A.02 PLA Information Sources Sought Notice - 27 Jun 25.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

CORPS OF ENGINEERS, BALTIMORE DISTRICT

2 HOPKINS PLAZA

BALTIMORE, MD 21201

CONTRACT OPPORTUNITY

ALVIN BUSH DAM ROCK WALL STABILIZATION PROJECT

NOTICE ID

W912DR25X18N9

DEPARTMENT/IND. AGENCY

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

SUBTIER

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

MAJOR COMMAND

US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

SUB COMMAND

NORTH ATLANTIC DISTRICT

OFFICE

W2SD ENDIST BALTIMORE

CLASSIFICATION

PRODUCT SERVICE CODE: Y1NZ – CONSTRUCTION OF OTHER UTILITIES

NAICS CODE: 237990 OTHER HEAVY AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: CLINTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

DESCRIPTION

TITLE: ALVIN BUSH DAM ROCK WALL STABILIZATION PROJECT - Kettle Creek in Clinton County, PA

SOLICITATION NO.: TBD

This Sources Sought is not a Request for Proposal, Request for Quote, or Invitation for Bid.

There is no commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, make awards, or pay for respondent's expenditures made in response to this notice. Interested vendors are responsible for monitoring this notice for any subsequent amendments. All submissions become government property and will not be returned. Any solicitation issued as a result of this notice will be in a separate announcement. The purpose of this notice is to survey interest and obtain capability statements from industry.

Background: On 02 June 2025, the Principal Director of the Defense Pricing, Contracting, and

Acquisition Policy rescinded Class Deviation 2025-O0002 and its Revision 1 which removed the mandatory requirement to include Project Labor Agreements in all large-scale construction projects greater than $35M. By rescinding the class deviation, contracting officers are required to follow the requirements for project labor agreements as implemented at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 22.5. Accordingly, the Baltimore District is performing market research to assess market conditions to determine if an exception to the PLA requirements should be pursued. Specifically, the Baltimore District is requesting specific information as whether the inclusion of the PLA requirement would ‘substantially reduce the number of potential offerors to such a degree that adequate competition at a fair and reasonable price could not be achieved’ (FAR 22.504(d)(1)(ii))

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Alvin Bush Dam Rock Wall Stabilization Project is located at Alvin Bush Dam on Kettle Creek in Clinton County, PA. The dam falls within the Susquehanna River Basin and is approximately 30 miles northwest of Lock Haven, PA. Kettle Creek joins the West Branch of the Susquehanna River at Westport, 15 river miles above Renovo and 112 river miles above the mouth of West Branch of the Susquehanna.

Original construction of the Alvin Bush Dam began in 1959 and was operationally completed in 1962. It is owned, operated, and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District. Primary features of the dam include an earthen embankment; an uncontrolled spillway with concrete weir; and a gated outlet consisting of a control tower and concrete lined tunnel through bedrock.

The embankment is zoned with a maximum height of 165 ft. and length of 1,350 ft. The spillway was excavated into rock during original construction of the dam, is made of concrete and measures 250 ft. wide across the crest. An access bridge approximately 550 ft. downstream of the spillway crosses the spillway channel and is the only means of access to the project site during times of high discharge (a separate access road exists approximately 0.5 miles downstream but is inundated during high discharge or spillway flow). Bordering the top of the spillway excavation on the right side is Kettle Creek Road (State Route 4001). The existing walls along the spillway are made of concrete. However, the right wall was only lined to the immediate location of the existing weir, whereas the left side extends 80 ft. downstream of the access bridge. The rock face along the right wall of the spillway channel is deteriorated and has nearly eroded back to the state roadway. This is caused by erodible areas of the rock being weathered away and collapsing into the spillway channel. This process has also been accelerated by water runoff coming from the above roadway and down over the face of the spillway wall. Freeze/thaw conditions involving this runoff as well as groundwater seepage also acts as an accelerant. This progressive erosion has caused the exposed rockface to migrate towards the edge of the roadway, threatening to damage the shoulder, and furthermore undermine the road.

Similar to the spillway area, the rock walls of the dam’s primary outlet channel have deteriorated due to the erosion of weathered zones which results in the collapse of overlying blocks.

Additionally, flow from the tunnel outlet erodes rock at the base of the channel downstream of the low concrete walls, allowing more fall in. In 1986, shotcrete was applied to the face of the walls approximately 60 ft. downstream in order to stabilize the walls. Some vertical rock bolts (believed to be shallow) were installed around the perimeter of the cut, along with slush grouting of the ground surface to limit infiltration. Chain link fencing, held in place by rock bolts into the face, covers the shotcrete area (installation date uncertain). This system however has currently failed, leading to further erosion and large rocks falling off the face of the walls, creating an unsafe environment.

The main feature of work for this stabilization project includes the installation of anchored, reinforced concrete liner walls against the exposed rock faces at both the spillway and outlet channel. The concrete liner walls will be constructed to effectively protect the weak rock face from exposure and weathering and will restrain movement of localized areas of rock thereby maintaining the stability. Rock excavation by line drilling with 3-inch diameter holes at maximum 6-inch spacing will be required along the alignment of the new walls to allow the concrete to be placed uniformly along and directly against the finished rock face alignment. Rock anchors are required to increase the stability of both the proposed concrete liner wall, and bedrock blocks or wedges that have a potential of failing. To establish the rock anchor design, a non-traditional method was utilized due to the extended size (both length and height) of the concrete wall. The anchor type selected for this project is a high-strength (150 ksi) all-thread anchor bar with pre-assembled double-corrosion protection. The anchor holes will be drilled normal to the slope/wall at downward 4:1 batter. A minimum anchor hole diameter of 4-1/2" is needed to accommodate the design anchor sizes with corrosion protection. The anchor hole will be pressure tested and pre-grouted to assure watertightness prior to installation. After installation, the anchor will be single stage grouted and tensioned once the required grout strength is achieved. The bearing plate is located within a concrete block-out, located one foot beneath the concrete wall surface. This anchor type and installation method reduces costs while providing adequate stability. The 45-foot wall height design requires 165 kips of individual anchor load, which is satisfied using a 1- 3/4" dia. bar size, the 38-foot wall height design requires 142 kips of individual anchor load, which is satisfied using a 1-3/8" dia. bar anchor, the 32-foot wall height design requires 112.5 kips of individual anchor load, which is satisfied using a 1-1/4" dia. bar anchor.

In addition to the main feature of work, additional features will be constructed as part of the total project scope of work. These additional features include installing a new concrete ditch along the edge of the state roadway adjacent to the top of the right wall of the spillway, installing a new concrete headwall to the end of an existing 18 in. pipe, constructing a permanent access road into the spillway, and constructing new stairs and a ladder in order to safely access the outlet channel.

Request for Information: The Baltimore District respectfully requests a clear response (Yes or No) to the following questions. To appropriately assess the impacts to competition and determine how to best comply with FAR 22.503, clarity in your response is important.

1 – If this project requires the use of a Project Labor Agreement, does your firm anticipate competing for the project?

2 – If this project does not require the use of a Project Labor Agreement, does your firm anticipate competing for the project?

3 – Are you willing to have a follow-up conversation with the Contract Specialist to discuss your answers to the above?

Additionally, the Baltimore District respectfully requests the following information.

4 – Do you have knowledge that a PLA has been used in the local area on projects of this kind? If so, please provide supporting documentation.

5 – Are you aware of skilled labor shortages in the area for those crafts that will be needed to complete the referenced project? If so, please elaborate and provide supporting documentation where possible.

6 – Are you aware of time sensitive issues/scheduling requirements that would affect the rate at which the referenced project should be completed? If so, please elaborate and provide supporting documentation where possible.

7 – Identify specific reasons why or how you believe a PLA would advance the Federal Government’s interest in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal Procurement 8 – Identify specific reasons why you do not believe a PLA would advance the Federal Government’s interest in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal Procurement 9 – Identify any additional information you believe should be considered on the use of a PLA on the referenced project 10 – Identify any additional information you believe should be considered on the non-use of a PLA on the referenced project.

Your partnership in providing clarity in market conditions as it relates to PLA requirements is greatly appreciated.

Please provide your response via email to Trahon Battle (trahon.d.battle@usace.army.mil), and Sharon Alexander (sharon.l.alexander@usace.army.mil) no later than close of business on Thursday, July 10, 2025.