B09_Amend_1_ATT1_Questions_and_Answers_2_20_24_0001.pdf

Questions and Answers

Solicitation 140L0624R0005 – Amendment 0001

1. To provide the best value to the Government, minimize contingencies, and produce a thorough, accurate, and competitive proposal, we respectfully request a 1-month extension to the proposal due date, which is necessary to ensure design partners and subcontractors' availability to work through their respective scopes and pricing.

Answer: The Government will extend the proposal due date to March 15, 2024 at 1200 MT. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. See Section L for additional proposal submission instructions.

2. Please reconsider the requirement for Past Performance Questionnaires. Clients we have recently contacted to provide PPQs have declined, responding, for example, “Per FAR 42.1501

(b) ‘…CPARS is the official source for past performance information.’ All relevant past performance information relating to [SUBJECT CONTRACT] can be found in CPARS.” What is the alternative if a client declines to provide a PPQ on these grounds?

Answer: The Past Performance Questionnaires provided in the solicitation are a required format to ensure equivalent comparison among offerors, and CPARS may not be substituted. As stated in the solicitation, the Government will consider Past Performance records in addition to the required Past Performance Questionnaires from a variety of sources, including querying CPARS.

Please note that in the case of an offeror for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror will be evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably.

3. Please clarify if a contractor must provide a proposal on all task orders if awarded. On Page 9, Section B-1 the solicitation states "There is no maximum ceiling on task order prices, however FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitations establishes that awardees are not obligated to propose on orders over $10,000,000.00. The minimum task order amount under this IDIQ is $10,000.00."

Which indicates that proposals are required if TO is less than $10,000,000.00. On Page 20, Section H-4 the solicitation states “Contractors are not required to submit proposals for every order requirement.”

Answer: Offerors are encouraged but not obligated to propose on all orders. The solicitation language has been updated to state, “There is no maximum ceiling on task order prices, however FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitations establishes that awardees are not obligated to honor orders over $10,000,000.00.”

4. Can the agency provide the recent BLM inspection report for the Cape Halkett #1 site that was mentioned in the Sample Task Order SOW (scope of work)?

Answer: See Cape Halkett Site Inspection Attachment 14.

5. In the Fish Creek and Cape Halkett SOWs (scope of work), it says that suggested site access will be provided. Can the agency please provide this information for pricing?

Answer: Potential route examples can be found on the BLM ePlanning website. EplanningUi (blm.gov) Routes shown are not exact.

6. Is it anticipated that the sample task orders will be awarded, or are they only to evaluate the offeror’s pricing evaluation?

Answer: As stated in Section L of the solicitation, the Government may award one or both of the Sample Task Order projects in any combination to one or more of the successful IDIQ offerors.

This language was included in the solicitation as it is anticipated that the Government will issue a task order based on the proposal submissions.

7. Are either of the two sample task orders located within or adjacent to the Beaufort Sea or Chukchi Sea polar bear populations?

Answer: Sites are in or near critical polar bear habitat. Please see link for further information.

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=specialstatus.fedhabitat&species=polarbear

8. Can the agency provide the recent BLM inspection report for the Fish Creek #1 site that was mentioned in the Sample Task Order SOW (scope of work)?

Answer: See Fish Creek #1 Site Inspection Attachment 15.

9. Can a contractor submit multiple direct award contracts, for the same work, for the same customer as project experience?

Answer: Yes.

10. How would the agency prefer respondents to respond to the evaluation criteria for key personnel? Will bios be accepted or are resumes required? If resumes are required, can they be excluded from the page count limitation?

Answer: There is no stipulated format for experience. The page limitation for Volume 2 has been increased to 50 pages to account for potential resume inclusion.

11. Are letters of commitment required for the corporate team? If so, can they be exempt from the page count limitation?

Answer: No, letters of commitment are not required for the corporate team.

12. What is the anticipated period of performance for the sample task orders?

Answer: The anticipated period of performance is August 2024-December 2025 for the sample task orders.

13. Are housing and provisions for government employees expected to be onsite, or can they be at an offsite location accessible by contractor supplied vehicle?

Answer: Housing provisions are expected to be onsite unless otherwise stated in a resultant task order Statement of Work.

https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2001995/510 https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2001995/510 https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=specialstatus.fedhabitat&species=polarbear

14. In the solicitation Pg 1, 13d. It mentions the offers should provide no less than 120 days for government acceptance and on page 8 Section A #3 specifies offers shall be valid for 150 calendar days. Please clarify the number of days the offers should be valid for.

Answer: Offers shall be valid for 150 days.

15. Should the Vol 2 Technical Proposal address both task orders and include any adjustments for a combined task order approach within the 30-page limit? Or should there be a Volume 2 with a 30-page limit for each Sample Task Order?

Answer: The page limit for Volume 2 has been increased to 50 pages to allow offerors to address all evaluation factors in this section. Offerors are encouraged to be concise and avoid submission of general information that does not correlate directly to the provided evaluation factors.

16. Please confirm that the services being procured under this acquisition are commercial services as defined by FAR 2.101.

Answer: In consultation with our legal team, it has been determined that plugging and abandonment projects are best suited as a construction procurement. All necessary construction clauses and provisions have been included.

17. In either or both sample task orders, is an earlier start than the August 2024 anticipated period of performance possible in order to allow a summer 2024 sampling effort with an ADEC approved sampling plan?

Answer: As stated in the solicitation, offerors shall assume an August 2024 start date. However, work may start earlier depending on time of award.

18. Attachment 3 – Fish Creek TO_SOW, Page 2 Task Order Basic Requirements, Surface Requirements:

This section states that the extent of the cleanup will be a minimum of 75 ft radial circumference from the wellhead. Is there a maximum radial circumference that can be provided for cleanup estimating?

Answer: Minimum of 75 ft and maximum of 150 ft radial circumference for clean-up estimates of debris and/or any contaminated soil findings.

19. Attachment 3 – Fish Creek TO_SOW, Page 2 Task Order Basic Requirements, Surface

This section states that additional soil removal may be required nearby the site. Is there a baseline estimated volume for excavation that should be included in the cost estimate?

Answer: See 2021 Field Sampling and Surface Cleanup Report.

https://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/SPAR/PublicMVC/CSP/SiteReport/27561 https://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/SPAR/PublicMVC/CSP/SiteReport/27561

20. Attachment 7 – Cape Halkett TO_SOW, Page 2 Task Order Basic Requirements, Surface

This section states that the extent of the cleanup will be a minimum of 75 ft radial circumference from the wellhead. Is there a baseline estimated volume for excavation that should be included in the cost estimate?

Answer: Minimum of 75 ft and maximum of 150 ft radial circumference for surface clean-up estimates of debris and/or any contaminated soil findings. No estimate for excavation is available.

21. Attachment 7 – Cape Halkett TO_SOW, Page 2 Task Order Basic Requirements, Surface

Can the 1996 Alyeska Sampling and Analysis Report referenced on the ADEC Contaminated sites database be made available?

Answer: This was not a BLM initiative. Neither BLM nor ADEC have this report.

22. Attachment 7 – Cape Halkett TO_SOW, Page 3 Optional Task

This section states that the Option includes removal of any contaminated soil beyond the minimum of 75 ft radial circumference from the wellhead. Is there a baseline estimated volume for excavation that should be included in the cost estimate?

Answer: See Cape Halkett Site Inspection Attachment 14. Initial estimates from ariel imagery are approximately 1.66 acres of area to investigate, however some of the area may be underwater depending on the season. Excavation estimates have not been determined.