Scope_AerialHerbicideApplication_CAA2026.pdf

SCOPE OF WORK / SPECIFICATIONS

PROJECT: Aerial Herbicide Spraying within the Controlled Access Area of Ft. Pickett

1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION and WORK AREA

The MTC Fort Pickett Department of Public Works (hereafter referred to as BUYER) is controlling problem tree growth and enhancing early successional wildlife habitat on approximately 481 acres within the Controlled Access Area of Ft Pickett. This control shall be accomplished through the aerial application of selective chemical herbicides to control all vegetation with this site. The treatment area consists of 31 acres of forested/shrub areas classified as wetland and 450 acres classified as upland/terrestrial treatment areas; scattered within Ranges 3, 12, 13, 15, Observation Point 4 and throughout the Controlled Access Area of Ft. Pickett. The overall species mix in the treatment area is composed of a mix of mature pine and hardwood species. The entire acreage of the treatment areas is in the down-range Controlled Access Area of Ft. Pickett.

The winning bidder (hereafter referred to as CONTRACTOR) will be able to perform landing zone and support operations within close proximity of the treatment areas as approved by Ft. Pickett Range Operations.

Potential bidders may obtain maps and more information regarding the proposed work areas by contacting Brandon Martin at 434-292-2292. The CONTRACTOR will be provided the necessary maps/data in shapefile format (.shp).

2. SCOPE OF WORK / SPECIFICATIONS

1) General: Contractor shall furnish all labor, supervision, insurance, tools, equipment, rotary-wing aircraft and chemicals to safely and efficiently make aerial application of herbicides in accordance with the terms and specifications of this agreement, and shall comply with all state and federal laws, rules and regulations applicable to the safe performance of such work.

2) Independent Contractor: The Contractor, his employees and agents are not to be, at any time, considered servants, agents, or employees of the Commonwealth of Virginia, nor of any department or division thereof, but instead are considered to be independent contractors.

3) Sub-Contract: The Contractor shall not offer sublet to subcontractors without first securing consent of the Buyer.

4) Consent by the Buyer to any such subletting shall not relieve the Contractor of full responsibility and liability for the work to be performed by the subcontractor.

5) Contractor shall notify the Buyer of the names and addresses of all subcontractors as soon as they are determined.

6) Primary Dates of Application: Contractor shall spray all 481 acres designated to be treated, in accordance with the terms of this contract, during the period September 1 through October 15, 2026. The only exception to the performance of this contract during this time frame will be due to high winds or other unfavorable weather conditions. Buyer, after consulting with Contractor, shall have the final say in whether or not spray operations will be conducted. If weather conditions allow spraying, Contractor does not have the option of deferring application until a later time.

7) Alternate Dates of Application: If high winds or other unfavorable weather conditions prevent spraying during the primary application window, the Contractor will spray all 481 acres (or any remnant acreage not yet completed) during the period October 16-20, 2026. Buyer, after consulting with Contractor, shall have the final say in whether or not spray operations will be conducted. If weather conditions allow spraying, Contractor does not have the option of deferring application until a later time.

8) Supplementary Dates of Application: None

9) Spray Volume: Contractor will apply a minimum of 15 gallons per acre of spray liquid, uniformly applied to cover and control targeted trees on all acreage specified.

10) Herbicide Types/Quantities: Contractor will apply the following chemical herbicides and rates on specific acres as noted below:

Terrestrial/Upland Sites:

a. Arsenal Applicators Concentrate: 32 oz. per acre (See note below)

b. Roundup Pro Concentrate: 192 oz. per acre (See note below)

c. Garlon XRT: 32 oz. per acre (See note below)

d. Milestone: 7 oz. per acre (See note below)

e. Liberate Surfactant: 9.6 oz. per acre (See note below).

Wetland Sites:

f. Arsenal Applicators Concentrate: 32 oz. per acre (See note below)

g. Aquamaster herbicide: 192 oz. per acre (See note below)

h. Garlon 3A: 96 oz. per acre (See note below)

i. Methylated Seed Oil Surfactant: 16 oz. per acre (See note below)

j. NOTE – The chemicals offered by potential bidders must be brand name or equivalent in all respects. Buyer reserves the right to make final determination on and approve the use of any chemical item offered as an equivalent. Any chemical offered as an alternative equivalent must currently be listed on the Virginia Army National Guard list of approved pesticides/herbicides to be considered. Buyer must be notified by potential bidders no later than 48 hours prior to close of bids, of plans to utilize alternative herbicides. Failure to notify Buyer by the deadline may disqualify any alternative(s) from consideration.

11) Water: It is the responsibility of the Contractor and/or sub-contractor to make whatever arrangements necessary to secure water for the spray operation.

12) Storage and Disposal: Contractor shall store and dispose of all herbicide, fuel oil and other chemicals and empty containers in a manner consistent with federal, state and local laws and/or regulations. Service containers used for temporary storage of herbicide concentrates or end-use dilutions shall be labeled in a manner consistent with the Virginia Pesticide Control Act. Contractor will not dispose of any chemical or fuel containers in Fort Pickett dumpsters, refuse receptacles or anywhere on Fort Pickett.

13) Wind Speed: Spraying will not take place when wind speeds exceed 10 MPH.

14) Precipitation: Spraying operations will not take place within 2-3 hours of expected precipitation, nor will spraying take place after precipitation until foliage is dry.

15) Treatment Area Boundaries: All spraying will be performed within the designated tract boundaries so as to maintain proper buffers along adjacent sensitive areas.

16) Certification: All aircraft used in this project shall be operated in conformity with the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration and State Corporation Commission and be fully and properly registered and/or certified in compliance with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations including the Virginia Department of Aviation permit. Registration shall be in pilot's possession.

17) All appropriate certification and licensing, required by the Environmental Protection Agency and

Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, pertaining to the use and application of herbicides shall be the responsibility of the Contractor. Certifications, licenses and/or permits shall be valid for the period of application and available for inspection by federal, state, and local authorities having jurisdiction over this project. Copies of these certificates, licenses, and permits shall be made available to the Buyer upon request. See below for a complete list of requirement.

A. Virginia Department of Aviation

1) Certificate of Insurance

2) Pesticide Certificate for Aerial Application

3) Aircraft License

B. Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

1) Certificate of Insurance

2) Virginia Certificate for Aerial Pesticide Application (Pilot)

3) Pesticide Business License

18) Pilot: The pilot(s) must carry a valid commercial pilot's certificate. Each pilot used in this operation must have a minimum of 250 hours of helicopter flying time, which shall include a minimum of 25 hours of low-level flying for the application of herbicides for woody plant control. Flying shall be in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws.

19) Aircraft: The aircraft to be used for this project shall be restricted to a helicopter capable of lifting a minimum load of 50 gallons of spray liquid.

20) Communications: The Contractor shall use appropriate radio equipment to insure continuous ground-to-air communications during all air operations.

21) Should communications equipment fail while an operation is in progress, the operation shall terminate immediately and shall not resume until communications are again established.

22) Tract Visits: In preparing for the spraying operation, the contractor’s Forester, CF, or CCF will exercise due diligence in planning for the operation; including making necessary site visits and reconnaissance.

23) Delivery System Aerial Application: The delivery system shall be restricted to the Chemical

Label specifications and/or Label volume mean diameter (VMD) recommendation guides for the selection and setup of the spray system. But in no case should an aerial forestry herbicide application deliver a droplet size distribution smaller than the ASAE coarse to very coarse category, 430-655 microns, for spray heights above 10 feet, and the percentage of very fine droplets must be less than one percent. The Department may request verification that boom and delivery system meet above requirements. All equipment, supplies, chemicals, and aircraft, as well as mixing, loading and application shall be subject to inspection by the Buyer at any time during this project.

24) Nozzles: All nozzles and connections of the delivery system shall be free of leaks and spills. The nozzles shall be kept clean and free of blockage at all times. At least 6 extra sets of usable and ready nozzles shall be on hand at all times while applications are being made. Cut-off valves shall be of a design to assure positive cut-off at all times when not spraying. Dripping nozzles shall be cause for stopping spray operations. Failure to secure a completely closed system shall constitute reason for stopping spray operation.

25) Spray Boom: The boom must be mounted in the front of the aircraft and be located in static air outside of aircraft displacement.

26) The spray delivery system must be capable of applying chemical spray having a minimum swath width of 45 feet from the helicopter flying at least 100 feet above the ground and permitting a uniform distribution of the chemical mixture at the rate of at least 15 gallons per acre in a single pass.

27) Metering/Measuring Devices: The Contractor will have approved metering/measuring devices which will accurately measure the volume of herbicide, water and other required additives into the mixing tank. There will also be an approved metering/measuring device which accurately measures the volume of herbicide mix as it is loaded onto the aircraft.

28) The Contractor will provide the Buyer evidence that all metering devices employed have been inspected and calibrated by a licensed inspector within three months of the beginning of the Primary Dates of Application window.

29) The Contractor will ensure a minimum of 30 minutes agitation when mixing a full multi-compartment tank of herbicide, surfactant and water. Single tank mixes of 1,000 gallons or less will be agitated for a minimum of 15 minutes. Mixes that have sat for six (6) or more hours after mixing will be agitated for at least 15 minutes before applying.

30) Contractor shall have installed and working in the aircraft a geographic positioning system (GPS) capable of defining, recording and displaying flight line information comparable to and compatible with the following systems: Satloc®, Trimble®, AG-NAV®. The system shall be used on each tract treated by aerial methods to achieve precise, accurate spray swathing on each acre to be sprayed. The pilot will keep tract specific information for each tract treated. Failure to maintain an operable GPS shall constitute reason for stopping spray operations

31) Contractor will electronically store the “tract specific” GPS flight line information so generated and shall provide to the Buyer post-spray coverage maps of all areas treated under this contract.

The information will be provided to the Buyer in an electronic format that is usable in ARCGIS software. The preferable format would be the “Shapefile” format.

32) Identified areas will be treated in such a manner to achieve 90% coverage of the treatable areas.

33) Pesticide Use Report: Contractor shall be responsible for accurately completing and submitting a Virginia Army National Guard Pesticide Use Report at the end of each week of spraying. Report format will be provided by Buyer.

34) Damage Claims: Should the Contractor receive notice of any damage claim from any off-Fort

Pickett landowner, allegedly resulting from these spray operations, he shall, in turn, notify the Buyer within 10 days specifying location of tract sprayed, nature of damage, and name and address of the person making said claim. The Contractor shall also contact the person making the claim within 10 days to begin the process for resolution of the claim. Upon resolution of the claim, the Contractor will inform the Buyer of the resolution. Contractor is fully liable for any such off-site spray damage.

35) The Contractor may halt spray operations when, in the Contractor's opinion, conditions are unsafe for aircraft flight and/or herbicide applications.

4. BIDS

Bids shall be made on a per acre basis with a grand total amount. Bids shall consist of all labor, supervision, insurance, tools, equipment, rotary-wing aircraft and chemicals to successfully and fully accomplish specified work. Bids shall be submitted electronically through eVA, NO LATER THAN 3:00 p.m., September 10, 2026. Failure to submit bid in the appropriate format, or to provide all required information may result in the bid being deemed non-responsive and ineligible for consideration. Failure of a bidder to provide proof, upon inquiry by Buyer, of having the appropriate equipment and/or certifications and licenses for this project may result in the bid being deemed non-responsive and ineligible for consideration.

8. AWARD

Award to be made on a grand total basis to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, in accordance with the Micro/Small Business Set-Aside Award Priority specified in the Special Terms and Conditions.

9. PAYMENT

Payment will be made when all work is completed, approved by the Contract Administrator or Contracting Officer, and properly invoiced. Payment will be made only for areas satisfactorily completed. All work must meet criteria as delineated by the Scope of Work / Specifications unless written approval authorizes changes. No remittance will be forthcoming for areas that do not have work performed in accordance with the terms of this agreement, as determined by and in the sole discretion of the Contract Administrator. If there are deviations for areas not completed satisfactorily, such areas will be measured by the Ft. Pickett DPW Natural Resource Staff as accurately as possible, and payment made for the number of acres satisfactorily completed, as determined by the Contract Administrator. All invoices should be submitted to ng.va.arrng.mbx.dpw-billing-dma@army.mil.

Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN)

¯FY 26 Aerial Herbicide Treatment: Ft. Pickett, VA

0 1 2 30.5

Miles

Legend

CAA Spray Polygons, 5

AC. EA. (200 AC.

TOTAL)

featureNam OP4 Spraying (8.94 Acres)

Range 12 Spraying (25.35 Acres)

Range 13 Spraying (43.74 Acres)

Range 15 Spraying (160.98 Acres)

Range 3 Spraying (10.97 Acres)

Wetland Spraying (31.03 Acres)

<all other values>