Amendment 001 - Powell WRE Site Showing Notes 12FPC321Q0045 5-10-21signed.pdf

United States Natural Resources Department of Conservation 101 South Main Street Agriculture Service Temple, TX 76501

Subject: Date: 5/10/2021 ADS - Acquisition, Procurement, Contracts Powell WRE, Bowie Co

To: File code:

Guy Trampe Contract Specialist Ft. Worth, TX

A site showing was held at the New Boston, Texas, USDA Service Center on the subject site on May 10, 2021, at 10:00AM. After the specs and drawings were reviewed, the meeting moved to the physical construction site.

The following information was reviewed with the contractors at the showing, which covered the Construction Specifications, Drawings, and the Site Visit. Please use this information along with the question and answer section for the preparation of needed amendments to this solicitation.

A general discussion of the contract requirements was discussed. Prospective bidders were told to reference the solicitation forms on www.sam.gov for specific instructions. Prospective bidders were told that quotes are due on 5/24/21 at 11AM to the email listed in the solicitation. They were told that they must be registered in SAM for their quote to be valid. They were instructed to direct any questions to guy.trampe@usda.gov and they would be answered in a timely manner. They were reminded that a payment bond, irrevocable letter of credit, or a tripartite escrow agreement in the amount of 100% of the project cost is required within 10 calendar days of award of the contract.

NRCS SUPPLEMENT TO OSHA PARTS 1910 and 1926 (SECTION H)

1.1: Written safety program, site specific (i.e., snakes, heat exhaustion, etc.).

1.5: Weekly job-site safety meetings are required.

1.7: First aid training, at least one employee on-site at all times with current certificate.

2.3: Communication and transportation, at least one serviceable stretcher and two blankets on-site at all times.

4.1: Hard hat areas, include entire job site except temporary office.

4.3: Hard hat signage, specifications for lettering color, size.

CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS

The construction specifications are composed of two parts. The first part is called the closed specification and is the standard NRCS construction specification that begins with the SCOPE and ends with MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT or PAYMENT. The second part is called the open specification and consists of the ITEMS OF WORK AND CONSTRUCTION DETAILS that are written specifically for the this job.

All of the Construction Specifications are listed in the solicitation package. Not all of the Construction Specifications have a corresponding Bid Item. Some of the bid items have subsidiary items of work, which http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:guy.trampe@usda.gov

Powell WRE Site Showing

- 2 -means those items are required to be accomplished but the payment for those items are included under another Construction Specification. For example, Construction Specification 5, Pollution Control, is subsidiary to Construction Specification 8, Mobilization and Demobilization. So the bid cost for Pollution Control should be included in the bid price for Bid Item 1: Mobilization and Demobilization.

BID ITEMS AND SPECIFICATIONS REVIEWED

NOTE: The contractor shall comply with ALL of the specifications. Not all of the specifications were reviewed at this meeting or in the following notes. The following were several main points taken from the specifications.

CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION 5: POLLUTION CONTROL

Section 8a, Item 5: To minimize the potential for discharge, all borrow areas for the earthfill shall be located immediately upstream from the planned earthfill structure.

CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION 7: CONSTRUCTION SURVEYS

Section 5, Construction Surveys, Method 1 shall apply.

Section 9a, Item 2: In Section 6, the NRCS shall accomplish the initial stakeout of the earthfill. Stakes or pin flags will be placed where the designed slope meets natural ground.

Section 9a, Item 4: All surveys shall proceed from benchmarks, reference points and /or stakes set or established by the NRCS.

BID ITEM #1: CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION 8: MOBILIZATION & DEMOBILIZATION

Section 4a, Item 1: SHREDDING: Prior to construction, the contractor shall shred the existing vegetation within the construction areas. The areas to be shred total 17 acres. The perimeter of each mowing area will be clearly delineated in the field for the contractor. Once the shredding is complete the NRCS will stake the structures for construction. Shredding is not a separate bid item. Shredding is included in the bid item for Mobilization and Demobilization.

Section 4a, Item 2: The construction access point is along the county road adjacent to the property. The contractor shall comply with all state and local traffic control and site access requirements at no additional cost to the government.

Section 4a, Item 3: All debris, trash, tires, equipment, parts, chains, cables and any other such items resulting from the construction work shall be removed from the site and properly disposed of by the contractor.

Section 4a, Item 4: All disturbed areas shall be bladed or smoothed to blend in with the surrounding land surface.

CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION 11: REMOVAL OF WATER

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Section 8a, Item 2: The Contractor’s plan for dewatering the sites shall be approved prior to the start of construction operations. The plan, at a minimum, shall include the proposed project sequencing to minimize the potential and duration of flooding, and contingency plans (i.e. pumping) to continue work and protect the incomplete structure.

BID ITEM #2: CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION 21: EXCAVATION

Section 10a, Item 3: Excavation of the macrotopography shall be constructed as staked in the field, or as specified in the construction drawings.

Section 10a, Item 5: In Section 4, Use of Excavated Material, Method 2 shall apply. The spoil shall be compacted in layered lifts in the areas marked on the drawings or in the field to construction the habitat mounds. The maximum uncompacted layer thickness shall be 9”. Compaction shall be obtained by controlled operation of the earth-moving equipment so that the entire surface of each lift or layer is traversed by not less than one tread track of the equipment.

Section 10a, Item 6: Topsoil from the footprint of the habitat mounds shall be stripped and stockpiled on site.

Once construction is complete, topsoil shall be reapplied to promote revegetation on the structure. Habitat mound locations are described on the drawings.

Section 10a, Item 7: Habitat mounds shall not impound water or impede runoff water from eventually entering the excavated macro.

Section 10a, Item 8: Trees, stumps, brush, large rocks, and other debris which will prevent smoothing of the spoil pile shall be removed from the macro and spoil area. The debris shall be disposed of according to state and local regulations.

CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION 23: EARTHFILL

Section 10a, Item 2: The earthfill shall be constructed as staked in the field, or as specified on the construction drawings. If sand layers are uncovered during borrow area excavation, those soil will not be used in the earthfill and those areas in the borrow pit shall be patched with impervious clay to prevent seepage. Sandy material shall not be used to construct the compacted earthfill unless approved by the engineer.

Section 10a, Item 4: A foundation (core) trench of impervious soil material is required on both the north and south structures. The core trench shall be comprised of clay soils from on site and shall extend down to underlying suitable clay material. Excavation of the core trench shall be a minimum of 8 feet wide with side slopes no steeper than 2:1. The NRCS engineer will inspect the core trench and foundation soils during construction and will approve the soils being placed into the core trench. Any sandy material obtained from the foundation or core trench (except topsoil) may be compacted into the back toe of the structure as approved by the engineer, or removed from the site and disposed of in a legal manner. Measurement and payment for the core trench will not be made.

Section 10a, Item 5: In Section 4, Placement, the thickness of each uncompacted lift shall not exceed 9”.

Section 10a, Item 7: In Section 6, Compaction, each lift shall be compacted by controlled operation of the earth-moving and spreading equipment over the fill so that the entire surface is traversed by not less than one track of the equipment.

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CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION 94: CONTRACTOR QUALITY CONTROL

Section 10a, Item 1: The use of such words as “as approved by the Engineer or Contracting Officer” and words of like imports in the specifications or construction drawings which refer to approval by the Contracting Officer are considered to be a part of the Government’s Quality Assurance Program and do not relieve the Contractor in any part of the Contractor’s Quality Control Responsibilities as specified.

Section 10a, Item 3: In Section 3, Quality Control System, Method 1 shall apply, except that the identification of the quality control personnel and their duties shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer in writing within 10 calendar days after notice of award.

DRAWINGS REVIEW: Went through each page of the drawing, noting natural auxiliary spillway elevations, top of earthfill elevations, structure lengths, and structure cross sectional diagrams. Also discussed how the bottom elevation of each macro varies down the length of each macro.

CORRECTIONS:

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The contractor shall call 811 for location of underground utilities a minimum of 2 days prior to work start.

SAMS and DUNS registration is free. Any websites charging for registration should be avoided. Registration is SAM.gov is required with a submitted quote.

Benchmark TBM4 is a TXDOT hub. Do not use any elevation published for this hub other than the elevation noted on the drawing. The elevations used in this design are not “real-world” elevations. They are assumed elevations that are for this design package only.

The shredding perimeter will be clearly marked by the NRCS in the field.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Q: The pollution control spec references a vegetative buffer that is required around construction. How do we do that?

A: Reference construction specifications, page 5-4, Section 8a, Item 6. The site layout is such that as long as you are working within the scope of the contract and working within the footprints of disturbance, the required buffer strip exists naturally on site. No seeding is required for this buffer.

Q: Is there a pipe to be installed in this project?

A: No, the earthfill impoundments are not designed with a pipe.

Q: I noticed a start date of 6/1/21 on the solicitation forms. Is that date flexible?

A: Yes, the government and the contractor will work together to find a date that works best for weather and other possible delays.

Q: Where should we unload earthmoving equipment along the county road?

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A: Reference construction specifications, page 21-5, Section 4a, Item 2. Anywhere along the county road.

Any damage occurring to the road pavements or ditch from heavy equipment shall be repaired at the contractor’s time and expense.

Q: What is the tolerance on the elevations?

A: Reference construction specifications page 7-5, Section 9a, Item 5. Elevations for finished dirtwork shall be within +/- 0.1’ of the specified elevations on the drawings, unless otherwise noted.

Q: Is topsoiling required?

A: Reference construction specifications page 21-4, Section 10a, Item 6, and construction specifications page 23-6, Section 10a, Item 3. Topsoil shall be stripped and reapplied to the earthfill dams and the habitat mounds around the macros. Topsoiling the microtopography pool areas is NOT required.

Q: Do the slope transition areas in the macros need to have sharp corners, or can those corners be slightly rounded?

A: The intent is to transition uniformly and all slopes to be constructed at 8:1. “Rounded” corners are permissible for a more natural looking transition.

Ryan E. Nelson, P.E.

Nacogdoches, TX Contracting Officers Representative cc: Laureen Eipp, Contracting Officer, NRCS, Syracuse, NY

Brian Wenberg, State Conservation Engineer, NRCS, Temple, TX Rigoberto Lopez, ASTC-FO, NRCS, Bryan, TX Kevin LaStrapes, Zone Engineer, NRCS, Bryan, TX Wayne Styles, RTL, NRCS, Mount Pleasant, TX Holly Attaway, District Conservationist, NRCS, New Boston, TX Vernon Griffin, Construction Inspector, NRCS, Mt. Pleasant, TX