Response Action Contract III (RAC3) Set-Aside

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires professional architect and engineering services to support remedial planning and oversight activities in Region 9 which includes California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the Territories in the Pacific and Tribal Land. The services include site management; remedial investigation feasibility studies; engineering services to design remedial actions; engineering evaluation and cost analysis for non-time critical removal actions; construction management for implementing remedial actions and non-time critical removal actions, including issuing and managing subcontracts for construction of the selected remedy and engineering services in overseeing construction; enforcement support, including oversight of remedial investigations/feasibility studies, remedial design and remedial action, and negotiation support; and other technical assistance, including community relations, sampling and analysis support, and pre-design investigations. Services may include technical and management services supporting EPA's coordination and oversight of remedial actions where they are performed by a state, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or responsible parties identified in enforcement actions. The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) is 562910 with a small business size standard of 500 employees. This procurement envisions the award of one (1) Response Action Contract (RAC) under a small business set-aside. The contract will be fixed rate, Indefinite Delivery/ Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) award term contract. The base period of performance will be two (2) years, with award terms periods of two (2) year, three (3) years and three (3) years, for a potential total period of ten (10) years. Work will be issued by task orders. The estimated value of this proposed contract, including award terms, is $160,000,000.00. The contract will be awarded in accordance with FAR Part 36 and the Brooks Act Procurement procedures. Firms interested in responding to this announcement are invited to submit completed Standard Form 330 (SF 330) to the office shown below by 10:00am PDT on October 18, 2011. Responses must be received at the designated Region 9 location by the deadline, postmarks will not suffice. Responses to this announcement, including SF 330 and all attachments, shall not exceed twenty-six (26) separate pages, or fifty one (51) pages of text. No alterations to the SF 330 are permitted. The response shall be minimum of 10 point font, 8.5 X 11 only, no other size page(s) are allowed. This page limit does not include the cover letter, the front and back cover of the SF 330 or the table of contents. There is no page limitation for any individual section or portion of the SF 330 or attachment(s). Offerors shall follow the instructions for completing the SF 330. The Offerors shall organize the information so as to highlight responses to the technical Evaluation Factors. Offerors whose response exceeds the page limitation and do not comply with instructions will be considered non responsive. Submit one (1) original and six (6) copies, a total of seven (7), and one (1) electronic copy on disc of your response to the following address: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, Contracts Section: Attn: Zachary Slater, MTS-4-3, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. The content of electronic copies of the submission must be identical to the hard copy submitted in response to this synopsis request for SF 330s. The Government is not responsible for identifying inconsistencies between the two and may rely on either version at its discretion. All proposals will be evaluated in an identical manner and in accordance with specified evaluation factors. Pursuant to FAR 36.6, the source selection official has the latitude to consider selection of another of the ranked Offerers. In the event that firms propose under a joint venture agreement, both firms must demonstrate the ability to implement the requirements of the tasks described in the Statement of Work independently. This announcement is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). In accordance with FAR Part 36.6, following EPA's review of the SF 330, a "short list" of the most highly rated firms will be developed. Short listed firms will be referred to as "selected firms." Selected firms will be invited to participate in oral presentations. The specific details on the oral presentations will be provided to the selected firms. Selected Offerors should be aware that their overall rating depends on both written submissions and their oral presentations. Following oral presentations, the proposals will then be ranked and the source selection authority will make the final selection from among those firms. The most highly rated firm will be asked to submit a cost proposal, Conflict of Interest Plan, Quality Management Plan, and Representations and Certifications. The Offeror shall also be required to have an acceptable accounting system that allows for segregation and tracking of costs. There will be a pre-proposal conference held on September 20, 2011 via a webinar. Further information regarding the pre-proposal webinar will be posted at www.epa.gov/oam/regions/index.htm#solam. No on-site pre-proposal conference will be held. Selection will be based on the following evaluation factors which are listed in descending order of importance. For those Factors that have sub-factors, the sub-factors are equal in value. Factor #1 - SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCE (AS PRESENTED IN SECTIONS E, G, H, AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) Sub-Factor #1 Fund-Lead Site Specific Work Areas Sub-Factor #2 Enforcement Support Site Specific Work Areas Sub-Factor #3 Other Technical Assistance Site Specific Work Areas Factor #2 - PAST PERFORMANCE (AS ADDRESSED BY THE PAST PERFORMANCE REFERENCES, SECTION F) Factor #3 - KNOWLEDGE OF, AND EXPERIENCE WITH, ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS (AS PRESENTED IN SECTIONS E, G, H AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) Factor #4 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (AS PRESENTED IN SECTIONS E,G, H AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) Sub-Factor #1 Management Personnel Sub-Factor #2 Technical Personnel Factor #5 - LOCATION IN THE GENERAL GEOGRAPHICAL AREA AND ABILITY TO MAINTAIN APPROPRIATE OFFICE AND STAFF PRESENCE IN REGION IX. (AS PRESENTED IN SECTION H AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) Factor# 6- CAPACITY TO ACCOMPLISH THE WORK IN THE REQUIRED TIME (AS PRESENTED IN SECTION H AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) Factor #1 - SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCE (AS PRESENTED IN SECTIONS E, G, H, AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) The offeror shall demonstrate how it will implement the requirements of the following tasks as described in the Statement of Work for multiple and concurrent projects to meet the projects' time lines. Subfactor #1 - Fund-Lead Site Specific Work Areas - Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) - Remedial Design (RD) - Remedial Action (RA) - Construction Support - Long-Term Response Action (LTRA) - Non-Time Critical Removal Support (EE/CAs) - Non-Time Critical Removal Action (NTCRA) - Post-Construction Remedial Action Subfactor #2 - Enforcement Support Site Specific Work Areas - RI/FS Oversight - Negotiation Support - RD Oversight - RA Oversight - Removal Oversight - Long-Term Response Oversight - Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Oversight - Litigation Support - Post-Construction RA Oversight Subfactor #3 - Other Technical Assistance Site Specific Work Areas - Community Involvement - Sampling and Analytical Support - Pre-Design Investigation - Treatability Study/Pilot Testing - Risk Assessment - Preliminary Assessment for Site Assessment - Site Inspection for Site Assessment - Hazard Ranking System Preparation for Site Assessment - Site Security and Maintenance - Design Assistance - Five-Year Review - Records Management and Administrative Support - Real Property Acquisition Support - Technical Assistance - Integrated Site Assessment/Investigation Factor #2 - PAST PERFORMANCE (AS ADDRESSED BY THE PAST PERFORMANCE REFERENCES, SECTION F) Reported levels of performance on previous similar projects in the areas of: - Quality of service - Timeliness - Health and safety record - Cost control - Business relations - Technical experience with implementation of value engineering on previous projects EPA is not limited to the past performance references submitted by the Offeror. EPA may seek information for this criterion from the Offeror's clients it identifies through other means. Factor #3 - KNOWLEDGE OF, AND EXPERIENCE WITH, ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS (AS PRESENTED IN SECTIONS E, G, H AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) The Offeror shall demonstrate its working knowledge of, and experience in working with the most current environmental statues and regulations, including the Comprehensive environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) as amended, the Clean Water Act/Oil Pollution Act as amended, the Clean Air Act as amended, the National Contingency Plan as amended, the Toxic Substances Control Act as amended, and other applicable laws, regulations, guidance, and policies pertaining to the various elements of the Statement of Work. Factor #4 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (AS PRESENTED IN SECTIONS E, G, H AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) Subfactor #1 - Management personnel - Education - level and focus of degrees or programs completed that affect the firm's ability to successfully perform the statement of work - Demonstrated experience managing an environmental remediation contract of a size and scope similar to this acquisition Subfactor #2 - Technical personnel - Education - level and focus of degrees or program completed that affect the firm's ability to successfully perform the statement of work - Certifications, licenses, and/or demonstrated experience in the proposed statement of work areas that affect the firm's ability to successfully perform the statement of work, and in accordance with all regulations that apply Factor #5 - LOCATION IN THE GENERAL GEOGRAPHICAL AREA AND ABILITY TO MAINTAIN APPROPRIATE OFFICE AND STAFF PRESENCE IN REGION IX. (AS PRESENTED IN SECTION H AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) The Offeror shall demonstrate its ability to provide available, experienced and fully trained personnel at the skill levels, disciplines, and quantities to perform the stated volume of work at sites within Region 9. The Offeror shall demonstrate how it intends to comply with FAR 52.217-1(b)(1): Services (except construction), at least 50% of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees for the concern. Factor# 6- CAPACITY TO ACCOMPLISH THE WORK IN THE REQUIRED TIME (AS PRESENTED IN SECTION H AND PART II OF FIRM'S SF 330) The Offeror shall demonstrate its ability/capacity to staff the contract with experienced trained personnel at the appropriate levels and disciplines in an effective and timely manner. The Offeror will be evaluated on current and projected workload commitments. EVALUATION AND SCORING Offerors' responses will be evaluated accordingly: Factors 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be evaluated using the following rating scheme. Factor 2 will be evaluated through past performance references. Unsatisfactory = The factor is not addressed or is totally deficient and without merit. Poor = The factor is addressed, but contains deficiencies and/or weaknesses that can be corrected only by major or significant changes to relevant portions of the proposal, or the factor is addressed so minimally or vaguely that there are widespread information gaps. In addition, because of the deficiencies, weaknesses, and/or information gaps, serious concerns exist on the part of the Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) about the offeror's ability to perform the required work. Fair = Information related to the factors is incomplete, unclear, or indicates an inadequate approach to, or understanding of the factor. The TEP believes that there is question as to whether the offer would be able to perform satisfactorily. Good = The response to the factor is adequate. Overall, it meets the specifications and requirements, such that the TEP believes that the offeror could perform to meet the Government's minimum requirements. Excellent = The response to the factor is good with some superior features. Information provided is generally clear, and the approach is acceptable with the possibility of more than adequate performance. Outstanding = The response to the factor is superior in most features. All questions related to this acquisition must be forwarded electronically to Zachary Slater and/or Alexander Kramer no later than 4:00 PDT on September 15, 2011. The Placement Contract Specialist for this procurement is Zachary Slater and can be reached at contact@example.gov. The Placement Contracting Officer for this procurement is Alexander Kramer and can be reached at contact@example.gov. Additional information for this requirement may be found on EPA's acquisition site at www.epa.gov/oam/regions/index.htm#solam.