PWS_SOL-CI-15-00017.docx

SOL-CI-15-00017

CD Support Contract

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

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

Scope

The purpose of this contract is to provide technical, analytical, and regulatory compliance support services to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), the Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ), the Compliance Division (CD), and other divisions within OTAQ. The contractor shall perform work in the following task areas:

Background

The CD has the primary responsibility for implementing certification and compliance monitoring programs for mobile source standards and rules promulgated under Title II of the Clean Air Act Amendments of November 15, 1990 (CAAA). These mobile source standards and rules cover both highway and nonroad sources and fuels. The OTAQ and the CD also pursue voluntary programs to encourage retrofits of existing vehicles and equipment. The CD requires support related to implementing the requirements of these standards and rules, and for conducting these programs and evaluating their results.

The CD routinely supports other divisions engaged in activities including regulation development and engine/vehicle emission test programs. For example, rulemakings that establish or revise fuels and/or emission standards typically require a cost/benefit analysis that focuses on the public health, economy, and environment of the United States. The rulemaking process results in substantial public comments that must be summarized and documented. In addition, support and analysis may be necessary for rulemaking activities related to the development, evaluation, and implementation of a range of emission or fuels standards and market-based programs related to the control of emissions from mobile sources including, but not limited to, particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and exhaust and evaporative hydrocarbons (HC). Analysis and implementation support may also be required during EPA's review of state requirements, such as when the State of California proposes its own emission standards and programmatic requirements for mobile emission sources. Further, administrative support and analysis may also be required to support, or respond to activities of EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) which often works closely with the CD when enforcement issues arise in mobile source programs.

The CD Fuel Center (FCC) administers all national clean fuel programs, including the renewable fuel standard programs, ultra-low sulfur Diesel, and reformulated gas programs. CD is also responsible for quantifying and reporting fuel economy results from certain motor vehicles sold in the United States.

One important transportation fuel program for CD is the Tier 3 program. The Tier 3 program is part of a comprehensive approach to reducing the impacts of motor vehicles on air quality and public health. The program considers the vehicle and its fuel as an integrated system, setting new vehicle emissions standards and lowering the sulfur content of gasoline beginning in 2017. The gasoline sulfur standard will enable more stringent vehicle emissions standards and will make emissions control systems more effective. The fuel sulfur standards include an averaging, banking, and trading (ABT) program that will allow refiners and importers to spread out their investments through an early credit program and rely on ongoing nationwide averaging to meet the sulfur standard. The EPA is finalizing flexible compliance features such as the ability to carry over credits from the preceding Tier 2 program to Tier 3, hardship provisions for small businesses (small volume manufacturers of Tier 3 vehicles and small refiners), and small throughput refineries. FCC administers compliance activities with respect to the Tier 3 program fuels requirements.

Contractor services are intended to provide EPA with the flexibility to design and implement future EPA regulatory and compliance initiatives. Contractor technical analysis and administrative support may also be required for designing, implementing, and evaluating future market-based environmental programs and initiatives.

Capability Requirements

OTAQ and CD require contractor support for the analysis, characterization, estimation and presentation of fuel economy data, as well as technical assistance in the implementation of transportation fuels programs. The contractor must possess the ability to recognize and understand CD's compliance regulatory requirements in these areas. The contractor must be able to propose and implement information technology and develop solutions to greenhouse gas-related regulatory filings, vehicle and engine compliance, fuel economy reporting, transportation fuel regulation, and quantify the benefits to public health from EPA diesel engine emission program initiatives. The standards of performance are the vehicle, engine and fuels emissions compliance standards as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

The contractor must be able to understand and comply with regulatory imposed deadlines, regulatory requirements, and must be able to propose and implement solutions that work within the confines of EPA's existing compliance, database, and reporting infrastructure. This ability to work within EPA's existing framework of compliance management systems assumes contractor familiarity and the ability to work within all aspects of system maintenance and development of the Verify vehicle and engine emissions certification system, the EPA Moderated Transaction System (EMTS), the EPA Central Data Exchange (CDX), the Office of Transportation Air Quality manufacturer registration system (OTAQReg), the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act public health quantification templates, and fuel economy reporting systems such as the Green Vehicle Guide and federal Fuel Economy Guide.

This contractor support shall include assisting EPA in the maintenance and development of EMTS with regard to all aspects of fuels related compliance with EPA reformulated fuels, benzene, and sulfur content regulations in the CFR. The contractor shall also provide support to EPA with all information technology aspects of federal published fuel economy information, specifically the Green Vehicle Guide and the Fuel Economy Trends Report. The contractor must also be familiar with all aspects of the EPA Verify vehicle and engine certification program, to provide fees collection and record keeping assistance and system enhancement to fees collected through that system. The contractor shall also assist EPA in the definition and quantification of public health benefits resulting from the federal Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) standards.

The CD requires support in the development and maintenance of systems to implement Tier 3 standards and programs, and in the tracking and evaluation of compliance with, and the benefits of Tier 3 standards and programs in practice, to the general public. CD also requires assistance in the collection of data and analysis regarding trends in compliance with Tier 3 standards and programs.

Many regulations implemented by the CD involve the payment of a certification fee. The CD requires support in tracking the payment of such fees to ensure that certification does not occur without proper fee payment. Virtually all mobile source rules have some sort of market-based program that allows manufacturers to generate, bank, and trade emission credits. The CD requires support in the development and maintenance of credit tracking systems, in the actual tracking and evaluation of these credits to ascertain whether manufacturers in fact comply with standards and regulations, and to seek out and evaluate trends in compliance with changing standards.

The contractor shall be capable of performing full life cycle information technology (IT) development support including systems design, development, installation, operation, administration, and business re-engineering in support of various emission standards and regulatory programs. The contractor shall provide outreach and communications to regulated parties of these standards and programs, to communicate regulatory requirements and compliance methodology.

Contractor Personnel Employees Working at Government Facilities

The contractor may be required to provide services required in this PWS at Government facilities on a long term basis. As required, the contractor shall provide personnel to perform work on-site at various government facilities. The most likely federal facilities considered include the National Vehicle and Fuels Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the National Computing Center (NCC) in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina, and locations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. These locations will vary by work assignment and are based on the need to operate in close proximity to the EPA operations being supported in order to ensure fast response to the regulated parties, resolution of issues arising from compliance operations that require EPA decisions, and operations from facilities that safeguard confidential business information of the regulated parties.

The anticipated duration of on-site contractor personnel is for the duration of the contract. Contractor personnel must meet the qualifications for entry into government facilities, i.e. security investigation, background checks, and for access into a secured confidential business information environment. On-site contractor personnel providing these services will be supplied with EPA email addresses as well as government computing equipment. The work space for these individuals will consist of separately identified cubicles or working space within a government facility. These individuals shall be identified to EPA employees and third parties as contractor personnel.

Tasks

Note that the tasks and requirements stated herein do not contemplate the contractor engaging in inherently governmental functions or decision-making, such as the approval or denial of permits, certifications, hardship exemptions, etc. The technical and engineering services the PWS contemplates do not allow for the exercise of the contractor’s judgment in making inherently governmental decisions but rather consist of tasks that will assist the EPA in making such determinations; such as, compiling and analyzing petitions, processing applications, review of documentation for sufficiency of presentation, recordkeeping, and storage of petition materials for later retrieval.

A. Economic, Environmental, Statistical, Financial, and Evaluative Analysis.

The contractor shall perform the following tasks:

(a) Fees Tracking

(b) Credit Tracking

(c) Data Tracking

EPA regulations require engine manufacturers to submit test data under a variety of compliance programs, such as Production-line Testing and In-use Testing. Manufacturers are also required to report production data at the end of the model year. The contractor shall:

4. Respond to routine inquiries by the EPA to support vehicle and engine certification.

(d) Survey & Statistical Analysis

(e) Program Performance Analysis

To accomplish this task, the contractor shall possess the capability to run and conduct analyses using the outputs of general equilibrium models, bottom-up technology models, and macro-economic models. The contractor should have national and international economic models available for use. The contractor shall:

(f) Information Collection Burden Analysis

The Paperwork Reduction Act stipulates that every federal agency must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before collecting the same or similar information from 10 or more members of the public and/or regulated community. An Information Collection Request (ICR) describes the information to be collected, gives the reason the information is needed, and estimates the time and cost the public must spend to answer the request. EPA's Office of Environmental Information (OEI) manages information collections for the Agency.

The contractor shall perform the following services for the preparation of ICRs:

(g) Modeling

The contractor shall perform the following services in support of modeling:

(h) Hardship Analysis, Petition Tracking and Processing Assistance

Various parties regulated by CD may petition EPA for relief from fuels and emission standards when these entities can demonstrate that compliance may result in a particular level of economic hardship to them. These regulated parties may include, but are not limited to, small petroleum refineries, Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers (TPEM) participants, and motor vehicle, engine, and equipment manufacturers. The contractor shall support CD in the development and implementation of regulations and initiatives that grant regulatory compliance relief to parties who demonstrate the required level of hardship.

This work does not involve decision-making on the part of the contractor regarding a hardship petition. The contractor would merely compile and analyze petitions, rather than exercising judgment regarding the granting of relief.

The contractor shall:

B. Technical and Engineering Analysis

The contractor shall perform the following technical and engineering analysis:

10. Perform selected field audits or provide technical data in support of the EPA Headquarters and EPA/State regional field offices.

11. Determine the impact of new and revised program rules on existing program activities and associated computerized data systems.

12. Develop strategies and techniques for evaluating emission trends and the emission impacts of air emission regulations and programs.

13. Evaluate trends in the use and costs of emission control technologies and their impact on source emissions and aggregate emissions.

14. Support the EPA in assessing emission reductions of regulatory and voluntary programs and whether emission reductions anticipated by the regulations or by voluntary programs are achieved.

C. Communication, Outreach, Guidance, and Regulatory Program Support

Communication, outreach, guidance, and regulatory program support are required for mobile source emission programs and compliance activities, as well as other market-based environmental programs. The contractor shall provide communications support, including web development, for compliance, outreach, and guidance to the affected community in the implementation of both new and existing programs and regulations. These programs require communication assistance with both technical and general implementation issues. In addition, the contractor shall provide outreach to audiences outside the regulated industry, including the general public. The contractor shall also provide technical support for program communications within the OTAQ and its Divisions, as well as between OTAQ and other Offices within EPA.

The contractor shall perform the following services:

10. Design and prepare program information materials including fact sheets, brochures, booklets, progress reports, and guidance documents (written, audio-visual, and electronic materials).

11. Prepare draft presentations and reports including graphics.

12. Provide graphic, editorial and report drafting support for technical documents. Such support shall include technical writing and communication of technical, scientific, and engineering information.

13. Develop record keeping processes or systems to manage the receipt of large volumes of electronic and hard copy material such as certification applications, emission testing submissions, and forms, and to process them efficiently.

14. Consolidate, organize, summarize, and research answers to public comments received on rulemakings.

15. Develop, categorize, and organize materials for rulemaking dockets, EPA documents, investigations or litigation.

16. Collect, organize and catalog data in support of Freedom of Information Act requests and federal enforcement actions.

17. Design, develop, and implement web-based systems. These systems shall provide portals and other mechanisms for the sharing of emission data, fuel economy data and other public data generated or gathered by the EPA to industries, state agencies, and the public.

18. Conduct liaison activities with regulated parties concerning hardship exemption activity, communicate shortcomings in petitions, and work with regulated parties to ensure petitions include all required documentation.

D. Web, Computer System, and Database Support and Development

The contractor shall perform the following services to support development and re-engineering of information systems, databases, geographic information systems (GIS), compliance activities, models to analyze particular regulations, policies, issues, and other OTAQ program implementation activities. Some of these systems will need to be publicly accessible in a web environment. Large, high volume internal databases will be required to support most systems.

The contractor shall perform the following services:

10. Monitor the functioning of the tracking and information systems, identify problems, recommend solutions, and develop proposals for continually improving system performance.

11. Provide telephone or web hot-line support during EPA business hours to assist users with system, database, and web needs including installing and running developed applications.

12. Provide support for installing hardware, software, and loading necessary applications on a server. Assist NCC personnel with hardware integration support for any applications developed by the contractor.

13. Provide technical recommendations for system architecture infrastructure issues.

14. Define requirements, develop, document, set-up and initiate the use of Internet and Intranet systems within the OTAQ. Conduct necessary training, installation of application modules, loading of documents or data on the system, maintain, modify, and enhance applications to meet changing needs.

15. Develop applications according to EPA standards and guidelines. Coordinate with EPA computer personnel and RTP NCC central computer groups for system and application testing and implementation.

16. Coordinate with other EPA contractors for development, administration, integration, and maintenance tasks when needed.

17. Provide general web support, including design and creation of new HTML/web pages, maps, graphics, and written text. Manipulate and format data for web pages.

18. Comply with EPA policies for information resources management as required by EPAAR 1552.211-79. Compliance standards may be found at http://www.section508.gov.

E. Support for Implementation and Compliance Monitoring of Air Pollution Regulations and Programmatic Requirements

OTAQ, and specifically CD, is responsible for implementing and monitoring third party compliance with all mobile source emission regulations. Most regulations involve compliance with numeric standards for vehicles, engines, and fuels. Others involve such diverse requirements as distributing service literature, honoring mandated emission warranty requirements, submitting descriptions of vehicle and engine defects, and conducting voluntary emission recalls.

The contractor shall support the EPA’s efforts to assess compliance with a wide range of air regulations and programmatic requirements as follows:

F. Registration, Record Keeping, and Reporting Support Specific to Tier 3 Fuels Regulatory Compliance Requirements

The contractor shall use the best reasonably available techniques and methodologies in all quantitative and qualitative analyses, including appropriate statistical design and analysis of experiments and/or surveys. The contractor shall perform and report the results of the measures as specified in the quality management plan (QMP) to assure the validity and reliability (i.e., accuracy, precision) of quantitative data sampling, analysis, and modeling techniques.

Due to short legislative, judicially-imposed, stakeholder or other administrative deadlines, the contractor shall provide quick-response support. Quick-response or short-turnaround deadlines typically range from one hour to a few days.

The contractor shall provide data and information technology assistance necessary to implement reporting and compliance for regulated parties under the following areas of the Tier 3 program (citations refer to proposed federal regulations under 40 CFR Part 80):

1. Small refiner & small volume refinery applications (for period 1/1-12/31 2012), submitted by January 1, 2015. (Sec. 80.1622)

2. Importation of gasoline into the United States by truck, sulfur standard 10 ppm per gallon alternative to sample and testing requirements under Sec. 80.1630 and the annual sulfur average and per gallon cap standards otherwise applicable to importers under Sec. 80.1603. An importer who elects to comply with the alternative standards in 80.1641(a)(2) must certify in the annual report whether it is in compliance with the applicable per-gallon batch standard of 80.1641 (a)(2), in lieu of providing the information required by §80.1652 regarding annual average sulfur content and compliance with the average standard under §80.160. (Sec. 80.1641(h)(2))

3. Implement the sulfur standard deficit carry forward for a compliance year under Tier 3. (Sec. 80.1605)

4. Registration for refiners & importers subject to the Tier 3 gasoline sulfur standards (unless already registered under §80.76 or §80.103). (Sec. 80.1650(a)(1))

5. Registration for producers/importers of certified denatured fuel ethanol (DFE). (Sec. 80.1650(a)(4)

6. Annual reporting for gasoline refiners & importers, and oxygenate producers or importers, subject to Tier 3 fuel sulfur regulation. (Sec. 80.1652(a))

7. Reporting for gasoline importers--additional requirements for gasoline produced from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2019, at a foreign refinery of a refiner that has been approved as a small refiner or a small volume refinery under Sec. 80.1622, and that is imported into the United States (Sulfur-FRGAS) imported during an annual averaging period. (Sec. 80.1562(b))

8. Petitions for approval of foreign small refiner or small volume refinery status with respect to Tier 3 sulfur regulation. (Sec. 80.1666(b))

9. Notification of approved foreign small refiner's/small refinery's election to classify no gasoline imported into the U.S. as Sulfur-FRGAS. (Sec. 80.1666(c)(3)(i))

The contractor shall develop a software program that would be available to the public as well as to the OTAQ and OECA staff for the use of American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard practice D6708. This software shall determine if a correction equation is needed in comparing non-voluntary consensus-based standards body (VCSB) method defined test methods to respective designated test method. For example, if a party regulated under Tier 3 wanted to qualify a non-VCSB test method for benzene in gasoline, the regulated party would need to provide data in the software that meets the requirements of 40 CFR 80.47 and then use the software that meets the requirements as specified in ASTM 6708 to determine whether a correction equation is necessary. (Sec. 80.47 (l), (m))

EPA may begin to receive applications for parties wishing to qualify non-VCSB test methods under 40 CFR 80.47 prior to 1/1/16. Non-VCSB test method applications must be reviewed and approved by the EPA. Non-VCSB test method applications will include the submission of third party engineering reviews. The contractor shall compile the applications, analyze them for pre-approval issues and completeness, provide them to the CD staff for review and approval, and then file the applications and associated EPA decision documents in a manner as to preserve them and enhance their recovery for potential legal proceedings.

The contractor shall provide technical services to the FCC to identify and define the technology requirements, and to develop, revise, and implement these requirements (citations refer to proposed federal regulations under 40 CFR Part 80):

1. Written requests for Tier 3 regulatory exemptions for gasoline used for research, development, or testing purposes. (Sec. 80.1656)

2. Petitions for use of alternative procedures to meet the requirements of 80.1666(o)(1) for truck imports of Certified Sulfur-FRGAS into the U.S. produced by an approved foreign small refiner/refinery. (Sec. 80.1666(o))

3. Additional requirements for any petition for approval, alternative procedures under 80.1666(o), and any certification under 80.1666(d)(3). (Sec. 80.1666(r))

4. Collection and processing assistance with respect to attest engagement requirements for small refiner and small volume refinery, annual sulfur reporting, sulfur credit reporting requirements before and after 2017, sulfur credit purchase and sales attestation requirements, credit expiration and reconciliation. (Sec. 80.1667)

5. Requests for exemptions from the sampling & testing requirements of 80.1630(a)(1) for refiners producing gasoline using computer-controlled in-line blending equipment which have not been granted an exemption under Sec. 80.65(f)(4). (Sec. 80.1630(a)(3)(i)(B))

6. Applications for exemption from the provisions of Subpart O gasoline sulfur regulation, due to extreme hardship circumstances (unusual circumstances that impose extreme hardship and affect the refiner’s ability to comply by the applicable date, and the refiner having made best efforts to comply with the requirements of Subpart O). (Sec. 80.1625(a))

The contractor shall provide the following technical and regulatory support services:

1. Assistance in the development and modification of EPA data bases.

2. Conducting geographic information systems (GIS) and other related mapping activities.

3. Conducting literature reviews, reviewing technical data, performing analyses, and summarizing findings.

4. Analysis of technical issues and options for proposed and final requirement fulfillment strategy.

5. Suggesting and analyzing various compliance alternatives.

6. Analyzing EPA Tier 3 and related regulations for consistency and standardization of requirements, definitions and consistency of implementation strategies.

The contractor shall coordinate and integrate all activity required to provide the aforementioned services, to include problem identification/resolution strategy, response to inquiries, and technical, service, or administrative issues, in a timely, complete, and effective manner. The contractor shall utilize QA monitoring tools to ensure technical support and all deliverables meet contract requirements.

The contractor shall provide EPA with technical and design options, as well as programming and testing support to enhance the systems used to receive, concatenate, quality assure, upload and analyze reporting data coming into the Agency’s possession through electronic reporting (e.g., Central Data Exchange (CDX) data submissions), files on disk, and paper files, as well as the dissemination of regulatory materials.

The contractor shall provide the following services:

1. Optimize the ways data is managed and maintained in the EPA fuels regulatory programs database by evaluating/adapting new technologies or modifying/updating existing ones.

2. Facilitate the transmittal of original reporting data from the regulated parties to the EPA and the communication of the EPA’s fuel and fuel additive regulations and related materials to the public by exploring, evaluating, and adapting new technologies or modifying/updating existing ones.

3. Establish a development and testing environment (including web browsers), separate from the actual production environment but functionally identical, that can exercise all the functions and features of the designs under development using representative operating constraints and workloads. This is required to protect the actual CBI data and system software.

4. Ensure that the DCFUELs LAN and CBI database are compatible with the Agency’s CDX system.

5. Evaluate all patches, hardware and software upgrades, and development products on the testing environment prior to implementing on the production environment.

The contractor shall provide assistance and support to the FCC’s efforts to consolidate and align the registration systems for the fuels programs and Fuel and Fuel Additives Registration (FFAR) system. The contractor shall provide the following services:

1. Cross-reference FFAR’s company ID and fuels programs company ID for each registered company.

2. Develop a database table to memorialize registrations prior to registration alignment.

3. Assist in registration alignment by generating mailing labels and mail merge letters to be sent to companies requiring changes in registration.

4. Assist in the assignment of aligned company IDs.

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