Sources Sought SOL-HQ-12-00020.pdf

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

SOL-HQ-12-00020

OSRTI TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT, SUPPORT, OUTREACH, AND TRAINING

This is NOT a solicitation announcement. This is a Sources Sought Notice only. The purpose of this sources sought synopsis is for market research purposes to determine if capable, qualified small businesses (including Small Businesses, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) businesses, 8(a) firms, Small Disadvantage Business (SDB)) relative to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541620 - Environmental Consulting Services (size standard of $14,000,000 in gross annual receipts or income as defined in 13 CFR § 121.104) possess the capability to support EPA’s Technical Assessment, Support, Outreach, and Training requirement. Responses to this sources sought notice shall not constitute responses to any solicitation, which is not currently available. As stipulated in FAR 15.201, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation.

The decision to solicit for a contract shall be solely within the Government's discretion. This sources sought notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government reimburse any costs associated with the submission of information in response to this notice. Respondents will not individually be notified of the results of any government assessments. The Government’s evaluation of the capability statements received will factor into whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as a full and open competition or as a set-aside for small businesses, or any particular small business designation (e.g. SDVOSB, HUBZone, 8(a), SDB, WOSB, VOSB, etc.).

DESCRIPTION

OSWER is an Agency component that is responsible for programs articulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) of 1980, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and amendments; and other legislation and Agency directives related to the characterization, remediation, and monitoring of solid and hazardous wastes. OSWER provides policy, guidance and direction for the Agency's emergency response and waste programs. It develops guidelines for the land disposal of hazardous waste and underground storage tanks. It provides technical assistance to all levels of government to establish safe practices in waste management. It administers the Brownfields program, which supports state and local governments in redeveloping and reusing potentially contaminated sites. It also manages the Superfund program, which responds to abandoned and active hazardous waste sites and accidental oil and chemical releases. Finally, it encourages innovative technologies to address contaminated soil and groundwater.

The mission of OSRTI is to return contaminated areas of land associated with Superfund sites to communities for safe reuse in a healthy environment. The intent of this notice is to request information from small business concerns for OSRTI’s requirement for technology assessment, support, outreach and training. EPA is seeking market research into whether capable small business sources are able provide support consisting of preparation and conduct of analytical studies of OSWER program strategies and regulatory initiatives; technology transfer for innovative and established cleanup procedures, technologies, and techniques; training related to program implementation; and site-specific technical support for site cleanup.

The contractor will provide support to the three OSRTI divisions:

TIFSD provides technical support to a wide variety of customers, internal and external to the Agency. Technical support includes direct field assistance in response to incidents and spills, developing and providing analytical services in the field and via laboratories, and training and support on innovative field investigation and remediation technologies. More specifically, division staff provides technical direction in the role of “first responder” for environmental, analytical laboratory support through the management of the Contract Laboratory Program (CLP) or other non-CLP contracts, hazardous waste characterization, exposure assessment, outdoor and indoor air monitoring, and data management. The division develops response guidance and regulations as well as supports on-site response actions. TIFSD also provides outreach and training to assist Regional/state project managers integrate new technologies and tools into Superfund and other cleanup programs.

In addition, TIFSD provides expertise for information on remediation technologies, evaluates field readiness of potential remedies, and identifies important cost and performance issues.

The Assessment and Remediation Division (ARD) is responsible for supporting the regions on all aspects of Superfund remediation, including site assessment, placement of sites on the National Priorities List (NPL), remedial investigations/feasibility studies, study and design, remedy selection and implementation, post-construction activities, and deleting sites from the NPL once they are cleaned up. The division is also responsible for coordination with state and tribal organizations, for involvement of the community at Superfund sites, and for encouraging the return of sites to productive uses in communities. The divisionserves as the lead within OSRTI for science policy issues, including risk assessment policies and technologies, chemical-specific policies, and coordination of Superfund research.

The Resource Management Division (RMD) is responsible for supporting the Superfund program through work planning, analysis, budgeting, contract, grant and interagency placement and management, and human resources activities. In addition information technology systems, including Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS) and program web material, and Superfund record management systems are designed and developed in this division. The division monitors and evaluates programmatic achievements and reports results though Agency systems.

This Technical Assessment, Support, Outreach, and Training contract includes the following tasks and corresponding percentage of total Level of Effort (LOE) each task is estimated to require:

1) Investigating, documenting, and disseminating technological state-of-the-practice and innovations in remediation practices, technology use trends, and cleanup markets; 16% of total LOE;

2) Providing cutting-edge technical assistance to EPA site managers and emergency responders, federal and state regulators, and local Brownfields communities on site characterization, remedial strategies, remedy design, and optimization approaches; 24% of total LOE;

3) Planning and hosting symposia of leading practitioners and researchers to define the state-of-practice and research and demonstration needs for various aspects of cleanup programs; 7% of total LOE;

4) Developing and delivering technical training and hands-on workshops for EPA and state cleanup professionals; as well as other members of the cleanup profession; 20% of total

LOE;

5) Providing support for technical analyses and program initiatives; 27% of total LOE;

6) Providing graphic arts and exhibit support; 6% of total LOE.

ESTIMATED LEVEL OF EFFORT (LOE)

The estimated level of effort for this requirement, in professional labor hours, is:

44,592 hours per year for a five (5) year contract (Maximum potential LOE of 222,960 total hours)

CAPABILITY STATEMENT:

To help determine if this potential requirement may be set-aside for small business concerns, the government is seeking input from the small business community regarding their interest and capability in performing the tasks reflected in the above requirement synopsis. The Government requests demonstration of capability by interested parties through submittal of capability statements. The government will evaluate the qualifications of interested parties based on their responses regarding capability of performing the above requirement synopsis.

All capability statements must:

1. Not exceed and will be restricted up to ten (10) single-sided pages in length.

2. Shall be electronically submitted to the email address below by the stated deadline.

3. Include small business classification(s): (Small Business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDB, SDVOSB, WOSB, VOSB, etc.)

4. Address technical competencies and management/personnel experience relative to: (a) the key task areas in the above requirement synopsis; and (b) the overall business demands of the proposed acquisition for the best mix of cost, performance, and schedules.

5. List references as well as demonstrate experience in conducting projects of similar size, scope, and complexity in the past 5 years.

6. State the (a) average number of employees of the concern; (b) average annual receipts based on the last 3 fiscal years; (c) other current business commitments (i.e., contracts, etc.); and (d) a description of the concern’s accounting system for estimating and accumulating costs under fixed rate contracts—and whether or not those system(s) have been audited and/or reviewed/approved by any Government agency.

7. Demonstrate the management capability, corporate structure, and financial capability to meet the needs of the anticipated level of effort and scope of this requirement. Note that any resulting solicitation under set-aside procedures will include FAR 52.219-14 Limitation on Subcontracting.

The Government intends to consider all comments and the responsive capability statements when developing its final acquisition strategy and resulting RFP(s). The synopsis, amendments and other information related to this sources sought as well as any subsequent procurement notifications will be posted on FedBizOpps and EPA's website, at:

http://www.epa.gov/oam/srpod/index.htm., under the “OSRTI Technology Assessment, Support, Outreach, and Training” link. All interested parties should check these sites frequently for updates. All information related to this procurement will be available at this link through the date of any award.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please submit all Capability Statements by 4:00 P.M. EST on October 8, 2012 via email to:

Christie Deskiewicz, Contract Specialist at Deskiewicz.Christie@epa.gov.

NO FAXES, MAIL OR PHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED