1264R419R0001_-_Attachment_02_-_Performance_Work_Statement.pdf

1264R419R0001 Attachment 2

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

SCOPE OF WORK: The contractor shall provide any and all labor, equipment, supplies, services, permits, and licenses necessary to perform services for the control of nonnative invasive species (NNIP) of plants and selected “invasive-like” native plants using herbicide treatments. Work to be performed on the Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs, Doniphan/Eleven Point, Houston/Rolla/Cedar Creek, Poplar Bluff, Potosi/Fredericktown, and Salem Ranger Districts of the Mark Twain National Forest. The contractor must be registered with the Department of Labor under the Migrant and Seasonal Workers Protection Act OR certify that the Act does not apply. The Contractor shall follow all State and Federal regulations, including OSHA guidelines.

BACKGROUND: The Mark Twain National Forest administers approximately 1,485,800 acres in southern Missouri. This constitutes approximately 10% of the forested land and 84% of the publicly owned forested land in Missouri. The Forest is composed of nine separate geographic units in 29 counties which span the state 200 miles east to west and 17 5 miles north to south. Private land parcels are scattered throughout the Forest boundaries. On average, Federal ownership within the boundaries of the National Forest is about 49%, and ranges from a low of 24% at Cedar Creek unit to a high of 71% at Doniphan/Eleven Point unit.

The primary objective is to eradicate, reduce, or contain invasive plant populations, thereby minimizing the threat to native plant communities, sensitive wildlife habitat, and the reducing the economic impact.

The projects would emphasize control activities on highly invasive nonnative plant species infestations.

To accomplish this objective the Forest Service uses an integrated pest management (IPM) approach for NNIP control activities as required by the Mark Twain National Forest Land Management Plan (Forest Plan) and in the Forest-wide Integrated Non-native and Invasive Environmental Impact Statement.

Invasive control activities will be conducted along disturbance corridors such as roads, trails, timber harvest units, fescue fields and fence lines. In addition, treatments will be conducted as part of restoration projects to improve wildlife habitat and protect plant diversity in native grassland openings, early successional habitat area, interior areas of the forest, and other unique native plant communities, threatened by invasive plants. As the initial NNIP treatments are successful, subsequent treatments would focus less on using off road vehicles and mechanized equipment to increasing amounts of spot spraying of herbicides by using backpack sprayers or other hand techniques.

General Project Description and General Herbicide Specifications General Project Description and Specifications: This is part of a forest-wide project to remove and control undesirable non-invasive species of herbaceous flowering plants, grasses, and vines/semi-woody vines on the Mark Twain National Forest. The treatment for various infestations of NNIP would depend on factors such as, species, location and accessibility, patch size, concentration of NNIP, distance to surface and ground water resources, surrounding vegetation and exposure to public. NNIP plant treatments may include the use of hand methods, machinery, and chemicals to eliminate NNIP when possible or at least appreciably reduce their presence in the treatment areas. Initial inventory of NNIP plants throughout the Mark Twain has been completed and is still ongoing. The project takes an adaptive management strategy, which would result in changes in treatment strategies if Forest Service monitoring of treatment areas indicates that treatment objectives are not being met.

The Forest is approved for the following eleven herbicides;

Selective Herbicides Non-Selective Herbicides 2, 4 - D Glyphosate Aminopyralid Imazapyr Clopyralid Dicamba Endothal Fluroxypyr Fosamine ammonium salt Sethoxydim Triclopyr

Herbicide selection is dependent on the NNIP plants targeted for control treatment, surrounding vegetation, distance to ground and surface water, soil type, and other non-target resources that may be impacted by herbicide applications.

Typically, for most work, the contractor will apply selective herbicide such as Triclopyr (Garlon3A ® or equivalent product), Clopyralid (Transline ® or equivalent product). Contractor may apply non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate (Roundup ® or equivalent product) in some dense NNIP infestations only as approved by the COR.

The herbicide to be used for chemical treatment, the application method and the desired application rate and will be identified in the task order.

The Contractor shall provide all expertise, labor, supervision, services, herbicides, carriers or adjuvants, materials, equipment, tools, supplies, transportation, licenses, permits, worker personal protective equipment (PPE), and incidentals necessary to perform the required work, for which the desired outcome is in strict accordance with the standards in the contract. The Contractor shall perform and accomplish the work in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and ordinances.

General Herbicide Specifications: The following specifications provides criteria pertaining to herbicide application and NNIP treatment where work would occur under this contract according to FS policy, the Mark Twain Forest Plan and project specific design criteria.

Applicators would use typical herbicide concentrations according to all EPA approved manufacturer herbicide directions. The Contractor will mix herbicides in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and any applicable laws or regulations. Contractors, as well as all subcontractors, must have a valid Missouri commercial pesticide applicators license. Non-certified applicators and employees can perform work on-site when the certified supervisor is present during all times of the treatment in direct voice communication by telephone or radio with the certified supervisor.

The Contractor is responsible for the cleanup of any spills and will notify the COR immediately of any spills. The contractor must have herbicide labels and copies of safety data sheets SDS) of chemicals used on site. The contractor must provide copies or notification by telephone or email of herbicide labels and SDS of chemicals to the COR prior to the start of work.

Application operations shall be conducted as indicated on the herbicide label, including approved concentrations, rates/acre, and environmental conditions. Only chemicals for aquatic use in or adjacent to streams shall be used whenever directed or adjacent to waterways and wetlands such as the aquatic formulation of glyphosate (Rodeo ® or equivalent product). Other EPA approved herbicides may be acceptable with prior approval of the COR.

This contract does not allow any indiscriminate broadcast applications or aerial spraying. Where appropriate, vehicle or ATV/UTV/OHV mounted sprayers is permissible to apply herbicides in designated old fields or native grassland openings, and along roads. Other spot spraying, typically involves the use of backpack sprayers or other hand techniques, and along designated motorized trails were ATV/UTV/OHV mounted sprayers is also permissible.

Except for selected areas of dense infestations of NNIP where herbicide use could occur throughout the year or areas, foliar application will most likely occur when native plants are dormant and by spot-spraying of target species. For other herbicide application during the growing season, the contract will require the use of selective herbicides or a selective method of application to reduce effects to the surrounding non-target vegetation. Other work may involve NNIP control of woody shrubs, trees, and woody vines by using a combination of herbicide treatment and mowing or cutting. Treatments in old fields will often include all woody vegetation, the contract line items (CLIN), as well as a combination of foliar herbicide application to selected areas of dense or sparse open land NNIP infestations.

Likewise, some roadside infestations could have a similar scenario, but at a smaller scale of treatment.

Contractor will place caution signs around the sprayed areas according to the appropriate interval per label directions of the chemical used in application areas where the public may have contact with herbicide. Where necessary per label directions, caution signs may include a temporary closure of treatment areas.

Foliar herbicide application will occur mainly after full leaf expansion and applicators will apply herbicides in a systematic fashion to provide coverage to the entire NNIP infestation. Contractor shall apply foliar spray in such a manner to thoroughly wet foliage, but not to the point of runoff to avoid harm or mortality to desirable non-target plant species.

Contractor will conduct treatments to at least 90-95% of the specified project area(s) of the target NNIP infestation(s). Contractor will conduct treatments at a sufficient interval and concentration to meet or exceed the kill rate ranging from 85-90% for target NNIP infestations, and with no more than 10-15% mortality to nearby or interspersed desirable non-target native plant species because of inadvertent treatment or overspray of herbicides (refer to Quality Assurance Plan).

The Contractor shall progressively accomplish the work at a rate that will result in completion of the contract within the time specified as determined by the final accepted work schedule.

Forest Service COR or Contract Inspectors may conduct visual inspection of NNIP treatments on site to check on their progression to the specified requirements of the contract. The COR may conduct random inspections and sampling to verify acceptable kill rates to target NNIP infestations and mortality to non-target desirable native plants. At the discretion of the COR, the Forest Service will accept work based on visual inspection, to confirm kill rates to both target NNIP species and non-target native plant species.

All herbicide applicator staff must be able to identify target NNIP plant species in the field, including during dormant seasons, to a sufficient degree without exceeding the maximum acceptable levels of mortality to desirable non-target native species and to meet minimum kill rates to target NNIP infestations (refer to Quality Assurance Plan). NNIP populations may be flagged on the ground by Forest Service personnel.

GPS: Acreages listed will have been determined by Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in conjunction with Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

LOCATION: The areas are located within the boundaries of the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. Specific locations, area data, and maps will be issued with each task order.

RE-MEASUREMENT: The Contractor may at any time after issuance of a Task Order (prior to invoice) request re-measurement of acres. The request must be in writing to the Contracting Officer. Payment will be based on the re-measurement of the acreage, except no adjustment shall be made for areas less than 1 acre.

The Contractor shall pay for the cost of re-measurement if the re-measurement results in an increase of less than 10 percent; cost determined by multiplying the hourly burdened rated for the COR by the hours necessary to re-measure and deducting amount from current Task Order. Method of re-measurement to be used will be done with GPS (Global Positioning System) traverses by the Government.

CONTRACTOR REPRESENTATIVE: The contractor shall provide a contract representative for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate(s) who shall act for the contractor when the contractor is absent shall be designated in writing to the contracting officer. The contractor representative or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The contractor representative and alternate(s) must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English, and effectively communicate with their crew members.

PROTECTION OF IMPROVEMENTS: Any improvements damaged by the contractor’s work shall be repaired/restored to the condition equal or better than existed prior to the start of work. This shall be accomplished at the contractor’s expense and be subject to Government approval.

ATV/UTV: Wet weather conditions may preclude the use of vehicles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) or off-highway vehicles (OHVs) in off road areas along trails or fields for indefinite periods or possibly the entire area at certain times of the year. The COR will determine those conditions or locations that warrant cession of vehicle or ATV/UTV/OHV use. Use of ATV/UTV/OHV Forest Service roads must be in compliance with Missouri State motor vehicle regulations (MSMVR).

The appropriate county permits must be obtained in those counties in which work will be performed.

Contractors cannot use ATVs with liquid cargo tanks exceeding 15 gallons. Contractors may continue using UTVs or off-road vehicles with mounted sprayers where appropriate with prior approval of the COR or as specified on the Task Order.

Additional information regarding s of ATVs/UTVs can be found at:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm8_045366.pdf

DAILY LOGS/DIARIES: Contractor will maintain an accurate daily treatment log of work activities and chemicals applied in treatment areas. A copy shall be provided to the COR every 2 weeks or upon submission of the final invoice if the Task Order is less than 3 weeks in duration. FAILURE TO

SUBMIT LOGS IN A TIMELY MANNER MAY LEAD TO DELAYED INSPECTIONS AND/OR

DELAYED PAYMENTS.

The daily log must record the Contract Line Item, target NNIP species’, chemical used (product name), quantity of herbicide (volume applied & unit of measure per each target NNIP species’ –including product and carrier/dilutant), application rate (active ingredient applied & unit of measure or percent http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm8_045366.pdf solution), and adjuvant used (product name & rate applied, if any). The log will record weather information consisting of wind velocity (MPH), wind direction, air temperature (F), condition (cloud cover), and precipitation (inches). Other log requirements includes date, time of day (start time and stop time), treatment location, approximate acres treated, hours to complete task, type of application (method/technique), name of licensed commercial applicator, other licensed applicators and non-certified applicators, type of equipment used, plus optional information such as any other miscellaneous notes or observations. Other minimum record requirements include copies of hazardous material handling certificates, copies of material safety data sheets (SDS) of chemicals used, and the location of the waste site and/or use destination locations.

INSPECTION & PAYMENTS: Payment for performed work will be based on actual acres completed by the Contractor and accepted by the Government. Once a Contractor has completed work according to the approved Work Schedule an Inspection can be requested. Contractor may only invoice after the COR has inspected the work and determined it meets AQL. This applies to both interim and final payments.

Payment will be processed for completed areas only, and for a minimum amount of $10,000.00 or the entire Task Order. Contractors are reminded that some work, such as herbicide application, cannot be immediately inspected, because an appropriate time interval must pass before determining whether the AQL has been met. Invoices for partial payments must include detailed description of which line items, units, etc. are being billed for.

Equipment Cleanliness: Prior to starting work, the Contractor must clean all equipment used in NNIP control activities before entering the treatment areas. Project COR will inspect equipment on-site and may require further cleaning before moving to another treatment area as needed. Equipment must also meet FS fire and safety requirements.

Licensing and Certification: The Contractor and/or whoever will supervise the herbicide treatment must possess a current Missouri commercial pesticide applicators license (category 1a; agricultural plant pest, category 2, forest pest control and category 6; right-of-way pest control) at the time of any herbicide treatments. The contract may require some work requirements in category 1a, 2, and 6, which is applicable for all treatment on the Forest. Contractors with certifications may only conduct work applicable to their license category. The Contractor shall ensure that there is either a Missouri pesticide licensed applicator on-site at all times of treatment or has direct voice communication by telephone or radio with the certified supervisor.

Safety Plan: The Contractor will provide a written safety plan that demonstrates how the contractor will ensure a safe work environment for themselves, their employees and the public at large. The safety plan should include: 1) a chemical spill plan documenting internal procedures, in the event of a pesticide spill on-site or in transport, 2) documentation to substantiate that the Contractor has an ongoing safety training program, 3) documentation regarding any Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) actions/citations issued against the Contractor within the previous three (3) years, to include follow-up measures or remedies taken by the Contractor. The same safety plan information is required of subcontractors.

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN

This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) has been developed pursuant to the requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) in this contract. This plan sets forth procedures and guidelines that will be used in evaluating the technical performance of the contractor. This plan does NOT relieve the contractor of their responsibility to practice proactive quality control.

A. PURPOSE OF THE QASP

The QASP is intended to accomplish the following:

• Define the roles and responsibilities of participating government officials and the contractor;

• Identify the types of work to be performed and the inspections to be performed to validate adequacy;

• Describe the evaluation methods that will be employed by the government in assessing the contractor’s inspection program and performance to the quality/performance standards required for each task;

• Provide copies of the contractor’s inspection records and Government quality assurance monitoring forms that will be used by the government in documenting and evaluating the contractor’s performance;

• Describe the process of performance documentation.

The contractor is responsible for performing inspection services pursuant to the inspection clause and for providing and maintaining the inspection forms, approved by the government, to perform the contractor’s inspection services. The contractor has represented themselves, to be responsible for meeting the prescribed quality/performance standards in the statement of work.

B. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) will be designated on each Task order. The COR’s roles and responsibilities will be listed on their designations and include the following: monitoring, assessing, recording, and reporting on the technical performance of the contractor on the schedule of inspections submitted by the contractor and approved by the government. The COR will either witness the contractor’s performance of the inspections performed by the contractor or will evaluate the contractor’s inspection results as to documented findings relative to meeting the standards for each task/subtask within the statement of work. The COR will have primary responsibility for completing quality assurance monitoring forms which will be used to document the inspection and evaluation of the contractor’s work performance.

The Contracting Officer (CO) will have overall responsibility for overseeing the contractor’s performance and for the day-to-day monitoring of the contractor’s performance in the areas of contract compliance, contract administration, cost control, and property control; reviewing the COR’s assessment of the contractor’s performance; and resolving all differences between the COR’s and the contractor’s version.

C. TYPES OF WORK TO BE PERFORMED/SCHEDULE OF INSPECTIONS

This contract calls for the contractor to perform the following tasks and subtasks and to perform inspections at the completion of the tasks/subtasks as a minimum and or for intermediate inspections as determined at contract award by the COR/CO. The contractor’s quality control plan/schedule will be modified accordingly and will be one of the basis for the award of the contract.

D. METHODS OF SURVEILLANCE

The government will monitor the contractor’s performance on a continuous basis. The methods the government will use are identified above. The COR will first verify the results of the contractor’s inspection, completeness and adequacy of the documentation of the contractor’s inspection results. The government COR will perform periodic independent inspections. The contractor shall be required to rework/repair or replace the effort until the quality/ performance standard is achieved. In the case of COR performed inspections that differ from results noted by the contractor performed inspections the costs for these re-inspections will be deducted from the Task Order amount. These costs will be determined by multiplying the hourly burdened rated for the COR by the hours necessary to re-inspect – not to exceed 10 hours per re-inspection. Inspections will be performed to the schedule submitted by the contractor and approved by the government. Variances from the schedule must be pre-approved by the CO – submit requests to Primary

COR.

E. QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) FORMS AND REPORT

1. The COR will use a quality assurance monitoring form to document and evaluate the contractor’s performance under the contract. This can consist of a Form, a Memo for record or an entry in a daily or weekly diary. The form when completed will document the COR’s understanding of what the contractor was supposed to do, what was actually done, and the impact or consequences of what was done. The documentation will also identify the additional steps required of the contractor if there is a nonconformance.

The COR will judge each event in accordance with the performance standards and performance requirements stated in the Quality/Performance Requirements stated in the contract either in section 5 of the Statement of Work (SOW) or in section 7 of the SOW.

The COR must substantiate all tasks which he judges to be indicative of “unacceptable” performance.

Performance at the “acceptable” level is expected and need not be substantiated.

In accordance with Section C above, the contractor shall furnish (weekly, at a minimum) to the COR copies of all inspection forms generated by the contractor witnessing inspections performed. The COR will forward copies of all completed QA monitoring forms to the CO and contractor inspection records prior to processing payments. The contractor is required to respond in writing to any negative QA monitoring form(s) within 5 working days after receipt of the form(s).

F. ANALYSIS OF SURVEILLANCE RESULTS

The CO will review each QA monitoring form prepared by the COR. When appropriate, the CO may investigate the event further to determine if all the facts and circumstances surrounding the event were considered in the COR’s opinion outlined on the forms. The CO will immediately discuss every event receiving a substandard rating on the forms. The CO will immediately discuss every event receiving a substandard rating with the contractor to assure that corrective action is promptly initiated.

Upon completion of the contract/task order the COR will perform a performance evaluation of the contractor using the results documented as above and provide to the CO for further action.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY

Task Quality/Performance Standard

Acceptable Quality Level

(AQL)

Inspection Type Penalty/Disincentive Incentives

ALL

Work performed meets the specifications contained within the Performance Work Statement AND the individual Task Order if applicable.

minimum AQL is 95%

95% of target infestations treated per the Base Contract AND Task Order Specifications within the time frame specified in the Task Order

1) Verify contractor, records, data & reports

2)Periodically witness contractor inspection

3)Independent Government verification

1) Rework at no additional cost to Government until work is performed to

AQL;

2) Acceptance with consideration;

3) Less than satisfactory performance evaluation;

4)Non-compliant contractor inspection system: Contractor bears 100% of government re-inspection cost;

5) Poor performance may lead to Option Periods not being exercised.

Note – These are all remedies available to the Government. Contractors do not decide whether to re-work or not.

Satisfactory or better performance rating

Exhibit 01

What will be included in a Task Order: All task order will include the following examples.

1. Detailed map of project area and NNIP infestations to be treated. Maps will contain labeled State, County and Forest Service roads, Counties, Township, Range and Sections, ownership boundaries, treatment areas.

2. A table all treatment areas to be treated, the species, acres and latitude and longitude coordinate of the centroid of the polygon.

3. A copy of the approved FS 2100-2 Pesticide Use Proposal(s) for the projects. This form is contains.

1) OBJECTIVE

a) Project name and/or identifier

b) Specific target pest(s)

c) Purpose

5) TREATMENT AREA DESCRIPTION

a) Targeted treatment area

b) State and county

c) Site description

d) Estimate of acres (or other unit) to be treated

e) Number of applications

f) Month(s) and year(s) of application

2) PESTICIDE PRODUCT(S)

a) Trade name

b) Formulation as purchased

c) Restricted-use pesticide (yes/no)

d) EPA registration number

e) Common name of chemical(s)

f) AI, AE, IU, or PIB expressed as % or

g) concentration

6) SENSITIVE AREAS

a) Special designated area (if applicable)

b) Areas to be avoided

c) Areas to be treated with caution

3) TYPE OF APPLICATION

a) Method

b) Equipment

7) PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

a) Trained/certified personnel to be used

b) Personal safety

c) State and local coordination

d) Best management practices

e) Monitoring

f) Additional project information

4) FIELD APPLICATION INFORMATION

a) Formulation of material to be applied

b) Planned application rate

c) Dilution rate

d) Diluent

e) Pounds of AI or AE per acre (or other

f) applicable rate)

g) Other pesticides being applied to proposed

h) treatment site(s)

4. List of site-specific mitigation that may be required for individual task orders.

Herbicide Application (2510) Data Form DailyLog

Application Date Application Area (Acres) Time Start Time Stop Temp (F) Wind Speed

(MPH)

Wind Direction Cloud Cover RH% Water Distance

Calibrated Volume UOM Volume Applied UOM Mix (oz/gal) Diluent Remarks

Gal/Acre Gal Water

Herb Product Name %Solution Product Rate UOM Surfactant UOM

Oz/Ac Oz/Ac

Oz/Ac Oz/Ac

Oz/Ac

Application Site Licensed Applicator Name Applicators (other)