B08-RFQ_140M0123Q0036.pdf

RFQ 140M0123Q0036

COMBINED SYNOPSIS AND SOLICITATION:

This is a Combined Synopsis/Solicitation and notice for commercial items prepared under the authority of and in accordance with the format in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6, Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This notice constitutes the only solicitation;

quotations are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued. This solicitation is also issued in conjunction with FAR Subpart Part 13.5, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Products and Commercial Services.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ). This RFQ is issued on an unrestricted basis. The solicitation and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-03 effective April 26, 2023.

The Product Service Code (PSC) B510, Special Studies/Analysis – Environmental Assessment, is applicable to the requirement. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 541620, Environmental Consulting Services, with a small business size standard of $19M, is applicable to the requirement.

This solicitation is being issued by the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), on the behalf of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The purpose of this solicitation is to obtain competitive quotations in response to the Government’s requirement: Updating BOEM’s Environmental Sensitivity Methods and Models (NT-23-03). As result of this solicitation, the Government anticipates issuing a purchase order to satisfy the requirements.

SECTION 1

PRICING

1.1 GENERAL INFORMATION

This acquisition is being conducted in accordance with FAR Subpart Part 13.5, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Products and Commercial Services and FAR Subpart 12.6, Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items. Under this Request for Quote (RFQ), the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), on behalf of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), anticipates awarding a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Purchase Order as detailed in the Statement of Work (SOW).

1.2 CONTRACT LINE ITEM/PRICING

The specific details and description of the Contract Line-Item Numbers (CLINs) is described as follows (Offeror shall fill in and provide information as part of their price quote):

CLIN Description FFP

Total Price

00001 SERVICES:

Updating BOEM’s Environmental Sensitivity Methods and Models

(NT-23-03)

The Contractor shall provide all equipment, materials, managerial, administrative, and professional personnel to accomplish the project as described in accordance with Section 2, Statement of Work.

CLIN 00001 is a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) CLIN.

1.3 PARTIAL DELIVERY PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The following Partial Delivery Payment Schedule is for the Firm-Fixed-Price of this requirement as specified under CLIN 00010. Payment shall be made once the following deliverables have been received and accepted by the Government in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Clause 52.212-4(i), Payments.

*The Quoter shall provide fill-in information below as part of the quote. The quoted amount should be reflective of the associated cost for each delivery/milestone. BSEE shall make the final decision regarding partial delivery payment.

Payment No.

Deliverable(s) / Milestone(s)

Payment Amount

EXAMPLE: Deliverable 5 (Early Draft Chapter)

$TBD* (10%)

2 Deliverable X $TBD* (X%)

Deliverable X

$TBD* (X%)

TOTAL TASK ORDER AMOUNT (FFP) $TBD* (100%)

SECTION 2

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

2.1 BACKGROUND

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Environmental Studies Program (ESP) is soliciting proposals for Technical Support that will develop offshore Environmental Sensitivity Indices (ESIs) and corresponding spatially explicit interactive mapping products for each of BOEM’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planning Areas in support of BOEM’s National Oil and Gas Program. Section 18(2)(G) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, as amended (OCSLA; 43 U.S.C. § 1331) states that decisions regarding exploration and development will be in part based on consideration of “the relative environmental sensitivity and marine productivity of different areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. Previous iterations were inspired by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA’s ESI maps of coastal resources at risk to oil spills; however, these did not provide enough information on offshore areas. An identified weakness of BOEM’s previous ESI analysis A Method for the Evaluation of the Relative Environmental Sensitivity and Marine Productivity of the Outer Continental Shelf, BOEM Study 2014-16 (Niedoroda et al. 2014) stemmed from comparing broadscale ESIs across planning areas but missing within planning area identification of sensitive zones that have potential to conflict with oil and gas development as well as associated activities. BOEM’s ESP intends to move to a more spatially explicit, data-driven analysis that shows where vulnerability and resilience of an OCS region’s ecological components (i.e., habitats and biota) intersect with the potential impacts of OCS oil and gas activities in the context of existing conditions (e.g., climate change projections, regulatory status, productivity). This integrated approach will inform decisions about what areas to include leasing and where to consider mitigations (cf. Chancellor et al. 2020).

2.2 OBJECTIVES

• Develop and recommend options for replacing or supplementing previous BOEM methodologies (Niedoroda et al. 2014).

• Analyze the relative environmental sensitivity of biological resources that are at risk to spilled oil and potentially wind energy development in the 26 OCS planning areas using the approach identified and selected by BOEM.

• Produce results that are scientifically valid, transparent (e.g., methods and inputs used to derive results are made available), and repeatable by other scientists. Post reproducible R code to GitHub.

• Create a multi-use decision support dashboard and an interactive application for reporting by OCS Planning Areas.

2.3 SCOPE OF WORK/TASKS

The outcome of this study will inform BOEM's National Oil and Gas Leasing Program with updated models of environmental sensitivity to BOEM's activities. It will provide a valuable tool for minimizing impacts while maximizing energy production across all BOEM activities. This tool will allow BOEM to compare the relative environmental sensitivity of BOEM's 26 OCS Planning https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?url=https://gis.boem.gov/arcgis/rest/services/BOEM_BSEE/MMC_Layers/MapServer/20&extent=-100,40&level=4 https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/national-program/national-ocs-oil-and-gas-leasing-program-2023-2028 https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/national-program/national-ocs-oil-and-gas-leasing-program-2023-2028 https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/resources/environmental-sensitivity-index-esi-maps https://espis.boem.gov/final%20reports/5400.pdf https://espis.boem.gov/final%20reports/5400.pdf

Areas or Ecoregions and aggregated ecoregions to potential adverse effects of oil and gas leasing activities and to identify and minimize potential impacts to the selected habitats and faunal groups within these areas. Respondents will submit a proposed scope of work and cost estimate to create ESIs and corresponding spatially explicit interactive mapping products for 1) the priority Oil and Gas component. Optional task: Wind Energy Component. Respondents may also include a combined scope of work and cost estimate to evaluate ESIs for both pieces 1) Oil and Gas and 2) Renewable Wind Energy.

2.3.1 Task 1: Develop a Strategic Framework for Data Acquisition, ESI Model

Development, And Interactive Geospatial Tools and Products

A. The Contractor will develop ESI methodologies that are scalable and easily expanded to allow the addition of new information and additional data. The Contractor will source readily available datasets and models to create a mapped weighted perspective approach (cf., Davies, Watret, and Gubbins 2014) applied to oil and gas development and possibly renewable energy development, accounting for a variety of ecologically based ocean uses (e.g., seabird distributions, primary productivity hotspots, marine mammal distributions, deep-sea corals, zooplankton aggregations) distributed within BOEM Planning Areas or Ecoregion. The Contractor will develop a plan to evaluate the potential of the ecological ocean use categories to overlap with, suffer from, or be resilient to potential impacts from oil and gas development and possibly renewable wind energy development. The analyses will also address interactions between competing uses in the form of spatial constraints and will apply weights to marine ecological ocean uses that reflect conflict potential. ESIs could also be reported using a hierarchical scale-dependent framework, considering a BOEM Planning Area as the largest unit of analysis and then gridded to smaller areas for regional ESIs. For example, an index that summarizes marine sensitivity for an entire BOEM planning area may be represented in the form of a badge (e.g., flower plot) reflecting ecologically based ocean uses (e.g., seabird distributions, primary productivity hotspots, marine mammal distributions, deep-sea corals, zooplankton aggregations). The badges may integrate relevant derived weights from the scientific literature or expert opinion. In this example, the center of each badge would ideally reflect a numerical weighted average of all of the constituent ‘petals,’ representing an aspect of marine sensitivity across ocean uses that would range from zero to 1. The constituents of each ESI, constraints, and their interactions shall be mapped using a publicly available web-based tool and model outputs such as shapefiles and/or geopackages will also be delivered to BOEM.

B. The Contractor will develop a plan identify how to incorporate climate change risk more analytically.

C. The Contractor will develop a plan to create a multi-use decision support dashboard and an interactive application for reporting by OCS Planning Areas.

D. The Contractor will develop a plan to create a continuum of data products for users that ranges from an API for technical users to communication of status and trends of key indicators.

The Contractor shall submit a complete Draft Survey Plan to BOEM for review via email, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or other electronic means. The Draft Project Plan shall be clear, concise writing at a level suitable to a technical audience. The Contractor shall also give a web presentation of the draft plan within two (2) weeks after the date of BOEM receiving the draft plan. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the presentation (electronic) plus any additional information prior to the meeting. If the Draft Project Plan requires many changes, corrections, or additions or does not conform to publication style, it may be deemed unacceptable and rejected for correction and re- submittal, still as a draft plan. Otherwise, BOEM will have thirty (30) calendar days from the date of receiving an acceptable draft to review it and inform the Contractor via email of any required changes, corrections, or additions. If the Project Manager disagrees with the suggested changes, the Contractor shall email an explanation to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) explaining the reason; otherwise, the Contractor shall incorporate the suggested changes in the Final Plan. The COR will issue a letter of acceptance via email to the Contractor once the Draft Plan is determined acceptable.

Final Plan: Within thirty (30) calendar days of BOEM acceptance of the Draft Project Plan, the Final Plan shall be submitted. The Final Plan shall address any changes noted in BOEM’s review of the Draft Project Plan. The Final Project Plan will be reviewed for completeness by the COR, Environmental Studies Representative (ESPR) and a letter of acceptance will be emailed to the Contractor within 14 calendar days.

2.3.2 Task 2: Implement Plan for Model and Geospatial Tool Development

Upon BOEM approval of the Final Project Plan, the Contractor shall implement the plan detailed in Task 1.

2.3.3 Task 3: Draft Final Report, Draft Technical Summary, and Presentations

The Contractor shall submit a Draft Final Report and Draft Technical Summary to BOEM for review and comment that summarizes all aspects of the ESI analysis and tool development and shall include a detail Methods section describing all segments and should provide sufficient information to allow someone to repeat the work. The Draft Final Report shall be clear, concise writing at a level suitable to a technical audience. A clear description of your experimental design, sampling procedures, and statistical procedures is especially important.. The Discussion should explain the significance of the results. The Draft Final Report and Draft Technical Summary shall comply with BOEM’s contract reporting guidance found here: http://www.boem.gov/ESP-Report- Specifications-Print/.

If the Draft Final Report and/or Draft Technical Summary requires many changes, corrections, or additions or does not conform to publication style, it may be deemed unacceptable and returned to Contractor for correction and re-submittal, still as a draft report. Otherwise, BOEM will have thirty (30) calendar days from date of receiving an acceptable draft to review it and inform the Contractor via email of any required changes, corrections, or additions. If the Project Manager disagrees with the suggested changes, the Contractor shall email an explanation to the COR explaining the reason; otherwise, the Contractor shall incorporate the suggested changes in the final reports. The COR will issue a letter of acceptance via email to the Contractor once the draft report and summary are determined acceptable.

http://www.boem.gov/ESP-Report-Specifications-Print/ http://www.boem.gov/ESP-Report-Specifications-Print/

The Contractor shall host a virtual meeting to give a presentation of the study results within two

(2) weeks after the date of BOEM receiving the draft final report. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the presentation (electronic) plus any additional information prior to the meeting.

Within 30 calendar days of BOEM acceptance of the Draft Final Report and Draft Technical Summary, the Final Report shall be submitted. The Final Deliverables, with accompanying documentation, will be reviewed for completeness by the COR and a letter of acceptance will be emailed to the Contractor within 30 calendar days.

2.4 OTHER MEETINGS, REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES

2.4.1 Post-Award Virtual Meeting

The Contractor shall hold virtual post-award meeting with BOEM as soon as possible after award, but no later than two (2) weeks after award. The Contractor shall contact the COR to arrange the meeting. The Contractor shall provide a meeting agenda to the COR, ESPR, CI and CO at least three (3) days prior to the meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to assist both Government and the Contractor personnel to achieve a clear and mutual understanding of all task requirements and to identify and resolve potential problems. Roles, responsibilities, working relationships, major milestones, and purchase order deliverables will be discussed. The Post- Award meeting is not a substitute for the Contractor’s full understanding of the work requirements nor is it to be used to alter the contract. No later than two (2) weeks after the meeting, the Contractor shall submit a meeting summary letter detailing the discussions and mutually agreed upon decisions along with any changes to the Project Management Plan, as applicable. No changes to the terms or conditions, deliverables, or schedule of the contract are authorized unless approved by the CO via a modification to the contract.

2.4.2 Project Management Plan

The Contractor shall provide a Project Management Plan (PMP). The Contractor shall provide a Draft PMP one (1) week before Post-Award Virtual Meeting. The Contractor shall provide a Final PMP no later than three (3) weeks after the Post-Award Virtual Meeting.

2.4.3 Monthly Progress Reports

The Contractor shall submit monthly progress reports via email. The reports must include, at a minimum: A summary of all work performed during the month; an explanation of overall progress made against the work schedule summary of any significant technical, budgetary, or problems encountered during the report period, including an assessment of their probable effects on meeting contract provisions. Reports shall not exceed three (3) pages.

2.4.4 Monthly Progress Meetings

The Contractor shall meet with the COR and ESPR Representative to discuss progress monthly.

2.5 SCHEDULE OF DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall deliver the products of this study program in a timely manner and in accordance with the schedule indicated below. The Contractor is responsible for editing and proofreading all material to prepare error-free products prior to delivery to BOEM

Deliverable Method of Submission

Distribution Due

Post-Award Virtual Meeting

Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc.

Electronic copy Contracting Officer (CO), Contracting

Officer’s Representative

(COR),

Environmental Studies

Program Representative (ESPR)

Meeting Agenda three (3) days prior to the Meeting

Meeting conducted within two

(2) weeks of award

Meeting summary due two (2) weeks after Meeting

Draft and Final Project

Management Plan

(PMP)

Email / Adobe PDF or

Microsoft Word

Electronic copy CO, COR, ESPR

Draft due one (1) week before post- award meeting

Final due no later than three (3) weeks after post-award meeting

Monthly Status Reports

Email / Adobe PDF or

Microsoft Word

Electronic copy CO, COR, ESPR

Monthly reports shall be submitted by the 7th day of the following month.

Meetings with

BOEM

Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc.

Invitation sent COR and ESPR

Monthly

Model products, interactive web-based tools and R code

COR and ESPR Drafts to be sent for review to PO and ESPR prior to submission to repositories (e.g., GitHub) or published online. A final copy of all products and code delivered to

BOEM.

Draft Annual

Report Microsoft

Teams, Zoom, etc.

COR and ESPR 8/1/2024

Final Annual Report

Email or other electronic means

COR and ESPR 8/22/2024

Draft Final Report Email / Adobe PDF or

Microsoft Word

Electronic copy CO, COR, ESPR

8/1/2025

Final Presentation Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc.

Electronic copy CO, COR, ESPR

Representative

Two (2) weeks after submitting Draft Final Report

Final Report Email or other electronic means

COR and ESPR 30 days after BOEM’s acceptance of Draft Final Report

2.6 ADDRESSES FOR DELIVERABLES

Contracting Officer Stephanie Brock

Email: stephanie.brock@bsee.gov Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

TBD at time of award Environmental Studies Program Representative (ESPR)

TBD at time of award

2.7 REFERENCES

Chancellor, E., Murawski, S.A., Paris, C.B., Perruso, L. and Perlin, N., 2020. Comparative environmental sensitivity of offshore Gulf of Mexico waters potentially impacted by ultra-deep oil well blowouts. Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep Oil Spills: Fighting the Next War, pp.443- 466.

Davies, I.M., Watret, R. and Gubbins, M., 2014. Spatial planning for sustainable marine renewable energy developments in Scotland. Ocean & coastal management, 99, pp.72-81.

Niedoroda, A., S. Davis, M. Bowen, E. Nestler, J. Rowe, R. Balouskus, M. Schroeder, B.

Gallaway, and R. Fechhelm. 2014. A Method for the Evaluation of the Relative Environmental Sensitivity and Marine Productivity of the Outer Continental Shelf. Prepared by URS Group, Inc., Normandeau Associates, Inc., RPS ASA, and LGL Ecological Research Associates, Inc. for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Herndon, VA OCS Study BOEM 2014-616. 80 pp. + appendices.

SECTION 3

GENERAL PURCHASE ORDER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

3.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this requirement is two (2) years from date of award. The period of performance shall encompass all tasks from initial planning, through and including the Government’s final acceptance of all deliverables.

3.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The primary place of performance of the work required under this task order will occur at the Contractor’s facility.

3.3 ADMINISTRATIVE POINTS OF CONTACT

3.3.1 Contracting Officer: The Contracting Officer (CO) for this effort is as follows:

Stephanie Brock Phone: 703-787-1151 Email: stephanie.brock@bsee.gov

3.3.2 Contracting Officer’s Representative: The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for this effort is as follows:

TBD AT TIME OF AWARD

3.4 INVOICING REQUIREMENT

Invoices shall be submitted in accordance with the Partial Payment Schedule in Section 1.3 and Section 3.5.1 below.

3.4.1 DOI-AAAP-0028, V03 ELECTRONIC INVOICING AND PAYMENT

REQUIREMENTS – INVOICE PROCESSING PLATFORM (IPP) (APR 2013)

Payment requests must be submitted electronically through the U. S. Department of the Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform System (IPP). "Payment request" means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment by the Contractor. To constitute a proper invoice, the payment request must comply with the requirements identified in the applicable Prompt Payment clause included in the contract, or the clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items included in commercial item contracts. The IPP website address is:

https://www.ipp.gov.

Under this contract, the following documents are required to be submitted as an attachment to the IPP invoice: Documentation required by FAR 32.905(b) mailto:stephanie.brock@bsee.gov https://www.ipp.gov/

The Contractor must use the IPP website to register access and use IPP for submitting requests for payment. The Contractor Government Business Point of Contact (as listed in SAM) will receive enrollment instructions via email from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB) prior to the contract award date, but no more than 3 - 5 business days of the contract award date.

Contractor assistance with enrollment can be obtained by contacting the IPP Production Helpdesk via email ippgroup@bos.frb.org or phone (866) 973-3131.

If the Contractor is unable to comply with the requirement to use IPP for submitting invoices for payment, the Contractor must submit a waiver request in writing to the Contracting Officer with its proposal or quotation.

3.5 DIAR 1452.201-70 AUTHORITIES AND DELEGATIONS (SEP 2011)

(a) The Contracting Officer is the only individual authorized to enter into or terminate this contract, modify any term or condition of this contract, waive any requirement of this contract, or accept nonconforming work.

(b) The Contracting Officer will designate a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) at time of award. The COR will be responsible for technical monitoring of the contractor's performance and deliveries. The COR will be appointed in writing, and a copy of the appointment will be furnished to the Contractor. Changes to this delegation will be made by written changes to the existing appointment or by issuance of a new appointment.

(c) The COR is not authorized to perform, formally or informally, any of the following actions:

(1) Promise, award, agree to award, or execute any contract, contract modification, or notice of intent that changes or may change this contract;

(2) Waive or agree to modification of the delivery schedule;

(3) Make any final decision on any contract matter subject to the Disputes Clause;

(4) Terminate, for any reason, the Contractor's right to proceed;

(5) Obligate in any way, the payment of money by the Government.

(d) The Contractor shall comply with the written or oral direction of the Contracting Officer or authorized representative(s) acting within the scope and authority of the appointment memorandum. The Contractor need not proceed with direction that it considers to have been issued without proper authority. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing, with as much detail as possible, when the COR has taken an action or has issued direction (written or oral) that the Contractor considers to exceed the COR's appointment, within 3 days of the occurrence.

Unless otherwise provided in this contract, the Contractor assumes all costs, risks, liabilities, and consequences of performing any work it is directed to perform that falls within any of the mailto:ippgroup@bos.frb.org categories defined in paragraph (c) prior to receipt of the Contracting Officer's response issued under paragraph (e) of this clause.

(e) The Contracting Officer shall respond in writing within 30 days to any notice made under paragraph (d) of this clause. A failure of the parties to agree upon the nature of a direction, or upon the contract action to be taken with respect thereto, shall be subject to the provisions of the Disputes clause of this contract.

(f) The Contractor shall provide copies of all correspondence to the Contracting Officer and the

COR.

(g) Any action(s) taken by the Contractor, in response to any direction given by any person acting on behalf of the Government or any Government official other than the Contracting Officer or the COR acting within his or her appointment, shall be at the Contractor's risk.

3.6 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

3.6.1 Qualified Contractor Personnel

The Contractor shall provide a Program Manager who shall be responsible for all Contractor work performed under this Contract and project management subject matter experts available to meet the requirements in awarded Task Orders. The Program Manager is further designated as Key by the government.

The Program Manager shall be a single point of contact for the Contracting Officer and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for all subsequent task orders. It is anticipated that the Program Manager shall be one of the senior level employees provided by the Contractor for this work effort. The name of the Program Manager, and the name(s) of any alternate(s) who shall act for the Contractor in the absence of the Project Manager, shall be provided to the Government as part of the Contractor's quotation. During any absence of the Program Manager, only one alternate shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all matters relating to work performed under this Contract. The Program Manager and all designated alternates shall be able to read, write, speak and understand English. Additionally, the Contractor shall not replace the Program Manager without prior acknowledgement from the Contracting Officer.

Project management and other subject matter experts shall be available to support awarded task orders by the task order kickoff meeting. The Contractor shall assign a task order lead that has sufficient project management skills to ensure the task order is performed as directed and completed on time. Subject Matter Experts needed to support task orders may include professionals with experience in offshore wind development, environmental reviews, Section 106 of the NHPA, and technical writing skills.

3.6.2 Key Personnel

The following individuals are considered to be essential to the work being performed under this contract:

Name Position

TO BE COMPLETED AT TIME OF AWARD

Note: Any key personnel specific to task orders may be proposed at the task order level.

3.6.3 Substitution of Key Personnel

(a) The contractor agrees to assign those persons identified above and who are necessary to fulfill the requirements of the contract as key personnel. No substitutions shall be made except in accordance with this clause.

(b) Personnel considered essential (“key personnel”) to the work performed under the contract shall be mutually agreed upon by the contractor and the Government and will be specified in the contract. During the first 90 calendar days of the contract, the Contractor shall make no substitutions of key personnel unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment. Prior to removing, replacing, or diverting any of the specified individuals, the contractor shall promptly notify the Contracting Officer (CO) and provide the information required below:

(c) All proposed substitutions shall be submitted to the CO for approval at least 15 calendar days in advance of the proposed effective date (unless substitution is necessitated by sudden illness, death, or termination of employment in which case notice shall be within five (5) calendar days of the effective date) and must provide the information as stated herein.

(d) All requests for substitutions shall be in writing unless otherwise agreed to by the CO and shall include a complete resume for the proposed substitute and any other information required by the CO to permit effective evaluation of the proposed substitutions’ qualifications.

(e) Requests for substitution of “key personnel” above must also provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating it and sufficient information for the CO to evaluate the impact of the substitution on contract performance.

3.7 NON-PERSONAL SERVICES

This contract is for non-personal services as defined in FAR 37.101 under which the personnel rendering the services are not subject, either by the contract/order’s terms or by the manner of its administration, to the supervision and control usually prevailing in relationships between the Government and its employees.

Personnel assigned to render services under this contract shall at all times be employees of the Contractor (or a subcontractor) and under the direction and control of the Contractor.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this order, the contractor shall at all times be responsible for the supervision of its employees in the performance of the services required hereunder.

The Contractor and/or the Contractor’s employees: (1) shall perform the services specified herein as an independent contractor, not as employees of the government; (2) shall be responsible for management and administration of the work required and bear sole responsibility for complying with any and all technical, schedule, or financial requirements or constraints attendant to the performance of this contract; (3) shall be free from supervision or control by any government employee with respect to the manner or method of performance of the services specified; but (4) shall, pursuant to the government’s right and obligation to inspect, accept or reject the work, comply with such general direction of the CO, or the duly authorized representative of the CO, as is necessary to ensure accomplishment of the contract objectives.

If the Contractor finds clarification necessary with respect to the scope of services to be performed or the manner in which the services are to be performed hereunder, the Contractor shall request clarification from the CO in writing.

Employees of the Contractor (or a subcontractor) must make clear, in dealings with the public, federal employees, or other contractors, that they are not federal employees. To minimize possible confusion, the Contractor’s (or subcontractor) employees are not permitted to wear clothing or other items, apart from the official identity credential, bearing the name, logo, or seal of the Government agency while performing work under this contract/order.

3.8 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

(a) It is the policy of the Department of the Interior to avoid contract/task order awards which could create potential conflict of interest. While the Government has not identified an existing conflict of interest, a conflict could arise or develop after task order award. For purposes of this clause, a conflict of interest is defined as when the Contractor or any subcontractors or teaming arrangement partners have business, financial, real property, mineral rights, or other interests, as well as professional activities that create conflicting roles which could potentially bias a Contractor’s judgment or result in unfair competitive advantage to the Contractor, and thus impede the Government’s objective to obtain an impartial, technically sound and objective performance of this contract.

(b) Any request for waiver from the terms of this contract provision shall be directed in writing to the Contracting Officer and shall include a full description and justification of the required waiver.

(c) The Contractor, or any of his officers or representatives, shall not involve himself in any situation during performance of this contract which may result in conflicts as contemplated in Paragraph (a) above. Failure to comply with this provision may be cause for termination of this contract for default.

(d) The Contractor must disclose any interest which may develop after contract award which may result in his placement in a conflicting role with his performance of this agreement. Failure to comply with this provision may be cause for termination of this contract for default.

(e) The Contractor shall include this clause, including this paragraph in all subcontracts and consultant agreements; however, subcontractors and consultants shall be directed to send any requests for waiver to the Contractor who shall then inform the Contracting Officer as described in (a) above.

3.9 RELEASE OF NEWS INFORMATION

No news release (including photographs and films, public announcements, denial or confirmation of same) on any part of the subject matter of this effort shall be made without the prior written approval of the CO.

3.10 DATA USE, DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION, AND HANDLING OF

SENSITIVE INFORMATION

The Contractor shall maintain, transmit, retain in strictest confidence, and prevent the unauthorized duplication, use, and disclosure of information. The contractor shall provide information only to employees, contractors, and subcontractors having a need to know such information in the performance of their duties for this project.

Information made available to the contractor by the Government for the performance or administration of this effort shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the written agreement of the Contracting Officer (CO).

If government information is provided to the contractor for use in performance or administration of this effort, the contractor except with the written permission of the CO may not use such information for any other purpose.

If the contractor is uncertain about the availability or proposed use of information provided for the performance or administration, the contractor will consult with the COR regarding use of that information for other purposes.

The contractor agrees to assume responsibility for protecting the confidentiality of Government records which are not public information. Each employee of the contractor to whom information may be made available or disclosed shall be notified in writing by the contractor that such information may be disclosed only for a purpose and to the extent authorized herein. Each employee shall sign the non-disclosure agreement form as provided at Attachment 1, and the contractor shall submit the signed form to the CO prior to the employee’s information access.

Performance of this effort may require the contractor to access and use data and information proprietary to a Government agency or Government contractor which is of such a nature that its dissemination or use, other than in performance of this effort, would be adverse to the interests of the Government and/or others.

Contractor and/or contractor personnel shall not divulge or release data or information developed or obtained in performance of this effort, until made public by the Government, except to authorized Government personnel or upon written approval of the CO.

The Contractor shall not use, disclose, or reproduce proprietary data that bears a restrictive legend, other than as required in the performance of this effort. Nothing herein shall preclude the use of any data independently acquired by the contractor without such limitations or prohibit an agreement at no cost to the Government between the contractor and the data owner that provides for greater rights to the contractor. All data received, processed, evaluated, loaded, and/or created as a result of this TO shall remain the sole property of the Government unless specific exception is granted by the CO.

3.11 DATA MANAGEMENT

All data files generated by this SOW shall be prepared electronically and be submitted according to the schedule described in Section 2.5. Text files shall be submitted in a format compatible with Microsoft Word and database files in a format compatible with Microsoft Access. Digital data will be stored and delivered on a transportable media device such as a portable hard drive.

When feasible and expeditious, data may be delivered via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or other secure digital data transfer methods.

The metadata records shall conform to the Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998) as published by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) or to any format that supersedes it as determined by the FGDC such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 19100 series: http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata/csdgm. Profiles and extensions to the standard that have been endorsed by the FGDC shall be used if they are applicable to the data or data products. The metadata records shall contain any and all elements, including those that are considered optional, wherever applicable to the data or data product.

The metadata record shall contain sufficient detail to ensure the data or data product can be fully understood for future use and for posterity. The metadata records shall be delivered free of errors in both content and format as determined by the metadata parser (mp) program developed by the United States Geological Survey or an equivalent. The metadata and records will be subject to review and approval prior to final acceptance by the Government.

All appropriate data will be submitted to the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) in accordance with NODC specifications. The PI(s) shall confirm accomplishment of the data submission to NODC by a letter to the COR/PO, ESPT, and CI describing the dates, formats and documentations of submissions. A statement from NODC indicating that the data have been accepted for archival shall be included as an appendix. Information on submission requirements can be found at: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/General/NODC-Submit/. Data resulting from this project shall be referenced or deposited in a variety of locations contingent on developing protocols and current status. Marine database infrastructure enables sharing of marine biodiversity inventories, assists in monitoring and evaluation of change, enables more accurate risk assessment and predictive modeling, and is vital to understanding ecological relationships in the oceans.

3.12 SECTION 508 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (found at 29 U.S.C. 794d) requires access to and use of information by individuals with disabilities. A deliverable such as electronic reports (ex: PDF files) to be placed on the web (either on the agency's web server of the company's), video footage, or other electronic data such as CD-ROMs to be distributed, are subject to Section 508 guidelines.

http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata/csdgm http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/General/NODC-Submit/

Simplified, this means that PDF files need to be formatted so that they are "readable" by assistive technology devices such as screen readers. Video footage must be closed captioned. CD-ROMs which contain HTML, PDF, or word processor files must be accessible. The contractor shall comply with the applicable Revised 508 Standards at the time of contract award in accordance with https://www.section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies.

The contractor shall comply with the applicable Revised 508 Standards at the time of contract award:

https://www.section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies.

3.13 PRINTING

The Contractor shall not engage in, nor subcontract for, any printing (as that term is defined in Title I of the Government Printing and Binding Regulations in effect on the effective date of the contract) in connection with the performance of work under this contract provided, however, that performance of a requirement under this contract involving the reproduction of less than 5,000 production units of any one page, or less than 25,000 production units in the aggregate of multiple pages, will not be deemed to be printing. A production unit is defined as one sheet, size 8 and ½ x 11 inches, one side only, one color.

3.14 NOTICE REGARDING LATE DELIVERY/DELAYED PERFORMANCE

(a) In the event the Contractor anticipates difficulty in meeting performance requirements, or when it anticipates difficulty in complying with any delivery schedule contained in individual task orders issued under the contract , or any date, or whenever the Contractor has knowledge that any actual or potential situation is delaying or threatens to delay the timely performance of the task order, the Contractor shall immediately notify the CO and the COR in writing, giving pertinent details, provided this data shall be informational only in character and that this provision shall not be construed as a waiver by the Government of any task order delivery schedule, or date or any rights or remedies provided by law under the contract.

(b) If the Contractor fails to respond in a timely manner to any portion of the task order requirements, delay will be attributed to the Contractor.

(c) If the Government delays performance of any task order issued under this contract, the period of performance and/or price may be revised upon mutual agreement between the Government and the Contractor.

3.15 FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CLAUSES

3.15.1 FAR 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the CO will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): FAR Clauses:

https://www.acquisition.gov/far https://www.section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.section508.gov%2Fmanage%2Flaws-and-policies&data=04%7C01%7CRebecca.Kruse%40bsee.gov%7Cb5e81f456e0445595ba708d8a1134279%7C0693b5ba4b184d7b9341f32f400a5494%7C0%7C0%7C637436451378957549%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=ftygWjHqBgopu1gDbO5Vw0XteHPNSw%2BdXA1lWj0lHSM%3D&reserved=0 https://www.acquisition.gov/far

Clause Title Date 52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement to Jun 2020 Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights 52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance Oct 2018 52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance Aug 2020 52.204-19 Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications Dec 2014 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Products and Dec 2022 Commercial Services 52.217-2 Cancellation Under Multi-Year Contracts Oct 1997 52.223-6 Drug-Free Workplace May 2001

3.15.2 FAR CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY FULL TEXT

3.15.2.1 FAR 52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO

IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDER- COMMERCIAL

PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (JUN 2023)

(a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial products and commercial services:

(1) 52.203-19, Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements (JAN 2017) (section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) and its successor provisions in subsequent appropriations acts (and as extended in continuing resolutions)).

(2) 52.204-23, Prohibition on Contracting for Hardware, Software, and Services Developed or Provided by Kaspersky Lab and Other Covered Entities (NOV 2021) (Section 1634 of Pub. L. 115-91).

(3) 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment. (NOV 2021) (Section 889(a)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 115-232).

(4) 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (NOV 2015).

(5) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (AUG 1996) ( 31 U.S.C. 3553).

(6) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (OCT 2004) (Public Laws 108-77 and 108-78 ( 19 U.S.C. 3805 note)).

(b) The Contractor shall comply with the FAR clauses in this paragraph (b) that the Contracting Officer has indicated as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial products and commercial services:

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.203-19#FAR_52_203_19 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.204-23#FAR_52_204_23 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.204-25#FAR_52_204_25 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.209-10#FAR_52_209_10 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.233-3#FAR_52_233_3 http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.233-4#FAR_52_233_4 http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3

X (1) 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (JUN 2020), with Alternate I (NOV 2021) ( 41 U.S.C. 4704 and 10 U.S.C. 4655).

__ (2) 52.203-13, Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct (NOV 2021) ( 41 U.S.C. 3509)).

__ (3) 52.203-15, Whistleblower Protections under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (JUN 2010) (Section 1553 of Pub. L. 111-5). (Applies to contracts funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.)

X (4) 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (JUN 2020) (Pub. L. 109-282) ( 31 U.S.C. 6101 note).

__ (5) [Reserved].

X (6) 52.204-14, Service Contract Reporting Requirements (OCT 2016) (Pub. L. 111- 117, section 743 of Div. C).

_ (7) 52.204-15, Service Contract Reporting Requirements for Indefinite-Delivery Contracts (OCT 2016) (Pub. L. 111-117, section 743 of Div. C).

X (8) 52.209-6, Protecting the Government’s Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment. (NOV 2021) ( 31 U.S.C. 6101 note).

X (9) 52.209-9, Updates of Publicly Available Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (OCT 2018) ( 41 U.S.C. 2313).

__ (10) [Reserved].

__ (11) 52.219-3, Notice of HUBZone Set-Aside or Sole-Source Award (OCT 2022) ( 15 U.S.C. 657a).

__ (12) 52.219-4, Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns (OCT 2022) (if the quoter elects to waive the preference, it shall so indicate in its offer) ( 15 U.S.C. 657a).

__ (13) [Reserved]

_ (14)

(i) 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (NOV 2020) ( 15 U.S.C. 644).

__ (ii) Alternate I (MAR 2020) of 52.219-6.

__ (15) https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.203-6#FAR_52_203_6 http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3 https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/10/4655 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.203-13#FAR_52_203_13 http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.203-15#FAR_52_203_15 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.204-10#FAR_52_204_10 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title31-section6101&num=0&edition=prelim https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.204-14#FAR_52_204_14 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.204-15#FAR_52_204_15 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.209-6#FAR_52_209_6 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title31-section6101&num=0&edition=prelim https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.209-9#FAR_52_209_9 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title41-section2313&num=0&edition=prelim https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-3#FAR_52_219_3 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section637a&num=0&edition=prelim https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-4#FAR_52_219_4 http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-6#FAR_52_219_6 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-6#FAR_52_219_6

(i) 52.219-7, Notice of Partial Small Business Set-Aside (NOV 2020) ( 15 U.S.C. 644).

__ (ii) Alternate I (MAR 2020) of 52.219-7.

_ (16) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (OCT 2022) ( 15 U.S.C. 637(d)(2) and (3)).

__ (17)

(i) 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan (OCT 2022) ( 15 U.S.C. 637(d)(4)).

__ (ii) Alternate I (NOV 2016) of 52.219-9.

__ (iii) Alternate II (NOV 2016) of 52.219-9.

__ (iv) Alternate III (JUN 2020) of 52.219-9.

__ (v) Alternate IV (SEP 2021) of 52.219-9.

_ (18) (i) 52.219-13, Notice of Set-Aside of Orders (MAR 2020) ( 15 U.S.C. 644(r)).

__ (ii) Alternate I (MAR 2020) of 52.219-13.

_ (19) 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (OCT 2022) ( 15 U.S.C. 637s).

__ (20) 52.219-16, Liquidated Damages—Subcontracting Plan (SEP 2021) ( 15 U.S.C. 637(d)(4)(F)(i)).

__ (21) 52.219-27, Notice of Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set- Aside (OCT 2022) ( 15 U.S.C. 657f).

_ (22) (i) 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation (OCT 2022) ( 15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2)).

__ (ii) Alternate I (MAR 2020) of 52.219-28.

__ (23) 52.219-29, Notice of Set-Aside for, or Sole-Source Award to, Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business Concerns (OCT 2022) ( 15 U.S.C. 637(m)).

__ (24) 52.219-30, Notice of Set-Aside for, or Sole-Source Award to, Women-Owned Small Business Concerns Eligible Under the Women-Owned Small Business Program (OCT 2022) ( 15 U.S.C. 637(m)).

__ (25) 52.219-32, Orders Issued Directly Under…