BAA_GLCOE Freshwater Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Research.pdf

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)

BAA NUMBER: 70Z02324RBAAGLCOE

Freshwater Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Research

United States Coast Guard (USCG)

Great Lakes Oil Spill Center of Expertise (GLCOE)

70Z02324RBAAGLCOE

I. INTRODUCTION

This announcement is being made to support the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Great Lakes Oil Spill Center of Expertise to open a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) 70Z02324RBAAGLCOE. This document supports a BAA as contemplated under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 35.016(d) and (e). Contracts and/or Agreements based on responses to this BAA are the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of Public Law (PL) 98-369, “The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984.”

This announcement does not constitute a solicitation or a promise of a solicitation in the future. This announcement does not commit the Government to any contractual agreements or arrangements. PROPOSALS ARE NOT

SOLICITED UNDER THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the USCG will arise because of submission of responses to this announcement and USCG use of such information.

USCG reserves the right to select for award and fund all, some, or none of the submissions received in response to this BAA. USCG will not provide funding or reimbursement for proposal development costs. Full submissions or any other material submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. All submissions shall be unclassified.

USCG reserves the right to use this announcement and responses received as part of market research efforts and may appropriately use other FAR parts to procure services.

II. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Agency Name: United States Coast Guard, Great Lakes Oil Spill Center of Expertise

(GLCOE)

2. Research Opportunity Title: Freshwater Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Research Open Proposal

3. Program Name: Great Lakes Center of Expertise Oil Spill Response

4. Research Opportunity Number: 70Z02324RBAAGLCOE

5. NAICS CODE: The NAICS Code for this acquisition is 541715 for Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology).

6. BAA Type: Open Two-Step Announcement

7. Response Date

First Step: White Papers and questions regarding the White Paper submissions must be submitted at the below noted deadlines.

There are three (3) white paper submission related cut-off dates:

1) If there are questions in response to this BAA, they are due by 12:00 pm EST on October 18, 2023. Send questions to SMB- GreatLakesCOE@uscg.mil and Jesse.L.Womack@uscg.mil.

2) If questions are asked, answers will be provided via an amendment to the BAA posted on SAM.gov. Answers will be posted by October 23, 2023.

3) The deadline for submitting White Papers is October 26, 2023, at 12:00 pm EST. Send White Papers via email to SMB- GreatLakesCOE@uscg.mil and Jesse.L.Womack@uscg.mil.

Second Step: PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: White papers that are evaluated as having importance to USCG mission goals and to GLCOE objectives, that demonstrate sufficient scientific and technical merit, and for which funds are available, may be invited to submit a full technical and cost/price proposal. Proposals are not requested unless specifically notified via Request for Proposal by the Contracting Officer.

There are two planned Technical and Cost/Price Proposal related cut-off dates:

1) If Technical and Cost/Price proposals are requested, our goal is to notify offerors via email by no later than November 6, 2023.

2) If Request for Proposals are emailed on November 6, 2023, then our plan is to request the proposal submission due date to be November 13, 2023, at 10:00 am EST.

8. Eligible Offerors: This BAA is open to all responsible sources in accordance with FAR 2.101, which states, “Responsible prospective contractor means a contractor that meets the standards in 9.104.”

III. RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

1. Background: The Great Lakes region, under the jurisdiction of the 9th Coast Guard District, is a uniquely challenging environment for oil-spill preparedness and response.

With the environmental and economic importance of the Great Lakes region, Congress mandated that the U.S. Coast Guard must establish the Great Lakes Oil Spill Center of Expertise (GLCOE).

Oil spills threaten the water quality and ecosystems of the Great Lakes. Vessels, pipelines, rail, and nearshore facilities cause most of the spills in the region. Although most spills on the lakes are less than 10 gallons, the oil cannot always be eliminated quickly and completely enough to avoid impairment of natural ecosystems, drinking water, and particular industries, such as commercial fishing. Moreover, although technologies exist to mitigate damage from oil spills, most of these have been developed for saltwater environments; less progress has been made on improving methods of containment and removal in freshwater and ice conditions, which differ in density, water-circulation patterns, and ecosystems from those found in salt water.

The GLCOE’s purpose is to operationalize innovative ideas that improve freshwater and arctic oil spill responses. The GLCOE is an independent, non-operational body with a legislative mandate to conduct research in the domain of oil spill response.

2. History: In 2018, Congress required that the Coast Guard prepare “assessment results regarding the effectiveness of oil spill response activities specific to the Great Lakes”.

That report, which the Coast Guard delivered to Congress in November 2018, informed Section 807 of the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115- 282). The act directed the establishment of the Great Lakes Oil Spill Center of Expertise.

Below highlights many of the significant events in the development and establishment of the GLCOE:

2016 – Congress required Coast Guard to prepare an oil spill response assessment in the Great Lakes.

2018 – The report from the Coast Guard to Congress informed Section 807 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018, directing the establishment of GLCOE.

2018 – Senator Gary Peters (Michigan) secured $4.5M for the Great Lakes Center of Expertise initiative.

2020 – Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center made recommendations for short/long-term progress and logistics, including staffing positions, partnerships, and site locations.

2022 – Active-Duty positions staffed, and Civilian positions posted.

2023 – Project selection and funding initiatives progress.

3. Functional Mandate:

a. Monitor and assess, on an ongoing basis, the current state of knowledge regarding freshwater oil response technologies and the behavior and effects of oil spills in the Great Lakes

b. Identify any specific gaps in the Great Lakes Oil spill research, including as assessment of major scientific or technological deficiencies in responses to past spills in the Great Lakes and other freshwater bodies, and seek to fill those gaps

c. Conduct research, development, testing, and evaluation for freshwater oil spill response equipment, technologies, and techniques to mitigate and respond to oil spills in the Great Lakes

d. Educate and train Federal, State, and Local first responders in Coast Guard District 9 in –

1) The incident command system structure

2) Great Lakes oil spill response techniques and strategies, and

3) Public affairs

e. Work with academic and private sector response training response centers to develop and standardize oil spill response training and techniques for use in the Great Lakes

4. Research Topics: The areas of particular interest to GLCOE for FY 2024 will include the detection of and response to oil under ice or in ice affected waters, released oil, and the decontamination of the same. GLCOE is interested in funding proposal(s) for projects related to the following topics:

a. Theme 1: Freshwater Oil Spill Preparedness

i. Detection of submerged oil (non-floating or weathered) – Identify techniques to detect and quantify sunken oil, suspended plumes, oil trapped under ice, and oil microdroplets

ii. In situ oil sensors - Evaluation and application of in situ oil sensors

iii. Non-conventional oil - Fate, behavior, and transport

b. Theme 2: Freshwater Oil Spill Response

i. Decanting - Evaluation of next generation decanting technologies for on-site oil water separation, decontamination of dissolved oil compounds, and disposal

ii. Adsorbent, absorbent, and solidifier technologies – Advance freshwater or frozen water applications

iii. Boom and skimmers - Advance freshwater or frozen water applications

iv. Released oil – Evaluation of collection methods for released, suspended oil, and recovery of oil trapped under ice (non-floating or weathered)

v. Uncrewed Systems - Advance freshwater or frozen water detection, monitoring, or sampling applications

c. Theme 3: Alternative Response Measures’ Application in Freshwater

i. Shoreline cleaner – Evaluation of current (NCP Subpart J approved) and next generation shoreline cleaners

ii. Spill herding agents – Evaluation of current (NCP Subpart J approved) and next generation spill herding agents

iii. Bioremediation – Evaluation of current (NCP Subpart J approved) and next generation bioremediation agents

iv. Special Monitoring of Applied Response Technologies – Assess potential in situ burn SMART protocol application in the Great Lakes

5. Specific Tasks

a. Technical Task Management: The contractor shall identify a Principal Investigator to manage the technical task effort, which will be considered a Key Personnel position. The Principal Investigator shall be responsible for ensuring proper technical task program planning and control, timely problem identification and resolution and adequate technical and programmatic interaction with the Government Program Manager. The Principal Investigator shall plan, organize, and manage resources necessary to accomplish the technical task and shall promote strong management, communications, and coordination with any subcontractors and/or associate contractors involved in the technical task. The Principal Investigator shall be responsible for ensuring a timely contractor response to all Government Program Manager information requests.

b. Program Schedule: The program schedule represents the offeror’s commitment to perform the program tasks in an orderly, timely manner. On individual contracts, the contractor shall specify specific days after contract start in the program schedule using a timeline chart showing all major tasks and subtasks, milestones, decision gates, reviews, technical interchange meetings, demonstrations, tests, product deliveries, and overall period of performance.

c. Meetings:

i. Kickoff Meeting: To be held within twenty-five (25) days after award.

ii. Development Tasks: These tasks will be documented in the draft and final reports.

iii. Progress Meeting: Via telephone or videoconference, a progress meeting shall take place approximately half-way through the design process.

iv. Deliverable: Meeting Minutes from Kickoff and Midterm Progress Meetings.

v. Deliverable: Concept Development Draft and Final Reports.

vi. Monthly Progress Report and Archive: The offeror shall prepare a Monthly Progress/Expenditure Report, and at the end of the period of performance, shall provide an archive containing all submitted deliverables.

d. Exit Criteria and Deliverables:

i. Period of Performance: To be determined based on each individual contract. Expect that the contract period of performance will be up to one (1) year from date of award.

ii. Documentation: The contractor shall provide all documentation necessary for efficient program planning and control.

a. Deliverables: All contracts will result in the minimum of a Final

Report. Contract deliverables may include software or hardware deliverables depending on technical contents of the specific contract.

b. Acceptance Criteria: Government acceptance criteria for each deliverable, product or tangible result shall be specified on individual contracts.

IV. AWARD INFORMATION

1. BAA Type: Open Two-Step Announcement

STEP ONE - The Government is requesting WHITE PAPERS via this announcement. DO NOT SUBMIT A FULL PROPOSAL. White papers that are evaluated as having importance to GLCOE functional mandate and to research themes, that demonstrate sufficient scientific and technical merit, and for which funds are available, may be invited to submit a full technical and cost/price proposal.

FUNDING: USCG/GLCOE has funding available for awards under this announcement. The Government reserves the right to select all, part, or none of the white papers received, subject to the availability of funds, for a submission of a full proposal. For those offerors who are selected to submit a proposal, the Government reserves the right to select all, part, or none of the proposal received. All potential offerors should be aware that due to unanticipated budget fluctuations, funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice.

a. FORM: Awards resulting from this announcement will generally take the form of a contract, although the government reserves the right to use the type of contractual instrument deemed most appropriate for the proposed work.

Awards under this BAA are expected to be primarily Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contracts, but the Government reserves the right to pursue other contract types, including, but not limited to, Time and Materials, and/or Labor Hour contracts.

This is a full and open acquisition. Small businesses (less than 1000 employees) are encouraged to propose on all or any part of this acquisition.

White Papers shall be submitted and evaluated in accordance with this announcement.

b. COST SHARING OR MATCHING: Cost sharing is not a requirement.

c. DATA RIGHTS: The offeror shall include a summary of any proprietary rights to pre-existing data related to techniques, prototypes, or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the research, results, and/or prototype. Any rights assertions made in other parts of the proposal that would impact the rights in this section shall be cross-referenced. If there are proprietary rights, the offeror shall explain how these rights will impact the USCG’s ability to demonstrate the delivered prototype for the removal or mitigation of released oil and publish the science and results. Additionally, offerors shall explain how the program goals of the USCG’s response to removing or mitigating the impacts of released oil on the surrounding environment and manmade structures are achievable considering these proprietary and/or restrictive limitations. Offerors asserting Data Rights shall do so in accordance with the clause in FAR 52.227-15, “Representation of Limited Rights Data and Restricted Computer Software.” The Government anticipates incorporating FAR Clauses 52.227-14, Rights in Data – General (MAY 2014) Alternates II, III, IV and V. If there are no claims of proprietary rights in pre-existing data, this section shall consist of a statement to that effect. Depending on the terms and conditions of the expected contract(s), the above-mentioned data rights clauses may need to be negotiated before award.

2. Eligibility Information:

a. All qualified offerors who meet the requirements of this BAA may submit white papers.

b. Foreign participation: Foreign Disclosure Review will be accomplished on each full proposal selected for funding; foreign participation may not be allowed.

c. Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to immediately notify the Contracting Officer before deciding to respond to this announcement.

Foreign contractors should be aware that restrictions might apply which could preclude their participation in this acquisition.

d. Offerors cannot submit more than one (1) white paper per theme.

e. You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this announcement are not met on the white paper.

3. STEP ONE INFORMATION—WHITE PAPER SUBMISSION: Separate white papers are required for each separate project the offeror is pursuing. Each white paper must stand on its own merit. GLCOE will use only information provided in a white paper in the evaluation process potentially leading to a full proposal request. All white papers submitted under this BAA should be

UNCLASSIFIED.

a. EXTRANEOUS INFORMATION: Information not explicitly requested in this announcement is not desired by the government and shall not be submitted. The government will only read and evaluate each section up to the stated page limit.

Pages exceeding the page limitation will not be evaluated.

b. FORMATTING:

1) Paper Size – 8.5-inch x 11 inch

2) Margins – one-inch on each side

3) Font – Times New Roman 12-point font, to include tables, diagrams, and charts. Any other information (e.g., footnotes, or headers, restrictive markings) shall not be smaller than Times New Roman 8-point font.

4) White Papers shall be submitted in either Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF.

Additionally, documents should be sent without password protections.

c. RESTRICTIVE MARKING: If the offeror wishes to restrict its white papers, they must be marked with the restrictive language stated in FAR 52.215-1(e).

d. INSTRUCTIONS FOR WHITE PAPER COMPOSITION

1) Part 1. COVER PAGE. Submit in the format of the template provided as Attachment 1. Page limit is one (1) page.

2) Part 2. TECHNICAL/MANAGEMENT. (Page limit is five (5) pages.

Technical/management shall present, briefly and concisely, the important goals, aspects and core issues of the proposal in technical context. The technical area shall include:

i.) The technical theme from above to be addressed, statement of objectives and proposed approach to meet the objectives.

ii.) Description of the research and effort to be accomplished. Identify specific tasks.

iii.) An assessment of risk and mitigation plan.

iv.) Description of how proposed work advances the state of the science.

v.) Management – describe how the research shall be organized, subcontractors or organizations that will be doing portions of the technical effort and how the efforts are related to each other along with any other management or administrative information that should be provided for evaluation of the effort.

3) Part 3. CAPABILITIES. Page limit is one (1) page. This section shall describe the overall capabilities of the offeror to include current and past work in similar Freshwater Oil Spill Preparedness and Response applications technology and a brief description of the facility capabilities that will be used to execute the proposed effort.

4) Part 4. SCHEDULE. Page limit is one (1) page. (The schedule shall identify and describe major milestones for the entire effort not to exceed one (1) year from date of award. Duration for specific tasks identified in the technical/management section should be shown. The schedule should include an additional three (3) months after the end of technical performance to provide for preparation, submission, review by GLCOE, and acceptance of the final report.

5) Part 5. COST/PRICE. Page limit is one (1) page. Rough order of magnitude

(ROM) cost/price section should provide top-level details on major cost items such as labor, special equipment that needs to be purchased, materials, expiration date for the validity of the ROM, and any or other relevant costs for the proposed effort.

6) Part 6. CITATIONS. Page limit is one (1) page. Data in a list format on the references used within the white paper.

f. HANDLING AND E-MAILING INSTRUCTIONS:

1) All White Paper Questions and White Paper Submissions shall be sent electronically to the following email addresses:

They must be electronically submitted to the BAA Point of Contact (POC) at SMB-GreatLakesCOE@uscg.mil and Jesse.L.Womack@uscg.mil, with email subject line referencing the BAA number, title, and company name as follows: “GLCOE WHITE PAPER QUESTIONS 70Z02324RBAAGLCOE [offeror name]” or

“GLCOE WHITE PAPER SUBMISSION 70Z02324RBAAGLCOE

[offeror name]”.

g. WHITE PAPER REVIEW AND SELECTION INFORMATION:

1) The evaluation team will independently evaluate each white paper submitted for selection or non-selection based on a peer or scientific review process in accordance with FAR 35.016(d) and (e).

2) White Papers will be evaluated through a peer or scientific review process using the following criteria, stated in descending order of importance. The criteria stated below will be used to determine whether full proposals will be invited based on the white paper submitted:

i. Importance to GLCOE functional mandate and to research topics

ii. Scientific and Technical merit

iii. Rough Order of Magnitude

3) White papers submitted will be evaluated as they are received.

4) Organizations whose white papers are evaluated as having importance to

GLCOE functional mandate and to research topics, that demonstrate sufficient scientific and technical merit, and for which funds are available, may be invited to submit a full technical and cost proposal. Such invitation does not assure that the submitting organization will be awarded a contract.

Submitting organizations whose white papers are not selected for submission of a proposal will be notified via email.

5) To be considered for contract award, a white paper must be submitted and be selected for proposal submission.

6) The Government may request a full cost and technical proposal based on all or some of a proposed white paper.

1) AWARD NOTICES: Offerors will be notified in writing whether their proposal is recommended for award. An award recommendation is not to be construed to mean the award of a contract is assured as availability of funds and successful negotiations are prerequisites to any award. This announcement is not an authorization to commence work or to incur any costs to perform the tasks described above.

h. ATTACHMENTS

1) White Paper Cover Page Template