IBM09Q0002-Sample Task Order.pdf

Scope of Work to Develop an Environmental Management System for the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission

Background:

The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) is committed to minimizing its operational impact on the environment by complying with all applicable environmental laws and Presidential Executive Orders. Executive Order 13423 “Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management” requires federal agencies to implement an environmental management system (EMS) at all appropriate facilities. The USIBWC has its headquarters and twelve field offices, three of which are satellite field offices, located along the United States (U.S.) and Mexico border. At this time the USIBWC has identified four remaining field offices (Las Cruces, NM; Zac Dominguez (Fort Hancock, TX); Presidio, TX; and Yuma, AZ) as facilities requiring an EMS audit and implementation plan.

The main purpose of the field offices is to perform all operations and maintenance (O&M) activities necessary to meet the agency’s mission goals. Mission functions are accomplished through the O&M of the following:

• Levee and floodway systems;

• International storage dams and reservoirs;

• Hydroelectric power generation plants;

• International wastewater treatment plants;

• River gaging stations;

• Boundary monumentation and demarcation;

• All related structures and facilities.

The Las Cruces and Zac Dominquez Field Offices are auxiliary offices under the supervision and oversight from the American Dam Field Office in El Paso, Texas. Both offices are responsible for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) activities in their respective areas of operation. O&M activities include, but are not limited to, the following: levee maintenance such as mowing, widening levee bases, filling and repairing washouts, stabilizing, shaping, road grading and surfacing; floodway mowing operations for vegetation to insure that the floodways are capable of handling the design flow capacities; stabilization of river banks; grading and removal of sediment at arroyo mouths and sediment removal within the pilot channel.

Rio Grande Rectification Project The Zacarias Dominquez Field Office located at the Port of Entry along FM 1088 in Fort Hancock, Texas is partially responsible for O&M activities within the Rio Grande Rectification Project (RGRP). The RGRP was constructed between 1934 and 1938, the RGRP itself comprises numerous types of structures designed to stabilize the channel of the Rio Grande, provide access points for the valuable river water to local irrigation systems, and protect fields and towns from river flooding. Resources within the RGRP include the Rio Grande channel; a

85.44 mile earthen levee spanning almost the entire length of the rectified channel; three dams with associated features and four grade control structures to regulate the flow of water; gaging stations; pumping stations; culverts carrying the levee over arroyos and ditches; and gates controlling water delivery at various access points. The RGRP is intersected by various canals and other irrigation ditches that connect the river and its canals to local water delivery systems in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties. The Zacarias Dominquez Field Office employs a total of 10 personnel.

Rio Grande Canalization Project The Las Cruces Field Office located at 504 South Miranda in Las Cruces, New Mexico is also partially responsible for the Rio Grande Canalization Project (RGCP) which extends upstream from American Dam in El Paso, Texas to Percha Dam in Sierra County, New Mexico. The RGCP, operated and maintained by the USIBWC since its completion in 1943, was constructed to facilitate water deliveries and provide flood control to the Rincon and Mesilla Valleys in New Mexico, El Paso Valley in Texas, and Juárez Valley in Mexico. The flood control system consists of 57 miles of levee on the west bank of the Rio Grande and 74 miles over the east bank.

The Las Cruces Field Office employs 8 permanent and 7 temporary employees.

Presidio Flood Control Project The Presidio Field Office located at 170 Dod Street in Presidio, Texas manages the Presidio Flood Control Project which covers a linear area approximately 15.2 miles along the Rio Grande beginning at Haciendita, upstream of the Rio Conchos confluence, and ending downstream of Presidio near Alamito Creek. O&M activities include: levee maintenance such as mowing, filling and repairing washouts, stabilizing, shaping, road grading and surfacing; floodway mowing operations for vegetation to insure that the floodways are capable of handling the design flow capacities; stabilization of river banks; grading and removal of sediment at arroyo mouths and sediment removal within the pilot channel. The Presidio Field Office employs 6 personnel.

The Yuma Field Office is located in Yuma, Arizona.

The Yuma Field Office is located at 1940 South 3rd Avenue, Suite A, Yuma, Arizona. The Colorado River, which runs from north to south, forms the international boundary between the United States and Mexico for 24 miles in the vicinity of Yuma, Arizona and San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora. The 1944 Water Treaty between the two countries includes a requirement that the U.S. deliver to Mexico a specified quantity of water from the Colorado River every year.

Ensuring delivery of this water is a key responsibility of the Yuma office.

Government Furnished Materials:

1. December 2005 USIBWC Environmental Policy.

2. October 2005, Initial Environmental Assessment for Environmental Management System

Development for USIBWC headquarters, the Nogales field office, and the American Dam field office.

3. December 2005, Environmental Management System Implementation Report for USIBWC headquarters, the Nogales field office, and the American Dam field office.

4. December 2006, Final Environmental Management System Implementation Report, USIBWC San Diego, Amistad, Falcon, and Mercedes Field Offices

Scope of Services:

The USIBWC is in the planning phase of developing an EMS for the four field office facilities listed above. Since these facilities have no formal EMS a good deal of effort must be put forth in conducting an initial audit which identifies the activities, aspects and impacts at each facility.

Once these are identified, objectives and targets will need to be established and environmental management programs will need to be developed and implemented. The agency is seeking assistance through the entire planning phase according to section 4.3 under ISO 14001. It is the intent of the USIBWC to fully develop and implement an effective EMS.

The contractor shall provide all necessary work and staffing with appropriate expertise to develop an EMS for the USIBWC. The contractor will be responsible to gather and review all necessary information and assess the significant environmental impacts associated with agency’s key functions and operations at the subject facilities. The EMS shall provide the means to integrate responsible environmental management practices into its operations by establishing goals, developing effective environmental processes, measuring progress, and reporting performance. The contractor shall develop an EMS that will provide specific guidance in the achievement of environmental requirements and policies. The actions performed by the contractor will include, but may not be limited to:

1. Conduct an initial EMS audit of the facility (including any on-site interviews), and gather and review existing relevant information including the Environmental Management Review performed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

2. Establish a procedure to identify the environmental aspects of the site activities and develop a process to identify those aspects that have or can have significant impacts on the environment.

3. Develop objectives and targets.

4. Develop environmental management programs to achieve the objectives and targets.

5. Develop an EMS Implementation Report for the subject facilities.

Again, all of the actions listed above (1 though 5) will be initiated by the contractor, but worked on with the EMS team leader and ultimately the team. In the end, it will be the team that will determine the content of the EMS, but it will be the contractor’s responsibility to guide the team through the process to ensure that all significant environmental impacts are included and that the framework for an EMS is established. The contractor will be required to establish an effective EMS system that complies with Executive Order 13423 and meets the requirements of ISO 14001.

Schedule / Deliverables:

The contractor shall prepare an EMS Implementation Guide Report, which includes a description of the process undertaken, and clearly list the significant environmental impacts, objectives and targets, and environmental management programs. The report shall be similar to the EMS Implementation Guide Report prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shown at the following website link: http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/employees/envcomp/ems.html. The contractor shall submit two hard copies and an electronic copy (Portable Document Format (PDF) or Microsoft Word on standard 700 MB CD-R(s), or 4.7 GB DVD±R(s)) of a draft report within 75 calendar days of issuance of the Notice to Proceed (NTP). The USIBWC will review http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/employees/envcomp/ems.html the draft report and return comments to the contractor within 14 calendar days of receipt of the draft report. The contractor will address all comments and submit four (4) hard copies and two electronic copies of the final provide a final report within 14 calendar days of receipt of comments. The electronic copies shall be provided on standard 700 MB CD-R(s), or 4.7 GB DVD±R(s) in Portable Document Format (PDF).