A04_SOW_Cherry_Gulch_ESR_Mulching.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

CHERRY GULCH FIRE ESR EROSION CONTROL

MULCH TREATMENT 2022

1.0 GENERAL

1.1 Introduction

The Bureau of Land Management is acquiring erosion control services on selected sites administered by the Winnemucca District (see attached map). The work consists of applying mulch in select locations which include steep and remote locations on BLM administered lands impacted by the Cherry Gulch Fire. The work shall consist of application of contractor-furnished mulch within the potential project area as defined on attached maps. Application will occur in fire impacted areas resulting from the Cherry Gulch Fire totaling 100 acres of treated area.

1.2 Location and Description

Vicinity maps showing the project area within which the treatment unit will be located are attached. Contractor will not treat areas outside of identified work areas.

2.0 CONTRACTOR FURNISHED PROPERTY AND SERVICES

2.1 The contractor shall furnish all labor, equipment, fuel, supervision, supplies (except those designated as Government-furnished) and incidentals to perform all work as set forth in the specifications. The contractor will be responsible for the transportation and storage of the supplies and equipment used for the project.

2.2 The contractor shall be responsible for purchasing, safely transporting, storing and applying of the mulch according to the following specifications:

· A 1-3 inch layer of mulch coverage across the entire identified project area.

· Provide an estimated 150-200 tons of mulch product needed to accomplish even coverage across the project area.

The contractor is responsible for ensuring that the application of the mulch meets all specifications. Mulch may consist of wood materials or hay straw, whichever is available. All mulch products shall be certified weed-free. The contractor shall be responsible for ensuring proper exposure control and personal protection is provided.

The contractor shall comply with all Federal, State, and Local regulations.

3.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

There is no Government furnished property.

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Contractor shall provide a completed GIS shapefile showing treated areas as required.

4.2 Mulch shall be applied utilizing necessary techniques to accomplish the assigned task in remote steep locations, with no less than 1-3 inch coverage.

4.3 Mulch must be certified weed-free

4.4 All roads (public and private) damaged or opened by the Contractor shall be restored at no cost to the Government to their condition prior to commencement of work.

4.5 If sensitive, endangered, or threatened species (plant or animal) are discovered within the treatment area the contractor is to immediately notify the COR. The Government may issue a suspend work and/or partially terminate any portion of the work due to discoveries of sensitive, threatened, endangered species or archeological sites during contract operations.

4.6 The Government may issue a suspend work order and/or partially terminate any portion of the work at any time when application conditions are considered sufficiently unfavorable to warrant stoppage. Stoppage shall continue until application operations are again authorized by the Government. No monetary compensation will be given to the contractor for work suspensions.

4.7 Mulch shall not be applied within existing waterways.

4.8 Contractor is responsible for identification and avoidance of all hazards.

4.9 The Contractor shall be responsible if accidents and fuel spills occur. The Contractor shall report immediately spills and accidents to the BLM authorized officers and appropriate local authorities. The Contractor shall provide immediate treatment of contaminated or injured persons and seek professional medical attention when necessary. The Contractor shall control fuel spills quickly and shall secure additional help when the Contractor cannot effectively or safely handle the spill cleanup. Spills will be the responsibility of the Contractor and shall be cleaned up to the satisfaction of the local authorities.

4.10 No hazardous materials shall be stored or disposed of on-site. Fuel, oil, and grease needed for equipment maintenance during the working period may be stored on site where no leakage or spillage will contaminate the ground, preferably in spill containment barriers. No equipment maintenance will be performed within, or near, any stream channel or waters where petroleum products or other pollutants from equipment may enter these waters.

5.0 LOCATION

The mulch treatment area is located in Alta Creek Basin approximately 12-14 miles South of Denio, Nevada, and 75 miles Northeast of Winnemucca, NV in Humboldt County, NV. Shapefiles of the area to be treated will be provided to the contractor.

6.0 DESCRIPTION OF WORK

The Contractor shall furnish all equipment and personnel to apply mulch to the designated areas in the time specified.

Navigation - Differentially Correctable Global Positioning System (DGPS) is required for tracking and data collection. The Contractor shall provide all guidance equipment, materials, computers, printers, personnel, and services required for the system to be used. The system shall be sufficiently sensitive to provide immediate deviation indications (real-time).

The DGPS system must be capable of determining a differentially corrected location with an error of no more than one to two meters in the horizontal plane. The guidance system shall be capable of updating current position at a rate of a minimum of one time per second. Differential correction must cover the complete operational area. During operation differentially corrected signal must be accurately recorded at least 90% of the operational time. Differential correction may be provided by a portable differential station, FM radio fixed towers, or satellite.

Software provided with DGPS must be designed for parallel offset in increments equal to the assigned swath width of the application equipment

Equipment Requirements:

Software: Software provided with DGPS must be designed for parallel offset in increments equal to the assigned swath width of the application equipment.

Project Log: Must be capable of a minimum rate of one-second logging intervals. Full record includes position, time, speed, track, application system on/off, job name/number, and differential correction status. The computer program must be capable of calculating and show total acres treated during the application and also capable of downloading to a computer for analysis and review. Export files of each project log shall be provided and must be compatible with ArcView or ARC-INFO GIS system on a standard USB memory stick. The Contractor may provide software that is compatible, and which will enable the files to convert into viewable files for ArcView or ARC-INFO GIS. The contractor must, upon request by the COR or Project Inspector, be able to supply project log data on a USB memory drive for review at any time during the contract. The Contractor will provide project log data at the end of each day’s application in a format able to be viewed on ArcGIS or other appropriate format (shapefiles, .gpx, .kml, etc.). GIS data must be provided daily to the COR or designated representative. The Contract will not be considered complete until the data has been reviewed and deemed complete with no skips in the sprayed areas. The DGPS system must be capable of zooming in on any portion of the treatment to view a specific area with greater detail.

Hardware:

Visual Display Monitor and Control Keypad: (1) Capable of displaying swath width over project path; (2) mounted in a location that will allow the applicator to view the screen; (3) have a method to display nested polygons to indicate sensitive areas within or adjacent to treatment blocks; (4) have a feature that allows the applicator to return to the exact location of application shutdown and complete application without omitted or doubled treated areas; (5) be able to input reference waypoints (A-B line); (6) have a feature which alerts applicator when they are about to enter or exit a specific treatment block or an exclusion area within a block.

Course Deviation Indicator (CDI): The course deviation indicator or course deviation light must have the capability to display both cross-track error and intercept angle to desired heading. Cross-track error shall be adjustable down to one foot.

DGPS navigation unit shall insure straight and regular paths of application. Irregular paths of application will result in immediate stoppage of work. Corrective action shall be taken immediately by the contractor to ensure regular application paths and minimum of 1-3 inch coverage of areas included in the mulching application job. The entire surface within the designated boundaries of the project area shall receive uniform coverage with mulch except for areas excluded by the Government. Areas excluded from the mulching operation within the designated boundaries will not be included in the acreage computed for payment. Dispersal shall be low enough to obtain proper distribution and uniform coverage of mulch.

The Contractor shall contact the authorized BLM Contracting Officers Representative or Project Inspector (COR/PI) 72 hours prior to implementing any work specified in this contract. Furthermore, the COR/PI shall be present at the prescribed work sites to direct and inspect the Contractor. The Contractor shall submit completed Application Records no later than 2 weeks after applying the mulch specified in this contract.

7.0 FIELD QUALITY CONTROL

The BLM COR/PI will monitor to determine uniformity of mulch application. If coverage is deemed unsatisfactory, the contractor will be required to treat those areas at no additional cost to the BLM. Application will be coordinated with COR/PI to ensure appropriate application locations.

8.0 EXPECTED DELIVERY OR PERFORMANCE TIMES

8.1 The period of performance is from December 1, 2022, and will be completed no later than March 30, 2023, this will depend on the time needed by the Contractor to complete the mulch application. Government preference is starting and completing the project as quickly as possible, however due to weather conditions during this time, time frames may need to be re-negotiated.

8.2 There will be a Pre-Work conference prior to the start of the project at an agreed upon date between the COR/PI and the Contractor. At the pre-work conference the Contractor shall provide the COR a written “work progress” plan that details his/her proposed workforce and schedule to provide for orderly completion of the work within the contract performance times. This work schedule must be acceptable to the government. At a minimum the schedule should reflect a work progress rate equal to the available amount of contract performance time. The unit sequence work schedule will be determined by the COR at the pre-work conference and may be subject to change because of normal variations in weather conditions at no change in contract time or price.

8.3 The Contractor shall begin work within 7 calendar days from the effective notice to proceed. The Contractor shall continue performance of the work under the contract without delay or interruption except by causes beyond his control as defined by contract clauses, or by the receipt of a “Suspend Work Order” issued by the Government. Failure to do so may be cause for action under the “Default” clause. The Contractor shall complete all work required within the time specified.

9.0 MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT

9.1 Application of mulch will be measured and paid for by the number of acres treated to the nearest acre.

9.2 Measurement for payment for mulch treatment will be the actual area, in acres, within the designated boundaries satisfactorily treated in conformance with these specifications. Measurement will be made from either physical surveys of the areas or a computer-generated file created in a GPS Differential Guidance System at the option of the BLM. The shapefile will be used in ArcGIS for final acreage measurement. Acreages will be computed from horizontal distances as shown on maps at the option of the BLM.

9.3 If the quantity of a unit-priced item in this contract is an estimated quantity and the actual quantity of the unit-priced item varies more than 15 percent above or below the estimated quantity, an equitable adjustment in the contract price shall be made upon demand of either party. The equitable adjustment shall be based upon any increase or decrease in costs due solely to the variation above 115% or below 85% of the estimated quantity. If the quantity variation is such as to cause an increase in the time necessary for the completion the contractor may request, in writing, an extension of time, to be received by the Contracting Officer within 10 days from the beginning of the delay, or within such further period as may be granted by the Contracting Officer before the date of final settlement of the contract. Upon receipt of a written request for an extension, the Contracting Officer shall ascertain the facts and make an adjustment for extending the completion date as, in the judgment of the Contracting Officer, is justified.

10.0 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR) AND/OR

PROJECT INSPECTOR (PI)

The COR and/or Project Inspector (PI) will be appointed by the Contracting Officer upon award of the contract. Such COR/PI will be responsible for giving the contractor any special instructions or guidance necessary to complete delivery as required by the contract. The COR or PI does not have the authority to modify or in any way amend the terms of this contract.

11.0 SAFETY

The contractor is responsible for providing a safety plan that identifies a point of contact in the event of any accident. The plan should include names and emergency phone numbers for personnel and facilities to contact, including Flight For Life/Life Flight/Care Flight, etc., in case an emergency warrants such actions. The plan should also include a description of on-site emergency procedures to follow in case of an accident. The plan should identify the insurance company providing coverage and the pertinent group coverage number.

It is the responsibility of the Contractor to identify all hazards within the work area. All appropriate precautions shall be taken by the Contractor.