Atch. 1-2025_Performance Work Statement.docx

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Performance Work Statement

Contents

Project Title Fort Pierre National Grassland Noxious Weed Treatment Contract

General Information

1.0 Background and Purpose

In alignment with the purpose of Executive Order 14225 Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production, and to ensure continuity of operations, this mission critical project is to reduce the threat of wildfire. Approximately 3,000 acres of prescribed burning was completed on the Fort Pierre National Grassland and followup is the spraying noxious weeds (especially invasive thistles) that have sprouted within the treated areas. Such follow-up is the next crucial step in fuels reduction and maintaining public support for the use of prescribed burning for fuel reduction and prairie restoration purposes.

This solicitation is for the treatment of noxious weeds in designated areas on the Fort Pierre National Grassland (FPNG), located in central South Dakota. Treatments are to be done by spot treatment application targeting thistles (Canada thistle, bull thistle, and musk thistle). The identified species will be treated during the plants’ developmental stage when optimum effectiveness can be obtained, preferably the rosette to flowering stage. Performance period for this contract is September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026. This will allow for a fall treatment this year and if conditions do not allow, then a spring treatment can be done in 2026. Determination of when to spray will be based on agency monitoring of growing conditions and weather. All treatments will be mapped with a GPS capabile device and will be submitted to the COR within two weeks of treatment completion along with completed application records.

This contract has specific dollar amounts for areas which were burned in spring 2024 and 2025. All pastures will be grazed by cattle and may have cattle present during treatment. Potential contractors shall bid the number of actual treatment acres possible based on the specific dollar amount. The map below indicates where the burned pastures are located on the FPNG.

2.0 Definitions

ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL (AQL): The maximum allowable deviation from perfect performance that may occur before the Government will invoke payment deduction. An AQL does not allow a contractor knowingly to offer defective service, but limits reduced payment to circumstances in which defective performance results in a measurable reduction in the value of services rendered.

ACCESS TO TREATMENT AREAS: Access to treatment areas requires travel and treatment operations on or near: paved roads, graveled county roads, and non-graveled two track Forest Service roads. The treatment areas may be along or away from roads and within areas with no developed road access. Access is allowed off designated roads by authorization only issued by the Fort Pierre District Ranger. Your access must be timed such that road or trail surfaces are not subjected to unreasonable resource damage.

APPLICATION RECORDS: Records the contractor uses to document herbicide applications on the treated area. Information includes, but is not limited to: herbicide used, amount of active ingredient applied, weather conditions, etc. AQUATIC AREA: Any type of lake, pond, dam, spring, or stream course that contains an invasive plant species.

BOOM SPRAYER: Spray equipment capable of delivering a minimum of 10 gallons per acre. Boom sprayers shall be equipped with an identifier system to minimize swath overlap such as a ribbon or flagging system. ATV/UTV boom-less nozzles are not considered as boom sprayers.

CLEANUP AND DISPOSAL: Clean up and disposal of excess herbicide and empty containers is the contractor’s responsibility and will be in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and applicable to Federal and State Laws.

CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR): A government person appointed by the contracting officer to help the contracting officer with contract administration and surveillance.

DEFECTIVE SERVICE: A unit of service which contains one or more defects, or nonconformance with specified requirements.

GPS SPECIFICATIONS: The contractor will map treated areas using a GPS unit. Treatment areas will be collected in polygon format unless there is a single plant or an area less than 10 feet in diameter, then a point may be used. The collected data will have the treatment date and species treated in the attributes or notes section.

MIXING SITE: All mixing and rinsing during the operational period will take place in the field within the treatment areas at a distance greater than 100’ from any stream course, trees, or crops. Rinseate will be reused as spray solution as much as possible until project completion and application rates shall not exceed ¾ ounce per acre.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS): Identifies the key service outputs of the contract that will be evaluated by the Government to assure contract performance standards are met by the contractor.

QUALITY ASSURANCE: Those actions taken by the Government to assure services meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP): An organized written document used for quality assurance surveillance. The document contains specific methods the Government will use to perform surveillance of the contractor.

QUALITY CONTROL: Those actions taken by a contractor to control the performance of services so that they meet the requirements of the PWS.

RANDOM SAMPLING: A sampling method in which each service output in a unit has an equal chance of being selected.

SPRAY EQUIPMENT: All spray equipment shall be accurately calibrated to ensure herbicide is applied as per manufacturer recommended application rates. All spray equipment would be operated in accordance with owner’s manuals. Weed treatment accomplished by the use of spray equipment installed in trucks, ATVs, or UTVs would follow manufacturer specifications and recommendations, including those specific to weight restrictions.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Herbicide shall not be applied if temperatures exceed 95 degrees and or the wind speed exceeds 15 mph in all areas.

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

Herbicide & Equipment Requirements The herbicide for this contract is GrazonNext HL at a rate of 24 oz per acre, along with a compatible carrier agent, and applied at a rate of 10 gallons of water/herbicide mix per acre. Herbicide application shall take place during the rosette to flowering stage for optimum effectiveness and shall be done via spot spraying methodology. Herbicide applications will cease if the weather conditions exceed temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit and wind speeds exceed 15 miles per hour. The Contractor shall be required to furnish all labor, transportation, equipment, herbicide, carrier agent, personal protective equipment, water, services, supervision, permits, and licenses necessary to treat noxious weeds in South Dakota.

All spray equipment shall be accurately calibrated to ensure herbicide is applied per manufacturer recommended application rates and those rates outlined in this contract. Equipment must be cleaned prior to work commencing and all equipment including trailers, ATV/UTV, pickups etc. will be inspected by the COR. Once the COR determines the equipment to be satisfactory, then work may begin.

While working in the field, the contractor shall comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations pertaining to the handling, storing, and disposal of herbicides. Care shall be taken to avoid herbicide encountering adjacent crop fields, trees, standing water, and stock watering tanks. Mixing and rinsing will take place at the worksite and at a distance greater than 100 feet upstream of standing water, trees, or crops.

Targeted Noxious Weed Species

Global Positioning System (GPS) Data Requirements All treatment sites will be mapped with a GPS capable device such as a GPS unit (i.e. Garmin, Trimble, etc.) or through mapping programs such as Avenza or Field Maps. If the GPS allows for coordinate systems to be set, the preferred coordinate system is:

Upon treatment of an infestation, the perimeter will be mapped and data such as weed species, date, and applicator will be collected. When all treatments have concluded, the contractor shall submit the GPS data in an electronic format to the COR for review. Inaccurate or incomplete data will be returned to the contractor for correction until deemed satisfactory.

Inspection Procedure Post treatment inspections will be conducted by the COR. The COR will be looking for complete coverage of the designated area and for sign of herbicide impact upon targeted plants. Photographs and notes will be taken as part of the field inspection. Inspection of the spatial data will be done by the COR once it is submitted. For this inspection, the COR will be looking for the data to line up with the designated treatment area and for the feature (polygon, point, line) data to match application records. If there are any discrepancies with the field inspections or spatial data inspections, then the contractor will be notified to correct the discrepancy.

Contractor Submittals A. Quality Control Program: The Contractor shall establish a Quality Control Program (QCP) to ensure the requirements of this contract are met. The goal of the QCP should be to identify and correct any problems that may arise before they are identified by the CO or COR. At a minimum the plan should include:

i. An inspection system, covering all services required, utilizing a comprehensive checklist to monitor contract performance.

ii. A system for identifying and correcting deficiencies and/or a pattern of deficiencies in the quality or quantity of services provided.

iii. A file system to maintain record/documentation of inspections conducted and corrective actions take. Documentation of inspections conducted, deficiencies identified, and corrective actions taken must be kept current and made available to the CO upon request.

B. Work Plan: The Work Plan shall describe how the contractor plans to perform the project, including methods, personnel certifications and calibration rates, and list of equipment by make and model. No work may start until the Contractor’s Work Plan is submitted and accepted by the Government and the Notice to Proceed is issued.

C. Progress Schedule: The contractor shall prepare and submit a practical schedule showing the order in which the contractor will perform the work and the dates on which the contractor contemplates starting and completing each task unless specific treatment areas list both required start and stop work dates. No work may start until the Contractor’s Progress Schedule is submitted to and accepted by the Government, and the Notice to Proceed is issued.

D. Data Submittal: The contractor shall provide spatial data in an electronic format and hard copy application records. The items are to be submitted to the COR within two weeks of final treatment.

Payment The Contractor shall submit an invoice for the month completed through the Invoice Processing Platform (www.ipp.gov). Upon acceptance, the Government will approve the invoice and the Contractor will be paid.

4.0 Deliverable / Schedule

Period of performance for this contract is September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026. Work on this contract can be done any day of the week and during anytime between sunrise and sunset. This provides the flexibility to work with ever changing weather conditions.

Performance Requirements Summary Key Deliverables

Responsible for the effects of herbicide residue on non-target species and any drift.

Treat at temperatures less than 95 F and wind speeds less than 15 mph

Complete treatment to required standards as defined in Section 3.0 and provide COR with updates on where treatments have occurred.

Acceptable level of performance thus resulting in 90% kill of targeted species.

Less than 20% loss of non-target species

Follow task order direction and manufacturer label direction 100%.

Government shall perform inspections on treated areas indicated on application records. Inspections will be visual in nature, looking for treatment coverage and visual impact on targeted species.

Full payment will be approved for acceptable work. Rework of unacceptable work will be permitted if the schedule allows. If the unacceptable work is not redone, then a deduction will be made.

Spatial data and application records are submitted as outlined in Section 3.0.

Payment will not be made until spatial data and application records have been received in a satisfactory manner.

5.0 Government Furnished

The Government will provide the following item(s) of Government property to the Contractor for use in the performance of this contract. This property shall be used and maintained by the Contractor in accordance with the provisions of the “Government Property” FAR clause contained elsewhere in the contract.

· Detailed hard copy maps of treatment areas.

· Blank application record sheets Contractor Furnished Items/Service:

The Contractor shall furnish everything, including the water and herbicide required to perform this contract.

6.0 Travel

Travel to the worksite will consist of driving on paved highways, graveled county roads, and natural surfaced two-tracked designated Forest Service roads. When parking for a staging area, the contractor shall be mindful not to block gates or designated roads. Travel off designated roads is prohibited; however, the contractor is given permission by the District Ranger to travel off in the performance of the contract duties only. The contractor shall be mindful of areas which have recently received precipitation and avoid causing resource damage to saturated clayey soils.

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

The Contractor shall employ qualified personnel capable of performing noxious weed treatment work and will provide a list of all personnel who will be working on the contract and their applicator’s licenses.

The contractor shall provide a contract representative for the performance of the work specified in the contract, if the contractor will not be the one performing the work. The name of this person shall be designated in writing to the CO. The Contractor’s representative shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The contractor representative must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English.

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