A04_SOW.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

WINNEMUCCA SOUTH HERBICIDE 2023

Application of Herbicide (Imazapic)

1.0 GENERAL

1.1 Introduction

The Bureau of Land Management is acquiring vegetation treatment services on a selected site administered by the Winnemucca District (see attached maps). The work consists of applying herbicides in select locations for control of invasive and or noxious weeds on BLM administered lands. The work shall consist of application of contractor-furnished herbicide within the potential project area as defined on the attached maps. Application will occur both alongside existing roadways and remote units with varying terrain totaling 6,500 acres of treated area.

1.2 Applicable Directives

Contractor must hold a current Nevada Commercial Applicator License. All vegetation control measures shall comply with the provisions set forth in the Record of Decision for the Vegetation Treatments Using Herbicides on Bureau of Land Management Lands in 17 Western States Programmatic EIS (September 2007), as well as all federal, state, and local regulations and applicable land-use permitting procedure.

1.3 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.

The following acreage will be treated at each unit:

· East Range: 2,200 acres

· Sonoma: 2,100 acres

· Poker Brown: 1,200 acres

· Kumiva North: 400 acres

· Kumiva South: 600 acres

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 disposal of the herbicide as follows:

Liquid Imazapic Formulation – Plateau or Panoramic 2SL: 6 oz/ acre (304.7 gallons total) and Approved deposition aid at label-recommended rate and water sufficient to apply no less than 5 gallons/acre of tank mix (approximately 32,196 gallons minimum)

OR

Dry Granule Formulation – Open Range G: 11.1 lb/acre (72,150 lbs total)

2.3 The contractor is responsible for ensuring that the application of the herbicide meets all label specifications. The contractor shall be responsible for cleanup of accidental spills, following proper handling and storage precautions, and ensuring proper exposure control and personal protection is provide as defined by Imazapic herbicide Safety Data Sheets. The contractor will report all spills of hazardous materials to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or Project Inspector (PI) immediately.

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

3.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

3.1 No government furnished property will be provided.

4.0 SPECIFIC TASKS

4.1 Contractor shall provide a completed Pesticide Application Record (PAR) for each treated site. A GIS shapefile showing treated areas is required.

4.2 Approved Herbicides:

The prescribed herbicides, which are approved for use on the Winnemucca District Pesticide Use Proposal (NVW000-23-03-P), will have the following EPA registration numbers:

Plateau: 241-365 Panoramic 2SL: 66222-141-81927 Open Range G: 2935-557

4.2.1 The MAXIMUM rate of herbicide application is as follows as expressed in active ingredient per acre (a.i./acre).

Application of Single Herbicide

4.3 Approved Adjuvants: All liquid formulation (Plateau or Panoramic 2SL) applications require the use of an approved deposition aid at label-recommended rate. A list of approved deposition aids is attached. If a deposition aid label does not specify a minimum recommended application rate, no less than 20% of the maximum rate will be applied.

4.4 Liquid herbicide will be applied utilizing water as a carrier, with no less than an average of 5 gallons/acre of tank mix applied.

4.5 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.

4.6 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.

4.7 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.

4.8 Whenever a specification, Agency, State or Federal law; or label direction has a contradiction, the most stringent interpretation shall take precedence.

4.9 Herbicide shall not be applied within 300 feet of any fish-bearing stream or within 150 feet of any other surface water (troughs, ponds, open water). Fish-bearing streams and permanent surface waters will be marked on the GIS layer or map and given to the Contractor prior to herbicide application. Contractor is expected to apply the herbicide consistent with the maps and shapefiles provided by the BLM.

4.10 Precipitation in the form of rain, snow, or fog will halt herbicide application.

4.11 Contractor is responsible for identification and avoidance of any and all hazards.

5.0 SITE SPECIFICS

5.1 Location and Description of Project

The herbicide treatment areas are located approximately 40 miles southwest of Winnemucca, Nevada in Humboldt County. The areas to be treated for the contract will be irregular shapes of varying length/width that follow GIS coordinates. Shapefiles will be provided to the contractor.

5.2 Description of Work

The Contractor shall furnish equipment to apply liquid or dry granule herbicide 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 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.

5.3 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. The project log must show and differentiate between spray-on and spray-off when viewed on a computer monitor or printer. 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 have 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 or no-spray 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.

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 insure evenly spaced, straight and regular application paths and complete coverage of areas included in the spraying job. The entire surface within the designated boundaries of the project area shall receive uniform coverage with herbicide except for areas excluded by the Government. Areas excluded from the herbicide 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 herbicide. Herbicide application shall not be made during rainfall, snowfall, or when the ground is frozen.

The Contractor shall contact the authorized BLM 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 Pesticide Application Records no later than 2 weeks after applying the herbicide specified in this contract.

6.0 FIELD QUALITY CONTROL

6.1 The BLM COR/PI will monitor to determine uniformity of herbicide application. Randomly placed drift cards may be used for quality control testing. If coverage is deemed unsatisfactory (e.g. less than 90% of drift cards show herbicide coverage), the contractor will be required to treat those areas at no additional cost to the BLM.

7.0 EXPECTED DELIVERY OR PERFORMANCE TIMES

7.1 The period of performance is from September 15, 2023 after the first wetting rain/snow event, and will be completed no later than January 31, 2024 (depending on weather and soil conditions), this will depend on the time needed by the Contractor to complete the herbicide application. Government preference is starting and completing the project as quickly as possible, however due to weather conditions during this time, soil moisture, soil temperature, and snow cover, time frames may need to be re-negotiated. Government preference is for application immediately prior to wetting rain/snow event consistent with label requirements.

7.2 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.

7.3 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.

8.0 MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT

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

8.2 Measurement for payment for herbicide 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.

8.3 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.

9.0 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.