B08_PWS_Performance_Work_Statement_June_20_0001.pdf

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

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PROJECT TITLE:

Shelter Cove Road Shaded Fuel Break

This project is included in a California

Climate Initiative (CCI) Grant

Contents PWS 1.0 Background on the Government’s Requirement

PWS 2.0 General Scope of Work

PWS 3.0 Overall Objective(s)

PWS 4.0 Specific Tasks

PWS 5.0 Delivery / Performance Schedule

PWS 6.0 Contractor-Furnished Property, Materials, Services

PWS 7.0 Security and Administrative Matters

PWS 8.0 Technical Exhibits and Definitions

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1: Performance Requirement Summary (PRS)

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 2: Thinning Specifications

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 3: Maps

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PWS 1.0 Background on the Government’s Requirement

United States Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Arcata Field Office requires forest health treatments and hazardous fuels reduction work in a remote area in northern California. This work is to occur in the King Range National Conservation Area (NCA) along Shelter Cove Road, located in Humboldt County.

PWS 2.0 General Scope of Work

The project is located on the BLM managed lands along Shelter Cove Road and will encompass an area 200 feet from both road edges for 2.8 miles covering 94 acres. This shaded fuel break will help protect the only ingress and egress route for the community of Shelter Cove, Ca. All vegetation in the project area will be cut using chainsaws and chipped or scattered on site.

Project related materials may be utilized for biomass as a contractor/Agency option. When working along Shelter cove Road, traffic control will be required as outlined in Technical Exhibit 2. Traffic holds shall not exceed 10 minutes per event.

Place of Performance:

BLM public lands managed by the Arcata Field Office, King Range NCA. Project area is accessed by Shelter Cove Road. King Range NCA is in Whitethorn, CA, please see Attachment 3-5 for the Project Maps.

The project area is adjacent to a paved county road and is accessible by a 2WD motor vehicle.

Period of Performance:

The period of performance shall be for 18 months from the date of award. The contractor shall provide to the BLM, a written work progress plan that details their work force, equipment, and schedule to provide for completion of the work within the contract performance time.

Work can occur year-round in Units A and B, with ongoing migratory bird surveys conducted by BLM during the nesting season, generally February 2nd to September 14th. During the wet season, generally November 1st to May 1st, work may be suspended or restricted when soils become saturated following precipitation events.

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PWS 3.0 Overall Objective(s)

The objective of this work is to accomplish forest thinning and hazardous fuels reduction to the specification in Technical Exhibit 2.

ITEM UNIT NAME AND NUMBER UNIT ACRES

A Shelter Cove Road Fuel

Break, Unit A 76 Acres

B Shelter Cove Road Fuel Break, Unit B

18 Acres

Table 1

PWS 4.0 Specific Tasks

Task 1: Contractor shall thin CCI Thinning Unit A in accordance with (IAW) all Specifications in this Performance of Work.

Task 2: Contractor shall thin CCI Thinning Unit B IAW all Specifications in this Performance of Work.

PWS 5.0 Delivery / Performance Schedule

All tasks ordered shall be fully completed within 18 months of the base award date. All tasks ordered shall be executed within a specific time frame agreed upon in writing by both the Contractor and the COR prior to work beginning.

PWS 6.0 Contractor-Furnished Property, Materials, Services

General:

The Contractor shall furnish all personnel, materials, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform the work tasks defined in this Performance Work Statement, except for those items specified as government furnished.

PWS 7.0 Security and Administrative Matters

Regular Work Hours:

The performance period established for this contract is based upon all work being conducted during regular working hours between 7:00am and 4:00pm, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays. If the Contractor desires to carry on work outside regular hours, including Saturdays, Sundays, and government holidays, a request must be submitted to the Contracting Officer in sufficient time to allow satisfactory arrangements to be made for access to the work site.

Communications:

“Time” for communications received after 3:00pm, after 12:00 pm locally on Fridays, or after 12:00 pm locally prior to a holiday will not start until the next business day. All

PWS Page 4 times are local Pacific Standard Time.

Government Observations:

Government personnel other than COR may from time to time observe, photograph, or otherwise record Contract operations.

However, these personnel shall not interfere with Contractor performance.

Federal Holidays:

The following Federal Legal Holidays are observed:

New Year’s Day Martin Luther King, Jr.

President’s Day Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Juneteenth

Fire Danger Season:

If the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) allows the Contractor to continue work during periods of declared fire danger or season, the Contractor shall comply with all applicable state laws relating to fire prevention and with all special conditions of work as directed by the COR.

Security:

The Contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all Government property provided for Contractor use or under their control, including securing all facilities the Contractor may access after normal business hours.

Contractor shall coordinate work schedule with Contracting Officers Representative to minimize public and employee ingress/egress to the building.

Safety:

The Contractor shall not require, or allow any employee, engaged in the performance of this Contract to work under conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to his/her health or safety, as determined under safety and health standards promulgated by the Secretary of Labor under Section 107 of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. 327 et seq.) as amended and other Federal, State and applicable local government safety standards.

Department of Labor Code of Federal Regulations Title 29 and other Federal, State, and local government safety standards will apply in its entirety to the Contractor.

Examples of applicable safety standards are OSHA 29 CFR 1910, OSHA 29 CFR 1926, California Title 19, "Public Safety", California Title 8, "General Industry Safety Orders", and 41 CFR, Subpart B, "Public Contracts, General Safety and Health Standards."

The contractor shall also use the “BLM SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS” (The Yellow Book) for reference.

Should the contractor fail to comply with any of these standards and regulations, the contractor shall be found to have defaulted on the terms of the contract.

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Contingency Plan:

Sudden or unusual events could result in a negative impact to the delivery / performance of these requirements.

As an aid to properly plan for such events, the Contractor shall prepare and submit for approval a Contingency Plan for each Place of Performance for these requirements.

The Contractor will outline in detail the method(s) that the Contractor shall use in meeting Contract requirements in the following circumstances:

• a natural disaster occurs which impacts upon the Contractor's ability to perform.

• a labor strike occurs which impacts upon the Contractor's ability to perform.

• a hazardous materials spill which impacts the Contractor’s ability to perform, or which may affect public safety.

• an incident which causes major damage which impacts the Contractor's ability to perform.

• other unforeseen circumstances In all cases, the Contractor will assume that government cannot provide supplemental forces and continues to need the same or additional performance under the Contract, which the Contractor must meet.

This Contingency Plan shall be submitted prior to the start of the contractor.

Extensions to the contract shall only be granted in the event of fire, natural disasters, or other unforeseen circumstances deemed valid by the authorized official.

Emergency Response:

Response to emergency service calls outside of the normal business hours shall not exceed four

(4) hours regardless of the time during the day or night, weekends, or holidays.

Response to emergency service during normal business hours shall not exceed two (2) hours.

Response is defined as having all personnel and equipment required to correct an emergency at the site of the emergency or at a pre-approved staging area, ready, willing, and able to perform the emergency work. The Contractor will provide a draft emergency response plan prior to Contract start date.

Emergency Services:

On occasion, services may be required to support an activation or exercise of contingency plans outside the normal business hours described above. The Contractor's responsibilities for emergency support will be in accordance with the contingency plan.

Hazardous Materials and Hazardous Response:

The Contractor will conform to all Reclamation, Federal, State, and local regulations in the use and disposal of hazardous materials and hazardous waste. The Contractor will provide the appropriate response to any emergency involving hazardous materials at any of the facilities covered by this Contract. The Contractor will provide proof/certification of their personnel qualified to work with hazardous materials and wastes to Reclamation. The Contractor will notify Reclamation immediately upon discovering a release of hazardous waste into the environment.

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PWS 8.0 Technical Exhibits and Definitions

Standard Definitions:

Physical Condition The Physical appearance of Federal equipment or facilities that considers cracks, chips, dents, abrasions, rust, corrosion, general cleanliness, vibration, operating temperature, and discoloration and other items as identified by the COR. Physical condition may be determined by visual as well as diagnostic means.

Contracting Officer (CO) The Secretary of the Interior or designated authorized representative who is the only agent capable of signing a federal award or obligating funds.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) The Contracting Officer’s designated representative as indicated in a delegation of authority letter.

Quality Assurance (QA) Surveillance of Contractor performance to determine performance requirements are met.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) (see Technical Exhibit below) The PRS identifies the key performance indicators of the Contract that will be evaluated by the Government to assure Contract performance standards are met by the Contractor.

Quality Control Those actions taken by the Contractor to control the production of goods or services so that they meet the requirements of the performance work statement.

Technical Exhibits:

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1: PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS)

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 2: THINNING SPECIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 3: MAPS

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TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1: PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS)

Work Tasks to be Performed

Acceptable Quality Level

Method of Surveillance

Consequences, Remedies, and/or Deduction(s)

Task 1

All leave tree, slash, chip, and scatter specifications in Technical Exhibit 2 are adhered to.

The COR or another Government Representative will inspect the work site in person, at least once per month.

For 1 unsatisfactory inspection, the COR will document this and inform the Contractor what must be improved. For 2 unsatisfactory inspections, a 5% deduction from the invoice for that CLIN. For 3 unsatisfactory inspections, a 10% deduction.

Task 2

All leave tree, slash, chip, and scatter specifications in Technical Exhibit 2 are adhered to.

The COR or another Government Representative will inspect the work site in person, at least once per month.

For 1 unsatisfactory inspection, the COR will document this and inform the Contractor what must be improved. For 2 unsatisfactory inspections, a 5% deduction from the invoice for that CLIN. For 3 unsatisfactory inspections, a 10% deduction.

Table 2

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TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 2: Thinning Specifications

GENERAL STANDARDS

Traffic control is required when working within 6’ from either traffic lane of Shelter Cove Road.

This includes falling any trees with the potential of landing within the 6’ of the travel lane.

Equipment such as a bucket truck, rubber tire feller buncher or other specialized equipment should be used to minimize impacts to traffic. Traffic control measures shall comply with Humboldt County Roads and CalTrans guidelines including the CA Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) and the Encroachment Permits Manual. Manuals can be found online at https://dot.ca.gov/programs. Contractor will need to obtain an encroachment permit from Humboldt County Roads Department. Contractor must always maintain at least one open lane for travel, 10-minute traffic holds are allowed under the encroachment permit.

This area is highly impacted by previous management and the forest stands are generally overstocked, resulting in poor forest health. The thinning and chipping/scattering treatments are being done to reduce the tree density, shift the species composition, and reduce fuel loading in the area. Specifically, the project involves the implementation of the following thin from below prescription to a minimum leave tree spacing of 20 feet x 20 feet, this spacing may be decreased to maintain desired canopy coverage at the convenience of the BLM:

Species Falling Residues Madrone In pure madrone stands only, fall trees up to 10” DBH. No cut outside of pure stands

Chip all limbs, boles, and tops less than 5” or scatter all limbs, boles, and tops to a depth no greater than 1 foot

Tanoak Fall trees up to 12” DBH Chip all limbs, boles, and tops less than 5” or scatter all limbs, boles, and tops to a depth no greater than 1 foot

All other hardwoods Fall trees up to 10” DBH Chip all limbs, boles, and tops less than 5” or scatter all limbs, boles, and tops to a depth no greater than 1 foot

All Conifers Fall trees up to 8” DBH Chip all limbs, boles, and tops less than 5” or scatter all limbs, boles, and tops to a depth no greater than 1 foot

Brush Remove all Scotch broom and tanoak stump sprouts.

Thin brush dominated areas

Chip or scatter all biomass to a depth no greater than 1 foot.

Table 3

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• If no trees larger than the DBH limits is present, characteristics used in the selection of leave trees include the following:

1. Madrone shall not be cut unless in a pure madrone stand, deciduous oaks shall not be cut throughout the project area.

2. Species preference: Knobcone Pine, Hardwoods other than Tanoak, Douglas fir, Tanoak (in order of preference).

3. Has no apparent damage to the main bole;

4. Demonstrates good vigor and is disease/pest free;

5. Has at least 40 percent crown ratio, or largest crown ratio if none greater than 40 percent are present.

• The 94-acres in this contract contains diverse topography, some of which may be prohibitively steep. The project area contains approximately 26 acres with a slope greater than 70%.

• All stumps shall be cut with a max height of 6” from the ground on the uphill side.

• Up to 10% of the acreage of any awarded unit (bid Item) may be excluded from treatment due to prohibitive slopes, rocks, riparian areas, or as specifically directed by

COR.

• As an alternative to chipping, contractor may also propose removal of thinning residues where feasible for fuelwood or other biomass use.

• All areas from road edge to 100’ from road or usable trail edge should be treated with thin and chip.

• Areas more than 100’ from road or useable trail edge should be treated with thin and scatter.

RIPARIAN AREAS

The project generally occurs on ridgetops with few natural riparian areas except South Fork Bear Creek in unit B. Mechanized equipment must stay at least 50 feet from ephemeral or intermittent streams and 150 feet from perennial streams. No treatment or removal of live riparian hardwood species such as willow, ash, maple, alder, yew, dogwood, and valley oak. Chips shall not be spread within 5 feet of an existing channel. Hand thinning of non-riparian tree species less than 7 inches in diameter is allowed within riparian areas. These trees will be chipped or scattered more than 50 feet from ephemeral and intermittent streams and 100 feet from perennial streams.

Runoff from Shelter Cove Road has created channels in the project area but unless identified in Technical Exhibit 3: Maps, these areas will not be protected but channel shall be kept free of chips and slash.

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CHIP SPECIFICATIONS

(ALL UNITS: From road/trail edge to 100 feet from road/trail edge, including all usable skid trails connected to Shelter Cove Road)

Thinning and chipping will be the treatment mechanism to reach the above tree spacing specification in Table 3. Specialized equipment should be used to limit impacts to traffic and improve safety. Prospective contractor will thin trees, scotch broom, and tanoak stump sprouts as identified in table 3 to 20 feet x 20 feet and chip both existing slash under 10” and green vegetation removed from between leave trees. Material targeted for chipping includes previously thinned trees and slash, project created biomass, and all undesired shrubs growing between leave trees. Residual chip bed depth should be less than 4” deep.

Individual Scotch broom plants and clumps that are within 25’ of the road edge shall be pulled using a weed wrench and chipped. If scotch broom clumps extend further then 25’ from the roadside, all stems will be pulled. Scotch Broom between 25 to 100 feet from Shelter Cove Road shall be cut and chipped with the rest of the project created slash. Scotch Broom must only be handled before or after seeds are viable. Generally, seeds set and are viable May-September.

During this time scotch broom shall not be cut or moved to reduce the chance of spreading invasives.

In areas dominated by brush, which can be defined as an area larger the one acre, where there are less than 40 trees per acre, and the dominant vegetation type is brush (Manzanita, whitethorn, poison oak), no tree species will be cut. Brush will be thinned to a canopy spacing of at least 20 feet x 20 feet spacing and cut material shall be chipped.

There are no slope restrictions on the 0 through 100 feet from road edge but vegetation growing on unstable cut slopes shall not be cut. Chipper/Heavy equipment may not leave roadbed, turnouts, or existing skid trails. Skid trails should be used were possible to minimize impacts to traffic. Passenger vehicles shall not leave roadbed or existing turnouts.

THIN AND SCATTER SPECIFICATIONS

(ALL UNITS: From chipping treatments to 200 feet from Shelter Cove Road edge)

Contractor will thin trees and brush as identified in table 1 to 20 feet x 20 feet and scatter both slash and green vegetation between leave trees.

• Material to be treated by scattering is all project created slash. Slash left on the ground shall not exceed 1-foot depth.

• All boles, limbs, and tops must be bucked to no longer that 5-foot lengths to ensure contact with the ground.

• All limbs and tops are to be scattered along with smaller trees meeting the above specifications.

• As with chipping standards, existing dead down material meeting the above dimension requirements shall also be left on site to meet residual slash standards.

For area dominated by brush, follow prescription above.

GENERAL STANDARDS

1. State Law. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable laws of the State of

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California. See California Public Resource Codes.

2. Permits Required.

a. Contractor must obtain an encroachment permit form the Humboldt County Roads Department. Permit information can be found at:

https://humboldtgov.org/2291/Encroachment-and-Transportation-

Permits

b. The Contractor must secure a special written permit from the Field Office

Manager or designated representative before engaging in any of the activities listed below.

3. Camp, Lunch and Warming Fires.

Smoking and Fire Rules. Smoking shall not be permitted during fire season, except in a barren area or in an area cleared to mineral soil at least three feet in diameter. In areas closed to smoking, the CO may approve special areas to be used for smoking. These areas shall be signed by the Contractor.

a. Contractor shall post signs regarding smoking and fire rules in conspicuous places for all employees to see. Contractor's supervisory personnel shall require compliance with these rules.

b. Under no circumstances shall smoking be permitted during fire season while employees are operating light or heavy equipment, including walking or working in grass and wood lands.

4. Storage and Parking Areas. Equipment service areas, parking areas, and gas and oil storage areas shall be cleared of all inflammable material for a radius of at least 50 feet.

Small mobile or stationary engine sites shall be cleared of inflammable material for a radius of at least 15 feet from such engine. Areas of the type described above must be approved in writing by the CO.

5. Welding. Contractor shall confine welding activity to cleared areas having a minimum radius of ten feet measured from place of welding.

6. Oil Filter and Glass Jugs. Contractor shall remove from BLM land all oily rags and used oil filters. Contractor shall prohibit use of glass bottles and jugs on contract operations.

7. Spills. Contractor is responsible for ensuring that all equipment is in good condition and free from leaks. Contractor must ensure that each piece of equipment has necessary materials for spill cleanup. Any spill must be cleaned up promptly and reported to the COR.

8. Reporting Fires. As soon as feasible after initial control action is taken, Contractor shall notify The Bureau of Land Management of any fires along roads used by Contractor.

9. Communications. One crew lead must speak, read, and sufficiently communicate in English as to receive instructions, communicate with other resources/ supervisors, and relay critical instructions to non-English speaking module members in order to meet project objectives. Contractor shall furnish a serviceable telephone, radio- telephone, or radio system connecting each construction operation with Contractor's headquarters. A radio-equipped fire patrol person vehicle will satisfy this requirement if in operation

PWS Page 12 during the time required. When such headquarters is at a location which makes communication to it clearly impractical, the BLM will accept a reasonable alternative location. The communication system shall provide prompt and reliable communications between Contractor's headquarters (or above stated alternative) and BLM. The communications system shall be operable during Contractor's operation in the fire precautionary period and at the time fire patrol person service is required. The COR will be notified and approve of any changes to key personnel with 14 day notice before changes are made. Contact information for key staff, including the crew lead who will be on-site daily shall be provided to the CO and COR.

10. Indemnification. Contractor agrees to indemnify, hold harmless, defend and protect the

BLM, its officers, directors, agents and employees from and against any and all claims losses, damages, demands, liabilities, suits, costs, expenses (including attorney’s fees), penalties, judgements or obligations whatsoever for or in connection with injury (including death) or damage to any person or loss or damage of property to whomsoever belonging or pecuniary or monetary loss resulting from, arising out of or in any way related to activity conducted by or the omission of Contractor, including but not limited to Contractor’s development, construction, occupation, use operation, maintenance, and/or removal of the property, premises, of facilities, regardless of how the injury or damage was caused or suffered, unless the injury or damage resulted from the sole negligence or the intentional and willful misconduct of the BLM, its officers, directors, agents or employees.

11. Maintenance of Existing Trails. All trails impacted by treatments should be returned to pre-treatment condition before units are considered complete. This may include:

a) In areas treated by hand, trails will be cleared after treatment. This will include pre-existing dead down material.

b) Any areas of the trail in poor condition prior to treatment (including slides, holes, or otherwise inaccessible conditions) should be identified to COR immediately upon discovery.

12. Mapping: Unit boundaries are not marked. A shapefile and geo-referenced PDF map

(Avenza) will be provided to the contractor. Weekly progress maps shall be provided to the COR that shows completed treatments broken into treatment type and any blocks excluded from treatment as described in the general project specs.

FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS

Fire Season

1. SCOPE

The provisions set forth below outline the channels of responsibility for fire prevention and suppression activities and establish an attack procedure for fires within the contract area.

The contract area is delineated by project maps in the contract. The provisions set forth below also specify conditions under which contract activities will be curtailed or shut down.

2. RESPONSIBILITIES

a) Contractor

(1) Shall abide by the requirements of this Fire Plan.

(2) Shall take all steps necessary to prevent his/her employees, subcontractors and their

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b) Bureau of Land Management

(1) Fire Management Officer/ Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or

Designated Representative

(i.) Will inspect the contract to assure compliance with the requirements of the Fire Plan.

(ii.) Will notify CO in event of Contractor's noncompliance with the Fire Plan.

(iii.) Will notify Contractor to correct any discrepancies with regard to the requirements of this Fire Plan.

(iv.) Will notify Contractor to cease operations if fire weather and/or forest fuel conditions warrant.

3. TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

1) The Contractor shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) Shall equip all diesel and/or gasoline-operated engines, both stationery and mobile used in any contract and camp operations with spark arresters that meet Forest Service standards set forth in the National Coordinating Group publication for Multi-position Small Engines, #430-4, or General Purpose and Locomotive, #430-2.

Spark arresters are not required on equipment powered by exhaust-driven turbo-charged engines or motor vehicles, equipped with a maintained muffler as defined in California Public Resources Code (CPRC), Section 4442 and 4443.

(2) Shall furnish and have available for emergency use on each piece of equipment used in conjunction with performance of the work as listed below, hand tools and/or equipment as follows (CPRC 4427 and 4431) or at the discretion of the

COR:

(i) One shovel, one axe (or Pulaski) and a fully charged fire extinguisher

U.L. rated at 4 B:C or more on each truck, personnel vehicle, tractor, grader, and other heavy equipment.

(3) All tools and equipment required in (1) and (2) above shall be in good workable condition and shall meet the following principal Forest Service specifications for fire tools:

(i) Shovels shall be size "O" or larger and be not less than 46 inches in overall length.

(ii) Axes (or Pulaski’) shall have 2-1/2 pound or larger heads and be not less than 28 inches in overall length.

Technical Exhibit 3

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