Sol_D15PS00107_Amd_000001.pdf

(x)

D15PS00107

x x copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted ; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT

THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted , such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

D31

Sierra Vista AZ 85635 354 S Hwy 92 Division 3/ Branch 1 Interior Business Center, AQD

05/13/2015000001

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended , by one of the following methods: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

05/13/2015

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

The questions included in this amendment were received within the question and answer period that ended on May 22, 2015. No further questions will be accepted.

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

Steven Campbell

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9 A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect .

Solicitation Document No.

D15PS00107

Document Title: EPA-Tribal Western Wetlands Management Coordination

RFQ Questions and Answers

Q1: Page 7 of the SOW states that “Draft assessment reports will be submitted to USIECR for review 3 weeks prior to distribution.” Can you provide any details on what occurs during this review process (e.g.

what kind of editing process is anticipated, the number of people that would individually review the materials, etc.)?

The final assessment report is a deliverable for this contract and the review process for draft assessments is intended to assure quality control and acceptability of a final product. The final assessment report is not only reflective of the Contractor’s work, but also USIECR’s. Therefore, we will work with our Contractor to edit as necessary. Our goal is to ensure a professionally presented document, free of grammar or spelling errors, that meets USIECR standards for assessment reports and supports the collaboration/conflict resolution process.

Some key qualities of an assessment report that we will look for and work with the Contractor on as necessary include:

Neutrality: Not positional; does not favor any perspective or cast blame. Equally clarifies the concerns and interests of all affected parties. Presents conflicting positions or issues in neutral language that would not be considered inflammatory by any of the parties.

Synthesis of Key Positions/Interests: Goes beyond a summary of comments to extrapolate key concepts and concerns. Where appropriate, it identifies where parties have differing and similar perspectives or desired outcomes or identifies areas of major differences in relation to these concepts and concerns.

Identification of Topics of Concern: Highlights key issues that need to be addressed in the collaboration/conflict resolution process.

Critical Process Component for Effectively Addressing the Issues: Lays the foundation for the findings and recommendations by clarifying the critical process components - such as transparency, clear decision sideboards and processes, group autonomy, joint fact finding – needed to build trust and effectively address the issues.

The Senior Program Manager and Senior Program Associate will work most closely on the editing process and work with the Contractor directly. USIECR communication staff may also review the draft report.

Q2: Can you describe what is meant in the RFQ by wetlands management? What activities fall under the definition of wetlands management? Does that include, for example, regulatory authority under section 404 of the Clean Water Act? Restoration and mitigation? Wetlands delineation?

The core elements of wetlands management with states and tribes, as defined by EPA, include:

1. Monitoring and Assessment;

2. Regulatory activities;

3. Voluntary Restoration and Protection;

4. Water Quality Standards for Wetlands.

Detailed information about those core elements, their definitions, and EPA’s objectives within this core elements framework can be found online here:

http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/wetlands/cef_full.cfm. Any of the activities outlined under these elements would be considered part of wetlands management.

http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/wetlands/cef_full.cfm

Document Title: EPA-Tribal Western Wetlands Management Coordination

Q3: Are there jurisdictional issues with regard to wetlands management? In other words, will tribes manage wetlands on tribal trust lands only or can they sometimes be on private land inside a reservation boundary?

We anticipate that Clean Water Act jurisdictional matters may be raised by a tribe or tribes as part of this undertaking. EPA Headquarters and Regional Offices intends to work with each tribe to provide appropriate information and support addressing CWA tribal jurisdictional matters regarding wetlands management in accordance with applicable EPA policies and guidelines.

Q4: Can you be more specific about what is required for logistics for tribal participants? Flights, lodging, transportation, etc. It is anticipated that the Contractor may be asked to provide any of the following logistics related to participants attending the Rocky Mountains Workshop/Training outlined in optional Task 7:

Flights or alternative transportation from the participants point of origin to and from the workshop Lodging onsite or close to the workshop venue Reimbursement for costs such as transportation to and from the airport, baggage fees, and local transportation.

Meals or per diem reimbursement for the duration of the workshop Additional logistics for the organization of the workshop itself will be needed as outlined in the RFQ.

Q5: When do you expect to make a decision and what is a reasonable start date?

We hope to be able to award a contract in early July and the Contractor would be expected to begin work with kick-off meetings with the EPA regions soon thereafter, within the second or third week of July.

Q6: What is the rationale in not having in-person meetings with tribal participants in the Arid Southwest?

Should we anticipate trust issues between the tribal reps and the SW Senior Lead that in-person meetings could overcome?

The initial work with tribes in the Arid-Southwest is outlined under Task 3 as an assessment, which should consider the need for trust building. This task does not include funding to travel and meet with the tribes in-person. Rather, the assessment will need to be conducted over the phone and/or web technologies where appropriate or desired. This is the case given that interested tribes in the AridSouthwest have already met in-person with EPA for a wetlands training workshop and there is some initial momentum. However, it has been a couple years since that meeting and an assessment prior to meeting in-person would be appropriate to shape reconvening those interested tribes.

There is then funding under Task 5 for the Contractor to convene interested tribes for up to 2 in-person meetings after the initial assessment. However, there is not funding available to support tribal travel to these meetings. That may pose a challenge and therefore there is flexibility under this task for the Contractor to provide an equivalent level of effort for remote meetings with participants.

Q7: Can you provide a list of tribes that will be involved in each region?

The Contractor will work with EPA to determine the initial list of tribes to interview in each eco-region. After the assessment, it will then be more clear which tribes are interested in this effort and additional potential meetings.

Information about the different tribes in the EPA regions can be found online below. However, keep in mind that EPA regions are larger than just the eco-regions for this project.

Region 6- http://www.epa.gov/tribalportal/whereyoulive/region6.htm

Region 7- http://www.epa.gov/region07/tribal/federally_recognized_tribes.htm http://www.epa.gov/tribalportal/whereyoulive/region6.htm http://www.epa.gov/region07/tribal/federally_recognized_tribes.htm

Document Title: EPA-Tribal Western Wetlands Management Coordination

Region 8- http://www.epa.gov/tribalportal/whereyoulive/region8.htm

Region 9- http://www.epa.gov/tribal/whereyoulive/region9.htm

Q8: Can you provide an eco-regional map?

Here is the link to EPA’s eco-regional map provided on EPA’s websitehttp://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm#Level I.

However, you will see that it does not match perfectly with the “arid-southwest” and “rocky mountains” regions that have been called out in this effort. Roughly, the arid-southwest will be a subset of EPA Region 9 (southern portion) and EPA Region 6 (western portion). The Rocky Mountains will include all of EPA Region 8.

Q9: Is it possible to propose just on the Arid-Southwest and not the Rocky Mountain area as offerors may have more experience with one of the areas than the other?

We cannot accept a quote for just the Arid-Southwest portion. Although an offeror does not have as much direct experience in one of the areas, the lack of experience would not exclude the offeror from consideration - as long as the quote includes that part of the requirement.

An offeror could also consider subcontracting or teaming with someone who does have more experience in the other area.

Q10: How are these services currently being performed? Under contract? In-house? If these requirements are currently being performed under a contract: Who is the Contractor? What is the contract number?

When does the contract expire? What is the current contract value?

This is a new requirement and the services are not currently being performed under any contract.

http://www.epa.gov/tribalportal/whereyoulive/region8.htm http://www.epa.gov/tribal/whereyoulive/region9.htm