12444124Q0039 HMR - Prospect Bluff NNIS - Q and A.docx

HMR Prospect Bluff NNIS Apalachicola National Forest FL 12444124Q0039

Questions and Answers Q: Can we pull individual Coral Ardisia stems to get better spray coverage, or to avoid using chemicals, Can we pull a plant when there are only a few rather than using chemicals?

A: Due to the historical significance of this site, no soil disturbance is permitted. This includes hand pulling of plants. The repeated treatments are included because it is inevitable that without hand pulling, some plants will not be fully killed in the first treatment.

Q:Where is the nearest water source to the treatment area?

A:The site is adjacent to the Apalachicola river, and water can be drafted from the river. There is also a spigot at the Wright lake recreation area about 5 miles from Prospect bluff. Is also possible to fill tanks at the Apalachicola work center on highway 12 on the way to or from the worksite (open during business hours). There may be access to a private water source in Sumatra. It would be the contractors responsibility to work out something with a private party to allow for use of their water.

Q: Attachment 1, Statement Of Work, Page 2 of 6, 4. says “Herbicide shall not be left unattended during the day or on the job sites overnight.” Can herbicides that are needed to complete each annual treatment, but not required during an individual application, be left onsite in a secure locked containment during spraying operations? I.e., can applicators temporarily store herbicides onsite in a secure locked container while they are applying herbicide, instead of transporting the herbicides around the site during spraying operations?

A: The site is fairly secure (behind a locked gate/not open to the public. As such, I feel that storing chemicals in a locked container/trailer is acceptable, it can be left onsite when the crew is offsite for weekends etc. if the gate is locked while;e the crew is working, the storage container/trailer can be left unlocked.

Q: Attachment 1, Statement Of Work, Page 4 of 6, Personnel Requirements says “The contractor will designate in writing a nonworking foreman conversant in the English language for each crew of workers.” Would the USDA be willing to allow the foreman to perform application activities, if the work crew is small?

A: If the crew consists on less than 6 workers including the foreman, I am OK with the foreman also working when “Foreman Duties” allow Q: Attachment 1, Statement Of Work, Page 5 of 6, Mandatory Contractor Training - Are contractors required to have the security requirements (Tier 1 BI or PIV-A, and USDA AgLearn training) before submitting a bid?

The training requirements have been determined not to apply to this project. Therefore, only herbicide applicator training and Workers Protection Standards training is required.