RFIs and Responses_V2.docx

12639526Q0091, RFIs and Responses

1. Provide details about the lease. The current lease for USDA expired on May 9. It has gone into “holdover” until the successful contractor puts into place their own lease with the landowner (our current lessor). USDA continues to make payments of $1,000 per month to the lessor in holdover. It’s anticipated that the lessor will want an increase. We don’t have any direct contact with the lessor so the transaction will go through the lessor’s realtor, the information for whom will be provided upon award.

2. What is APHIS-regulated garbage? Animal and plant material from outside the United States. However, for the purpose of disposal, the origin of the material is the site itself: 18950 Chef Menteur Hwy, New Orleans, LA 70129. At the site, APHIS-regulated garbage is the contents of the super sacks and that which is commingled with the super sacks. (It’s estimated that there are more than 100 sacks.) They require burial at a minimum of three feet. Vehicles transporting super sacks must be secured and material inside not exposed to the environment until burial is accomplished.

3. We understand there are discarded tires at the site. Where do we take those? Colt Scrap Tire Center at 9300 Old Gentilly Road, New Orleans: 800-259-8311. It’s our understanding that the fee is $2.50 for regular tires and $11.00 for large truck tires.

4. What are the insurance requirements? There aren’t any as the work does not take place on a government installation.

5. Is the required security clearance state or federal? There is no security clearance requirement. However, prior to site access, all personnel and visitors are required to submit clear photos of the front and back of their government-issued IDs in advance of their arrival.

6. What analytical testing needs to be performed on the wastewater prior to discharge? What are the limits or filtration requirements? Refer to Page 4 of Section 02 61 13, Part 3, Subpart 3.03 A. “Site Dewatering Treatment” for specifications for wastewater management during trash removal operations, including the use of GAC units. The Contractor shall adhere to analytical programs outlined in any applicable permits to ensure compliance with local environmental regulations.

7. Are the dewatering wells required or are they optional? A cofferdam or dewatering well is required if there is water in the borrow canal. Currently there is water in the canal.

8. Are bidders required to hold a Hazardous Materials Contractor license, as is required by the state of Louisiana when handling hazardous materials, abatement, or disposal? The material is not considered hazardous or infectious.

9. Do all employees working within the exclusion zone or have the potential to come into contact with the waste onsite be required to have a current 40-hour HAZWOPER certificate? No.

10. Can you confirm that regulated waste disposal requirements apply exclusively to materials in the supersacks, and that all other materials may be managed as non-regulated waste? Yes.

11. Are there other options that the contractor can construct (other than sheet pile cofferdam) for protecting water from entering the waste removal zone? If not, can you provide a detailed specification/plan for coffer dam installation? The clause at FAR 52.248-3 Value Engineering-Construction is included in the solicitation and will be in the contract. The Contractor is encouraged to develop, prepare, and submit value engineering change proposals (VECPs) voluntarily. The Contractor would share in any contract savings realized from accepted VECPs, in accordance with a paragraph in the clause.

12. Provide details of the security needed onsite? Is the contractor responsible for directly contracting the security company? The specific security measure is at the Contractor’s discretion of the Contractor. A padlock on the gate will meet the government’s minimum requirements.

13. Provide an estimated volume for backfill? Clean fill: 9,835 CY; topsoil: 1,736 CY.

14. Who will be responsible for determining whether concrete riprap is considered waste or placed atop the berms adjacent to Bayou Savage? The concrete riprap should be removed and taken to the landfill. Concrete does not require deep burial.

15. Can you provide horizontal latitude and longitudinal controls for waste removal? No.

16. APHIS-permitted disposal capacity. Has the Government assessed regional APHIS-permitted disposal capacity for the 9,913 cubic yards of regulated waste? If a specific facility or pathway is intended, please share so offerors may price accordingly. The landfill does not require an APHIS permit. The landfill must document what comes from the site and ensure deep burial of at least 3 feet for APHIS-regulated material.

17. Performance period basis. Was the stated performance period calculated against a sealed haul-and-bury pathway, an autoclave-and-bury pathway, or another pathway? No.

18. On-site staging. Will the Government permit on-site staging of sealed regulated waste containers? If so, please provide any design criteria (containment, setbacks, enclosure, maximum quantity). Staging is addressed on Page 5 of Section 02 61 13, Part 3, Subpart 3.05 “Hazardous or Contaminated Substance Staging” of the specifications provided. Staging must be planned and coordinated to maintain uninterrupted site operations and uphold strict safety standards.

19. APHIS field classification. Will the APHIS field representative be available on-site at a frequency sufficient to support continuous operations? What is the minimum advance notice required, and are after-hours classifications available? We are going to contract for what are essentially COR duties. The incumbent would be physically present on the site during all active work.

20. Excusable delays. Will disposal-facility downtime or third-party capacity preemption be recognized as excusable delay, and will the Government entertain a time-extension modification if such constraints are documented? Any circumstances arising that may affect the performance period will be considered.

21. Pre-award performance period revision. By what mechanism and deadline will the Government consider a pre-award request to revise the performance period? The CO asked site visit attendees if 60 days would suffice and no one objected to the schedule.

22. The specifications (Attachment 3) reference "Attachment 1 — Figure 1" as the source for work area limits, excavation areas, stripping limits, sheet pile placement, and final grade elevations (Sections 01 14 00, 02 61 13, 31 22 00, 31 23 00, 31 41 00). We're reading the aerial photo released as Attachment 4 as the document those sections point to — but the aerial doesn't show pile placement, stripping limits, or grade elevations. Could you confirm:

1. Is Attachment 4 the "Attachment 1 — Figure 1" the specifications reference? Yes.

2. Are there additional drawings or figures from Stanley Consultants showing that engineering information, or is the aerial the only graphical representation of project scope? The aerial is the only graphical representation of project scope.