DTFAAC15R01685_VendorQuestions_17Jun2015.pdf

Solicitation DTFAAC‐15‐R‐01685

Swanton Sector Environmental Assessment

Vendor Questions and Answers

June 17, 2015

Q1a: Section L and the PWS requires three environmental engineers, two of which must be registered professional engineers. The PWS describes tasks associated with the completion of a standard CBP environmental assessment, with no specific requirements for support requiring professional engineers.

Can principal and senior scientists with degrees, professional registrations, and experience in biology, archaeology, or other NEPA‐related disciplines be substituted and accepted in place of the engineering positions?

Q1b: In reviewing Solicitation No. DTFAAC‐15‐R‐01685, the requirement for three of the six key personnel are engineers with degrees in Environmental Engineering. However, the work effort is primarily related to the preparation of an Environmental Assessment to meet the requirements of NEPA, and related studies such as natural resources and cultural resources surveys. Typically, engineers do not take the lead roles in NEPA compliance and related studies. Are these three engineers comprising half of the required key personnel correct for this solicitation?

Q1c: Section 3.8.2‐17 (page 11) “Key Personnel and Facilities” list the Key Personnel as :

Environmental Engineer 1

Senior Environmental Engineer PE

Principal Environmental Engineer

Program Manager

However, Section M.2.4 (page 50) in the Personnel Table, in addition to the above three positions, it includes Technical Writer and Administrative Clerical. Please confirm that Technical Writer and

Administrative Clerical are “key personnel” as listed in Section M and defined in section 3.8.2‐17.

Q1d: NEPA documents are often prepared and managed by scientists as well as engineers. The table of key personnel in the RFP lists all engineering positions as “Environmental Engineers”, can other engineering disciplines ( i.e. civil engineers) and science disciplines (i.e. biologists) be substituted for the

Environmental Engineers, if they exceed the years of experience required in the RFP.

Q1e: 3 of the 6 Key Personnel are Engineers (see page 3 of SOW), which seems unnecessary for NEPA, Cultural Resources, Biological Resources, and Due Diligence work. Please confirm the labor categories, education, and certification requirements of the Key Personnel.

Q1f: The Solicitation states that the staffing requirements for the Scope of Work are for three environmental engineers (two with Professional Engineering licenses) and for a Program Manager with a

PMP certification. Could you clarify if this license and certification is required and necessary for the

Scope of Work?

Q1g: Is the PMP an absolute requirement for the Program Manager, or a Program Manager with documented experience in that role be acceptable?

A1: The key personnel requirements of the solicitation and Performance Work Statement have been changed. Please see Amendment 0004.

Q2: Please confirm that all 14 primary and alternate sites (including those on bridges and towers) will receive the same level of effort as undeveloped locations?

A2: Not all sites will require the same level of effort; however, all areas must receive the same due diligence to ensure all environmental considerations are addressed.

Q3: Will a Small Business Subcontracting Plan be required (see page 43 of solicitation)? If so, what are the requirements?

A3: In accordance with AMS Clause 3.6.1‐4, a Small Business Subcontracting Plan is required unless an exception (see AMS T3.6.1A4a) applies. A template Master Subcontracting Plan to satisfy this requirement can be found in the Procurement Toolbox under the Samples and

Templates section on the FAA FAST website

(http://fast.faa.gov/ProcurementToolboxTemplates.cfm?p_title=Functions). The FAA preferred subcontract goals for small business classifications are as follows:

Small Business: 45%

Socially and Enonmically Disadvantaged Businesses (includes 8(a)): 10%

Women Owned Small Business: 5%

Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business: 3%

Q4: Section 1.0 of the PWS includes command and control center (C2) new construction or modifications to existing facilities. Please provide more specifics on possible new construction.

A4: New construction could consist of (but not limited to) the erection of towers, roads, and/or buildings.

Q5: Please provide acreage of proposed action areas proposed for real estate action (i.e., tower areas and associated staging areas).

A5: The final tower site area will be 50’ x 50’. To account for potential biological and cultural resources, the contractor will be required to define a 100’ x 100’ survey area around the center point of the tower latitude/longitude (to be provided after award) to account for temporary construction easements/access or any shifts around the preferred site location.

Q6: Will roads and access ways require Environmental Condition of Property Surveys? If so, please provide mileage of those roads as well as any proposed width of easements.

A6: Yes, roads and access ways are required in the surveys. If an access road (from the nearest public road) is required to access a tower site, that would be part of the biological/cultural survey effort. A 30’ survey will be conducted on each side of the centerline of the access road (total of 60’ wide). Mileage of potential access roads is unknown.

Q7: What is the difference between Deliverable 7 (Site Visit Reports) and Deliverable 16 (Site Summary

Report)?

A7: The Site Visit Report is specific to the action items of each location, whereas the Site

Summary Report is a finalized finding of the assessment.

Q8: Please explain what you mean by “the Contractor should anticipate complying with work described herein from “Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Northern Border Activities” (July

2012) and “Record of Decision for Northern Border Activities” (April 2013)(see page 2 of SOW). Please clarify “work.”

A8: This statement in the Performance Work Statement has been revised (see Amendment

0004).

Q9: Please provide geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) for all tower locations.

A9: The specific latitude and longitude coordinates will be provided to the successful offeror after award.

Q10: Please provide the size of the footprint of all towers and associated infrastructure. Specify whether infrastructure needs to be installed, constructed, modified, or improved.

A10: The final tower site area will be 50’ x 50’. To account for potential biological and cultural resources, the contractor will be required to define a 100’ x 100’ survey area around the center point of the tower latitude/longitude (to be provided after award) to account for temporary construction easements/access or any shifts around the preferred site location.

Supporting infrastructure may need to be installed.

Q11: Please specify how each tower would be powered and whether or not overhead transmission lines need to be installed with the towers.

A11: It is anticipated that each tower site will utilize grid power, and the transmission lines will be underground.

Q12: Section G.3 of the SIR states the contractor’s standard commercial warrantee shall be deemed to be a part of this contract unless otherwise specified. As our company will be providing professional services, not goods, would you please clarify if a Professional Standard of Care would be an acceptable substitution?

A12: Clause G.3 has been revised. Please see Amendment 0004.

Q13: It appears the FAA night have some knowledge that there are firms with small and disadvantaged business designations that can do the work, or is this just a contracting decision/requirement identified for this project? We are not a firm with one of the designations and would have to team with that kind of firm being the prime.

A13: This solicitation is unrestricted. It is not required that offerors be small businesses (or any classification thereof). The paragraph in the FedBizOps announcement addressing minority, women‐owned, and disadvantaged business enterprises was included to inform businesses in those categories of available assistance opportunities.

Q14: Is it important to have experience with the Border Patrol, the FAA, or both?

A14: Experience with a particular federal agency is not a requirement of the solicitation.

Q15: Is it beneficial to be a firm located in New York or Vermont to do this work? Is it beneficial to be located in Oklahoma City?

A15: It is not a requirement of the solicitation for offerors to be located in New York, Vermont, or Oklahoma City. However, offerors must possess the applicable licenses and/or certifications to accomplish the required tasks in the required location(s).

Q16: Is this Border Patrol tower surveillance program a new program, or are there potentially firms with previous experience in this particular type of work on similar projects?

A16: The Customs and Border Patrol program supported by the Federal Aviation

Administration with this solicitation is not a new program. There may be firms with experience in this type of work on similar projects.

Q17: Why is the FAA Mike Monroney Center leading the effort, and not the Border Patrol?

A17: The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting this acquisition in support of Customs and Border protection through an Interagency Agreement.