SON_NWWT9785-20-00117.docx

STATEMENT OF NEED

Hydrogen for NWS Spokane, WA

1. BACKGROUND

The National Weather Service (NWS) is a 24 hour, 365 day operation, and is a public safety agency. The primary mission of the NWS is the protection of life and property. The NWS in Spokane, WA launches weather balloons routinely twice a day at 4am and 4pm PDT. Each balloon requires approximately 80 cubic feet (CF) of hydrogen. Instrumentation is attached to each balloon which provides measurements of temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and height. This data is transmitted worldwide and used to make weather forecasts out to 10 days.

2. OBJECTIVE

The objective of the National Weather Service is to receive and keep on-hand an adequate supply of gaseous hydrogen (between 1,120 CF and 3,680 CF) to perform the weather balloon launches on schedule. The supply will be re-stocked every other week.

3. SCOPE

The Contractor is responsible for supplying hydrogen to the National Weather Service office located at 2601 N Rambo Rd, Spokane, WA 99224.

The total amount of hydrogen to be delivered for each period of this requirement (base period plus four option periods) is between 58,400 CF and 66,080 CF, achieved with deliveries every other week of between 2,240 CF and 2,880 CF. There may be up to six additional unscheduled deliveries during each period.

The option to increase quantity, not as a separately priced line item, is by no more than 50% of the initial requirement of the line item it is exercised against, to be determined on an as-needed basis.

4. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The base period of performance for this requirement is 12 months, beginning May 1, 2020 and ends April 30, 2021.

There are four separately priced option line items to increase the quantity and extend the period of performance:

· Option 1: May 1, 2021 through April 30, 2022 for up to 66,080 CF of hydrogen

· Option 2: May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023 for up to 66,080 CF of hydrogen

· Option 3: May 1, 2023 through April 30, 2024 for up to 66,080 CF of hydrogen

· Option 4: May 1, 2024 through April 30, 2025 for up to 66,080 CF of hydrogen

5. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

All deliveries are to be made to 2601 N Rambo Road, Spokane, WA 99224. The point of delivery is at the Upper Air building located in the Northeast corner of the parking lot behind the main office.

6. REQUIREMENTS

Site Storage and Usage: This site will store up to 3,680 CF of hydrogen at a time.

All hydrogen must be provided in individual cylinders as the facility is not arranged to allow for other configurations, such as six-packs. The Government has space at the delivery point to receive and store up to 19 cylinders of hydrogen at a time.

This site uses a minimum of 160 CF of hydrogen per day. Usage and the correlated number of cylinders per delivery depends on how many cubic feet of hydrogen is provided in each cylinder, and also has the potential to vary if we have to launch extra balloons. Over an average two week period, with no extra launches, we will use approximately 2,240 CF of hydrogen. However, due to this being a mission critical supply to support public safety, we need to keep an additional store of 1,440 CF of hydrogen on site in case of additional unforeseen launches or delayed deliveries. The intent is that we will be replenished to 3,680 CF after each completed delivery.

Initial Delivery: The contractor shall supply 3,680 CF of hydrogen on or shortly after May 1, 2020, with the actual delivery date coordinated with one of the Points of Contact listed in Section 8, below. We understand the exact amount supplied will vary based on the size of the cylinders. The hydrogen will be contained in no more than 19 individual cylinders.

Delivery Schedule: After the initial delivery, the Contractor will replenish back to 3,680 CF of hydrogen every other week. The delivery schedule shall be arranged upon contract award with one of the NWS points of contact listed in section 8, below. All deliveries must be made during normal business hours, between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm local time. NWS personnel are not available to accept deliveries outside of these hours. In accordance with the arranged schedule, the Contractor shall replace all empty hydrogen cylinders with full hydrogen cylinders. The Contractor shall pick up the empty cylinders in the same trip. At no time shall more than 19 total cylinders be left on site, whether full or empty.

If additional deliveries are required prior to the next regularly scheduled delivery, the NWS will contact the Contractor and request the additional delivery, with delivery to be completed within three business days of being contacted.

Balloon launches occur twice a day, every day of the year, regardless of holidays. Therefore, the delivery schedule needs to be maintained regardless of holidays. If a holiday falls on a scheduled delivery day and the Contractor is not able to complete a regularly scheduled delivery, the Contractor shall make arrangements in advance for an alternate delivery date. The Contractor will contact the NWS office if a delivery is going to be delayed for any other reason.

In the event the Contractor is unable to provide a scheduled delivery, the Contractor is responsible for communicating the shortage to the NWS as soon as possible, but no less than two days prior to the next scheduled delivery. If the Contractor is unable to find a reasonable supply in time to fill the requirement, the NWS reserves the right to purchase hydrogen from another supplier outside of this contract.

Performing Deliveries: All deliveries must be made during normal business hours, between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm local time. The Contractor shall contact NWS personnel at this location when arriving for a delivery. The Driver will need to obtain the key from either the ASA or MIC at the time of delivery. The key must be returned to the NWS personnel prior to the Driver leaving the premises.

The Contractor shall ensure the bottles are securely strapped to the stand at delivery and placed in an orderly/neat and clean fashion. The Contractor shall perform the deliveries in such a manner that there will be minimal interruption to or interference with the normal operation of Government business on the premises. Prior to departure, the driver will get a signature for delivery and leave a copy of the receipt.

Evidence of Delivery: The Driver shall provide evidence of delivery by way of receipt signed by an NWS representative at the time of delivery. A copy of the signed receipt shall be left with the NWS representative, and a copy shall also be attached to the associated invoice.

Compliance: If any of the deliveries do not conform to contract requirements (i.e. a delivery results in less or more than replenishment of hydrogen to 3,680 CF, or delivery results in unsafe conditions on-site, etc), the Government reserves the right to require the Contractor to bring the delivery into conformity with contract requirements, at no increase in contract amount (i.e. without additional delivery charges).

Transition Period: If this contract is awarded to other than the incumbent Contractor, then prior to the first day of the contract, the new Contractor and one of the agency points of contact listed in section 8 shall establish the delivery schedule, including coordinating the initial delivery to coincide with the pickup of cylinders by the former contractor. Likewise, upon completion of this contract, if the new follow-on contract is awarded to other than the current Contractor, the current Contractor shall participate in the transition coordination efforts in order to minimize the risk of a missed balloon launch due to the hydrogen being unavailable at the launch site. This transition may include a lighter delivery in the final weeks of the contract.

7. SAFETY AND SECURITY

All rules concerning safety, not smoking and the security of the property must be observed at all times.

Safety Data Sheets (SDS) must be provided by the Contractor to the Meteorologist In Charge (MIC) or the Administrative Support Assistant (ASA) at the office, where the information will be kept on file in accordance with applicable guidelines of the OSHA Hazard Communications Standard. Requirements pertaining to recordkeeping will be strictly followed, with copy(s) provided to MIC as necessary and upon request.

8. POINTS OF CONTACT

The Government contacts at the National Weather Service office in Spokane WA are:

Observation Program Leader – 509-244-0110 x225 Administrative Support Assistant – 509-244-0110 x221 Meteorologist in Charge – 509-244-0110 x222

9. INVOICING

The Contractor will invoice in arrears for deliveries and related surcharges. Cylinder rent shall be invoiced in arrears on a monthly basis. Invoices shall be provided within 30 days of the end of the billing period. The invoice must include the following items:

a. Name and address of the contractor, which must be the same as that on the Purchase Order

b. Invoice date and invoice number

c. Purchase Order number and associated line item number from the Purchase Order

d. Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price and extended price of supplies delivered, and date of delivery

e. Evidence of delivery by way of receipt signed by NWS representative at the time of delivery

f. Name (where practicable), title, phone number, and mailing address of person to notify in the event of a defective invoice (a defective invoice is one that does not meet all the above requirements)

The invoices will be sent to the following address:

National Weather Service 2601 N Rambo Rd Spokane WA 99224

If the Contractor wishes to send invoices by email, they must first receive approval by the Meteorologist in Charge (MIC) listed in section 8, above. If approved, the invoices must be sent to at least two NWS representatives specified by the MIC.