EcoUSA_NonProprietaryDataSources_RFI.docx

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Ecological Unusually Sensitive Area (Eco USA) GIS Data Sources Without Data Use Restrictions

1) Purpose

The purpose of this request is to identify suitable geospatial (GIS) data sources that could be used to produce an Ecological Unusually Sensitive Area (Eco USA) GIS dataset that PHMSA could share publicly without restrictions.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ) or a promise to issue an RFQ in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Government is not at this time seeking quotes and will not accept unsolicited quotes. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFQ, if any is issued.

2) Background

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. PHMSA’s mission is to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials that are essential to our daily lives. To do this, the agency establishes national policy, sets and enforces standards, educates, and conducts research to prevent incidents. PHMSA also prepares the public and first responders to reduce consequences if an incident does occur. PHMSA develops and enforces regulations for the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound operation of the nation's 2.8million mile pipeline transportation system and the nearly 1 million daily shipments of hazardous materials by land, sea, and air.

Pursuant to Section 6 of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, 49 U.S.C. 60132(d), PHMSA must maintain, as part of the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS), a map of designated high-consequence areas (as described in section 60109(a)) in which pipelines are required to meet integrity management program regulations, excluding any proprietary or sensitive security information, and update the map biennially.

Ecological Unusually Sensitive Area Resources (Eco USA) are one type of high-consequence area. Eco USAs are defined in 49 CFR Part 195.6. PHMSA previously procured Eco USA data production activities from NatureServe due to their existing partnerships with state heritage programs. However, due to limitations within their state heritage program agreements NatureServe designates the entire Eco USA data product as proprietary and limits how long PHMSA can use the data and with whom PHMSA can share the data. These limitations prevent PHMSA from having consistent access to Eco USA data and from sharing certain Eco USA maps or data with the public and certain pipeline operators and government agencies.

3) Scope

PHMSA is publishing this notice to request information about data sources that can be used to produce a national polygon GIS dataset reflecting all areas that match the definition of an Eco USA from 49 CFR Part 195.6 without proprietary data rights, security sensitive information, or limitations on how PHMSA can use or share the data. PHMSA is not looking for data sources that require field validation or georeferencing. National data sources are preferred, but PHMSA is also interested in information about localized or regional data sources. As well, responses do not need to identify sources for every part of the Eco USA definition, or answers to every question.

a. Definition of an Eco USA from 49 CFR Part 195.6

The full definition of an Eco USA, including definitions for terms used in this part, are available at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-195/subpart-A/section-195.6. Any recommended data sources must support the production of GIS data that meets some part of this definition.

“As used in this part, a USA means a … ecological resource area that is unusually sensitive to environmental damage from a hazardous liquid pipeline release.

(b) An USA ecological resource is:

(1) An area containing a critically imperiled species or ecological community;

(2) A multi-species assemblage area;

(3) A migratory waterbird concentration area;

(4) An area containing an imperiled species, threatened or endangered species, depleted marine mammal species, or an imperiled ecological community where the species or community is aquatic, aquatic dependent, or terrestrial with a limited range;

(5) An area containing an imperiled species, threatened or endangered species, depleted marine mammal species, or imperiled ecological community where the species or community occurrence is considered to be one of the most viable, highest quality, or in the best condition, as identified by an element occurrence ranking (EORANK) of A (excellent quality) or B (good quality) or

(6) A coastal beach; or

(7) Certain coastal waters.”

b. Eco USA GIS Dataset Requirements

The following requirements describe PHMSA’s final Eco USA GIS dataset product. Any recommended data sources must support the production of an Eco USA GIS dataset that meets all requirements.

(1) The geospatial file format will be a polygon feature class stored in an ESRI file geodatabase.

(2) The Eco USA dataset must reflect Eco USAs as defined in 49 CFR 195.6.

(3) The Eco USA dataset must reflect the locations that meet the definition of an Eco USA in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and US waters, including state and federal waters.

(4) Each Eco USA must be reflected as a polygon feature without topology errors.

(5) Each Eco USA polygon must have attributes that include at least the data source for that feature and the type of Eco USA reflected by that feature so stakeholders understand who to contact for additional information about this Eco USA area.

(6) PHMSA will display the final Eco USA GIS data on NPMS web map viewers and will make the Eco USA GIS data file available for public download from https://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov/USAEcoData.aspx.

(7) PHMSA will retain ownership rights to use and distribute the Eco USA GIS data file for an unlimited amount of time. PHMSA will properly document the age of the Eco USA GIS data and its data sources through FGDC compliant metadata and will update the data every five years, or as funding permits.

(8) The Eco USA dataset must comply with data quality standards outlined by the DOT Information Dissemination Quality Guidelines of 2019 and the Geospatial Data Act of 2018.

4) Request for Feedback

PHMSA requests comment on the following questions.

(1) What GIS data source(s) could be used to map the following areas? Please indicate the name of the data source, the data source owner, and the URL or location where PHMSA can access the data source. If available, please attach FGDC compliant metadata to your response in a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

(i) Areas containing a critically imperiled species or ecological community. (49 CFR 195.6 (b) (1))

(ii) Multi-species assemblage areas. (49 CFR 195.6 (b) (2))

(iii) Migratory waterbird concentration areas. (49 CFR 195.6 (b) (3))

(iv) Areas containing an imperiled species, threatened or endangered species, depleted marine mammal species, or an imperiled ecological community where the species or community is aquatic, aquatic dependent, or terrestrial with a limited range. (49 CFR 195.6 (b) (4))

(v) Areas containing an imperiled species, threatened or endangered species, depleted marine mammal species, or imperiled ecological community where the species or community occurrence is considered to be one of the most viable, highest quality, or in the best condition, as identified by an element occurrence ranking (EORANK) of A (excellent quality) or B (good quality). (49 CFR 195.6 (b) (5))

(vi) Coastal beaches. (49 CFR 195.6 (b) (6))

(vii) Certain coastal waters. (49 CFR 195.6 (b) (7))

(2) What data processing or cleanup efforts would be necessary to make the identified data source suitable for use in the Eco USA GIS dataset (high-level description).

(3) Would the data source owner charge PHMSA a fee for using the identified data source? What is that fee?

(4) What part of the Eco USA definition could only be produced with proprietary or security sensitive data sources?

(5) How would you modify the definition of an Eco USA to allow mapping with only public facing GIS data sources?

5) Responses

Interested parties must submit responses to the point(s) of contact identified below:

Stephen Jones at Stephen.Jones@dot.gov no later than 5:00 PM EST December 13, 2024.

Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Any questions related to this RFI are to be directed to the PHMSA Acquisitions Services Division Points of Contact listed above. Any questions on this RFI’s content, issues, or procedures must be submitted via email no later than 11:59 PM EST, Monday, November 11, 2024. The RFI number (693JK325RFI01) must be included in the subject line. It is anticipated that all responses to questions submitted on time will be posted publicly on Sam.gov as an attachment to the RFI by 5:00 PM EST, Friday, November 18, 2024.

Responses to the RFI should be direct, concise, and less than 5 pages single sided (excluding attached metadata). The responses should be typed using 12-point font and printed on 8.5” by 11” paper with 1” margins on all sides. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED.

At a minimum, responses should include:

· Contact Information: (name, company name, phone number, email)

· Responses to all questions in section 4 (Request for Feedback), even if some responses indicate that no information is being provided.

· A statement indicating if your company would be capable of gathering and processing data sources to produce an Eco USA GIS dataset compliant with the information in this notice, including a description of previous experience working with the data described in this notice within the past 10 years.

· Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in finalizing its market research and acquisition strategy.