PHMSA's Pipeline Safety Technical Expertise Support Requirement

** This synopsis was last updated on Monday, February 9, 2009. Updates are listed at the end of this Description. ** The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration intends to solicit, negotiate, and award a competitive IDIQ contract for technical expertise support services in the following three program areas: Program Area 1: Creating and Disseminating Integrity Management Knowledge The Contractor must provide necessary technical, management, and administrative services to support PHMSA in generating and promoting knowledge to IM decision makers. This initiative is intended to increase PHMSA's and pipeline stakeholders awareness of new technology, effectiveness of consensus standards incorporated into Parts 192-195 of PHMSA's regulatory program, and to organize and conduct selected PHMSA public events and growing need in assessing quality from multiple program outputs. Program Area 2: Cross Border and International issues and Frontier Region Assessments PHMSA's cross border coordination is growing through a recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)/Arrangement with the Canadian National Energy Board. Understanding and quantifying differences between North American pipeline operations is important before an implementation strategy for harmonizing IM inspections and audits and consistent application of consensus standards is created. Challenges also exist in frontier regions (i.e., Arctic) where identification and quantification of information to PHMSA decision makers is greatly desired. Program Area 3: Technical Support during Pipeline Emergencies Major pipeline failures and natural disasters can occur. Immediately after these events, PHMSA emphasizes significant attention to technical and regulatory detail so appropriate corrective action orders are generated rapidly. In some cases, on-site collection of technical and photo details is required so mission critical actions are not delayed. This is a competitive small business set-aside under the NAICS Code 541690 with a small business size standard of $7.0 million. The period of performance will be for one base year with four possible option years. ** UPDATED AS OF FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2009 ** (1) Total estimated value of the requirement is $2.4 million (over a possible five-year period of performance). (2) Estimated issue date of the solicitation package will be on or around January 23, 2009, with an estimated closing response date on or around February 25, 2009. Edits include: -- Changed title of Program Area 1. -- Removed reference to contract award date. ** UPDATED AS OF MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2009 ** (1) The solicitation package was uploaded on Monday, February 9, 2009. Please download and review the solicitation package for all pertinent details related to this procurement, including closing response due date and time. (2) Offerors are responsible for downloading all issued amendments, if any. (3) No additional updates will be made to this synopsis, except for updating the Response Date, if necessary.