DEP.RFR.BWR.2017.15.2.LAB.SER.MSA.reissued.8.4.17.docx

THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

Executive Office of energy and environmental affairs department of environmental protection

BUREAU OF WATER RESOURCES

DIVISION OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT– WATERSHED PLANNING PROGRAM

8 NEW BOND STREET

WORCESTER, MA 01606

Request for Response (RFR) Analytical Laboratory Services COMMBUYS Bid#: BD-17-1045-BWR00-BWR01-16001 Agency Document Number: BWR-2017-15-2-REISSUED August 4, 2017 Please Note: This is a single document associated with a complete Bid (also referred to as Solicitation) that can be found on COMMBUYS (www.COMMBUYS.com). All Bidders are responsible for reviewing and adhering to all information, forms and requirements for the entire Bid, which are all incorporated into the Bid. Bidders may also contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at COMMBUYS@state.ma.us or the COMMBUYS Helpline at 1-888-MA-STATE. The Helpline is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal, state and Suffolk county holidays.

RFR#: BWR-2017-15 / COMMBUYS Bid#: BD-17-1045-BWR00-BWR01-16001

Table of Contents Page ii

1.0 RFR INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION

1.1 Procurement Scope and Description

Through this solicitation, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“MassDEP” or the “Department”), Division of Watershed Management (DWM), Watershed Planning Program (WPP) is seeking to establish a list of pre-qualified analytical laboratory firms (referred to as “Contractor”) to provide MassDEP with analyses of environmental samples on a project-by-project basis during the Contract term. Required samples may include ambient waters, wastewaters, sediments, fish tissue and biological (e.g., plants, plankton). After Contract award, Contractors may be asked to perform laboratory analyses for one or more of the sample types or parameters described in RFR Section 10. Laboratories demonstrating capability and proficiency for at least one of the sample types or as few as one parameter within a group described in RFR Section 10 are eligible for selection through this solicitation, provided that the bidding laboratory meets the requirements of this RFR.

Qualified Contractors selected as a result of this solicitation will be placed on a pre-qualified list for analytical sampling services on the Department’s Master Service Agreement. As described in the following Scope of Services, whenever the Department needs a service performed for a specific task, Contractors from the pre-qualified list will be contacted and informed of any special considerations or instructions for the work and asked to provide a project or task-specific price quote stating the cost and period of performance for completing the work. All such price quotes must include all costs that will be charged to the Department, including labor (hourly staff rate(s), including overhead and fees), subcontracts, any sample shipping costs to and from Contractor, and direct costs (mileage, duplication, postage, etc.). The Contractor whose specific price quote offers the best value to the Department will be selected for that specific task.

1.2 Applicable Procurement Law

This Bid is issued under the following law(s):

MGL c. 7, § 22; c. 30, § 51, § 52; and 801 CMR 21.00 (Goods and Services).

1.3 Number of Awards

MassDEP is seeking to pre-qualify multiple Contractors to provide professional laboratory analysis of environmental samples collected in Massachusetts and has not set an upper limit on the number of Contractors.

1.4 Adding Laboratories after initial Contract Award

In the discretion of the Strategic Sourcing Team (SST), qualified Contractors may be added to the Master Service Agreement after initial Contract award. If, over the life of the Contract, the SST determines that additional Laboratories should be added, these firms may first be drawn from qualified companies which responded to this Solicitation but were not awarded contracts. If necessary to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth, the Solicitation may be reopened to obtain additional bids.

1.5 Eligible Entities

Any contract resulting from this Bid will be open for use by the Issuing Entity. The issuing entity for this solicitation is the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

1.6 Acquisition Method(s)

The acquisition method to acquire services from this Solicitation is Fee for Service.

1.7 Performance and Payment Time Frames Which Continue Beyond Duration of the Contract All agreements for services entered into during the duration of this contract and whose performance and payment time frames extend beyond the duration of this contract shall remain in effect for performance and payment purposes (limited to the time frame and services established per each written agreement). No agreements for services may be executed after the contract has expired. Any contract termination or suspension pursuant to this section shall not automatically terminate any agreements for services already in place unless the department also terminates said agreements for service, which were executed pursuant to the main contract.

1.8 Contract Duration

The base term of the Master Service Agreement is from the date of both parties’ execution of the Contract through and including June 30, 2020. Subject to the availability of additional funding, MassDEP may, in its discretion, exercise two additional two-year renewal options for this Contract.

Initial Duration

3 Years (approximately)

Total Maximum Contract Duration

7 Years

1.9 Estimated Value of the Contract

The estimated value of the contract over the maximum duration as specified in Section 1.8 is $250,000. The Commonwealth makes no guarantee that any commodities or services will be purchased from any Contract resulting from this Bid. Any estimates or past procurement volumes referenced in this Bid are included only for the convenience of Bidders, and are not to be relied upon as any indication of future purchase levels.

2 ESTIMATED PROCUREMENT CALENDAR

Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as displayed on the COMMBUYS system clock displayed to Bidders after logging in. If there is a conflict between the dates in this Procurement Calendar and dates in the Bid’s Header, the dates in the Bid’s Header on COMMBUYS shall prevail. Bidders are responsible for checking the Bid record, including Bid Q&A, on COMMBUYS for Procurement Calendar updates.

2.1 Written questions via the Bid Q&A on COMMBUYS

The “Bid Q&A” provides the opportunity for Bidders to ask written questions and receive written answers from the SST regarding this Bid. All Bidders’ questions must be submitted through the Bid Q&A found on COMMBUYS (see below for instructions). Questions may be asked only prior to the Deadline for Submission of Questions stated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar. The issuing department reserves the right not to respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions.

Please note that any questions submitted to the SST using any other medium (including those that are sent by mail, fax, email or voicemail, etc.) will not be answered. To reduce the number of redundant or duplicate questions, Bidders are asked to review all questions previously submitted to determine whether the Bidder’s question has already been posted.

Bidders are responsible for entering content suitable for public viewing, since all of the questions are accessible to the public. Bidders must not include any information that could be considered personal, security sensitive, inflammatory, incorrect, collusory, or otherwise objectionable, including information about the Bidder’s company or other companies. The SST reserves the right to edit or delete any submitted questions that raise any of these issues or that are not in the best interest of the Commonwealth or this Bid.

All answers are final when posted. Any subsequent revisions to previously provided answers will be dated.

It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

2.2 Locating Bid Q&A

Log into COMMBUYS, locate the Bid, acknowledge receipt of the Bid, and scroll down to the bottom of the Bid Header page. The “Bid Q&A” button allows Bidders access to the Bid Q&A page.

2.3 Amendment Deadline

The SST reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication. It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for any amendments, addenda or modifications to this Bid, and any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid up until the deadline date for amending the RFR listed in the Procurement Schedule. The SST and the Commonwealth accepts no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Response based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

3.0 SCOPE OF SERVICES; MINIMUM MANDATORY SPECIFICATIONS

IN GENERAL: All Bidders must submit an RFR Response that includes a description of all services offered, along with pricing information as required by this Section. By submitting a response to this RFR, all Bidders acknowledge and affirm that their RFR Response: (1) complies with and will adhere to all required terms and conditions of the RFR, (2) includes a qualified team, and (3) if selected as a result of this solicitation, will ensure that all personnel associated with the required services will remain qualified for these services for the duration of the Contract.

NOTE to Bidders: All RFR Responses will be submitted both electronically (through the COMMBUYS posting website) and in hard copy to MassDEP. The electronic and hard copy versions of the RFR Response must be IDENTICAL in content. The official deadline for receipt of the RFR Responses is through the COMMBUYS electronically generated posting (date and time). The Response must include a cover letter signed in ink (in the hard copy) by an individual having the authority to bind the entity submitting the response to the RFR. Additional requirements for Response submission are set forth in RFR Section 7. Detailed specification contents for the Bidders’ RFR responses are provided in the following sections. Additional required terms and submission requirements for the Bidders appear in the Appendices to this RFR.

3.1 Scope of Services

The Scope of Services will include some, or all, of the following deliverables as outlined below. Contractors identified on the Master Service Agreement will be contacted on a project-by-project basis to provide a specific price quote for some or all of the following tasks.

As required by the Department and consistent with demonstrated laboratory competence, the Contractor may be asked to perform laboratory analyses for one or more of the sample types described in Section 10 (Appendix 3). NOTE: Laboratories demonstrating capability and proficiency for at least one of the sample types listed in Section 10 are eligible to respond to this MSA.

3.2 Bidder Qualifications

Each Bidder shall provide in the RFR Response a statement of qualifications, which addresses the firm’s experience to provide the services requested by this RFR, and addressing in particular the following key areas, at a minimum:

1. Previous experience with environmental sample analyses, including resumes for the Bidder’s key employees, including the resumes of any subcontractors who will have primary responsibility for project tasks and which identify their educational and work history and current job description.

2. A statement by the Bidder specifying one or more of the sample analysis types that the Bidder’s firm is capable and qualified to perform for the Department, with reference to the list set forth in RFR Section 10 (i.e., Appendix 3). NOTE: Laboratories demonstrating capability and proficiency for at least one of the sample types listed in Section 10 are eligible to respond to this MSA.

3. A demonstrated ability (through examples of past projects) to complete the anticipated scope of services in a timely manner.

4. Laboratory quality assurance, including a company profile or organizational chart. Such information is typically contained in a laboratory Quality Assurance Plan, which can be submitted as part of the RFR response.

5. A list of the Bidder’s laboratory standard operating procedures and associated methods (e.g., EPA, ASTM, Standard Methods) used for each analysis (not the actual SOP documents).

6. Three (3) references who may be contacted by the Department to discuss the Bidder’s (and any subcontractor’s) qualifications, work experience and ability to perform the services.

7. Qualifications and any prior and/or current work experience, including a description of any similar projects performed by the Bidder and any other information relevant to their ability to successfully perform the services under the contract.

8. A list of any subcontractors and the specific task(s) to be performed by the subcontractor(s) (see also, RFR Section 3.2, Item 1. above).

As part of its statement of qualifications and related experience, Bidders must also identify, if applicable, any other past or current contracts with other Massachusetts state agencies or authorities within the last 10 years.

3.3 Additional Mandatory Terms & Conditions

3.3.1 Standard Commonwealth Forms

In addition to meeting all the requirements of this RFR, the terms and conditions for this Contract are presented in the “Commonwealth Terms and Conditions” and “Standard Contract Form” as well as other Commonwealth forms that the Bidders must agree to, sign and submit with the responses to this RFR. SEE RFR Section 7 regarding detailed submission requirements for all required Commonwealth forms. Please note that Bidders must also complete, sign, and submit the Commonwealth’s Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) form as part of the RFR Response for this solicitation. For additional information, Bidders should review Appendix 2 (Required Specifications) and Appendix 4 (instructions for execution and submission of Commonwealth Forms).

3.3.2 Data Ownership

The Bidder is advised that all deliverables that are submitted to the Department, both prior to, and after Contract Award, is the property of the Commonwealth.

3.4 Environmental Specifications

Executive Order 515, Establishing an Environmental Purchasing Policy Products and services purchased by state agencies must be in compliance with Executive Order 515, issued October 27, 2009. Under this Executive Order, Executive Departments are required to reduce their impact on the environment and enhance public health by procuring environmentally preferable products and services (EPPs) whenever such products and services perform to satisfactory standards and represent best value, consistent with 801 CMR 21.00. In line with this directive, all contracts, whether departmental or statewide, must comply with the specifications and guidelines established by OSD and the EPP Program. EPPs are considered to be products and services that help to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, protect public health and the environment, and promote the use of clean technologies, recycled materials, and less toxic products. Questions concerning the EO or the appropriate specifications may be directed to OSD’s EPP Procurement Program, www.mass.gov/epp.

The Order can be seen at: http://www.mass.gov/Agov3/docs/Executive%20Orders/executive_order_515.pdf.

Environmental Plan Beginning the first year of the Contract and throughout the life of the Contract, awarded Bidders shall agree to work with the SST to examine the feasibility of implementing an environmental plan. The objective is to actively encourage suppliers to incorporate sustainable practices throughout their business operations and further market such practices to Contract users. Such a plan may include, but not be limited to, the following:

· Implementing energy efficiency initiatives at the corporate level in line with Executive Order 484, such as lighting retrofits, purchase of energy from renewable sources, use of bio-heat fuel, and other energy reduction technologies.

· Encouraging environmental initiatives at a corporate and/or manufacturing level for the purpose of reducing the impact of manufacturing on the environment; such as clearly identifying recycled content of packaging on the packaging, providing product life cycle assessments, working toward the elimination of ozone depleting chemical usage in the manufacturing or refining process (where applicable), and conducting internal environmental auditing related to pollution control.

· Adopting standards and/or obtain certifications, where applicable, for product development and manufacturing processes such as but not limited to LEED, ISO 14001, Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Protocol, Green Seal, Environmental Choice and others.

· Using alternative fuel vehicles for delivery or transportation purposes and/or vehicles equipped with diesel emission control devices and operating such vehicles with guidance on anti-idling initiatives.

· Working with the SST to develop and distribute information and/or materials to Commonwealth customers on the Awarded Bidder’s environmental practices and initiatives throughout the term of the Contract.

· Developing a plan to implement the recycling of materials used or produced in normal business operations.

The SST may award points to Bidders who provide evidence that measures and initiatives such as these are already in place within their operations, and/or for written proposals submitted with their Response detailing a commitment to action contingent upon receipt of a Contract award. (See the Additional Environmentally Preferable Products / Practices form on COMMBUYS).

3.5 Compensation Structure/Pricing

This is a fee for service contract. The payment procedure for this project is a fixed fee for services based upon MassDEP’s acceptance of deliverables from the Contractor during the contractual period. Advance payments shall not be made. Payment is generally made within 45 days subsequent to a Contractor submitting a correctly executed invoice with appropriate backup documentation that is acceptable to MassDEP. MassDEP will retain ten percent (10%) of the total maximum obligation of the contract until all contract provisions are satisfied and all final reports and other products are delivered and accepted by MassDEP. This 10% retainage shall be reflected on each invoice submitted by the contractor and will be cumulative.

As part of the RFR Response, all Bidders are required to submit their firm’s base price list for all sampling services and materials associated with the firm’s selected services for this solicitation. After Contract award, MassDEP reserves the right to further negotiate all price list submissions with the selected Contractors on a project-by-project basis in order to ensure Best Value to the Commonwealth for this Contract.

4.0 OTHER TERMS

4.1 Contract Management (Contractor’s interface with Commonwealth’s Contract Administrator) Following Contract award, all questions must be directed to the MassDEP Contract Administrator. Changes to the Contractor’s contact information, company name, legal address, payment address, tax identification number, authorized signatories or EFT information must be promptly reported via email to the MassDEP Contract Administrator. In some cases additional paperwork will be required to effect the change.

MassDEP’s designated Contract Administrator is as follows:

Richard Chase Watershed Planning Program Division of Watershed Management Bureau of Water Resources Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection 8 New Bond Street Worcester, MA 01606 Tel: 508-767-2859 richard.f.chase@state.ma.us

4.2 Continued Qualifications Based Upon Performance

During the Contract term, any Contractor may be removed from the Master Service Agreement if the quality of their work is unacceptable to the Department, or if the Department determines that maintaining the Contractor on the Master Service Agreement does not provide best value, or is otherwise not in the best interests of the Department. The Department’s determination to remove a Contractor may be based upon a number of considerations, including but not limited to the following: the consistency and compliance of the Contractor’s work product with the basic Contract specifications, the quality and timely submission of the Contractor’s work product, and whether that work product is considered above and beyond the basic requirements, the cost effectiveness of the Contractor’s services on one or more selected projects, and the Contractor’s responsiveness to the business needs of the Department.

5.0 AUDIT

During the term of this Agreement and for a period of six years thereafter, MassDEP, its auditors, the Operational Services Division, the Office of the Inspector General or other authorized representatives shall be afforded access at reasonable times to Contractor's accounting records, including sales information on any system, reports or files, in order to audit all records relating to goods sold or services performed pursuant to this Agreement. If such an audit indicates that Contractor has materially overcharged MassDEP, then the Contractor shall remit the overcharged amount and be responsible for payment of any costs associated with the audit.

6.0 EVALUATION CRITERIA

The SST will evaluate the Responses using the following general process. Bidders whose RFR Responses meet the overall requirements of the RFR will be selected by the SST for inclusion on the list for the Master Service Agreement.

STEP 1 – Initial Screening: RFR Responses received by MassDEP within the date and time deadlines set forth in the Estimated Procurement Calendar will be screened for compliance with completeness and responsiveness to the requirements provided in this RFR. MassDEP will use the COMMBUYS date and time as the official time to determine if each Bidder’s RFR Response was submitted to COMMBUYS by the posted deadline. However, all Bidders are still required to submit both the electronic and hard copy of the RFR Response by the date/time specified in the Estimated Procurement Calendar in Section 2. MassDEP may disqualify any responses that it determines, in its sole discretion, to be late, incomplete or non-responsive to the RFR requirements.

Step 2 - Bidder Qualifications: The SST will evaluate the portions of the Bidders’ Response that provide the information on Bidder qualifications and capabilities to provide the services for the Contract. The SST’s evaluation of each Bidder’s capabilities and experience will include contacting client point-of-contacts references. The Department will use its discretion as to how many client points-of-contact are contacted. The Department also reserves the right, in its discretion, to contact and ask about any Bidder’s past performance from any other individual or organization in addition to those clients/projects cited by Bidders in the Response. It is the responsibility of the Bidder to ensure that contact information for previous projects is up to date.

Step 3 - Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Plan (formerly Affirmative Market Plan): IS NOT REQUIRED FOR THIS PROCUREMENT. See Steps 4 and 5.

Step 4 – Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Policy Statement must be submitted with the bid package. See Appendix 9.

Step 5 – Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Participation (DBE) The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) DBE rule requires the use of MBEs and WBEs for all federally funded procurements. As such all requirements listed in Appendix 9 must be submitted with the bid package.

Step 6 - Bidder price lists: MassDEP will review and evaluate the Bidders’ standard price list submissions for services and materials. As indicated above, the Department reserves the right to request and negotiate all prices on a project-by-project basis after Contract Award.

Price Quote Process:

(following establishment of the Master Service Agreement and the Pre-Qualified Contractor List) At any time after the establishment of the Master Service Agreement, the Department may solicit price quotes for a service or services from one or more pre-qualified Contractors. Depending on Department need and the capabilities of pre-qualified Contractors, selected Contractors from the Master Service Agreement will be contacted, informed of any special considerations or instructions for the work, and asked to provide a project or task-specific price quote stating the cost and period of performance for completing the work. All such price quotes must include all costs that will be charged to the Department including labor, sub-contractual and direct costs. The Contractor whose specific price quote offers the best value to the Department will be selected for that specific task. This determination may include consideration of the project or task-specific price quotes regarding the total cost, period of performance for completing the work, the experience of the Contractor, and the Department’s determination of a Contractor’s suitability to perform the work and past performance. If none of the specific price quotes received meets the Department’s needs, the Department may reject any and all quotes and may solicit additional quotes in order to locate the best value procurement for the Department. If price quotes are requested for work related to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and Massachusetts Drinking Water Regulations, state certification and adherence to 310 CMR 42.00 shall be required. For information on state certification, contact the Senator William X. Wall Experiment Station, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, 37 Shattuck Street, Lawrence, MA 01843-1398; Telephone: (978) 682-5237 http://www.mass.gov/dep/service/compliance/wespub02.htm

7.0 HOW TO SUBMIT A RESPONSE

All Bidders may begin creating and compiling RFR Response materials as soon as the Bid with all attachments is in the Sent document status on the COMMBUYS website. Bidders are instructed not to submit Responses before the Bid Amendment Deadline has been reached (See Estimated Procurement Calendar, RFR Section 2).

7.1 Response Content and General Instructions

The Response must include the following items in the order presented below. In addition, for RFR Response content, all Bidders must comply with the requirements of RFR Section 3.0.

Cover Letter: Signed by an authorized signatory of the Bidder, affirming that the Bidder, by submitting a response to the RFR, agrees to and will comply with all mandatory requirements of this RFR during the Contract term.

Bidder Response Form: Bidders must complete this form providing general information, including contacts, history and the use of sub-contractors.

Company Capabilities & Technical Experience: Provide a narrative describing the company’s capabilities and qualifications for performing the selected Scope of Services (see also RFR Section 10, Appendix 3) [5 page limit].

Management Approach: Provide a narrative describing the company’s management approach for implementing this Contract. Including an organizational chart and anticipated personnel working on this project, identify potential subcontractors to enhance capabilities in line with Scope of Services & Qualifications, describe effectiveness of management approach for providing technical services and meeting administrative requirements for planning, executing and invoicing for the contract [5 page limit].

Past Project Descriptions: Bidders must submit completed Project Descriptions for three (3) of your firm’s completed projects that demonstrate your capabilities and management of projects pertinent to the Scope of Services for this Contract. Please ensure that the client contacts for each project are up to date including names, titles, telephone numbers and email addresses. [Two page limit per Project Description.] Personnel Resumes: Provide current resumes for key personnel who will be assigned to work on this project. Identify project lead(s) and other key players.

Price Lists: Bidders must provide base price lists for all selected services.

Commonwealth Forms: Bidders must provide the requested Commonwealth Forms as described in this RFR. Two original hard copies of the Bidder’s RFR response must contain two original ink signatures of required Commonwealth forms.

Bidder Checklist: All Bidders must submit the Bidder Checklist (Appendix 8) to ensure completeness of RFR Response submission.

7.2 Response Submission Method

All Bidders’ Responses must be submitted to the Department by the date and time set forth in the Procurement Calendar (see RFR Section 2.0) via two separate methods:

1. One completed copy uploaded as a PDF file to the COMMBUYS website for this solicitation (Official copy), and

2. Five (5) hard copies submitted to the Department’s Watershed Planning Program in the Worcester office at 8 New Bond Street Worcester, MA.

Hard copies must be submitted to the following point of contact for MassDEP’s procurement in a sealed envelope and include two (2) original signed copies (with original signatures on all Commonwealth Forms) and three (3) duplicate copies to the following address in accordance with all of the Response submission requirements including Bid Opening Date/Time, Bid Package and Environmental Response Submission Compliance provisions:

Richard Chase Watershed Planning Program Division of Watershed Management Bureau of Water Resources Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection 8 New Bond Street Worcester, MA 01606 NOTE TO ALL BIDDERS: The Response uploaded to the COMMBUYS website must have exactly the same content as the hard copies of the Response that are sent to the Department. MassDEP will verify that the hardcopy Response matches the electronic copy. In instances where differences are noted, the electronic copy will be considered the valid RFR Response to this solicitation.

Online Response Submission via COMMBUYS is required.

All Bidders must submit Responses online using tools available only to Sellers registered in COMMBUYS. COMMBUYS provides Seller registration functionality at no charge. To register, go to www.COMMBUYS.com and click on the “Register” link on the front page. All Bidders who are awarded a contract resulting from this Bid, if any, will be required to maintain an active account during the duration of the Contract, by reviewing their registration information regularly and maintaining its accuracy.

As you review the details of the bid in the RFR document, please take note of the assigned Bid Opening Date/Time and be mindful that buyers can only consider bid responses that are complete and have been submitted electronically in COMMBUYS by the specified Bid Opening Date/Time.

7.3 COMMBUYS Response submission and Training Instructions

The following resources are provided to assist Bidders in submitting Responses:

· Instructions for Vendors Responding to Bids Electronically through COMMBUYS, which is which is found at Appendix 5 to this RFR;

· An online job aid can be found at: www.mass.gov/anf/docs/osd/commbuys/create-quote-in-commbuys.pdf

· Webcast video on “How to Find Bids (Solicitations) and Submit Responses (Responses) through COMMBUYS” found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhUTNokbhfY&index=9&list=PL247E2162C4B2F10A

7.4 COMMBUYS Support

Technical assistance is available during the procurement process. Every effort is made to respond to inquiries within one business day.

Website: Go to www.mass.gov/osd/commbuys and select the COMMBUYS Resource Center link offered under Key Resources.

Email: Send inquiries to the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at COMMBUYS@state.ma.us Telephone: Call the COMMBUYS Help Desk at 1-888-MA-STATE (1-888-627-8283). The Help Desk is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal and state holidays.

Bidders are advised that COMMBUYS will be unavailable during regularly scheduled maintenance hours of which all users will be notified.

7.5 Bid Opening Date/Time

All Bids must be received by the Operational Services Division before the specified date, month, year and time displayed as the Bid Opening Date/Time in the Header Information section of the Bid in COMMBUYS. Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as applicable. All Bidders are advised to allow adequate time for submission by considering potential online submission impediments like Internet traffic, Internet connection speed, file size, and file volume. OSD is not responsible for delays encountered by Bidders or their agents, or for a Bidder’s local hardware failures, such as computers or related networks, associated with bid compilation or submission. Bids submitted via COMMBUYS are time stamped by the COMMBUYS system clock which is considered the official time of record.

The COMMBUYS system date and time is displayed in the top right corner of the COMMBUYS dashboard. Once the system time passes the Bid Opening Date/Time, the ability to submit a Response is disabled. Even if a vendor is in the process of entering the Response submission, their ability to submit the Response ends after the Bid Opening Date/Time has elapsed. As such, please allot sufficient time to submit your Response.

7.6 Response Contents

Bidders must comply with the requirements below.

7.6.1 Electronic Signatures

Responses submitted via COMMBUYS must be signed electronically by the Bidder or the Bidder’s Agent by accepting the terms and conditions of the bid on the “Terms & Conditions” tab of the Bid in COMMBUYS. By selecting “Save & Continue” on the “Terms and Conditions” tab after accepting the terms and conditions of the bid, the submitter attests that s/he is an agent of the Bidder with authority to sign on the Bidder’s behalf, and that s/he has read and assented to each document’s terms.

7.6.2 Ink Signatures

Typically, original ink signatures are required only after contracts have been awarded; however, two (2) original ink signatures in the submitted hard copies of the RFR Responses are required for the documents listed below, in order to achieve an expeditious award process. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires Contractors to submit original ink-signature versions of the following forms in two (2) hard copy originals of the RFR Response:

· Standard Contract Form

· Commonwealth Terms and Conditions

· Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing

· Request for Taxpayer Identification and Verification (Mass. Substitute W9 Form)

· Electronic Funds Transfer Sign Up Form

· Prompt Pay Discount Form Bidders who have previous contract(s) with the Commonwealth and have up-to-date, ink-signature versions of the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions and Request for Taxpayer Identification and Verification (Mass. Substitute W9 Form) on file with the Office of the State Comptroller may submit copies of the signed forms. However, a new Standard Contract Form and Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing with original ink signatures must be submitted for each new contract with the Commonwealth.

7.7 Limits and Restrictions

7.7.1 File Naming Conventions

Files submitted via COMMBUYS must follow the file naming convention specified below. The Description entered during the file upload process ensures each file is readily identified by Company Name and content. The File Name assigned by the Bidder as stored on their computer or network must be structured such that each file can be processed by the upload tool. The upload tool will reject any file name that includes spaces or symbols, like the brackets [ ] some systems apply when files are downloaded from the Internet.

RFR Section or Response Component Description Enter in COMMBUYS during upload File Name Assign when creating files

7.7.2 File Size Limits

The system may not accept files that approach or exceed 10 MB. If a large file fails to upload, the Bidder must save the contents as multiple files. Note the naming convention used above which illustrates distinguishing multi-part files through use of Part 1, Part 2, etc. If a large file fails to upload, bidders must break up the file and append _Part1, _Part2 to the end of the Description and File Name.

7.7.3 File Format Restrictions

All scanned documents must be in .pdf or .gif format, and must be scanned in such a way that they can be read on a computer monitor and printed on 8 1/2” x 11” paper, unless otherwise specified. Forms provided for the Bidder to complete, with the exception of the forms requiring ink signatures, must be completed and submitted in their original formats, NOT scanned and submitted as PDF or other file types.

7.7.4 Documents and items that cannot be submitted electronically While not preferred, documents and items that cannot be submitted electronically (e.g., confidential business references submitted by the reference, requests for material samples, respectively) must be submitted to the following address in accordance with all of the Response submission requirements including Bid Opening Date/Time, Bid Package and Environmental Response Submission Compliance provisions.

Richard Chase Watershed Planning Program Division of Watershed Management Bureau of Water Resources Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection 8 New Bond Street Worcester, MA 01606

7.8 Withdrawing a Response

7.8.1 Prior to Bid Opening Date/Time

Responses may be withdrawn using the “Withdraw Response” button offered under the Summary tab of a submitted Response.

7.8.2 After Bid Opening Date/Time

No Response can be withdrawn after the Bid Opening Date/Time. If the Bidder wants to remove a Response from consideration, contact the Strategic Sourcing Services Lead for guidance.

7.9 Additional Response Terms

7.9.1 Prohibition regarding contract terms

Bidders must not, as part of their Response, propose additional contractual terms, or supplemental or clarifying language pertaining to contractual terms, even if the proposed additions/clarifications are not in conflict with the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions, the Standard Contract Form, or other documents comprising this RFR. It is essential for Contracting Departments that all contractors’ Statewide Contracts can be depended upon to incorporate the same terms and only those terms. Contractors, who wish to propose additional non-conflicting contractual terms, or supplemental or clarifying language, may do so ONLY on a case-by-case basis, negotiated for each specific engagement and memorialized in the Project Statement of Work.

8.0 APPENDIX 1 – REQUIRED TERMS FOR ALL RFRS

8.1 General Procurement Information

8.1.1 Alterations

Bidders may not alter (manually or electronically) the Bid language or any Bid component files, except as directed in the RFR. Modifications to the body of the Bid, specifications, terms and conditions, or which change the intent of this Bid are prohibited and may disqualify a Response.

8.1.2 Ownership of Submitted Responses

The SST shall be under no obligation to return any Responses or materials submitted by a Bidder in response to this Bid. All materials submitted by Bidders become the property of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and will not be returned to the Bidder. The Commonwealth reserves the right to use any ideas, concepts, or configurations that are presented in a Bidder’s Response, whether or not the Response is selected for Contract award.

Responses stored on COMMBUYS in the encrypted lock-box are the file of record. Bidders retain access to a read-only copy of this submission via COMMBUYS, as long as their account is active. Bidders may also retain a traditional paper copy or electronic copy on a separate computer or network drive or separate media, such as CD or DVD, as a backup.

8.1.3 Prohibitions

Bidders are prohibited from communicating directly with any employee of the procuring Department or any member of the SST regarding this RFR except as specified in this RFR, and no other individual Commonwealth employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any question or inquiry concerning this RFR. Bidders may contact the contact person using the contact information provided in the Header Information this Bid in the event that this RFR is incomplete or information is missing. Bidders experiencing technical problems accessing information or attachments stored on COMMBUYS should contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk (see the document cover page for contact information).

In addition to the certifications found in the Commonwealth’s Standard Contract Form, by submitting a Response, the Bidder certifies that the Response has been arrived at independently and has been submitted without any communication, collaboration, or without any agreement, understanding or planned common…