AG-4D90-S-16-0015_NRI_West.pdf

SOLICITATION FOR NATIONAL RESOURCE INVENTORY

RANGELAND FIELD STUDY DATA COLLECTION (AG-4D90-S-16-0015)

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (OREGON, MONTANA, ARIZONA, and WYOMING)

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation;

proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This acquisition for commercial items will be conducted using simplified procedures under FAR Part 13 and 13.5.

Contracting Office Address Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Howard Stover, Contracting Officer375 Jackson Street, Suite 600, St. Paul, MN 55101-1854

Responses are due by 08:00 a.m. Central Time, 24 March 2016 at USDA-NRCS (Attn: Howard Stover), 375 Jackson Street, Suite 600, St Paul, MN 55101. Quotes may be submitted via hard copy only. Please submit four copies of the technical and price volumes.

Contact Howard Stover, Contracting Officer, via telephone at (651) 602-7934 or by e-mail Howard.Stover@wdc.usda.gov for information regarding this solicitation. No questions concerning this solicitation will be responded to after 15:00 pm 17

March 2016.

Contractors must submit proposals on each state separately. The evaluations for each state will be conducted independently and each task order originating from solicitation shall be a state-wide award. We will not consider proposals covering only a portion of a state and will we consider a proposal covering more than one state in a proposal. Contractors may submit proposals for only one state or for all four states.

Description

General:

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, is seeking contractor(s) to provide services for the collection of rangeland data on selected sample points for the National Resources

Inventory (NRI), Rangeland Field Study in Oregon, Montana, Arizona, and Wyoming. The intent of the Agency is to solicit the most efficient and effective manner to complete the requirements set forth in this document. To achieve this goal, NRCS reserves the right to make award without negotiations. There will be multi-awardees.

The result of negotiations will be the award of a performance-based service contract to the Contractor(s) whose proposal most successfully addresses the requirements outlined in this solicitation. The requirements are defined based on the output of products and services and not the level of effort required to perform the functions. The performance period begins

April 15, 2016 and concludes September 15, 2016.

Background:

NRCS is mandated (through Rural Development Act of 1972, the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977, and other supporting legislation) to assess the status, condition, and trends of soil, water, and related resources on the National non-Federal lands. Resources inventory legislative authorities, NRCS policy, and responsibilities for conducting the NRI are contained in NRCS General Manual 290, Part 400.

Objective/Scope:

The objective of this solicitation is to acquire specified inventory within the states of Oregon, Montana, Arizona and

Wyoming. The general data categories include: soil and landscape information; ecological site information; rangeland health indicators; invasive/noxious plant presence; disturbance indicators; conservation practices and resource concerns; plant composition and patterns; and plant production, cover, density, and height.

All data will be collected in accordance with the 2016 National Resource Inventory Handbook of Instructions for Grazing

Land On-Site Data Collection.

Interested firms should carefully review the accompanying Statements of Work, furnish the resumes, curricula vitae, or other evidence that demonstrates its proposed data collection team meets the education and experience requirements of the

Statement of Work, and should complete the accompanying Bid Schedule with its prices for the base and option years.

Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of total price and on the basis of technical qualifications described in (ix) below, with the total of all technical qualifications significantly more important than price. The technical qualifications listed in (ix) below are listed in descending order of importance.

Original Point of Contact:

Howard Stover, Contracting Officer, Phone: 651-602-7934, Email: Howard.Stover@wdc.usda.gov

(ii) This solicitation number AG-4D90-S-16-0015 is issued as a Request for Quotations (RFQ), and the acquisition procedures at FAR Parts 12 and 13 are being utilized. The Government reserves the right to make award without negotiations. We will award one base year and four option years.

(iii) This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition

Circular 2005-72, dated January 1, 2014.

(iv) This is a 100% SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE and the applicable NAICS code is 541990 -- All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services. The size standard for this NAICS code is $14 million. Only quotes from small businesses will be considered. A size standard is the largest that a concern can be and still qualify as a small business for

Federal Government programs. Size standards are the average annual receipts of a firm. How to calculate average annual receipts of a firm can be found in 13 CFR § 121.104. For more information on these size standards, please visit http://www.sba.gov/size. The size standards are listed at http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/files/Size_Standards_Table.pdf

(vi) Description of Requirements: FISCAL YEAR 2016 NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

STATEMENT OF WORK FOR NATIONAL RESOURCES INVENTORY RANGELAND FIELD STUDY DATA

COLLECTION (hereinafter “SOW”) for details. Each state Statement of Work are attached.

(vii) Date(s) and Place(s) of Delivery and Acceptance. Delivery and acceptance shall be as set forth in the SOW. Invoices will be approved by the Contracting Officer.

(viii) The provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors—Commercial, applies to this acquisition. The following addenda also apply. Offerors must read and follow these additional instructions to receive consideration.

1. System for Award Management (SAM) Registration

In order to comply with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, all Contractors must be registered in the

System for Award Management, or SAM (formerly Central Contractor Registration (CCR)) and Online

Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA)) prior to award of a Federal Contract. However, due to the need to promptly award a contract after receipt of proposals, registration in SAM, to include completion of the

Representations and Certifications, and having a status of “Active” is required BEFORE submitting an offer. For information regarding registration visit www.sam.gov. Successful offerors and their employees will also be required to provide a completed/signed NRCS Conservation Cooperator Certification as described in the PWS after award is made.

2. Technical Proposal and Past Performance Information

Offerors should submit resumes, curricula vitae, and/or a written narrative that thoroughly addresses all three (3) non-price evaluation factors listed in Section (ix) below. The narrative should be supported by evidence that gives credibility to the statements made by the offeror and in turn gives the Government enough information to understand and gain confidence in what the offeror is stating. There is no limit on the length of the narrative, but it should be of a reasonable length and well supported.

3. Price Proposal

Submit unit and extended pricing for each Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) listed in (v) above. Pricing must be provided for every CLIN.

http://www.sam.gov/

4. Certification at FAR 52.209-7 Information Regarding Responsibility Matters and the Certification at AGAR

452.209–70 (Representation by Corporations Regarding an Unpaid Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony

Conviction.)

The offeror must complete the two certifications by reading and checking the appropriate box(s). A copy of the text of the two provisions can be found in Section (xiii) below and as a separate attachment to this notice. Complete the certification using the attachment related to this notice.

5. Copies of Proposal

Four copies of the proposal technical/past performance and price proposal is required to be submitted. Also include the certifications referenced in paragraph 4 above. Offers can be submitted by mail. No faxed and emailed proposals will be accepted.

(ix) FAR provision 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items applies to this solicitation as follows.

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

(1) Minimum Requirements: Only proposals received from offerors meeting the following minimum requirements shall be considered:

(i) Data collection teams proposed by offeror must, at a minimum, include at least one individual with a

Bachelor’s Degree in Range Management;

(ii) Data collection teams proposed by offeror must, at a minimum, include an individual with at least six

(6) semester hours of soils courses (including at least one course in Soil Morphology and in Soil Survey); and

(iii) Data collectors must have a minimum of two (2) years of formal undergraduate training in biological or earth sciences.

(2) Technical Evaluation Factors: Offerors whose proposals show that they meet the foregoing minimum requirements shall be evaluated on the basis of the following technical factors which are listed in descending order of importance, with the combination of all such technical factors significantly more important than price:

(i) Offeror’s personnel’s experience in the use of:

(A) NRCS Ecological Site Descriptions (ESD) (Technical Guide Sec II; Part F),

(B) Sampling vegetation attributes,

(C) Use of pedology principles to describe and identify correct soil components and associated ecological sites

(D) Apparent rangeland trend,

(E) Rangeland health and health indicators,

(F) Native plant identification,

(G) Noxious weeds and alien/invasive plant identification,

(H) NRCS Conservation Practices (see Scope above),

(I) NRCS Resource Concerns

(J) Rangeland line point transects,

(K) Rangeland line intercept transects,

(L) Vegetation cover density and height measurement,

(M) Species composition by weight

(N) Site reconstruction factors

(M) Allowable species by ESD

(N) Similarity Index (SI) calculations.

(ii) Data Collectors’ basic knowledge of the rangeland field study and ability to:

(A) Use Rangeland Field Study instructions and follow data collection protocols.

(B) Use the study equipment and tools to measure and obtain information.

(C) Use data recording instruments and software.

(iii) Knowledge and experience in plant taxonomy, especially the State which you are applying for.

(iv) Geographic location – Firm will be evaluated on geographic location in relation to work sites and knowledge of local Ecological (Range) Sites and Soils.

(v) Capacity to accomplish the work – Evaluation will be based upon the number of qualified personnel available, the quantity of existing work under contract, and the proposed schedules for completion of existing work.

(vi) Past performance – Evaluation of past performance on contracts with respect to cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules.

(vii) Less experienced and/or less qualified personnel shall not be utilized for the performance of this contract unless approved in advance by the COR.

3. Price Factor

The overall cost to the NRCS is an important factor, but for this acquisition is significantly less important than the technical factors, when combined.

(b) Option Years. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). The number of points in the option years are unknown at this time. They may be significantly more or less than the estimates shown. Funding for the option years is also unknown at this time. If there is inadequate funding for all of the points in a given year, then the COR will determine which points will be eliminated from the study.

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of a proposal, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(End of provision)

(xi) The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and there are no addenda.

(xii) The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—

Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and the following additional FAR clauses cited in the clause are applicable to this acquisition.

(b)

(1) 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Sept 2006), with Alternate I (Oct 1995) (41

U.S.C. 253g and 10 U.S.C. 2402).

(4) 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Feb 2012) (Pub. L. 109-282)

(31 U.S.C. 6101 note).

(6) 52.209-6, Protecting the Government’s Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment. (Dec 2010) (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).

(7) 52.209-9, Updates of Publicly Available Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (Feb 2012) (41 U.S.C.

2313).

(8) 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (section 740 of Division C of Pub. L.

111-117, section 743 of Division D of Pub. L. 111-8, and section 745 of Division D of Pub. L. 110-161).

(12) 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 644).

(14) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (Jan 2011) (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(2) and (3)).

(17) 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(14)).

(23) 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Re-representation (APR 2009)

(26) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (JUN 2003)

(27) 52.222-19, Child Labor--Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (AUG 2009)

(28) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (FEB 1999).

(29) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (MAR 2007)

(30) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans (Sep 2010)(38 U.S.C. 4212).

(31) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (Jun 1998)

(32) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans (Sep 2010) (38 U.S.C. 4212).

(33) 52.222-40, Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (Dec 2010) (E.O. 13496).

(34) 52.222-54, Employment Eligibility Verification (Jul 2012). (Executive Order 12989).

(38) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Aug 2011) (E.O. 13513).

(42) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (JUN 2008)

(47) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer - Central Contractor Registration (OCT 2003)

(c)

(1) 52.222-41, Service Contract Act of 1965 (NOV 2007)

See wage determinations attached to this notice which the individual counties covered in each determination.

(2) 52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires

(3) 52.222-43, Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Act—Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option

Contracts) (Sep 2009)

(xiii) Additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions (such as contract financing arrangements or warranty requirements) determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary for this acquisition and consistent with customary commercial practices. The following additional Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Agriculture Acquisition

Regulation (AGAR) clauses and provisions apply to this solicitation and any resultant contract award. FAR clauses and provisions can be found at https://www.acquisition.gov/far/current/html/FARTOCP52.html#wp372482. AGAR clauses and provisions can be found at http://www.da.usda.gov/procurement/policy/agar.html. Fill-in’s, as required, are provided with the provisions and clauses below.

Provisions

52.209-7 Information Regarding Responsibility Matters.

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision—

“Administrative proceeding” means a non-judicial process that is adjudicatory in nature in order to make a determination of fault or liability (e.g., Securities and Exchange Commission Administrative Proceedings, Civilian

Board of Contract Appeals Proceedings, and Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals Proceedings). This includes administrative proceedings at the Federal and State level but only in connection with performance of a

Federal contract or grant. It does not include agency actions such as contract audits, site visits, corrective plans, or inspection of deliverables.

“Federal contracts and grants with total value greater than $10,000,000” means—

(1) The total value of all current, active contracts and grants, including all priced options; and

(2) The total value of all current, active orders including all priced options under indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, 8(a), or requirements contracts (including task and delivery and multiple-award

Schedules).

“Principal” means an officer, director, owner, partner, or a person having primary management or supervisory responsibilities within a business entity (e.g., general manager; plant manager; head of a division or business segment; and similar positions).

(b) The offeror [ ] has [ ] does not have (check one) current active Federal contracts and grants with total value greater than $10,000,000.

(c) If the offeror checked “has” in paragraph (b) of this provision, the offeror represents, by submission of this offer, that the information it has entered in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) is current, accurate, and complete as of the date of submission of this offer with regard to the following information:

(1) Whether the offeror, and/or any of its principals, has or has not, within the last five years, in connection with the award to or performance by the offeror of a Federal contract or grant, been the subject of a proceeding, at the Federal or State level that resulted in any of the following dispositions:

(i) In a criminal proceeding, a conviction.

(ii) In a civil proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in the payment of a monetary fine, penalty, reimbursement, restitution, or damages of $5,000 or more.

(iii) In an administrative proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in—

(A) The payment of a monetary fine or penalty of $5,000 or more; or

(B) The payment of a reimbursement, restitution, or damages in excess of $100,000.

(iv) In a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, a disposition of the matter by consent or compromise with an acknowledgment of fault by the Contractor if the proceeding could have led to any of the outcomes specified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i), (c)(1)(ii), or (c)(1)(iii) of this provision.

(2) If the offeror has been involved in the last five years in any of the occurrences listed in (c)(1) of this provision, whether the offeror has provided the requested information with regard to each occurrence.

(d) The offeror shall post the information in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iv) of this provision in FAPIIS as required through maintaining an active registration in the Central Contractor Registration database via https://www.acquisition.gov (see 52.204-7).

AGAR 452.209-70 REPRESENTATION BY CORPORATIONS REGARDING AN UNPAID DELINQUENT

TAX LIABILITY OR A FELONY CONVICTION (DEVIATION 2012-01) (FEB 2012)

(a) Awards made under this solicitation are subject to the provisions contained in the Agriculture, Rural

Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. No. 112-55), Division A, Sections 738 and 739 regarding corporate felony convictions and corporate Federal tax delinquencies.

To comply with these provisions, all offerors must complete paragraph (1) of this representation, and all corporate offerors also must complete paragraphs (2) and (3) of this representation.

(b) The Offeror represents that –

(1) The Offeror is [ ], is not [ ] (check one) an entity that has filed articles of incorporation in one of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or the various territories of the United States including American

Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Midway Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands. (Note that this includes both for-profit and non-profit organizations.)

If the Offeror checked “is” above, the Offeror must complete paragraphs (2) and (3) of the representation.

If Offeror checked “is not” above, Offeror may leave the remainder of the representation blank.

(2)

(i) The Offeror has [ ], has not [ ] (check one) been convicted of a felony criminal violation under Federal or State law in the 24 months preceding the date of offer.

(ii) The Offeror has [ ], has not [ ] (check one) had any officer or agent of Offeror convicted of a felony criminal violation for actions taken on behalf of Offeror under Federal or State law in the 24 months preceding the date of offer.

(3) The Offeror does [ ], does not [ ] (check one) have any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability.

Clauses

52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (Nov. 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the

Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the

Contractor within 30 calendar days.

(End of clause)

52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (March 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 30 calendar days before the contract expires; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 60 calendar days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the

Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 3 years and 6 months.

(End of clause)

AGAR 452.209-71 ASSURANCE REGARDING FELONY CONVICTION OR TAX DELINQUENT STATUS

FOR CORPORATE APPLICANTS

(a) This award is subject to the provisions contained in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug

Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012, P.L. No. 112-55, Division A, Sections 738 and 739 regarding corporate felony convictions and corporate Federal tax delinquencies. Accordingly, by accepting this award the Contractor acknowledges that it –

(1) does not have a tax delinquency, meaning that it is not subject to any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, and

(2) has not been convicted (or had an officer or agent acting on its behalf convicted) of a felony criminal violation under any Federal or State law within 24 months preceding the award, unless a suspending and debarring official of the United States Department of Agriculture has considered suspension or debarment of the awardee, or such officer or agent, based on these convictions and/or tax delinquencies and determined that suspension or debarment is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

(b) If the awardee fails to comply with these provisions, the NRCS may terminate this contract for default and may recover any funds the awardee has received in violation of sections 738 or 739.

(End of Clause)

452.224-70 CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION (FEB 1988)

(a) Confidential information, as used in this clause, means --

(1) information or data of a personal nature, proprietary about an individual, or (2) information or data submitted by or pertaining to an organization.

(b) In addition to the types of confidential information described in (a)(1) and (2) above, information which might require special consideration with regard to the timing of its disclosure may derive from studies or research, during which public disclosure of primarily invalidated findings could create an erroneous conclusion which might threaten public health or safety if acted upon.

(c) The Contracting Officer and the Contractor may, by mutual consent, identify elsewhere in this contract specific information and/or categories of information which the Government will furnish to the Contractor or that the

Contractor is expected to generate which is confidential. Similarly, the Contracting Officer and the Contractor may, by mutual consent, identify such confidential information from time to time during the performance of the contract.

Failure to agree will be settled pursuant to the "Disputes" clause.

(d) If it is established that information to be utilized under this contract is subject to the Privacy Act, the Contractor will follow the rules and procedures of disclosure set forth in the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, and implementing regulations and policies, with respect to systems of records determined to be subject to the Privacy

Act.

(e) Confidential information, as defined in (a)(1) and (2) above, shall not be disclosed without the prior written consent of the individual, institution or organization.

(f) Written advance notice of at least 45 days will be provided to the Contracting Officer of the Contractor's intent to release findings of studies or research, which have the possibility of adverse effects on the public or the Federal agency, as described in (b) above. If the Contracting Officer does not pose any objections in writing within the 45 day period, the Contractor may proceed with disclosure. Disagreements not resolved by the and Contracting Officer will be settled pursuant to the "Disputes" clause.

(g) Whenever the Contractor is uncertain with regard to the proper handling of material under the contract, or if the material in question is subject to the Privacy Act or is confidential information subject to the provisions of this clause, the Contractor shall obtain a written determination from the Contracting Officer prior to any release, disclosure, dissemination, or publication.

(h) The provisions of paragraph (e) of this clause shall not apply when the information is subject to conflicting or overlapping provisions in other Federal, State or local laws.

(End of Clause)

END OF SOLICITATION