Attachment 1 - Statement of Work.pdf

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Performance Work Statement

Contents Project Title

General Information

1.0 Background and Purpose

2.0 Definitions

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

4.0 Deliverable / Schedule

5.0 Government Furnished

6.0 Travel

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

8.0 Security Requirements

9.0 Data Rights

10.0 Section 508 - Electronic and Information Technology Standards

11.0 Performance Requirement Measures

Attachment

Project Title NNIS Eurasion Watermilfoil Eradication Tell City District

General Information

1.0 Background and Purpose

The Hoosier National Forest is in south-central Indiana and contains approximately 203,000 acres of National Forest System (NFS) lands. The two zones are the Brownstown Ranger District and the Tell City Ranger District. Brownstown Ranger District includes Brown, Jackson, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, and Orange Counties.

Tell City Ranger District includes Dubois, Crawford, Orange, and Perry Counties. Prior to the acquisition of lands by the Forest Service, nearly all forests had undergone repeated clearing to create small farms, logging, burning, and grazing by domestic livestock. This history of disturbance has contributed both directly and indirectly to the establishment of non-native invasive plant species (NNIS) throughout the Hoosier. The primary objective of this solicitation is to remove or reduce the vigor and size of invasive plant populations, thereby minimizing the threat to native plant communities and wildlife.

2.0 Definitions

COR – Contracting Officer’s Representative NNIS – Non-Native Invasive Species MYSP - Myriophyllum spicatum (Eurasion Milfoil)

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

- Only the use of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved, non-restricted use chemicals are to be used.

- The Contractor shall provide all expertise, labor, supervision, services, herbicides, carriers or adjuvants, materials, equipment, tools, supplies, transportation, licenses, permits, worker personal protective equipment (PPE), and incidentals necessary to perform the required work, for which the desired outcome is in strict accordance with the standards in the contract. The Contractor shall perform and accomplish the work in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and ordinances.

- Herbicide applicators shall use typical herbicide concentrations according to all EPA approved manufacturer herbicide directions. The Contractor will mix herbicides in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and any applicable laws or regulations. Application operations shall be conducted as indicated on the herbicide label, including approved concentrations, rates/acre, and environmental conditions. Only chemicals for aquatic use in or adjacent to streams shall be used whenever directed at or adjacent to waterways and wetlands.

- The Contractor is responsible for the cleanup of any spills and will notify the COR immediately of any spills that occur. The contractor must have herbicide labels and copies of material safety data sheets (MSDS) of chemicals used on site. The contractor must provide copies or notification by telephone or email of herbicide labels and MSDS of chemicals to the COR prior to the start of work.

- This contract does not allow any indiscriminate broadcast applications or aerial spraying. Where appropriate, vehicle or ATV/UTV/OHV/boat mounted sprayers is permissible. There is no restriction on the volume of tanks used in UTVs.

- Contractor will place caution signs around the sprayed areas according to the appropriate interval per label directions of the chemical used in application areas where the public may have contact with herbicide (e.g. trails, parking areas). Where necessary per label directions, caution signs may include a temporary closure of treatment areas.

- All herbicide applicator staff must be able to identify target NNIS plant species in the field, including during dormant seasons, to a sufficient degree without exceeding the maximum acceptable levels of mortality to desirable non-target native species and to meet minimum kill rates to target NNIS infestations.

- The Contractor and/or whoever will supervise the herbicide treatment must possess a current Indiana commercial pesticide applicators certification and license at the time of any herbicide treatments. This contract requires a OISC Category 5 Aquatic Pest Management license. The Contractor, or subcontractor, shall ensure that there is either an Indiana pesticide licensed applicator on-site at all times of treatments or ALL on-site personnel applying herbicide MUST be registered technicians AND have access to immediate voice communication by telephone or radio with the licensed supervisor.

- The boat ramps can be used for access. These are no-wake lakes with only trolling motors permitted for the public, but an outboard motor could be used for the lake if the operator stays at a no-wake speed. Boat and motor must be clean and inspected by COR or technical FS staff before launching.

4.0 Deliverable / Schedule

Eurasion Milfoil – Aquatic Herbicide (as needed) - (Selective and/ or Non-selective Herbicide):

Contractor will treat NNIS infested areas of the lake annually. Work shall occur in specified locations and times as requested in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Contractor will apply herbicide at a sufficient interval and concentration to meet or exceed the kill rate on target NNIS infestations and nuisance vegetation at ramp/beach and not exceed the maximum specified mortality to non-target plant species in other areas as indicated in the QASP/AQL.

Treat mapped areas for Eurasion Milfoil with additional treatment for nuisance vegetation around the boat ramps and beach areas. See attached maps for locations where herbicide applications are to occur. GIS shapefiles are available from the COR upon request.

Initial treatments should be conducted prior to June 30. Application should be done during the week while public usage is low.

Post treatment surveys will need to be conducted no less than one month and no more than two months after the treatments are completed to ensure initial treatment was effective and to re-treat any missed vegetation. A post-survey report is required and is to be submitted to the COR.

Typically, the contractor will apply selective aquatic herbicide such as (Procella COR, Sonar ® or equivalent product) and/or other non-restricted use selective aquatic herbicides as indicated in the PWS. Other EPA approved herbicides not mentioned may be acceptable with prior approval of the COR.

The beach and boat launch areas (“All Aquatic Veg”) should be treated to kill all weeds to maintain a safe and open swimming and boating area. Application should be completed during the week and at times with low public use. Post survey of treatment needs to be done no later than three months after the initial treatment to ensure initial treatment was effective and to treat any missed vegetation. A post-survey report is required for submission to the COR before payment will be approved. A map of areas where secondary treatments were conducted will need to be provided to the COR.

Period of Performance Base Year: 05/01/2026 – 09/30/2026

ITEM

NUMBER DESCRIPTION PAY

UNIT

EST

QTY

0001 Tipsaw MYSP Acre 49 0002 Tipsaw All Aquatic Veg Acre 4 0003 Saddle MYSP Acre 19.8 0004 Saddle All Aquatic Veg Acre 0.3 0005 Indian MYSP Acre 67.2 0006 Indian All Aquatic Veg Acre 0.8 0007 Celina MYSP Acre 68.8 0008 Celina All Aquatic Veg Acre 0.3

Period of Performance Option Year 1: 04/01/2027 - 09/30/2027

ITEM

NUMBER DESCRIPTION

PAY

UNIT

EST

QTY

1001 Tipsaw MYSP Acre 49 1002 Tipsaw All Aquatic Veg Acre 4 1003 Saddle MYSP Acre 19.8 1004 Saddle All Aquatic Veg Acre 0.3 1005 Indian MYSP Acre 67.2 1006 Indian MYSP Acre 0.8 1007 Celina MYSP Acre 68.8 1008 Celina All Aquatic Veg Acre 0.3

*Any or all line items may or may not be awarded at the discretion of the COR and/or funding availability. *

5.0 Government Furnished

-Key for FS gates will be provided if necessary.

-Geo Referenced PDF maps will be provided.

6.0 Travel

Contractor is responsible for all travel arrangements and expenses incurred.

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

(a) The Contractor shall assign to this contract the following key personnel: Project Manager(s)/On-Site Foremen/Lead and ensure they have proper licensure according to state requirement: https://oisc.purdue.edu/pesticide/index.html

(b) The Contractor shall make no substitutions of key personnel unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer within 15 calendar days after the occurrence of any of these events and provide the information required by paragraph

(c) below.

(c) The Contractor shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete resumes for the proposed substitutes, and any additional information requested by the Contracting Officer. Proposed substitutes should have comparable qualifications to those of the persons being replaced. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor within 15 calendar days after receipt of all required information of the decision on substitutions. The contract will be modified to reflect any approved changes of key personnel.

8.0 Security Requirements

No special clearance required.

9.0 Data Rights

Contractor shall not distribute Government provided data to third parties outside of approved subcontractors.

10.0 Section 508 - Electronic and Information Technology Standards Contractor must have a GPS enabled device with the capability of using georeferenced PDF files or .shp files for navigation.

11.0 Performance Requirement Measures

Contract Line Item No. – Work Requirement

Task / Critical Sub-tasks Inspection requirements *Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)

Monitoring Method

Lake Vegetation Treatments

Contractor will treat mapped infestations of aquatic NNIS and nuisance vegetation in the areas delineated in the attached maps.

Applicators will apply herbicide in a manner that will meet or exceed the kill rate on target NNIS and nuisance vegetation.

At least 95% of target NNIS of all areas mapped to be treated and Nuisance Vegetation (ramp) infestation(s) treated.

AQL determinations are made by the COR/Technical lead upon inspection of the work.

These determinations are unilateral and not protestable

Minimum 90% kill of target NNIS/Nuisance infestation(s)

Visual

Schedule (non-Line Item)

Timely Completion of the contract work

Per the Work Schedule, the Contractor will complete all work prior to the contract end date.

AQL determinations are made by the COR upon inspection of the work.

These determinations are unilateral and not protestable

All work must be complete by the end date of the contract and meet the AQL.

Visual

Contractor(s) must reapply the required herbicide, or mechanical work, at their expense upon failure to meet AQL values at the final inspection for each contract line item where the work performed failed to reach the minimum acceptable target kill ratio of the NNIS infestation(s).

Attachment

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

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. Past Performance

2. Experience

3. Technical Approach

4. Price

Factor 1. Past Performance This includes quality of service, customer satisfaction, business relations, and timeliness/responsiveness. The offeror shall provide specific information about recent contracts of similar nature performed within the past three years and provide the names, addresses and phone numbers of three references who can confirm the past performance of the offeror’s firm.

Include the following information:

Agency/company name, contact point (individual) and phone number.

Period of performance of the contract Dollar value of the contract Description of the project and relevancy to this contract Was the contract completed within the contract time allowed? If not, explain.

Factor 3. Technical Approach The Government will evaluate the offeror’s ability to provide a sound, compliant approach that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the Statement of Work (SOW). To be considered responsive, quotations must include:

Operational Plan: A detailed explanation of how SOW requirements will be met on schedule, specifically including crew size, production rates, and strategies for working around flooding seasons.

Key Personnel: Experience and qualifications of proposed staff over the past three years on similar projects, including all required certifications and licenses.

1) Personnel: Provide the list of employees who will work on the project, and documentation to substantiate the requisite certification and licensing(s) and their training/experience with identifying and working around state-listed rare plants.

2) Failure to submit employees’ training/experience in native plant identification and experience working around rare plants will be deemed as nonresponsive.

Subcontractors (If Applicable): Qualifications, certification and licensing(s), training/experience, and level of effort. If subcontractors will work without direct oversight, a dedicated Safety Plan and Quality Control Plan must be provided for them.

Safety Plan

**FAILURE TO SUBMIT EMPLOYEE(S) AND SUBCONTRACTOR EMPLOYEE(S) STATE OF INDIANA (OR RECIPROCAL) LICENSING CERTIFICATION FOR HEBICIDE TREATMENT WILL RESULT IN THE PROPOSAL BEING DEEMED AS NONRESPONSIVE. OFFEROR AND SUBCONTRACTOR(S) SHOULD SUBMIT A COPY OF EACH

EMPLOYEE CERTIFICATE**

Factor 4. Price Offerors must submit pricing using the attached "Schedule of Items" spreadsheet.

Scope: Pricing must be provided for the base period and all option periods. Failure to price individual line items may result in disqualification.

Total Evaluated Price: For evaluation purposes, the Government will include the base period, all option periods, and a potential six-month extension under

FAR 52.217-8. The extension will be calculated using the rates from the final option period.

Fairness: Prices will be evaluated per FAR 12.204 to ensure they are fair and reasonable.