DLA_RFI_SER_100118.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION – STRATEGIC EXPLOSIVES RESERVE

Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials

1. Description

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials is seeking information for its planned acquisition of the following materials:

- Cyclotrimethylene-trinitramine (RDX) and RDX-base compounds,

- Cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine (HMX) and HMX-base compounds,

- Trinitrotoluene (TNT), and

- Insensitive Munitions eXplosives (IMX) and constituents thereof.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only and shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or as an obligation on the part of the Government. The Government is not seeking proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that DLA Strategic Materials will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI.

Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFI or RFP, if issued.

2. Contracting Points of Contact

Role Name Contact Information Contracting Officer Noelle Albert noelle.albert@dla.mil Contracting Specialist LaShondra Pelican lashondra.1.pelican@dla.mil

3. Background

The Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98 et seq., hereinafter referred to as “the Stockpiling Act”) authorizes the National Defense Stockpile (NDS). The NDS acquires and retains stocks of strategic and critical materials to decrease and preclude a dangerous and costly dependence by the U.S. on foreign sources or single sources of supply in a National Emergency. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD-A&S) performs the duties of the NDS Manager, and DLA Strategic Materials operates the NDS on behalf of USD-A&S.

DLA Strategic Materials has developed a requirement for RDX and RDX-base compounds, HMX and HMX-base compounds, IMX and constituents of IMX, and TNT. DLA Strategic Materials validated this requirement with key inputs from the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Ammunition, the Critical Energetic Materials Working Group (CEMWG), the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy (DASD-IP), and many other U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) stakeholders.

Pursuant to this validated requirement, DLA Strategic Materials has initiated planning for a Strategic Explosives Reserve (SER) sufficient to support the manufacture of approximately 52,000 munitions, with a total program funding scope of approximately $260 million. The purpose of the

Request for Information – Strategic Explosives Reserve

SER is to support replenishment requirements of the ammunition industrial base in a National Emergency.

Release authority for the SER will be retained by the President, Congress, and the NDS Manager for use during a National Emergency only. The SER is not a substitute for the acquisition of explosives for any requirement less than a National Emergency requirement.

4. Statements of Intent and Requested Information

4.1 Program Schedule, Scope, and Contracting

DLA Strategic Materials Statement of Intent

DLA Strategic Materials has established a master program schedule for the SER. Key milestones for public distribution are listed in the following table, but future RFI and / or draft RFP release dates are subject to change.

Milestone Date RFI #1 Issued 1 October 2018 RFI #1 Close 3 December 2018 RFI #2 and Draft RFP(s) Issued March 2019 RFI #2 and Draft RFP(s) Close May 2019 Final RFP(s) Posted December 2019

DLA Strategic Materials may issue multiple RFPs: (1) storage of SER materials; (2) acquisition and delivery of TNT; and (3) acquisition and delivery of RDX / RDX-base compounds, acquisition and delivery of HMX / HMX-base compounds, and acquisition and delivery of IMX / IMX constituents. DLA Strategic Materials reserves the right to issue more RFPs, fewer RFPs, multiple awards under a given RFP, or no RFPs if it is in the best interest of the Government.

Pending the adoption of SER acquisition authority via the National Defense Authorization Act and the availability of funds, DLA Strategic Materials intends to acquire the aforementioned materials from Fiscal Year 2020 to Fiscal Year 2029.

Contracts Administration Questions

Is your company registered in the System for Award Management (SAM)?

Do you have an active Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) account for submitting electronic invoices?

What unit of measure (e.g., tonnes, short tons, kilograms, or pounds) do you customarily use to meet U.S. DoD, non-U.S. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Major

Non-NATO Ally (MNNA)1 military customers and commercial customers for the materials required by DLA Strategic Materials?

Based on your current and / or anticipated order book or other relevant production data covering the period of performance anticipated for the acquisition of SER materials— o What is your preferred minimum / maximum annual delivery quantity for the SER program, without disrupting deliveries to other U.S. DoD, non-U.S. NATO, and MNNA military customers?

o What is your preferred delivery schedule for the SER program, without disrupting deliveries to other U.S. DoD, non-U.S. NATO, and MNNA military customers?

o What is your company’s standard practice (e.g., lot size and schedule) for deliveries to other U.S. DoD, non-U.S. NATO, and MNNA military customers?

In the event that DLA Strategic Materials issued a long-term, large-quantity contract for materials offered by your company, would your company offer a volume discount, and if so, to what extent?

Is your company aware of recent market volatility that may impact the price for materials that could meet DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements? If yes, please describe the drivers of that volatility and your risk mitigation procedures.

Based on your experience providing material to U.S. DoD, non-U.S. NATO, and MNNA military customers, what is your preferred contract type for materials that meet DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements?

Cost or Pricing Questions

What is your customary cost or pricing methodology for the materials you could offer to meet DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements?

Is your company willing to submit fixed prices for a long-term contract with DLA Strategic Materials, and if not, what escalation factors should DLA Strategic Materials consider to align its acquisition to typical industry practice? What is your typical contract duration for U.S. DoD, non-U.S. NATO, and MNNA military customers?

Requested Submittals

1 “Major Non-NATO Ally”, as determined the President of the United States, includes the following countries: Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Jordan, Argentina, Bahrain, the Philippines, Thailand, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tunisia.

For the materials you intend to provide to meet DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements, please submit sales data identifying the percentage of sales to the U.S. DoD, non-U.S.

NATO customers, and MNNA military customers and commercial customers.

For the materials you could provide to meet DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements, please submit a copy of a contract, commercial or otherwise, that includes your normal terms and conditions. Respondents may redact any information they deem appropriate to protect the confidentiality of their customers.

4.2 Material Requirements

DLA Strategic Materials Statement of Intent

In the event that DLA Strategic Materials issues an RFP, DLA Strategic Materials will require offerors to demonstrate that the material provided is qualified for use in U.S. DoD munitions.

The SER will be composed of materials for munitions that meet U.S. DoD requirements for Insensitive Munitions (IM), unless such materials are not available in sufficient quantity. If materials for IM-compliant munitions are unavailable, DLA Strategic Materials intends to acquire materials for non-IM-compliant munitions. Under any circumstance in which materials for IM-compliant munitions are available, DLA Strategic Materials will acquire such materials and sell or transfer materials for non-IM-compliant munitions (see Section 4.7).

General Questions

Please describe your capabilities to produce or supply materials listed in Section 1.

For each of the materials listed in Section 1., as relevant, please provide the following data:

o Location of your production facility or facilities, o Production Capacity (e.g., tonnes, short tons, kilograms, pounds), o A positive or negative statement related to the qualification of materials, produced or supplied by you, for use in U.S. DoD munitions, and o The contact information for an independent party (e.g., a U.S. DoD contracting officer) who is sufficiently knowledgeable of the respondent’s material to validate that it meets U.S. DoD requirements for munitions.

4.3 Packaging

The NDS Program acquires and holds material in inventory much longer than typical commercial or U.S. DoD practice, often much greater than 20 years. Consequently, DLA Strategic Materials may establish packaging requirements that are consistent with existing U.S. DoD regulations but also prioritize preservation of material performance during abnormally long-term storage.

In DLA Strategic Materials’ judgement, the availability of civilian or military mobility assets (e.g., trucks, ships, trains, and aircraft) to transport NDS materials during a National Emergency may fluctuate regularly. Consequently DLA Strategic Materials believes that SER materials must be packaged in such a manner that they can be rapidly shipped by any means available. DLA Strategic Materials acknowledges that such packaging requirements may increase cost and may deviate from typical commercial practice, but DLA Strategic Materials believes that the value of multi-modal movement outweighs the current cost associated with non-commercial packaging.

For materials that meet DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements— o What are the U.S. Military Standards or Specifications to which you package similar materials for U.S. DoD orders?

o Independent of U.S. Military Standards and specifications, what are your typical packaging practices for similar materials that that meet non-U.S. NATO and MNNA military orders and commercial orders?

o How do you recommend packaging materials for rail, road, air, ocean, and inland waterway transit?

o What are the cost and performance trade-offs of variable levels of packaging, particularly with respect to maintaining the long-term performance of the material and the ability to move the material from one Continental United States (CONUS) location to another CONUS location?

o What are your packaging recommendations to maximize the probability of the material maintaining its performance during long-term storage (i.e., >20 years)?

o What factors (e.g., temperature and humidity) may need to be controlled during packaging operations to prevent the material from deteriorating during long-term storage? into an unstable state?

o If you anticipate substantial (>10% from typical practice, rough order of magnitude estimate) cost increases to meet DLA Strategic Materials’ packaging requirements, what packaging and inventory management practices (e.g., rotation) do you recommend to mitigate this cost to the Government?

4.4 Storage Requirements and Logistics

DLA Strategic Materials intends to locate the SER at facilities with sufficient capacity and capability to store, handle, and rapidly move large quantities of energetic materials. DLA Strategic Materials strongly prefers facilities with existing environmental and operational permits, sufficient material handling equipment and qualified personnel, and the social license to operate.

Presently, DLA Strategic Materials intends to store the majority of SER materials at a centralized, Government-owned storage facility, with comparatively smaller portions pre-positioned at key Government-owned (a) ammunition load-assemble-pack facilities and (b) explosives processing facilities. Notwithstanding DLA Strategic Materials’ initial assessment, DLA Strategic Materials invites comments from industry, other Government agencies, and all other interested parties to determine the appropriate locations of the SER.

Facility Capacity and Capability

Describe your current capability to store, stage, and ship materials required by DLA Strategic Materials, as well as your anticipated capability within 30 days of the declaration of a National Emergency to stage and ship material required by DLA Strategic Materials. Respondents are strongly encouraged to provide information related to the availability of the following items: materials handling equipment, personnel certified to handle energetic materials, shipping containers certified to handle energetic materials, and civilian mobility assets (e.g., trucks, ships, trains, and aircraft).

What quantity (e.g., tonnes, short tons, kilograms, pounds) of energetic materials, which meets DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements, have you received and / or shipped annually, for the past five years?

What factors (e.g., temperature and humidity) may need to be controlled during storage operations to prevent performance degradation or deterioration into an unstable state?

What quantity of energetic materials, which meets DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements, do you typically stockpile or store, and where do you store such materials?

What is your capacity — measured in area (e.g. square feet or square meters), weight (e.g., tonnes, short tons, kilograms, pounds), and number of buildings (e.g., number of igloos)

— to store materials that meet DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements?

In the event that a facility will require renovation or construction to adequately store and handle energetic materials required by DLA Strategic Materials, at what cost and when would such a facility or facilities be ready to support SER requirements?

Facility Safety and Licensing

If you stockpile or store energetic materials that meet DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements— o Does your facility have a Site Management Plan? If so, DLA Strategic Materials invites respondents to submit that Site Management Plan.

o Does your facility possess a Risk Management Assessment? If so, DLA Strategic Materials invites respondents to submit that Risk Management Plan.

o In the event that you have not completed a Site Management Plan and / or a Risk

Management Assessment for your facility / facilities, do you anticipate that such undertakings are necessary to store energetic materials for the SER, and if not, why not?

What are the requirements for storage buildings (e.g., igloos) for the energetic materials required by DLA Strategic Materials? What is a reasonable expectation of the service life of those buildings?

Logistics and Logistics Health & Safety Questions

For materials that meet DLA Strategic Materials’ requirements— o What quantity of material (i.e. tonnes, short tons, kilograms, pounds) have you transported within CONUS annually over the past five years? What quantity do you estimate was transported annually over the past five years?

o To which North American ports of entry can you import materials? Respondents should note that, pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 98h-5, DLA Strategic Materials is obligated to evaluate the availability of strategic and critical material supply from foreign sources and shortfalls to domestic production as a result of shipping losses.

o How does your company or its authorized agents and suppliers manage the entry of materials to CONUS locations? What Best Management Practices (BMPs) do you and / or your authorized agents and suppliers implement?

o For imports of materials, does your company or its authorized agents and suppliers conduct a Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA)? If yes, respondents are encouraged to submit a copy of such a HIRA.

o For the CONUS movement of material, what Occupational Health and Safety regulations are followed? If known, please identify specific statutes, as well as implementing State and Federal regulations, by mode of movement.

o What operational controls and BMPs do your company or its authorized agents and suppliers follow to ensure the socially responsible, safe, and secure movement of the material?

Industrial Preparedness / Mobilization Drills Submittal

DLA Strategic Materials conducts mobilization drills at its organic depots and may require similar drills for SER storage service providers. If you have participated in or are required to participate in mobilization assessments for materials required by DLA Strategic Materials, please submit a U.S. DoD point of contact with which DLA Strategic Materials may correspond to eliminate redundancies in DLA’s readiness assessments and those already imposed on you.

4.5 Testing & Quality Assurance

DLA Strategic Materials requires vendors to provide independent third-party testing and certification for all of its acquisition contracts. DLA Strategic Materials also reserves the right to conduct audits, unannounced inspections, and site visits to monitor contract performance.

DLA Strategic Materials is aware that test methods for explosives, as implemented in U.S.

DoD specifications, may not reflect commercial best practice. DLA Strategic Materials requests that respondents describe their testing regimes conducted (1) in accordance with U.S. DoD specifications and (2) in addition to those required by U.S. DoD specifications.

For many acquisitions executed by DLA Strategic Materials, materials exhibit a finite shelf-life. DLA Strategic Materials strongly encourages respondents to submit testing data demonstrating the longevity of materials required by DLA Strategic Materials under variable environmental conditions (e.g. high humidity or very low / very high temperature) and packaging types (e.g., sift-proof bags, solid plastic boxes).

In the event that a respondent regularly uses an independent third-party laboratory, please identify that entity and the nature of the testing conducted by that third-party.

For the purposes of independent third-party testing and in-house quality assurance, please describe your sampling procedures to support U.S. DoD customers.

4.6 Environmental

Pursuant to DLA Regulation 1000.22, DLA Strategic Materials is required to conduct environmental analysis of actions that affect human health and the environment. DLA planning staff also must consider environmental values and amenities with economic and technical considerations at the earliest possible time during the planning process.

DLA Strategic Materials desires a clear and transparent process for assessing baseline environmental data or contamination at storage facilities. How do you recommend establishing such a process for your facility?

What types of environmental documentation on contamination do you have for your storage facility, such as Preliminary Assessments (PAs), Remedial Investigations (RIs), or other studies?

What environmental procedures and processes have you implemented for your facility or facilities that store and handle the materials required by DLA Strategic Materials?

What Occupational Health and Safety regulations do you follow when storing materials required by DLA Strategic Materials? Can you demonstrate adherence to these regulations to the Government (e.g., assessments by an independent auditor)?

What safety procedures do you follow for receiving, moving, and handling the materials required by DLA Strategic Materials? What training is required, and who administers / certifies this training?

What operational controls and BMPs do you follow to ensure safe storage of the material?

4.7 Exit Strategy

DLA Strategic Materials Statement of Intent

As noted in Section 4.2, DLA Strategic Materials intends to sell or transfer materials used in non- IM-compliant munitions when materials for IM-compliant munitions are available. However, DLA Strategic Materials does not intend to offer such materials for commercial sale; instead, these materials may be transferred or sold to other U.S. Government entities for research and development, open burn / open detonation, law enforcement training, and Foreign Military Sales.

Materials for non-IM-compliant munitions sold or transferred from the SER will not be available for U.S. DoD requirements outside of a National Emergency, unless the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) has issued an appropriate IM waiver.

DLA Strategic Materials invites comments from SER material providers, storage service providers, downstream end-users of SER materials, and other interested parties on DLA Strategic Materials’ Exit Strategy related to materials for non-IM-compliant munitions.

4.8 Avoiding Market Disruption

DLA Strategic Materials Statement of Intent

DLA Strategic Materials intends to acquire SER materials in increments not to exceed 5 million pounds per year. However, lesser annual quantities are likely, since the Stockpiling Act prohibits DLA Strategic Materials from causing market disruption. To meet this obligation, DLA Strategic

Materials has coordinated and will continue to coordinate the SER with PEO Ammunition, DASD- IP, and many other U.S. DoD stakeholders. This coordination supplements existing statutory requirements for inter-agency and congressional oversight.

DLA Strategic Materials understands that industry provides munitions containing SER materials under rated order contracts (i.e., Title I of the Defense Production Act, 50 U.S.C. App. §§ 2071- 2078). DLA Strategic Materials does not intend to seek a priority rating to avoid disrupting munitions contracts.

DLA Strategic Materials invites comments from industry, other Government agencies, and all other interested parties on additional measures for DLA to mitigate supply disruption proactively.

Questions

What additional actions should DLA Strategic Materials pursue to ensure that its purchases do not interrupt U.S. DoD programs?

What additional actions should DLA Strategic Materials pursue to ensure that its purchases do not interrupt non-U.S. NATO programs or MNNA programs?

5. Responses

DLA Strategic Materials invites responses from industry, other Government agencies, and all other interested parties on its approach to the SER Program, in general, and responses to the questions listed in the previous sections, in particular. Interested parties may respond to all or only some of the questions or Statements of Intent. Not responding to this RFI, in whole or in part, does not preclude participation in a future RFI or RFP, if issued.

Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper. There is no page limitation for responses. White Papers shall contain a cover sheet. The cover sheet shall include the following, at a minimum:

Interested Party Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from the mailing address), phone number, and fax number;

Business type (e.g., large business, small business) based upon North American Industry

Classification System (NAICS) 325920 – Explosives Manufacturing. (750 employees);

A designated point of contact of the Interested Party, including that contact’s name, title, direct phone number, and e-mail address; and

A statement providing the conditions, if any, under which the Government may release

Proprietary Information (PROPIN) to Government support contractors assisting with technical evaluation.

o Alion Science & Technology Corporation (“Alion”) is DLA Strategic Materials’ support contractor for the SER. If interested parties would like to include a non-disclosure agreement with Alion, the following is the appropriate contact information for the company:

Alion Science & Technology Corp.

4300 King Street, Suite 101 Alexandria, VA 22302 Ph: 703-418-0100

If an interested party’s response contains PROPIN, contact the Contracting Officer for additional instructions.

White Papers with a Cover Sheet shall be submitted electronically, in Microsoft Word (Office 2010 compatible) format or in PDF, not later than 3 December 2018, 12:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time), but responses may be submitted at any time prior to this deadline. Submissions shall be e-mailed to SMContracting@dla.mil, and respondents are strongly encouraged to send an e-mail notifying the Contracting Officer that a response has been submitted.

In the event that interested parties require additional time to respond to this RFI, please contact the Contracting Officer as soon as practical.

6. Program Planning and Industry Engagement

DLA Strategic Materials will attend the 2018 Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition from 8 October 2018 to 10 October 2018. If you would like to meet with DLA Strategic Materials at that time, interested parties are advised to contact the Contracting Officer. DLA Strategic Materials will make every effort to accept all requested meetings but cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so. DLA Strategic Materials will continue to meet with all interested parties throughout its planning process.

DLA Strategic Materials also is hosting an Industry Day on 8 November 2018 at the Virginia Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP). If you would like to attend the Industry Day, please contact the Contracting Officer for additional information.

DLA Strategic Materials may issue periodic updates on the SER via the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website (www.fbo.gov) and the DLA Strategic Materials website (http://www.dla.mil/HQ/Acquisition/StrategicMaterials.aspx), among other sources.

7. Questions

Questions regarding this RFI may be submitted to the Contracting Officer at any time. Answers will be issued only via the FedBizOpps website (www.fbo.gov), without attribution.