Attachment_4b_Clarifications_with_Amd_3_0003.pdf

Conduct soil NTCRA under CERCLA at Caneel Bay Resort Attachment 4b: Clarifications with Amendment 3

Virgin Islands NP

1. Will the contractor be responsible for a habitat survey for endangered species prior to field work, specifically for the Virgin Islands Tree Boa.

a. No.

2. Please consider adding a General Conditions bid item to include Management for the duration of the Period of Performance. The General Conditions line would include project management and oversight, subcontractor management and any project/client meetings and would be priced based on the period of performance.

a. Good suggestion; see response to #3.

3. Attachment 1 Specification Section 01 27 00, Definition of Line Items, has been revised;

see separate attachment and revised Forms 1 and 2, which are hyperlinked from Amendment 3 at SAM.gov. The CLINs in Form 1 replace those in the price schedule on Page 3 of the RFP (Section B). Two versions of the Revised Definition of Line Items section are included, with changes tracked and clean.

4. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulates the import of soil to the mainland from Hawaii and the US territories, including the Virgin Islands.

Although a permit is not required because this is a CERCLA removal action, complying with the substantive requirements of the permit are required. Under these requirements, soil imported from the Virgin Islands is required to pass a pre-departure inspection, and once it has arrived at the US must be transported to a licensed sterilization facility in a double walled container. At the sterilization facility soil will be rendered inert by either

(1) Dry heat at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for at least two hours, or (2) Steam heat at the same temperature for 30 minutes at 15 lbs/p.s.i. pressure, or (3) Other treatments and conditions such as: (a) destructive analysis, (b) acid washing, (c) hydroclave, and (d) incineration. Is it the intent of this solicitation that these substantive requirements be met, or will a waiver be obtained by the National Park Service to allow for direct disposal at a Class D or Class C landfill, depending on the soil classification?

a. NPS is not seeking a waiver to APHIS requirements.

b. Offerors should include the proposed method(s) to comply with APHIS regulations in their technical approach (#5 in RFP L.4). The proposed method will not be specifically evaluated but will contribute to our understanding of the proposal.

c. The cost of implementing the proposed method shall be included in the unit prices for CLINs 3, 6, 9, and 11.

5. In CLIN 003, Area 2 Soil Removal, please confirm if contractors should price 690 tons or 460 tons, as the “Price Schedule” and “Additional Price Detail” forms differ.

a. The total estimated quantity of Area 2 soil is 460 tons (288 BCY multiplied by conversion factor 3,200 lbs, divided by 2,000). See revised Forms 2 and 3.

6. In Specification Section 01 27 00, several items call for payment as: “Payment will be made at the contract unit price for the actual quantity per ton. Quantity will be measured and calculated by adding up all weight tickets from disposal site(s).” We request that NPS consider alternatives for the payment for these items: Due to the remote location of this project, the extreme distance to the disposal site, and the shipping route involving on-island freight, shipment by boat, overland shipping, and customs and clearance at ports, the time between when the work is performed and when it can be weighed at the disposal site may be 60-90 days. Also, although the local waste disposal facility has scales, they are not always functional.

a. Will NPS consider separating the “work” and the “disposal” into two separate pay items?

i. “Work” and “disposal” will not be separated into separate pay items. The CLINs were updated based on other questions received, please review these updates; see #3.

b. Will NPS provide a scale at the jobsite?

i. NPS will not provide a scale at the jobsite.

c. Will NPS add contract line items measured by cubic yard (CY) instead of tons?

i. No, due to the imprecision of measuring CYs. However, the contractor and Project Engineer (PE) shall both keep records of the estimated quantities of CLINs 3, 6, 9, and 11 in cubic yards, and the PE will include the estimated quantities in their daily reports to NPS.

7. Has NPS had any communication with the local Waste Management Authority (WMA) to ask if soil material or debris that is not considered RCRA Hazardous Waste be allowed to be received at the local landfill on Saint Thomas?

a. No, NPS has not communicated with the local WMA.

8. Please clarify the contradiction between these statements. “Page 4 from Solicitation: The excavated materials that contain hazardous substances must be shipped off island to the continental U.S. for disposal.” and “SECTION 02 61 29 - REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL OF CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT AND SOILS: Based on current Site data, contaminated soils and sediments are not expected to be classified as Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Hazardous Waste.” Should we assume and price the contaminated media from this project as RCRA non-hazardous waste?

a. There is no contradiction. Although previous investigations indicate that the removed materials will be RCRA non-hazardous waste, if waste characterization indicates that some materials do not meet the standards for RCRA non-hazardous waste, those materials must be shipped to CONUS for disposal at an appropriate facility.

b. Some material within Area 3 is contaminated with CERCLA hazardous substances, a small proportion of which, estimated at 1%, may qualify as RCRA hazardous waste. Use new CLIN 11 for disposing of RCRA hazardous waste.

9. If, during waste characterization a portion of or the entire waste stream is characterized as RCRA hazardous waste, will NPS negotiate a new unit price and issue a modification to handle and dispose RCRA hazardous wastes?

a. No, use new CLIN 11 for disposing of RCRA hazardous waste. Refer to Revised Definition of Line Items and revised Forms 2 and 3.

10. Attachment 1 Section 5.3 Area 3 Soil Removal: Additional excavation may be required, depending on visual observations and confirmatory sampling results. Section 5.6 Confirmatory Sampling and Screening: The Project Engineer will collect confirmation samples and submit them to a commercial laboratory holding National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) certifications for metals and pesticides analyses. Will the time waiting for results be reimbursable to the contractor?

a. The time between completing excavation and receiving approval to backfill is not specifically reimbursable. Refer to Attachment 1, Specification 01 11 00 for Area 2 (soil) and Area 3 work elements “Keep the excavation open and dry until vertical and horizontal excavation limits are approved by the Project Engineer.

Pending confirmation screening and sampling of excavation bottoms, additional excavation may be required.” Include associated costs in the corresponding unit-priced CLINs in the Revised Definition of Line Items and revised Forms 2 and 3.

Refer also to Question 7 on Page 2 of Attachment 4a for anticipated timing of confirmation sampling results.

11. Please clarify whether planning documents will be submitted for regulatory review and require Draft, Draft Final, and Final versions or if Draft and Final versions only are acceptable.

a. NPS may submit some elements of the Contractor’s Construction Plan for regulatory review by USVI DPNR. Submit final versions, which are subject to comment and revision until accepted by NPS per Attachment 1, Specifications Section 01 33 23.

12. For the purposes of evaluating the “Area of Comparability” in Form 4 Experience Summary, will the NPS please take into consideration projects that were CERCLA

TCRAs? CERCLA TCRAs have similar requirements for CERCLA NTCRAs in regard to the specific Areas of Comparability that are being evaluated.

a. TCRAs under CERCLA for federal government customers will be considered comparable.

Note that NPS is researching and preparing responses to other questions received before the deadline that will be included in a future amendment.

Submit new questions by 9:00 am PT on May 9, 2024, to sarah_welch@nps.gov and kelly_kachurak@nps.gov.

Attachment 4b: Clarifications with Amendment 3