Pinole Shoal Channel Fish Entrainment Monitoring

This announcement is a Sources Sought notice (market survey); this is not a request for proposal (RFP). This announcement is for information and planning purposes only and is not a commitment by the government, implied or otherwise, to issue a solicitation or award a contract. The purpose of this sources sought notice is to determine interested parties, socioeconomic status availability, and capabilities for fish entrainment monitoring during hopper dredging activities in San Francisco Bay. The government intends to use the sources sought responses to make an appropriate acquisition decisions for this hopper dredge entrainment monitoring. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), San Francisco District, has a need for fish entrainment monitoring services onboard the government-owned hopper dredging vessel Essayons during the upcoming dredging episode at Pinole Shoal Channel for a period of 15 to 18 days. Fish entrainment monitoring will be conducted to identify entrained fishes and invertebrates, as well as other potential hopper dredging effects on fish, with particular interest in delta smelt and other small fishes. Delta smelt are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act and as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act. Entrainment monitoring is expected to take place sometime between late October and late November, 2017. Once dredging is complete, a report shall be prepared detailing the number and species of entrained fishes and invertebrates, as well as the location of entrainment and other aspects of the dredging. The report shall be submitted within 30 days following dredging. The contractor shall provide information regarding the services of four biological monitors, including one lead fisheries biologist as described below; and three fisheries technician assistants as described below. The contractor shall also provide all equipment necessary to adequately monitor fish entrainment and preserve fish, including, but not limited to long-handled nets to remove entrained fish from the hopper, plastic bags and appropriate equipment to preserve special status fishes, and other equipment necessary to properly identify fishes and invertebrates. Lead Fisheries Biologist The lead fisheries biologist will oversee the fish entrainment monitoring operations, including managing the monitoring team. The lead fisheries biologist will have scientific collecting and Section 2081(a) permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). This person will be experienced in coordinating field studies and must be considered a qualified delta smelt biologist by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The lead fisheries biologist must be proficient at identifying delta smelt, other San Francisco Bay-Delta fishes, and invertebrates. The lead fisheries biologist will prepare and conduct a pre-monitoring threatened and endangered fish species educational program for all persons working on board the Essayons, which includes at least two training events to accommodate all members of two different dredging crews. This educational program will include information regarding: a. Listed species status under federal and state Endangered Species Acts, including legal protection, recovery efforts, and project-specific protective measures; b. Biology and general behavior of threatened and endangered fishes that may be found in the area during dredging (e.g., delta smelt; Central Valley Chinook salmon, green sturgeon, longfin smelt); b. Distribution and habitat requirements of special status species; c. Sensitivity of special status species to human activities; e. Dredging best management practices and fish protection measures (e.g., priming within less than 3 feet of the channel bottom, doors on drag head to remain closed, move to another area, etc.) shall be maintained on the Essayons. Three Assistant Fisheries Technician Three assistant fisheries technicians will be onboard the Essayons and will be managed by the lead fisheries biologist in monitoring the dredge slurry for the presence of fish with particular interest in delta smelt. Entrainment Monitoring Monitoring will occur 24 hours per day, every day the dredge is operating in San Francisco Bay. This includes 20 hours of monitoring every day plus 4 hours for recorded data input for the duration of active dredging. Due to uncertainty regarding sea conditions, the exact dredging dates during these months are currently unknown. The USACE will attempt to provide the contractor at least 2 weeks' notice regarding the schedule; however, the biological monitors will need to be on-call and personnel be able to board the Essayons and being monitoring within 24 hours of a request. Room and Board will be provided onboard the Essayons for the duration of monitoring. The starting and ending position for each hopper load will be plotted onto National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) nautical charts to provide a graphic depiction of the dredging locations. Threatened and Endangered Species Observation Protocol i. If a suspected delta smelt or other federal or state threatened or endangered species re entrained by the hopper dredge, observed dead or alive in the hopper or in the waters surrounding the dredge area, the lead biologist shall first verify that the alleged fish is the species identified by the assistant biologists. ii. If verification that the species is a state or federal threatened or endangered species, the lead biologist shall immediately inform the captain and the USACE technical point of contact. iii. The lead biologist will also investigate to determine if any activity is out of compliance with on-board minimization measure to avoid or minimize impacts to protected fishes. iv. Compliance with minimization measures will be evaluated by the lead biologist, captain of the Essayons, and USACE technical point of contact. The afore-mentioned will determine whether any different or additional measure(s) are necessary to avoid or minimize any further entrainment. v. An incident report will be prepared and submitted via email to the USACE technical point of contact within 24 hours. The incident report will document the date, time, location, activity, special status species information (e.g., species, total length, damage to body), name of person collecting the data, names of persons notified of the special status species observation, photographs, and summary of the determination. The small business size standard for this NAICS Code is 541620 for environmental consulting services. The small business size standard for this NAICS is $15 million. The government anticipates awarding one (1) firm-fixed price services contract. The period of performance is anticipated to be October 2017 through January 2018; with field monitoring occurring between late-October through end of November, 2017. The estimated price range for this project is $150,000.00 to $250,000.00. ? SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE 1. Point of contact name, email address, and phone number. 2. CAGE code and DUNS number if available. 3. In the event that the organization is a small business, state the category of small business, such as 8(a), HUBZone, veteran owned small business, woman owned small business, or SDVOSB. 4. Statement of capability (SOC) - send a statement demonstrating: a. Skills, equipment, and personnel required to perform the specified type of services are available, or can become available if the contract is awarded. b. Recent and relevant experience in identifying delta and longfin smelt and other small fish species in San Francisco Bay. c. The lead fisheries biologist will have scientific collecting and Section 2081(a) permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and experienced in coordinating field studies that include sampling and identification of special status species and other San Francisco Bay fishes, including delta smelt. d. The lead fisheries biologist must also be considered a qualified delta smelt biologist by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Anticipated solicitation issuance date in September or early October, 2017. At this time, a solicitation does not exist; therefore, offers shall not be accepted. An official synopsis citing the solicitation number will be issued on Federal Business Opportunities (www.fbo.gov) and inviting firms to register electronically to receive a copy of the solicitation when it is issued. All interested contractors or potential offers having the skills and capabilities necessary to perform the described services above should notify this office in writing by email or mail by 2:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on September 1, 2017. Your response is limited to 10 single-sided pages total, using 12 point font. Send email responses with "W912P7-17-S-0012 Pinole Shoal Fish Entrainment Monitoring" in the subject line to: Roberto.L.Escobedo@usace.army.mil and Linda.F.Hales@usace.army.mil. RESULTS INFORMATION Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Firms responding to this sources sought notice, who fail to provide all of the required information requested, will not be used to help the government make the acquisition decision, which is the intent of this sources sou