A05_PWS_2023_Dillon_Cheatgrass_Treatment.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

WESTERN DISTRICT

DFO CHEATGRASS AND NOXIOUS WEED

TREATMENTS

1.0 GENERAL

1.1 Introduction

The Bureau of Land Management is acquiring vegetation treatment services on selected sites administered by the Dillon Field Office (see attached map). The work consists of applying herbicides in select locations for control of Downy Brome (cheatgrass), and spotted knapweed on BLM administered lands. The work shall consist of application of contractor-furnished herbicide within the potential project areas as defined on the attached maps. Application for Downy Brome will occur in prescribed fire impacted areas totaling _5389__ acres of treated area. Application will occur in the Middle Ruby, East Bench, and South Tobacco Roots area (see map).

1.2 Applicable Directives

Contractor must hold a current Montana 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 and shapefiles can be provided before application. 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 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:

Imazapic at 6 ounces/acre _252.61_ gallons needed (contractor supplied) Non-ionic Surfactant at 16 ounces/acre _673.63_ gallons needed (contractor supplied)

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 the herbicide Safety Data Sheets.

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

3.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

3.1 There is no Government furnished property.

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 will have the following EPA registration numbers:

Plateau - 241-365 Panoramic – 66222-141-81927 Imazapic 2SL – 71368-118

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

Application of Single Herbicide

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

4.3 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.

4.4 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.

4.5 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.

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

4.7 Herbicide shall not be applied within 150 feet of water sources (troughs, ponds, open water) or within 300 feet of any potential or existing Westslope Cutthroat Trout (WCT) habitat. Water sources and WCT habitat 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.

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

4.9 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 within the area around Virginia City, Montana, in Madison County. The areas to be treated for the contract will be an irregular shape of varying length/width that follow GIS coordinates. Shape files will be provided to the contractor.

5.2 Description of Work

The Contractor shall furnish equipment to apply liquid herbicide to the designated areas in the time specified

5.3 Equipment Requirements:

The equipment used must be able to track where the application takes place so that areas of overlap, skips, gaps and misses can be avoided.

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 in either a shapefile, GPX, KMZ or KML format and provided on a flash drive or other usable storage device. The contractor must, upon request by the COR, 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 within 2 days from the projects end. GIS data compatible with ArcGIS Desktop 10.x 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 data must be capable of zooming in on any portion of the treatment to view a specific area with greater detail.

The contractor will 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. Wheeled or tracked equipment will not be permitted within the areas that have been burned to reduce ground disturbance. Liquid application shall not be made during a rainstorm, snowstorm, or when the ground is frozen.

The Contractor shall contact the authorized BLM Contracting Officers Representative (COR) 72 hours prior to implementing any work specified in this contract. Furthermore, the COR shall be present at the prescribed work sites to inspect the work. 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 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 25, 2023 after the first wetting rain/snow event and will be completed no later than October 20, 2023. Government preference is starting and completing the project as soon after September 25th as possible, however due to weather conditions, soil moisture, soil temperature, and snow cover, issuance of the Notice to Proceed may be delayed until a more favorable time.

There will be a Pre-Work conference prior to the start of the project at an agreed upon date between the COR and the Contractor. At the pre-work conference the Contractor and the COR shall review the contractor’s written “work progress” plan that details his/her proposed workforce and schedule to provide for orderly completion of the work within the allowable 21 day performance time. This work schedule must be acceptable to the government. At a minimum the schedule should reflect a work progress rate equal to the available 21 day 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.

7.2 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 for up to 21 days without delay or interruption and complete 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 28 days allotted from the notice to proceed to the completion of the project.

8.0 MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT

8.1 Application of liquid 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 using a GPS or GPS operated 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 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR) AND/OR PROJECT INSPECTOR (PI)

The COR will be appointed by the Contracting Officer upon award of the contract. Such COR will be responsible for giving the contractor any 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

10.0 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.