Pre-solicitation_Notice_SOL-15-00017.doc

SOL-CI-15-00017

Pre-Solicitation Notice

Pre-Solicitation Notice

SOL-CI-15-00017

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ), Compliance Division (CD) has a requirement for “Technical and Analytical Support to the Office of Transportation and Air Quality for Compliance Fees Tracking, Fuel Economy Analysis, Fuels, Emissions, and Vehicle/Engine Compliance Reporting, Program Benefit Quantification and Outreach, and Web Program Support.”

It is anticipated that any future contract for these services will be a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) Level-of-Effort (LOE) type contract with five one-year periods. Each period will have approximately 73,100 LOE hours including increased quantity options. The applicable NAICS code is 541330 (Environmental Engineering Services) with a size standard of $15 million. The successful contractor of any resultant contract will be expected to provide all necessary labor, materials, and facilities in support of the efforts delineated in the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

The EPA has determined that actual Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCOI) exist for this requirement. The EPA has determined to exclude from consideration for award, as a prime contractor or subcontractor, any motor vehicle manufacturers, motor vehicle engine manufacturers, nonroad vehicle and nonroad engine manufacturers, transportation fuels and fuel additives producers, entities providing transportation emission control or reduction technology, energy efficiency or energy technology providers, and transportation-related point source emitters of nitrogen oxides (Nox), sulfur dioxide (SO2), exhaust and evaporative hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), air toxics, and/or particulate matter (PM). The industries named above could not avoid actual Conflict of Interest as activities included in the PWS would have a significant impact on policies and regulations directly applicable to these industries.

In addition, the EPA has determined that offerors that have business or financial relationship(s) or that directly work for the excluded industries named above may also have significant actual or potential OCOI concerns. All offerors shall submit an OCOI plan that describes procedures the offeror uses to identify and report OCOIs. The solicitation shall include EPAAR provisions (EPAAR 1552.209-70 and 1552.209-72) which require that an offeror declare knowledge of and certify whether it is aware or not aware of any potential OCOI, and provide disclosure statements describing such OCOI. The EPAAR 1552.209-71 clause requiring a contractor to make full disclosure of any actual or potential conflict of interest that is discovered or arises after contract award shall also be part of the solicitation. Finally, the EPAAR 1552.209-74 clause, Limitation of Future Contracting, which prohibits offerors from entering into a business or financial relationship with the excluded industries named above for one year past the life of the contract, shall be included in the solicitation.

A draft PWS detailing the specific technical areas, as well as required tasks, for this FBO procurement announcement is posted as an attachment on the FedConnect web portal. Notices of any modifications to this FBO procurement announcement, including Requests for Proposals and amendments, will be posted using the FedConnect web portal. FedConnect can be accessed at https://www.fedconnect.net/Fedconnect/. Questions regarding the content of the subject announcement must be submitted through the FedConnect portal. Offerors must register with FedConnect as an interested party to submit questions and to view responses.

FedConnect is a web portal that connects agencies and vendors to streamline the process of doing business with the federal government. Through FedConnect contractors will be able to receive, review and respond to contract pre- and post-award actions and documents such as correspondence, request for proposals, tasking instruments, and contract modifications. The use of FedConnect also furthers the EPA’s commitment to moving towards a paperless acquisition environment by reducing its carbon footprint and conducting its business in an ecologically friendly manner. There is no charge to use FedConnect.

Vendors can register with FedConnect at www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/. For assistance in registering or for other FedConnect technical questions please call the FedConnect Help Desk at (800) 899-6665 or email at support@fedconnect.net.

In addition, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), as this facilitates registration for FedConnect. Please note that vendors MUST have their SAM profile set to “public,” otherwise FedConnect will not be able to access the SAM information required to validate vendor credentials. Registration may be completed and information regarding the registration process may be obtained at http://www.sam.gov. There is no charge for registration in SAM.

The solicitation is expected to be issued in September 2015 through the FedConnect portal. The EPA does not intend to mail hard copies of the solicitation. It is the responsibility of the offerors to frequently check the FedConnect portal for updates or changes.