Draft_-PWS_SME_Independent_Scientific_Peer_Review_1.docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Independent Scientific Peer Review of TM 8540-2024-13 Corrosion Mitigation for Buried Metallic Water Pipe

1. INTRODUCTION

The Bureau of Reclamation is a water management agency with 490 dams and thousands of miles of canals and primarily transmission pipelines in the 17 western states. Reclamation operates and maintains much of this infrastructure, including corrosion control and prevention, the subject of the document at the center of this contract.

The draft “Technical Memorandum 8540-2024-13 Corrosion Mitigation for Buried Metallic Water Pipe” (TM 2024) provides minimum requirements for corrosion protection of buried metallic pipe and concrete pipe with metallic components on Reclamation water infrastructure projects. Reclamation employs various corrosion prevention measures to maintain the integrity of its buried metallic pipeline infrastructure and extend its useful life. Since 2004, Reclamation has used Technical Memorandum Number (No.) 8140-CC-2004-1: Corrosion Considerations for Buried Metallic Water Pipe to define minimum requirements for corrosion protection of its buried metallic pipelines, which will be superseded by TM 2024.

TM 2024 details Reclamation’s transition from a soil resistivity-based methodology to an approach that analyzes multiple environmental factors and multiple design factors in a risk-informed approach. This analysis can inform selection of an appropriate combination of corrosion mitigation techniques such as pipe material selection, corrosion monitoring, protective coatings, and cathodic protection.

The requirements outlined in TM 2024 are subject by law (Public Law 113-76 Section 203, subsection c) to independent scientific review by appropriate experts not employed or selected by the Bureau of Reclamation. Obtaining Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for this independent, third-party review is the purpose of this contract.

2. SCOPE

· Peer reviewers shall be selected based on expertise, experience and skills, including specialists from multiple disciplines, as necessary. The group of reviewers shall be sufficiently broad and diverse to fairly represent the relevant scientific and technical perspectives and fields of knowledge. Comment by Jermyn, Matthew T: This may be a good place to put in a requirement that all 3 SMEs can’t be from the same employer (if we are in fact requiring that).

· The selection of participants in a peer review is based on expertise, with due consideration of independence and conflict of interest

3. TASKS

3.1. Task A. Kickoff Meeting. The Contractor shall schedule and participate in a virtual kickoff meeting with the SME and Reclamation contacts (to be announced post-award) within seven (7) calendar days after award to reiterate the scope and deliverables of this contract and to review Government-furnished materials, including the draft TM that is the subject of this requirement.

3.2. Task B. Independent Scientific Review: The SME shall review TM 2024 against current state of the practice in corrosion prevention and control.

· The SME shall be tasked with a general review of the technical merit of the document and delivering comments and recommendations in a matrix and narrative format.

· The SME shall provide a narrative response relative to the following Review Questions:

· Were appropriate criteria and weighting used to categorize soil corrosivity and consequences of pipe failure?

· Will the corrosion prevention minimum requirements outlined in this report for buried metallic pipe reliably provide a minimum service life of 50 to 100 years?

· Are the estimated replacement rates proposed for Life Cycle Cost Analysis appropriate?

3.3. Task C. Consideration of Public Review Comments: The Government will conduct a public comment period concurrent to the independent scientific review and provide compiled comments to the Contractor. The SME shall consider the comments in their review.

3.4. Task D. Delivery of Findings: The SME shall prepare a report of findings including SME recommendations. The Contractor shall provide a digital copy of the report of findings and comment matrix to Reclamation.

· D-1. Comment Matrix:

· Spreadsheet format

· Columns shall include comment number, SME name, page number, paragraph/section number, comment, rationale for comment, and proposed change/recommendation (if any), similar to the example below

· D-2. Report of Findings:

· PDF format

· Contain a narrative of the SME review of TM 2024, including answers to the three Review Questions noted in Task B.

· Include, but not limited to, the following sections:

· executive summary,

· introduction,

· methodology,

· key findings,

· conclusions, and

· recommendations.

3.5. Methodology of Review:

· The independent scientific peer review shall be conducted by an individual SME (i.e., not a collection of SMEs working for a single company).

· The SME shall provide comment solely on the provided scientific information and how the information complies with current industry standards, and that decision-making and policy interpretation are sole responsibility of the Government.

· The SME’s identity, a brief description of their organizational affiliation, credentials and relevant experiences, and a verbatim copy of their review comments will be publicly published by Reclamation as an Appendix to TM 2024.

4. PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS

4.1. SME Prior Experience: The SME shall demonstrate prior experience in performing independent engineering and science reviews by providing references of experience to include type of review, dollar value, and year of review. The SME shall have a minimum of five years’ experience and three completed independent engineering and science review projects.

4.2. SME Qualifications: Expertise is the most important factor for an SME. The SME Contractor shall have established, high-caliber engineering and scientific credentials (based upon past performance) in corrosion mitigation.

· The SMEs shall have or hold all the following:

a. a minimum of 15 years of professional engineering experience,

b. an engineering degree from an ABET accredited institution,

c. professional experience implementing industry standards in corrosion engineering that includes NACE SP0169 “Control of External Corrosion on Underground or Submerged Metallic Piping Systems,”

d. extensive knowledge and continuous professional experience in corrosion control of buried metallic pipe systems and demonstrated work products in this area in the past five years, and

e. demonstrated professional experience in water infrastructure.

· The SME shall hold at least one of the following credentials (attach proof of credential to resume):

a. a current Professional Engineering (P.E.) license,

b. a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in engineering, and/or

c. a NACE Cathodic Protection Specialist (CP4) certification.

· The SME shall be actively working in one of the following categories of expertise:

a. Category 1: Water utility or government representative with a minimum of 15 years of corrosion control and prevention experience and practical knowledge of the requirements and responsibilities of water utility owners and operators.

b. Category 2: Consultant with a minimum of 15 years of corrosion control and prevention experience and practical knowledge of the requirements for corrosion control design and implementation on water infrastructure construction projects.

c. Category 3: Academic professor or researcher with a minimum of 15 years of experience in corrosion science and a demonstrated understanding of the practical implementation of corrosion mitigation guidance on water infrastructure projects.

4.3. Conflicts of Interest: The Contractor and SME shall attest they have no conflicts of interests as defined by the National Academy of Sciences as any financial or other interest that conflicts with the service of an individual on the review panel because it could impair the individual’s objectivity or could create an unfair competitive advantage for a person or organization. Specifically, peer reviewers who are federal employees (including special government employees) are subject to federal requirements governing conflicts of interest. See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 208; 5 C.F.R. Part 2635 (2004). An SME who is a current or former employee of Reclamation, has a financial interest or represents an entity with a financial interest in the outcome of this review, or has a competing interest that could otherwise influence their responsibilities as an SME is not eligible to serve as a reviewer.

4.4. Offer Package: The Contractor shall provide in response to the solicitation:

· references for a minimum of three completed independent engineering and science review projects by the SME,

· the required documents (e.g., resume, proof of credential) to demonstrate the SME’s qualifications as stated above in paragraphs 4.1 through 4.2, and

· a signed Nondisclosure/Conflict of Interest Statement to attest to the requirements in paragraph 4.3 (see Attachment C).

5. KEY PERSONNEL

At any time during performance of this contract, the Contractor shall make no substitutions of key personnel or the SME unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer (CO), Contract Specialist (CS), or Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) within two (2) calendar days after the occurrence of any of these events. The Contractor shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete documents and attestations of qualifications as required in Section 4 above for the proposed substitutes, and any additional information requested by the CO/CS/COR. Proposed substitutions shall have comparable qualifications equal to or exceeding those of the persons being replaced. Changes to key personnel will require Government approval, which will be documented as a modification to the contract.

Contractors Key Personnel (To be listed at Award)

6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The preferred period of performance of the contract is 90 days from the receipt of the award; however, the Contractor may submit an alternate completion date with justification to the Contracting Officer for approval.

7. SCHEDULE / DELIVERY TABLE

Activities and deliverables shall follow the below delivery schedule:

8. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT (GFE) AND INFORMATION (GFI) AND MATERIALS (GFM)

8.1. A copy of draft TM 2024 will be provided to the Contractor by the Government after award and prior to the scheduled Kickoff Meeting. The document to be reviewed will be in a PDF format and consist of 49 total pages; main document body including references of 19 pages with 10 tables, 2 figures, 44 references; one appendix of 9 pages with 5 tables. Comment by Torrey, Jessica D: Check this to the 508 compliant version @Torrey, Jessica D @Jermyn, Matthew T

8.2. The Government solicited public comments, concurrent to the independent scientific review, will be provided as compiled comments to the Contractor.

8.3. Upon request, the Government will provide a copy of Technical Memorandum Number (No.) 8140-CC-2004-1: Corrosion Considerations for Buried Metallic Water Pipe (2004).

8.4. Government furnished information provided to the Contractor and/or Contractor employee, work products, and deliverables are designated Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), except when Contractor-produced and Government‐furnished information related to this contract is designated Public Information (non‐CUI).

8.5. Reclamation will not issue any Government property to the Contractor. The Contractor is responsible for providing all labor, equipment, materials, and supplies necessary to meet the requirements of this contract.

9. REGULATIONS/POLICIES

9.1. Federal regulations, policies, and standards of performance and conduct apply.

9.2. The Contractor and SME shall comply with the National Academy of Science’s “Policy and Procedures on Committee Composition and Balance and Conflicts of Interest for Committees Used in the Development of Reports” (2003), and OMB’s “Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review” (2005).

10. TRAVEL

Travel is not required for this contract and no travel expenses shall be reimbursed.

11. SECURITY

Reclamation has identified specific security sensitivity designations for information related to Reclamation facilities. The Contractor and/or its employees performing services under this will be required to complete a Federal Non-Disclosure Agreement (Attachment C).

12. TRAINING

The Contractor is responsible for any necessary training for its employees.

13. PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

13.1. The Contractor shall be responsible for the SMEs and key personnel in the performance and completion of all required tasks of this Performance Work Statement.

13.2. The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) will report any unsatisfactory Contractor performance issues to the Contracting Officer (CO). The CO may require the Contractor to explain, in writing, the cause of the poor performance, any corrective actions the Contractor has already taken to obtain an acceptable level of performance, and any future corrective actions the Contractor will utilize to prevent unacceptable performance. Unacceptable performance may result in cancellation.

13.3. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY TABLE (PRST). The following table summarizes the tasks, the performance standard, and monitoring methods.

13.4. The designated Government Project Manager, Technical Representative, and COR will closely monitor performance quality and progress, timely submission of deliverables, compliance with performance standards, and ensure invoices are accurate and appropriate.

13.5. Quality shall be measured based on the following Performance Objectives:

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