Amendment_00001_Information_Page_and_Q&As.pdf

Solicitation No. R17PS00106 Cultural Resources IDIQ

Amendment 000001

The purpose of Amendment 000001 is as follows:

1. Post Answers for all Questions received in writing on Tuesday, February 2, 2017, 12:00 noon

(MST).

2. New attachments have been included and are titled as follows:

a. Att 9 – Ethnographic Overview PaleoWest 2013 Final.pdf

b. Att 10 – PaleoWest Database Chart.pdf

c. Att 11 – Research Design PaleoWest 2013 Final.pdf

3. Three existing attachments have been updated and are titled as follows:

a. Updated Solicitation No. R17PS00106 Cultural Resources IDIQ 3_3_2017.pdf

i. Changes to the Solicitation are indicated by a blue vertical line on the right margin of the document

b. Att 1 – A1 Updated Volume II Statement of Work 3_3_17.pdf

i. Changes to the Statement of Work are indicted by a vertical line on the right margin of the document. Any redactions have been stricken through and any additions are in bold and italicized.

c. Att 2 – A1 Updated Section B Provided in Excel Format 3_3_17.xls

4. The second round of questions, pertaining to this requirement are due, in writing, no later than

Thursday, March 16, 2017, 12:00 noon (MDT) to lhancock@usbr.gov. No questions will be accepted after aforementioned date and time. Questions and Answers for the second question period will be answered via amendment no later than Tuesday, March 28, 2017.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

1. The second round of questions, pertaining to this requirement are due, in writing, no later than Thursday, March 16, 2017, 12:00 noon (MDT) to lhancock@usbr.gov. No questions will be accepted after aforementioned date and time. Questions and Answers for the second question period will be answered via amendment no later than Tuesday, March 28, 2017.

2. Solicitation Closing Date: Wednesday, April 5, 2017 Solicitation Closing Time: 14:00 Mountain Daylight Time

3. Proposals must be delivered to:

Ms. Louise Hancock, UC-853 Bureau of Reclamation 125 South State Street Room 8100 Salt Lake City, UT. 84138

Packaging must be clearly identified as “PROPOSAL – ONLY TO BE OPENED BY

CONTRACTING OFFICER” to prevent mishandling.

Please closely read 1452.215-81 General Proposal Instructions—Bureau of Reclamation (Jan 1998) -

WBR for exact submission format.

Any proposals must be in the Contracting Specialist’s possession no later than 14:00 hours MDT on

April 5, 2017.

4. Inquiries regarding this Solicitation should be made to:

Ms. Louise Hancock, Contract Specialist E-mail: lhancock@usbr.gov Phone: 801-524-3756

5. All correspondence regarding this Solicitation should reference Solicitation No. R17PS00106 Cultural Resources IDIQ

6. Please read Section L and M attentively and thoroughly for proposal information.

SOLICITATION NO. R17PS00106

CULTURAL RESOURCES – IDIQ

ROUND 1 QUESTIONS - FEBRUARY 2, 2017

TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

1. How do the tasks identified under this contract work with, and relate to, the work that Paleowest is already contracted to do for the Navajo Gallup Water Supply project.

a: The NGWSP task orders issued under this IDIQ will be a continuation of the work already undertaken by the incumbent NGWSP contractor. The incumbent contractor is expected to continue working on previously awarded tasks under the old IDIQ until March 2018. During this time period there is expected to be some level of coordination between the successful bidders and the incumbent contractor. Work under new NGWSP task orders will be structured around existing and approved NGWSP documents such as the Research Design, Field Manuals, and Mitigation Strategies.

Non-NGWSP task orders issued under this IDIQ have no relation to the work already undertaken by the incumbent NGWSP contractor.

2. Can you make the referenced documents by Chuipka and Potter available?

a: Yes. This document is now included in this solicitation amendment.

3. In the document entitled, Att 2 – Section B Provided in Excel Format, CLINs are provided for an Annual Summary Contract Activity Report (CLIN 35), an Annual Work Plan Report (CLIN 36), Development of Technical Series Documents through Publication (CLIN 37), and Permits and Fees (CLIN 40). These items are not described in the document titled Att 1 – Volume II Statement of Work. Additionally, CLINs 35–41 do not coordinate between these two documents. Can you please provide narratives for the aforementioned tasks and reconcile the CLIN numbers between these two documents?

a: Yes. Please see the Updated Statement of Work for all changes. Section B (Attachment 2) has also been updated to reflect the Statement of Work updates.

4. Can Reclamation provide the following documents so that firms responding to the RFP will have all of the same information regarding the project as the incumbent firm who produced the reports?

Potter, James M., Dennis Gilpin, and Jason Chuipka (editors)

2013 Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Archaeological Research and Sampling Design. Technical Report 12-06. PaleoWest, Farmington, New Mexico.

Gilpin, Dennis and Linda Thompson (editors) 2013 A Class I Archaeological Inventory of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. Technical Report No. 12-14. PaleoWest, Farmington, New Mexico.

Gilpin, Dennis 2013 Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project: Ethnographic Overview of Native American Cultural Association with the San Juan Basin, New Mexico. Technical Report 13-30. PaleoWest, Phoenix, Arizona.

a. Yes. The Research and Sampling Design and the Ethnographic Overview are now included in the solicitation amendment. However, the Class I Archaeological Inventory contains sensitive cultural information that cannot be made widely available to the public. A Cultural Resource Management firm bidding on this IDIQ should have archaeologists on staff who have access to the New Mexico Cultural Resource Information System (NMCRIS). NMCRIS is New Mexico's database of all the previously recorded archaeological sites. A search of the database for the Navajo Gallup project area will turn up the same site information that is contained in the Class I Inventory report (the report is largely based upon a NMCRIS search conducted by PaleoWest). NMCRIS is a secure database, and a prospective bidder will be required to apply for access through the New Mexico Archaeological Records Management Section (http://www.nmhistoricpreservation.org/arms.html) if they don't already have access. The process is not difficult, and any qualified archaeologist with the need for this information should be able to obtain access to NMCRIS. .

Another source for information contained in the Class I Inventory are the records at Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department (NNHPD). Navajo's records may contain sites that are not captured in NMCRIS, but are included in the Class I Inventory report. Navajo Nation does not always share their site information with New Mexico, and Reclamation’s project area is largely on Navajo Land. The Navajo records are not hosted online like NMCRIS. The offeror will need to go to Window Rock, AZ to access the Navajo site records in person.

The Class I Inventory report is not required to complete a successful proposal, but could be helpful. The Government will not be providing the Class I Inventory report.

The Contracting Officer will direct the offeror to NMCRIS and NNHPD to replicate the Class I information on their own.

5. Can Reclamation provide an empty version, or explicit schema, of the NGWSP Cultural Resource Database and Geodatabase mentioned on Pages 11 and 17 of the Statement of Work, so that firms responding to the RFP have the same information regarding specific project requirements and deliverables as the incumbent firm?

a. Yes. A copy of the schema is provided. The NGWSP Cultural Resource Database has been constructed using FileMaker Pro. A live copy of the database will be provided to the successful bidders during the post-award conference. The incumbent NGWSP contractor will be available during the transition to the new IDIQ to train the successful bidders on the use of the database.

6. How much of the proposed work will be for the Navajo Gallup project, and how much, percentage-wise, will be for other WCAO projects?

a. It is estimated that 75% of the work with be related to NGWSP and 25% will be related to Western Colorado Area Office projects.

7. Are we expected to conform to the pre-existing field manual if we are awarded the contract (i.e., adapt our field methods to those contained in the manual)?

a. Contractors are expected to conform to the pre-existing field manual developed for the NGWSP. This is to ensure consistency between multiple contractors working on NGWSP. The standardized terminology and methodology contained within the field manual have been accepted by the consulting parties on NGWSP.

8. If we are to conform to the pre-existing field manual requirements, will copies be provided to bidders for their use in development of pricing proposals?

a. Yes. A copy of the field manuals are included in the appendices of the Research and

Sampling Design.

9. According the RFP, we are required to hold artifacts and collected materials until the end of the project. State of New Mexico permit stipulations normally require that artifacts not leave the state. The Programmatic Agreement (PA) for this project does not explicitly address this issue, we assume it applies even though the proposal is for a federal multi-state contract. Please confirm.

a. The State of New Mexico will allow artifacts recovered under a state permit to leave the State for the purposes of analysis and short term storage associated with NGWSP.

Ultimately, artifacts recovered on State of New Mexico land need to be returned to a recognized curation facility within the State of New Mexico. For artifacts recovered on Federal land within the State of New Mexico, the State would prefer that they be returned to a curation facility in New Mexico, but they can be curated in any federally recognized facility.

10. The PA identifies Navajo Nation protocols and the Museum of New Mexico regarding artifact curation. Should we assume that all collections will be curated in one federally recognized curation facility?

a. No. There is no single federally recognized curation facility identified for NGWSP.

Curation facilities for NGWSP artifacts may be different depending on the land status from which they are recovered (i.e. Navajo Nation Tribal land versus State of New Mexico Land).

Other Western Colorado Are Office project will have their own set of curation facilities. For example, the Animas La Plata Project has the Anasazi Heritage Center in Delores that houses project artifacts; and the Navajo Reservoir District area requires curation of resources in the Laboratory of Anthropology Museum Collections.

11. Curation of artifacts collected on Navajo Nation Land, does the NN Disposition

Policy apply? Will the negotiation of chapter agreements for reburial artifacts and human remains be part of the IDIQ?

a. Yes. The Navajo Nation Disposition Policy applies for artifacts recovered from

Navajo Nation land. However, the Contractor(s) will not be responsible for the negotiation of Chapter agreements as part of the IDIQ. Reclamation will take the lead in negotiations with Navajo Nation. The contractor(s) are only expected to facilitate the transfer of artifacts and remains back to the Navajo Nation once the agreements are in place.

12. Please clarify what is intended as part of the door to door outreach?

a. Reclamation has a NGWSP Public Outreach Officer. This individual is responsible for communicating project information to communities and individuals located in the project area. The Public Outreach Officer regularly attends Chapter House meetings to inform on the progress of the project, and at times visits residents along the pipeline corridor to ensure they are aware of impending work. When archaeological data recovery work has been scheduled in close proximity to local residences, the Public Outreach Officer has requested that a contractor supplied archaeologist accompany him/her on some of the notifications. This allows the archaeologist to answer specific questions from the local residents about the type of work to be undertaken and the specific timelines for the work. Typically this door to door outreach has be accomplished within a day or two timeframe. The intent of this task is to have the contractor assist Reclamation in public outreach involving cultural resources. The contractor will not be expected to take over Reclamation’s notification responsibilities for NGWSP related information.

CONTRACTING QUESTIONS

1. Section 1452.215-83 Pricing proposal instructions. (a)General. “The pricing proposal shall be identified as Volume III of the offeror’s proposal.” Should this be Volume IV?

a. Yes. In Section 1452.215-83 Pricing Proposal Instructions (a) General, has been revised to read as follows “The pricing proposal shall be identified as Volume IV of the offeror’s proposal…”

2. Up to how many IDIQ awards for cultural resource services will be made as a result of this solicitation?

a: Reclamation expects a multi-awarded IDIQ and will not know the exact number until after technical proposals are fully reviewed.

3. How many other IDIQ contracts for cultural resource services will be current within this jurisdiction between 2017-2022?

a: Please see Answer 2.

4. How would task orders be apportioned to the different contractors, if more than one?

a: Task Orders will be awarded based upon FAR 16.505 Ordering for either a single award or multi-award which is unknown at this time.

5. When working with IDIQ contractors, does the BOR intend to create continuity of work for the contractor if performance is good? For example, if a company is hired for the survey, is it then a likely candidate for the testing and data recovery for that same portion of the project?

a: Please see answer 4; however, if it is reasonable to expect that one contractor be awarded a follow on task order based on a previous task order, the Government will take that into consideration. The Contracting Officer will make a determination in favor or against sole sourcing a task order based on conducted research.

6. Can we provide associated narratives to define and supplement the projects selected for the Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) in the Factor 2: Past Performance section of Volume II?

a: Yes

7. Do tables and figures used to illustrate and elucidate information in Volume II count against the page count?

a: Yes; pages submitted in Volume II (except Key Personnel resumes) will be considered in the total page count.

8. The required Post-Award Conference defined in the Solicitation (section 1452.242- 80 POST AWARD CONFERENCE) states that “The Contractor shall include any associated costs for the attendance at the conference in its offer.” Can Reclamation provide instructions as to how and where to include this specific cost element in our offer?

a. 1452.242-80 (d) has been removed.

9. In Section B (Attachment 2), you request our fees broken out hourly by team member, then request lump sums for each of 5 Discovery Mitigations, and then additional hourly rates for each labor category are requested again for each Lump Sum sections. Why are our rates being requested multiple times in multiple locations?

a. Section B has been revised.

10. Volume III requires a Technical Proposal for Task 1, but gives no details on what is requested or required. What are you looking for in this section? Please clarify what should be included.

a. Please see Attachment 3 and Attachment 4.

11. Will the index and table of contents be counted as a part of the page limits in Volume II?

a. No.

12. Will 11x17 pages be allowed in Volume II (for Org charts or project maps), and if so, will they count as one page or two?

a. Any 11x17 pages that contain a figure, map, org chart, etc. will be accepted and counted as one (1) page in Volume II. Only figures will be accepted on 11x17.

13. In Attachment I – Volume II Statement of Work, section 4.0 Key Personnel asks for

“vitae for the Principal Investigator (PI), Program Manager (PM), Field Director, and Ethnographic Director, as well as a designation of alternates should the need arise”. Should resumes be included in, and counted as pages against the total, in Volume II - Technical Proposal, Factor 1: Experience, Subfactor 2: PI and PM experience, and Subfactor 3: Other Key Personnel Experience?

a. All Key Personnel resumes must be included in the proposal under Volume II.

Resumes will not count toward the final Volume II page count.

14. Directions for Line Item 00034 (Archaeological Inventory Block) directs the bidder to not include travel or taxes in the price. Can we assume that travel costs for this item will be covered in the Travel line item (Line Item 00036 in the SOW, p.30;

CLIN 41 on Attachment B)?

a. Yes. As tasks will be executed per Task Order, the contractor will be required to propose travel costs if needed.

15. Attachment 1, Statement of Work, Paragraph 15.0, Line Item Descriptions:

Following Line Item/CLIN 34, should CLINs 35 through 41 in Attachment 2 correlate directly with Line Item Description numbers in Attachment 1?

a. Attachment 2 – Section B has been updated to address this issue. Furthermore, the answer to Question 3 of the Technical Questions provides updated language to be included in the SOW that will now correlate to Section B.

16. Attachment 1, Statement of Work Paragraph 8.0 “Security” requires contractors to provide adequate security, however, we do not see where Security costs are provided for in the Attachment 2 pricing sheet?

a. Site security is an important aspect when working on archaeological sites. However, Reclamation is not expecting the contractor to hire a security detail to ensure the protection of all sites. The intent of the security section (8.0) is to ensure that contractors working on sites follow best management practices for securing those sites during periods of activity and non-activity. This includes fencing site boundaries and open excavations, covering open excavation units with tarps when not in use, and backfilling/cleaning up excavation materials at the conclusion of work.

Contractors shall not leave excavations open or unattended for unnecessary amounts of time, but they are not expected to provide a 24-hour security detail for all ongoing excavations. The contractor is expected to coordinate with Reclamation and the managing agency whose land the excavations are taking place on to ensure they are aware of the ongoing work and can provide extra patrols/oversight of those areas while the sites are being worked on. At times, it may be appropriate for one of the Contractor’s Field Directors/Crew Chiefs to check up on a site during long periods of inactivity (i.e. a long holiday weekend with open excavation units present).

The SOW has been amended to remove the sentence “Proposals to furnish site security shall include a provision for continual patrol of the project area during periods when excavation is not in progress such as nights and weekends during the field season” from Section 8.0. A CLIN for a Security Officer will not be added to Section B in the Attachment 2 pricing sheet.

17. Attachment 2, Unit Price column: For Discovery Mitigation and Archaeological

Inventory Block CLINs 29 through 35, the line item is described as a Lump Sum, and there are labor categories listed below the Lump Sum CLIN row. The column heading is “Unit Price”; are the labor category rows intended to be used to present the Unit Price for that labor category per the column heading, or are these rows to be used to provide the number of hours assumed for each labor category or the total labor cost for each labor category? Should there be an additional column for subtotal?

a. Please see Answer 9 under Contracting Questions.