasibility in accordance with FAR Part 10 and is for information and planning purposes only. This Notice is solely for the Government's use as a market research tool. This Notice does not constitute a request for proposals, a solicitation or a request for quotes. If determined appropriate, then both a synopsis and a solicitation may be anticipated in the October 2019 timeframe. All responsible sources are encouraged to submit a response to this Notice. All information received will be considered. Failure to respond to this Notice does not preclude a firm from offering on any resultant solicitation; however, a lack of interest in this requirement may keep this effort from moving forward competitively. The potential opportunity for set-asides for small businesses and small disadvantaged businesses will be considered on the basis of the responses received. This Notice shall not be construed as a commitment or authorization to incur costs in anticipation of an award. The Government is not bound to make any awards under this Notice. Interested parties should provide a statement of interest on company letterhead by no later than 3:00 pm EST on July 26, 2019. Responses are preferred via email, but hard copies will also be accepted. If the statement of interest will be provided via hard copy, please notify the primary or secondary point of contact identified herein. At a minimum, the statement of interest shall address the following criteria: (1) capability and experience in the ownership and/or leasing, operation and maintenance of industrial waste treatment, advanced wastewater treatment plants, and/or wastewater collection system; (2) financial capacity with regard to leasing or ownership interest, expansion, and operation of a utility system; (3) understanding of any applicable state or local utility law or franchise requirements and capability of complying with such requirements; (4) understanding of the federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations and its familiarity and experience with environmental compliance procedures and regulations for the state of Florida; (5) a primary point of contact, including phone number and email address; (6) business size (other-than-small, small, or any subcategory of small business) relative to the NAICS code 221320; and (7) status as a regulated or non-regulated utility. If you are interested in this effort, please provide the information requested above to the DLA Energy Contracting Office. Requirement The Defense Logistics Agency Energy (DLA Energy) seeks to identify and obtain information from responsible sources in connection with the acquisition of utility services for the privatization of wastewater (NAICS 221320) at Naval Station Mayport, FL. Privatization is defined as the conveyance of a utility system to a municipal, private, regional, district or cooperative utility company or other entity. The conveyance may consist of all rights, title and interest of the United States in the utility system(s). Utility Privatization (UP) will be accomplished in accordance with 10 U.S.C. - 2688 - Utility Systems: Conveyance Authority. It is intended that privatization will reduce the Government's life cycle costs. The resulting privatization will include ownership, operation, and maintenance of the system. The new owner shall operate and maintain the system and provide utility services to the Government. The Contractor/System Owner shall furnish all management, supervision, permits, equipment, supplies, materials, transportation and any other incidental items or services required for the complete ownership and provision of utility services by the use of these utility systems being privatized, including operation, maintenance, repair, upgrades and improvements to the utility systems. All responsibility for maintaining reliable service, including such items as environmental compliance, maintenance costs, major system renovations, construction, equipment, manpower and overhead costs shall become the responsibility of the new utility system owner. Installation Description Established in 1942, Naval Station Mayport (NS Mayport) is a major United States Navy base located 7 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida at the mouth of the St. Johns River. It is adjacent to Atlantic Beach, Florida, covering 1,680 acres in Duval County. The Base contains a protected port that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ships' intermediate maintenance activity, and a military airfield with one asphalt-paved runway. The mission of NS Mayport is to sustain and enhance war-fighter readiness. NS Mayport has grown to become the third-largest naval surface fleet concentration area in the United States. NS Mayport's operational composition is unique, with a busy harbor capable of accommodating numerous ships and a runway capable of handling most any aircraft in the U.S. Department of Defense inventory. The NS Mayport wastewater system consists of all appurtenances physically connected to the collection system from the points of demarcation to the end of the wastewater treatment plant discharge pipe located in the St. Johns River. The system includes, but is not limited to, pipelines, manholes, lift stations, valves, meters, oil/water separators, industrial waste treatment, and a wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater utility system at NS Mayport provides wastewater collection, onsite treatment, and offsite disposal of biosolids for Base operations. Treated wastewater from the onsite wastewater treatment plant is discharged into the St. Johns River. The St. Johns River, Class III Marine waters, is permitted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). This permit lists the allowable concentrations of treated wastewater constituents for disposal and limits the discharge volume of treated water to 2.0 million gallons per day (MGD). The Class B biosolids produced at the wastewater treatment plant is disposed of offsite at a FDEP-permitted land application site. NS Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville currently share an aggregate discharge permit for select nutrients. Wastewater is treated in a wastewater treatment plant that was completed in 1962. The plant design capacity is 2.0 MGD. Due to the age and current treatment processes, the wastewater treatment plant cannot meet the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit discharge limits and accommodate high salinity discharge from ships. A new plant has been designed that will meet the NPDES permit discharge limits. Construction of a new plant will not start before a privatization contract will be awarded. The successful bidder will be required to comply with FDEP discharge limits. Secure Documents If sufficient interest is identified and this requirement proceeds in a competitive action, several of the solicitation documents will be posted as "secured" on the Federal Business Opportunity ("FedBizOpps" or "FBO") website. In order to view those documents, vendors will need to obtain special access. The process of obtaining access is somewhat lengthy, therefore all interested vendors are encouraged to begin that process as soon as possible. Instructions for obtaining access are provided below. Instructions for access to the FBO Secure Site: To access the secured, but unclassified, documents in the FBO system, vendors must follow these instructions: 1. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. For assistance with SAM, please contact the SAM help desk. Contact information is available at https://www.fsd.gov/. 2. Once registered in SAM, go to the FBO website at https://www.fbo.gov/ and log in. Verify your SAM registration within the FBO system. For assistance with FBO, please consult the FBO Vendor Guide, which is available at https://www.fbo.gov/downloads/FBO_Vendor_Guide.pdf. 3. After your SAM registration is verified in the FBO system, please follow the steps as outlined below: a) Begin by clicking on the secured document link, which should then provide you with the corresponding link for the DD Form 2345, Military Critical Technical Data Agreement. The DD2345 is also available at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/JCP/forms/DD2345Form.pdf. b) Fill out the DD 2345 and submit a hard copy of the original form, together with all required documentation, to the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS), U.S./Canada Joint Certification Program (JCP), at the address listed on the form. c) JCP will return an approved and signed certified form, which will include your certification and expiration date. Please note that delays may be incurred if forms and/or required documentation are incomplete or incorrect. d) For assistance with the DD2345 or to inquire about the acceptability of electronic provision of documentation, please contact the U.S./Canada Joint Certification Office, DLIS. Contact information is available at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp/team.aspx. DLA Energy is not involved in the approval process and cannot provide assistance with processing. e) Once approval is received, it can take up to 24 hours for the JCP information to reach all systems. 4. Once you receive the approved DD2345 from JCP and have verified your status on the JCP website, enter the FBO system and click on the secure document link. The FBO system will require you to enter your MPIN. If you are not prompted to enter a MPIN, please contact the FBO help desk. Contact information can be found at https://www.fsd.gov/. a) The MPIN is a mandatory data element created by the SAM registrant which must have nine characters [consisting of at least one letter (upper or lower case) and one number, with no spaces or special characters permitted] b) The MPIN allows access to related acquisition systems (i.e. SAM and PPIRS). It also validates access to sensitive, but unclassified, documents associated with a notice posted to FBO. 5. Following verification of the MPIN in FBO, vendors must then submit a request for explicit access to the secure documents through the FBO system by clicking on the secure document line, then clicking the "Request Explicit Access" button. Upon requesting explicit access in the FBO system, vendors should send an email notification to the DLA Energy personnel assigned to the procurement, so that they can approve the request in the FBO system. Vendors will receive an email once the access request has been approved by DLA Energy. Once the MPIN has been verified in the FBO system and explicit access has been granted, vendors will be able to enter the system and view the secure documents.