Synopsis Minot Final 27 Jan 09.doc

General Information

Contracting Office Address

Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Room 3830, Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060-6222.

Description

The Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), in conjunction with the United States Air Force, plans to offer the privatization of the electric and water distribution, and wastewater collection systems at Minot Air Force Base (AFB), North Dakota. Privatization is defined as the transfer of ownership and responsibility for the operations, maintenance, repair, future upgrades, and future utility system replacements. As a result of this solicitation, the firm will be selected to assume ownership of the above-mentioned utility system(s). The successful firm will be required to provide expansions to the system(s) to meet future needs of the government. The resulting contract, if awarded, will require the Contractor to furnish all necessary labor, management, supervision, permits, equipment, supplies, materials, transportation, and any other incidental items or services required for the complete ownership of and provision of utility services via the utility system(s), including operation, maintenance, repair, upgrade, and improvement of the systems. The Contractor(s) shall manage the maintenance, repairs, replacement, etc., of the system(s) to ensure continuous, adequate, and dependable service for each Government or tenant connection within the service area. The Contractor(s) shall be responsible for funding all capital investments required to acquire, maintain and operate the utility system(s) in a safe, reliable condition and to meet the requirements listed in the contract. Real property interests will be conveyed in the form of a Right-of-Access. The utility system(s) will be conveyed via a Bill of Sale upon award of the contract. The Contractor(s) proposals and plans may become a part of the contract upon the decision to award. Past performance information from potential Offerors shall be submitted as directed in the Request For Proposal (RFP). No Offeror will be denied the opportunity to submit a proposal in response to the RFP.

Minot AFB is located in Ward County approximately 13 miles north of Minot, North Dakota which is the fourth largest city in North Dakota. Minot AFB is home to the 5th Bomb Wing and to the 91st Missile Wing which has operational and administrative control over base activities. Minot AFB encompasses approximately 7.6 square miles.

The electric distribution system being privatized is described as follows:

Two substations, North Substation and South Substation, provide power to Minot AFB. Two switching stations assist in distribution of power through the base. North Substation has a 15 megavolt amps (MVA) capacity and incoming feeder is 41.6 kilovolt (kV). South Substation has a 30 MVA capacity, with two 41.6 kV parallel feeders supplying this substation. Base demand is about 15 MVA. In 2004, South Substation's capacity was increased. Incoming feeders and high sides of transformers and switchgear are owned and maintained by Central Power Electrical Cooperative, while the low sides of transformers and 12.47 kV switchgear is owned and maintained by Verendrye Electrical Cooperative. Six circuits are fed from South Substation and four circuits are fed from North Substation. Of the four circuits from North Substation, three are housing circuits and one is dedicated to the hospital. The average burial depth of ducts and direct buried cables in the Main Base area is 3’- 4’. This is true of all areas of the base including Flight Line, MSA, WSA, East Housing, and West Housing. The primary metering at the substations is located up stream of the Government identified Points Of Demarcations (PODs). The meters are owned and maintained by the Utility supplier. New construction is direct-buried duct, but older underground was direct buried. Even though a housing replacement project is underway, the designer (Design-Build Contract) chose to leave this cable instead of replacing it in the project. In about 5 years, some problems with this cable could begin, since 25 years is the approximate life of underground systems. Other short runs of overhead have been placed underground, allowing for renovation of some secondary lines.

The water distribution system being privatized is described as follows:

Water is supplied by the City of Minot water treatment plant (WTP). The current sources of water for the City of Minot are the Sundre Aquifer and the Minot Aquifer. The point where government takes ownership of the pipe lines approximately 11 miles south of the installation. The transmission line contains approximately seven miles of ductile iron, and four miles of PVC pipe. The 14 inch pipe enters into the installation just to the south. This is the only entry point for the water system. Potable water enters into the installation treated, and there is no chlorination facility located on the installation. There are a total of three pump stations: one potable and two non-potable. There are six (6) potable water storage tanks located on the installation: four (4) elevated, two (2) underground tanks. The total capacity of the storage tanks is 3.3 million gallons (MG). Minot AFB has approximately 26 acres of easements associated with the main transmission line. These easements will be transferred upon sale of the water system. Specifically excluded from the water distribution system privatization are: Irrigation systems and Non-potable fire systems.

The wastewater collection system being privatized is described as follows:

All domestic and industrial wastewater generated at Minot AFB is collected via a network of an estimated 268,400 linear feet of piping constructed of vitrified clay, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), ductile iron, asbestos cement, concrete, and cast iron. The collection system consists of collection mains, precast manholes, and sewage lift stations. The collection mains range in size from 1.5 to 24 inches in diameter and are buried at a base-wide average depth of 12 feet. Minot AFB operates a series of stabilization lagoons to treat its wastewater. The stabilization system is comprised of two sets of three facultative lagoons each for a total of six lagoons. Wastewater is discharged to the lagoons where it flows by gravity or is pumped through the lagoon cells, and organic matter is allowed to decompose or settle out. The total surface area of the lagoons is approximately 311 acres with a storage capacity of approximately 345 million gallons.

Minot AFB has approximately 140 Acres of easements associated with the discharge of the lagoons. These easements will be transferred upon sale of the wastewater collection system. Specifically excluded from the wastewater system privatization are Oil / Water Separators (OWS), Grease Traps, and Storm sewers.

This requirement is unrestricted. All responsible sources may submit an offer, which shall be considered. Large businesses are required to submit a subcontracting plan with their offer. Interested sources should contact John Hildreth at John.Hildreth@dla.mil or Caitlin Quinn at Caitlin.Quinn@dla.mil to be added to our bidder mailing list. A copy of the solicitation will be available after issuance, on the Internet at Federal Business Opportunity and the below listed URL. The solicitation will be available on or after February 11, 2009. LINKURL: http://www.desc.dla.mil/DCM/DCMPage.asp?pageid=246 Original Point of Contact

John Hildreth, Contract Specialist, Phone 703-767-8671, Fax 703-767-2382, Email John.Hildreth@dla.mil.

Caitlin Quinn, Contract Specialist, Phone 703-767-7657, Fax 703-767-2382, Email Caitlin.Quinn@dla.mil.

Laurie Carlson, Contracting Officer, Phone 703-767-8127, Fax 703-767-2382, Email Laurie.Carlson@dla.mil.

Place of Contract Performance

Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota 58704