Y--Well Decommissioning - Salt Lake City VAMC

DESCRIPTION: This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-59. This synopsis is a streamlined solicitation of offers for commercial items for use where appropriate. This is intended to simplify the process of preparing and issuing solicitations / synopsis for evaluating offers for commercial items consistent with commercial practices. Only written requests received directly from the requester are acceptable. The NAICS code is 237130, with a size standard of $33.5 M per Annum. This announcement constitutes a Total Small Business Set Aside solicitation. This is to notify contractors that the government intends to issue a Firm Fixed Price contract in accordance with FAR 13.106 for the following statement of work, under the Simplified acquisition procedures. Any firm that believes it is capable of providing the required services as stated herein may submit a capability statement. A determination to compete this procurement based on a response to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The Government reserves the right to award a contract without discussions if the Contracting Officer determines that the initial offer(s) are providing the Best Value and discussions are not necessary. The Government may award this contract to other than the lowest priced technically acceptable proposal. Technical specifications and past performance is significantly more important than price. Requirement: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) intends to procure services of a licensed well drilling company to properly abandon the existing 1,000 foot Geothermal Well (GW) at the George E. Wahlen, Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) located at 500 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT. See Figure 1 for the SLC VAMC campus map for the GW location. This work includes the complete abandonment of the existing well using a procedure by which the boring or well is permanently closed. Abandonment procedures should preclude any current or subsequent fluid media from entering or migrating within the subsurface environment along the axis or from the endpoints of any boring or well penetrating that environment. The procedure will comply with Utah Administrative Code R655-4-14 Abandonment of Wells. The Contractor shall: 1. A licensed professional engineer shall design and stamp approval on a well closure plan. The plan shall be submitted to the appropriate regulatory agencies that have interest in this case, the Utah Department of Natural Resources and Salt Lake City, requesting their comments and approval. 2. Notify the state engineer prior to commencing abandonment work and submit a complete and accurate abandonment log following abandonment work in accordance with Section R655-4-4 of these rules. 3. Prior to commencing abandonment work, obtain a copy of the well log of the well proposed to be abandoned from the well owner or the state engineer, if available, in order to determine the proper abandonment procedure. 4. Any well that is to be permanently abandoned shall be completely filled in a manner to prevent vertical movement of water within the borehole as well as preventing the annular space surrounding the well casing from becoming a conduit for possible contamination of the groundwater supply. 5. Well abandonment shall be accomplished under the direct supervision of a currently licensed water well driller who shall be responsible for verification of the procedures and materials used. 6. Neat cement grout, sand cement grout, unhydrated bentonite, or bentonite grout shall be used to abandon wells and boreholes. Other sealing materials or additives, such as fly ash, may be used in the preparation of grout upon approval of the state engineer. 7. Drilling mud or drill cuttings shall not be used as any part of a sealing materials for well abandonment. The liquid phase of the abandonment fluid shall be water from a potable municipal system or disinfected in accordance with Subsection R655-4-11(11.6.5). 8. Neat cement and sand cement grout shall be introduced at the bottom of the well or required sealing interval and placed progressively upward to the top of the well. The sealing material shall be placed by the use of a grout pipe, tremie line, dump bailer or equivalent in order to avoid freefall, bridging, or dilution of the sealing materials or separation of aggregates from sealants. 9. The well should be capped immediately after placement of seal materials to allow the seal material to set up and not flow out of the well. 10. Bentonite-based abandonment products shall be mixed and placed according to manufacturer's recommended procedures and result in a seal free of voids or bridges. Granular or powered bentonite shall not be placed under water. 11. When placing unhydrated bentonite, a sounding or tamping tool shall be run in the sealing interval during pouring to measure fill-up rate, verify a continuous seal placement, and to break up possible bridges or cake formation. 12. The uppermost ten (10) feet of the abandoned well casing or borehole shall consist of neat cement grout or sand cement grout. 13. Prior to well or borehole abandonment, all pump equipment, piping, and other debris shall be removed to the extent possible. The well shall also be sounded immediately before it is plugged to make sure that no obstructions exist that will interfere with the filling and sealing. 14. Verification shall be made that the volume of sealing and fill material placed in a well during abandonment operations equals or exceeds the volume of the well or borehole to be filled and sealed. 15. The casings of wells to be abandoned shall be severed a minimum of two feet below either the natural ground surface adjacent to the well or at the collar of the hole, whichever is the lower elevation. A minimum of two (2) feet of compacted native material shall be placed above the abandoned well upon completion. 16. Be solely responsible for compliance to federal, state and local Safety (OSHA, etc.), Life and Fire Safety (NFPA, etc.) and Environmental (EPA, etc) rules and regulations. Contractor shall submit all required programs, plans and documents with respect to regulatory compliance (Project Specific Safety Plan, etc.). 17. Be solely responsible for the verification of existing conditions ensuring to ascertain the site conditions that may affect required equipment clearances, electrical, metering, control and mechanical requirements of the contract; Roles and Responsibilities 1) Documentation: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), COTR will provide the contractor with copies of documents that are available. a) The contractor shall request other government documentation deemed pertinent to the work accomplishment directly from the COTR. The contractor shall consider the COTR as the final source for needed government documentation when the contractor fails to secure the documents by other means. The contractor is expected to use common knowledge and resourcefulness in securing all other reference materials, standard industry publications, and related materials that are pertinent to the work. 2) Communications: The contractor shall maintain frequent communications with the COTR and other designated Veterans Health Administration (VHA) staff and the VA Team to conduct work in progress reviews. Progress reports shall be delivered to the COTR and other authorized assigned VA representative or designee on a monthly basis via electronic mail. Contractor Requirements, Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure 1) The contractor shall follow all Government rules and regulations regarding information security to prevent disclosure of sensitive information to unauthorized individuals or organizations. 2) Contractor staff and management may have access to some privileged and confidential materials of the United States Government such as budget and strategic plans. These printed and electronic documents are for internal use only, are not to be copied or released without permission, and remain the sole property of the United States Government. Some of these materials may be protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 (revised by PL 93-5791) and Title 18. Unauthorized disclosure of Privacy Act or Title 18 covered materials is a criminal offense. 3) Regulatory standard of conduct governs all personnel directly and indirectly involved in procurements. All personnel engaged in procurement and related activities shall conduct business in a manner above reproach and, except as authorized by statute or regulation, with complete impartiality and with preferential treatment for none. The general rule is to avoid strictly any conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict of interest in Government-contractor relationships. 4) The period of performance for this contract is 60 days. Other Personnel Considerations 1) Personnel assigned by the contractor to the performance of work on this contract shall be acceptable to VA in terms of personal and professional conduct and technical knowledge. Should the assignment to this contract of any person by the contractor be deemed to conflict with the interests of VA, or in the event performance is deemed to be unsatisfactory at anytime during the life of the contract, the Contracting Officer may notify the contractor and request the person be immediately removed from the assignment. The reason for removal will be documented and a request to receive personnel replacement within three (3) business days of the notification will be made. Replacement personnel qualifications shall be equal to or greater than those of the personnel being replaced. Employment and staffing difficulties will not be justification for failure to meet established schedules. 2) The contractor must notify Veterans Health Administration (VHA) ten (10) calendar days in advance and the Project Manager (PM) and COTR will approve or reject new proposed contractor key personnel for the performance of this contract. The contractor shall submit a resume of qualifications and the Contractor Personnel Change Control form to the PM and COTR and all other direct employees proposed for the project. The PM and COTR will approve all contractor employees prior to bringing on duty via Contractor Personnel Change Request Form, at any time from date of award to the end of the contract, contractor personnel are no longer available, the VHA will approve the qualifications of proposed replacement personnel and will reject individuals who do not meet the qualifications set forth herein. All contractor employees are subject to immediate removal from performance of this contract when they are involved in a violation of the law, VA security, confidentiality requirements, and/or other disciplinary reasons. PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES: The provisions at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors- Commercial Items, 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items, 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, and 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, apply to this acquisition. 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items. EVALUATION-COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 1999) (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Technical Capability, Past Performance and Price. Technical and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price. (b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). (c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. (End of provision) Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, with its offer. NOTE: The Government reserves the right to award without discussions, vendors shall submit their most favorable terms. Invoices shall be submitted in accordance with Federal Regulations 52.212-4(g) and shall be submitted to Financial Management Systems, PO Box 149971, Austin, Texas 78714. Remittance address: Payments under this contract shall be made to the address indicated in your proposal. The preceding Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) clauses and provisions may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.arnet.gov/far. The preceding Veterans Administration (VAAR) clauses and provisions may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.va.gov/oa&mmlvarr/. The successful offeror must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) to be awarded a contract. You may register easily and quickly on-line at http://www.ccr.gov. SDVOSB's must be registered in VA's Vendor Information Pages database: https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov/ Proposals and accompanying information are due no later than 12 p.m. EST, Thursday September 6, 2012. Proposals must be sent by email to contact@example.gov. The email shall not exceed 9MB. Attachment 1: Salt Lake Site Map Appendix 1 -- Existing Well Log Appendix 2 -- Drillers Report Appendix 3 - Drillers Lithology Log