140D0423R00003_QA_Revised_0003.pdf

140D0423R00003 Questions and Answers

1. Do applicants need to have a CURRENT Oregon/Washington Pesticide License or is it okay to submit a response with an in‐process application (we hold licenses in many other states)?

An in‐process application is acceptable to submit but it must be final before award is made. If the apparent awardee does not have all licenses for award, they shall be eliminated from the competition. No extensions shall be granted for in‐process applications.

2. Being 2 contractors will receive awards for each district, or multiple districts, will the awardees compete on future task orders?

Yes, please refer to Attachment 1A‐Ordering Procedures

3. Will pricing be fixed off the prices proposed from this solicitation for each district? or will we be able to submit different pricing for future Task Orders?

Pricing submitted will be held for the term of the IDIQ. Discounting is encouraged at task order levels.

4. In section 8.3, it states, the government may choose to provide chemicals, or not... how would you like us to provide our pricing for the district pricing for this solicitation? Should we include chemicals or not?

Attachment 3 requests pricing on application per acre in respective districts. Products are priced on a separate tab in Attachment 3.

5. What is section 1.2.3.4 (page 8 of 13) asking for? The initial paragraph and parts a. and b. are quite contradicting. What would you like to see in order to meet the requirements of this portion?

In Attachment 7, Section 1.2.3.4, the Government requests that the Past Performance

Questionnaire (PPQ) be provided by the Offeror for Government projects. Offeror submitted responses to past performance shall be on the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment 4) provided in the solicitation package and not in any other format. At time of evaluation, if there is a CPARS evaluation for the same project, the CPARS will be used in lieu of the PPQ submitted.

6. As for "delivery method" on each line item for the district pricing over the 5 years... would examples possibly include "backpack, UTV, horseback, boom, etc.?". Just want to make sure we are interpreting that correctly.

Any integrated invasive plant management delivery methods that are allowed within the State that can meet the objectives of the solicitation can be included in the pricing. Offerors shall determine the best delivery method for use that can meet the objectives of the requirement.

7. On the excel pricing Attachment #3, there are "typical application rates" and then there are prices that I am assuming you want us to fill in by the acre for each district. How can I do that if you don't give me the actual rate that you are going to apply? Should I just use the higher rate?

The better way to do this would be to have the products bid by the gallon or the ounce if we are going to provide it?

The application rate will be determined in the task order. The product list tab in attachment 3 is where the pricing for products is determined. Please bid for the price per product in the "Product List" tab.

8. There are a lot of products on this list, many that are repeated by active ingredients and just made by a different producer or company. Does the government expect to need all those products?

The list of products in Attachment 3 are likely to be used throughout the contract term. BLM will specify the products when a new request for quote is issued for a potential task order, as it will correlate with the Pesticide Use Proposal.

9. Attachment 3. What do you mean by delivery method, backpack sprayer or a tractor? And delivery method is only on the 1st tab for Spokane and not the other districts in the spreadsheet?

Any integrated invasive plant management delivery methods that are allowed within the State that should meet the objectives of the solicitation should be included in the pricing

An updated Attachment No. 3 – IDIQ Pricing Template is included with this amendment to include delivery method entries for the other districts.

10. Are we required to bid for each district?

No, please refer to Attachment 8, Section 1.2

11. Do you have a map of the 1st task order for the Burns job on the pricing sheet?

The map is in Attachment 2 – Day One Burns District TO, on page 2.

12. How is the pricing we provide for each district going to be used? Will it be max pricing? Firm pricing? Evaluation only? Will we be held to the prices we are providing in the initial proposal/bid or will we be able to provide new pricing on task orders?

The pricing will be for evaluation and for award purposes. Yes, prices must be held firm for duration of contract. Awardees are encouraged to price individual task orders on a discounted basis from the list pricing provided at time of IDIQ proposal.

13. Would it be easier to set this up for Oregon and Washington, and compete on the states in lieu of five separate districts, as there would be better competitive pricing if it were awarded to a pool of vendors, for example, ten vendors?

The solicitation will remain as is.

14. If we are restricted to the five districts, could the Government consider awarding to more than two per district?

The solicitation will remain as is.

15. Does Oregon State Law allow vendors to land on roadways?

It is up to the vendor to know the associated laws to complete the work in the IDIQ.

16. Reference Attachment 1 Statement of Work (SOW), Section 5.5.1., what are the different gallons per acre that will be required?

The application rate will be determined in the task order. The product list tab is attachment 3 is where the pricing for products is determined. Please bid for the price per product int he "Product List" tab.

17. Reference Attachment 1 Statement of Work (SOW), Section 5.5.4., will a yearly spray pattern test done at an operation safe program satisfy the pattern test requirements?

Only if the results could be provided and they meet the requirements in the contract

18. Reference Attachment 1 Statement of Work (SOW), Section 6.3, can we add licensed applicators after potential award?

Yes, if the contractor provides proof of licensing, and the applicator meets the minimum requirements.

19. Reference Attachment 1 Statement of Work (SOW), Section 7.1, can there be an economic price adjustment for fuel?

The fuel costs should be incorporated into the line items for treatments. The bid price for all treatment line items (except for products) should include fuel costs.

Due to inflation and current price volatility, the EPA clause applies to fuel and herbicides.

Provide the baseline price for all to include fuel.

20. Reference Attachment 1 Statement of Work (SOW), Section 7.4, will ground equipment – namely fuel vehicles – need to be interagency carded? If not, will having carded vehicles bring a higher level of value to the Government?

No.

21. Reference Attachment 7, Section 1.3.1, are financial statements provided by applicants kept confidential?

The financial statements are not shared with anyone outside of the Government evaluation team. No contractors shall have access.

22. Reference Attachment 7, Section 1.2.4, are prices for products provided for the 5‐year contract period eligible for economic price adjustments?

Due to inflation and current price volatility, the EPA clause applies to fuel and herbicides.

23. Reference Attachment 8, Section 1.2, can you clarify if two companies are awarded for each district how the task order process will go? Will there be an RFQ between those two at the time of need – and then an award will be made for that specific project in a district? Or will it be split between the two?

A project for a specific district shall be competed among the IDIQ holders for that district. Only one company shall receive a task order for that specific project. Any of the future requirements within that district will be competed amongst the IDIQ holders for that district.

24. I understand that the technical section (Vol 1) can only be 10 pages long. Technical Factor 4 (Experience) looks exactly like what needs to be included in Vol 2 (Past Performance). Can you tell me what the difference is between the experience section and the past performance section? Does one need to be formatted as a running list of references, while the other has descriptions?

Experience focuses on specific items as seen in Attachment 7. The intent is to determine whether the Offeror has performed these tasks.

Past Performance focuses on the quality of work. Both experience and past performance are different but can reference similar work.

25. When the bid is submitted, would you like each volume attached as a separate attachment? Or all the required sections and paperwork scanned in as one long running attachment?

Submit separately.