Amend 4 locate Nat Gas Lines.doc

SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

SECTION SF 1449 - CONTINUATION SHEET

The following have been added by full text:

RECOVERY CLAUSES

52.203-15 – Whistleblower Protections Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

As prescribed in 3.907-7, use the following clause:

Whistleblower Protections Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Mar 2009)

(a) The Contractor shall post notice of employees rights and remedies for whistleblower protections provided under section 1553 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111–5).

(b) The Contractor shall include the substance of this clause including this paragraph (b) in all subcontracts.

(End of clause)

52.204-11 – American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—Reporting Requirements.

As prescribed in 4.1502, insert the following clause:

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—Reporting Requirements (Mar 2009)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause—

“Contract,” as defined in FAR 2.101, means a mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller to furnish the supplies or services (including construction) and the buyer to pay for them. It includes all types of commitments that obligate the Government to an expenditure of appropriated funds and that, except as otherwise authorized, are in writing. In addition to bilateral instruments, contracts include (but are not limited to) awards and notices of awards; job orders or task letters issued under basic ordering agreements; letter contracts; orders, such as purchase orders, under which the contract becomes effective by written acceptance or performance; and bilateral contract modifications. Contracts do not include grants and cooperative agreements covered by 31 U.S.C. 6301, et seq. For discussion of various types of contracts, see FAR Part 16.

“First-tier subcontract” means a subcontract awarded directly by a Federal Government prime contractor whose contract is funded by the Recovery Act.

“Jobs created” means an estimate of those new positions created and filled, or previously existing unfilled positions that are filled, as a result of funding by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). This definition covers only prime contractor positions established in the United States and outlying areas (see definition in FAR 2.101). The number shall be expressed as ‘‘full-time equivalent’’ (FTE), calculated cumulatively as all hours worked divided by the total number of hours in a full-time schedule, as defined by the contractor. For instance, two full-time employees and one part-time employee working half days would be reported as 2.5 FTE in each calendar quarter.

“Jobs retained” means an estimate of those previously existing filled positions that are retained as a result of funding by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). This definition covers only prime contractor positions established in the United States and outlying areas (see definition in FAR 2.101). The number shall be expressed as ‘‘full-time equivalent’’ (FTE), calculated cumulatively as all hours worked divided by the total number of hours in a full-time schedule, as defined by the contractor. For instance, two full-time employees and one part-time employee working half days would be reported as 2.5 FTE in each calendar quarter.

“Total compensation” means the cash and noncash dollar value earned by the executive during the contractor’s past fiscal year of the following (for more information see 17 CFR 229.402(c)(2)):

(1) Salary and bonus.

(2) Awards of stock, stock options, and stock appreciation rights. Use the dollar amount recognized for financial statement reporting purposes with respect to the fiscal year in accordance with the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (Revised 2004) (FAS 123R), Shared Based Payments.

(3) Earnings for services under non-equity incentive plans. Does not include group life, health, hospitalization or medical reimbursement plans that do not discriminate in favor of executives, and are available generally to all salaried employees.

(4) Change in pension value. This is the change in present value of defined benefit and actuarial pension plans.

(5) Above-market earnings on deferred compensation which is not tax-qualified.

(6) Other compensation. For example, severance, termination payments, value of life insurance paid on behalf of the employee, perquisites or property if the value for the executive exceeds $10,000.

(b) This contract requires the contractor to provide products and/or services that are funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). Section 1512(c) of the Recovery Act requires each contractor to report on its use of Recovery Act funds under this contract. These reports will be made available to the public.

(c) Reports from contractors for all work funded, in whole or in part, by the Recovery Act, and for which an invoice is submitted prior to June 30, 2009, are due no later than July 10, 2009. Thereafter, reports shall be submitted no later than the 10th day after the end of each calendar quarter.

(d) The Contractor shall report the following information, using the online reporting tool available at http://www.FederalReporting.gov .

(1) The Government contract and order number, as applicable.

(2) The amount of Recovery Act funds invoiced by the contractor for the reporting period. A cumulative amount from all the reports submitted for this action will be maintained by the government’s on-line reporting tool.

(3) A list of all significant services performed or supplies delivered, including construction, for which the contractor invoiced in this calendar quarter.

(4) Program or project title, if any.

(5) A description of the overall purpose and expected outcomes or results of the contract, including significant deliverables and, if appropriate, associated units of measure.

(6) An assessment of the contractor’s progress towards the completion of the overall purpose and expected outcomes or results of the contract (i.e., not started, less than 50 percent completed, completed 50 percent or more, or fully completed). This covers the contract (or portion thereof) funded by the Recovery Act.

(7) A narrative description of the employment impact of work funded by the Recovery Act. This narrative should be cumulative for each calendar quarter and only address the impact on the contractor’s workforce. At a minimum, the contractor shall provide—

(i) A brief description of the types of jobs created and jobs retained in the United States and outlying areas (see definition in FAR 2.101). This description may rely on job titles, broader labor categories, or the contractor’s existing practice for describing jobs as long as the terms used are widely understood and describe the general nature of the work; and

(ii) An estimate of the number of jobs created and jobs retained by the prime contractor, in the United States and outlying areas. A job cannot be reported as both created and retained.

(8) Names and total compensation of each of the five most highly compensated officers of the Contractor for the calendar year in which the contract is awarded if—

(i) In the Contractor’s preceding fiscal year, the Contractor received—

(A) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants) and cooperative agreements; and

(B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants) and cooperative agreements; and

(ii) The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

(9) For subcontracts valued at less than $25,000 or any subcontracts awarded to an individual, or subcontracts awarded to a subcontractor that in the previous tax year had gross income under $300,000, the Contractor shall only report the aggregate number of such first tier subcontracts awarded in the quarter and their aggregate total dollar amount.

(10) For any first-tier subcontract funded in whole or in part under the Recovery Act, that is over $25,000 and not subject to reporting under paragraph 9, the contractor shall require the subcontractor to provide the information described in (i), (ix), (x), and (xi) below to the contractor for the purposes of the quarterly report. The contractor shall advise the subcontractor that the information will be made available to the public as required by section 1512 of the Recovery Act. The contractor shall provide detailed information on these first-tier subcontracts as follows:

(i) Unique identifier (DUNS Number) for the subcontractor receiving the award and for the subcontractor’s parent company, if the subcontractor has a parent company.

(ii) Name of the subcontractor.

(iii) Amount of the subcontract award.

(iv) Date of the subcontract award.

(v) The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.

(vi) Funding agency.

(vii) A description of the products or services (including construction) being provided under the subcontract, including the overall purpose and expected outcomes or results of the subcontract.

(viii) Subcontract number (the contract number assigned by the prime contractor).

(ix) Subcontractor’s physical address including street address, city, state, and country. Also include the nine-digit zip code and congressional district if applicable.

(x) Subcontract primary performance location including street address, city, state, and country. Also include the nine-digit zip code and congressional district if applicable.

(xi) Names and total compensation of each of the subcontractor’s five most highly compensated officers, for the calendar year in which the subcontract is awarded if—

(A) In the subcontractor’s preceding fiscal year, the subcontractor received—

(l) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues in Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; and

(2) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; and

(B) The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

(End of clause)

52.215-2 -- Audit and Records – Negotiation.

As prescribed in 15.209(b), insert the following clause:

Audit and Records -- Negotiation (Mar 2009)

(a) As used in this clause, “records” includes books, documents, accounting procedures and practices, and other data, regardless of type and regardless of whether such items are in written form, in the form of computer data, or in any other form.

(b) Examination of costs. If this is a cost-reimbursement, incentive, time-and-materials, labor-hour, or price redeterminable contract, or any combination of these, the Contractor shall maintain and the Contracting Officer, or an authorized representative of the Contracting Officer, shall have the right to examine and audit all records and other evidence sufficient to reflect properly all costs claimed to have been incurred or anticipated to be incurred directly or indirectly in performance of this contract. This right of examination shall include inspection at all reasonable times of the Contractor’s plants, or parts of them, engaged in performing the contract.

(c) Cost or pricing data. If the Contractor has been required to submit cost or pricing data in connection with any pricing action relating to this contract, the Contracting Officer, or an authorized representative of the Contracting Officer, in order to evaluate the accuracy, completeness, and currency of the cost or pricing data, shall have the right to examine and audit all of the Contractor’s records, including computations and projections, related to --

(1) The proposal for the contract, subcontract, or modification;

(2) The discussions conducted on the proposal(s), including those related to negotiating;

(3) Pricing of the contract, subcontract, or modification; or

(4) Performance of the contract, subcontract or modification.

(d) Comptroller General—

(1) The Comptroller General of the United States, or an authorized representative, shall have access to and the right to examine any of the Contractor’s directly pertinent records involving transactions related to this contract or a subcontract hereunder and to interview any current employee regarding such transactions.

(2) This paragraph may not be construed to require the Contractor or subcontractor to create or maintain any record that the Contractor or subcontractor does not maintain in the ordinary course of business or pursuant to a provision of law.

(e) Reports. If the Contractor is required to furnish cost, funding, or performance reports, the Contracting Officer or an authorized representative of the Contracting Officer shall have the right to examine and audit the supporting records and materials, for the purpose of evaluating --

(1) The effectiveness of the Contractor’s policies and procedures to produce data compatible with the objectives of these reports; and

(2) The data reported.

(f) Availability. The Contractor shall make available at its office at all reasonable times the records, materials, and other evidence described in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this clause, for examination, audit, or reproduction, until 3 years after final payment under this contract or for any shorter period specified in Subpart 4.7, Contractor Records Retention, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), or for any longer period required by statute or by other clauses of this contract. In addition --

(1) If this contract is completely or partially terminated, the Contractor shall make available the records relating to the work terminated until 3 years after any resulting final termination settlement; and

(2) The Contractor shall make available records relating to appeals under the Disputes clause or to litigation or the settlement of claims arising under or relating to this contract until such appeals, litigation, or claims are finally resolved.

(g) The Contractor shall insert a clause containing all the terms of this clause, including this paragraph (g), in all subcontracts under this contract that exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, and --

(1) That are cost-reimbursement, incentive, time-and-materials, labor-hour, or price-redeterminable type or any combination of these;

(2) For which cost or pricing data are required; or

(3) That require the subcontractor to furnish reports as discussed in paragraph (e) of this clause.

The clause may be altered only as necessary to identify properly the contracting parties and the Contracting Officer under the Government prime contract.

(End of Clause)

RESPONSES TO KTR QUESTIONS

1. Due to the size of the anticipated bid award, will progress invoicing be allowed for this project?

Yes, progress invoicing will be allowed.

2. Does the Land Surveyor/Engineering Firm /Project Engineer need to have a North Dakota License to practice on base?

Yes, they will need to be licensed in North Dakota.

3. Can the spoil materials from the subsurface locate be dumped/spread on site or does it have to be hauled offsite at the Contractor's expense?

Spoils shall be disposed of location on base. Location will be designated at a later time.

4. Please confirm that water will be available for Contractor's use.

Water will be made available for the contractor at a designated location on base. Location will be provided at a later date.

5. What format(s) will the deliverables be required in paper, CAD and/or ESRI GIS?

The updated gas line map shall be provided in ESRI GIS or compatible equal as provided for in the specifications. In addition, the contractor shall provide the government 3 hard copies and one electronic copy of their final report as outlined in section 2.1 of the specifications.

6. Page 2 of the second amendment states:

For areas directly around buildings, if there is adequate signal from the tracer wire, the contractor will not be required to expose the pipe within 20 feet of the building as the service line will have an XYZ from exposure and there will also be an XY from where the gas piping emerges to enter the outside of the building. Using the tracer signal, XYZ, and XY, this should be sufficient information to map the line.”

Define “adequate.” Why will the line have XYZ exposure? Are holes supposed to be dug at all “tees” in the line?

I will try to explain in more detail what we expect for locate around buildings in more detail. We expect the contractor to locate all tees (this would give us a XYZ point). By locating the tees, this would give us our first XYZ location for the service line. We also have a XY location from where the pipe emerges from the ground. Given the information from the two locates, we now have two exact locations for the service line. We feel that with the two locates and the tracer signal, one could now accurately survey the natural gas line around a building.

7. Where should we expect to find trace wires?

Tracer wire was installed on top of natural gas piping.

8. Can you clarify the requirements under Options 1, 2 & 3? The first sentence in each option begins “Gas lines shall be exposed by means of non-destructive vacuum exposure (hydro or air) every X feet at minimum unless there is a change of direction or intersection of a line.” Does this mean for lines with tracer wire, that we can trace with electromagnetic locators or by other means on the surface and place markings. I ask this question because at the end of the paragraph is the statement: “For all other areas, if a tracer wire is not available, the line shall be exposed every X feet.”

For areas with tracer wire we expect natural gas piping to be exposed as designated in the bid option (xx feet) and areas without tracer wire to be exposed as designated in the bid option (xx feet). Areas between each excavation shall be surveyed by means of electromagnetic locators or ground penetrating radar.

9. For building 314, off of Steen Boulevard - Beginning at the building you have in order:

A. 90 degree elbow;

B. 45 degree bend;

C. Another 45 degree bend;

D. 90 degree elbow connecting to the pipeline main.

We would need four test holes – is this a correct interpretation?

For building 314, I see three test hole: (A.), (B.), and (C.). For the second 90 degree elbow referenced in (D.), XY can be determine at building entrance where pipe emerges from the ground. And the four point referenced below can be determined by the intersection of (C.) and building entrance. This can be verified with the electromagnetic locator or GPR.

10. Are there areas of the base where the gas lines will be in a secured area, where there may be environmental hazards or other issues that we need to be aware of such as:

A.

Flight or ready line access;

B.

Hazardous waste areas;

C.

Other restricted access areas?

There are areas within the flight line that are part of the survey. For these areas the contractor will need to coordinate with the construction inspector for escorts. The escorts are required 100% of the time within this area.

11. What tolerance shall the vertical GPS points be held to? Horizontal GPS tolerance for our unit shall comply too the +/- 2cm requirement (stated 8.5.4.4 page 01000-10of 28), however our unit shall only comply to +/- 2.5cm vertically. Will this be acceptable? (Industry Standard also states this as vertical tolerance)

+-2.5 cm vertically is acceptable.

12. According to the CFR191/192 the Gas Leak Detection Survey shall be conducted after the Natural Gas Distribution System has been properly located (aboveground and belowground). As stated in the technical provisions (01000-1 of 28) the Natural Gas Line Survey (2.1) the performance threshold is 6 weeks post award. Would it be acceptable to contracting that the Gas Leak Detection Survey segment of the contract be the final field activity conducted for this project, once all required GPS points have been completed in the field?

Method provided is acceptable.

13. How many aboveground Natural Gas risers are located on Main Base?

There is only one natural gas riser on base other than at the connections at each facility. The riser is located near the main entrance on the east side of the base.

14. What is the tallest building that we will encounter during our GPS survey?

The tallest building that you may encounter is the control tower, but the this building is quite narrow so it may not affect your signal. The hangars are next tallest buildings and are approximately 70 - 75 feet tall.

15. Are there any gas lines that have been predetermined by the engineer that required excavation that are located under concrete or asphalt?

No, the gas line can be marked outside of pavement sections if necessary.

16. What is the condition of the natural gas systems underground tracer wire with in the Main Base area? Valcon Tech installed the Natural Gas services and some of the Natural Gas mains in the new housing area’s during Sundt’s contract. And during our installation phase’s we encountered difficulties locating the existing Natural Gas mains due to the tracer wire and its connection points not being installed properly. We ask this in order to gauge time for locating efforts, in conjunction with ND 1 Call for excavation areas.

The integrity of the tracer wire is in better outside of housing. Tracer wire will be available in most areas.

17. Will we have access to the contractors as-builts with measurements for the Natural Gas mains/services that do not have tracer wire?

As-builts will be made available upon request.

18. When was the last time the Underground Natural Gas Main Control Valves were exercised?

All gas valves were exercised Summer '08.

19. For the areas of excavation is there a compaction test requirement?

Excavation shall be compacted to 90% Std. proctor.

20. For the Gas Leak Detection Survey we classify the leaks detected according the CFR 192 requirements (aboveground and belowground). This method of classification is; Class 1 – urgent requires immediate action, Class 2 – action is required with in an acceptable period of time (30 days), & Class 3 – minor action is required with in 90 days. Will this method of reporting be acceptable?

Method provided is acceptable.

21. We have a question regarding the reasoning with three different Clin’s. Why the variance between footage (1,250’LF – 1,000’LF – 750’LF)? Just by observing the gas map on Fedbizops most identifiable system attributes are with a 750’LF distance. (Does not identify the UG gas main control valve locations.)

We feel that there are multiple areas that could fall within the 1250 ft and 1000 ft range. Map posted on Fedbizops does contain the gas valves, but they are hard to see. The original posted map was more clear.

22. How many underground natural gas main control valves are located with in the Main Base area?

63 gas valves

23. Will we be given the existing natural gas system data for our attribute information as required with in the technical specifications? Is that data in hard copy or digital format?

Yes, GIS file will be posted on FedBizOpps on Monday, 6 April 2009.

24. Does the vertical GPS requirement include the elevations of the aboveground natural gas risers (typically on top of the gas regulator or gas meter) ?

If you are asking if we want the vertical elevator of the gas riser (above ground portion) at the building, the answer is yes.

25. On page 1, under PROJECT DESCRIPTION, paragraph 2.1.1, "quality D for the survey" should read "quality A for the survey."

Quality Level A involves the use of nondestructive digging equipment at critical points to determine the precise horizontal and vertical position of underground utilities, as well as the type, size, condition, material, and other characteristics. This activity is called "locating." It is the highest level presently available. When surveyed and mapped, precise plan and profile information are available for use in making final design decisions. By knowing exactly where a utility is positioned in three dimensions, the designer can often make small adjustments in elevations or horizontal locations and avoid the need to relocate utilities. Additional information such as utility material, condition, size, soil contamination, and paving thickness also assists the designer and utility owner in their decisions.

Our interpretation of this statement is that our GPS point(s) Attribute information shall consist of certain aspects of the Natural Gas Distribution System. Our data collector can be given this information for each point taken.

A.

Type of Natural Gas Piping (Steel or PE)

B.

Size of Natural Gas Piping (2”, 3”, 4”, ½” ect.)

Is this the only attribute information that is required?

The Quality of the SUE survey was changed to A in the first addendum. The attribute information we are looking for is pipe type, pipe size, pipe depth if available.

26. The attribute information as it is further stated; is soil composition/contamination and paving thickness, material, and condition. Our interpretation is that we will be required to send a sample of the soil for each excavation to a lab for analysis. Is this interpretation correct?

We do not agree with interpretation. We do not feel that every excavation will have to sent off to a independent lab for analysis. The only attribute information required will be as stated in question #25.

27. One of our other questions was; any predetermined excavation points located with in asphalt or concrete? Should this be correct we would be able to identify the thickness of the concrete/asphalt and upload that attribute information for that GPS point when its taken in the field. What is the estimated quantity of asphalt or concrete that will require removal/replacement?

To minimize costs, excavations shall be conducted as possible on outside of pavement sections therefore we expect little pavement repair. We are not requiring documentation of pavement thicknesses, but the contractor can provide this information to the government at their expense. It is not a contractual requirement.

28. Should the natural gas pipe be determined as STEEL we would be able to identify the size, however determining the exact material would require the protective wrap be removed in a small area to determine type of pipe material & coating material. (cold role &/or black iron). Then this activity would require us to reapply a new section of protective coating in the area exposed. This activity would also give us an general idea of the condition of the steel however there are further activities to identify exact condition of the steel gas pipe that are not with in the SOW. For this type of determination of any steel piping underground with in this interpretation does have a cost. Is this interpretation correct?

We expect very little, if any, steel pipe under the scope of this project. If the contractor comes across steel pipe with a protective wrap, just measure outside diameter of pipe with coating to avoid damage to the coating.

(End of Summary of Changes)