T1368 Bid Amendment 3 9.26.24 Answers to Questions, Revisions to Bid Solicitation and Price Sheet, Extended Quote Due Date.docx

PHILIP D. MURPHY

Governor State of New Jersey

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

DIVISION OF PURCHASE AND PROPERTY

PROCUREMENT BUREAU

33 WEST STATE STREET

P. O. BOX 230

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY 08625-0230

ELIZABETH MAHER MUOIO

State Treasurer

TAHESHA L. WAY

Lt. Governor

AMY F. DAVIS, ESQ.

Acting Director https://www.njstart.gov

September 26, 2024

To: All Interested Bidders

Re: Bid Solicitation #24DPP00948 T1368 Technical Support for Air Quality, NJDEP

Previous Quote Submission Due Date: October 4, 2024 (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time) REVISED Quote Submission Due Date: October 11, 2024 (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Bid Amendment #3

The following constitutes Bid Amendment #3 to the above referenced Bid Solicitation:

· This Bid Amendment includes answers to questions;

· Extends the Quote Submission due date from October 4, 2024 to October 11, 2024 (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time);

· Please note that for all additions, deletions, clarifications and modifications to the State-Supplied Price Sheet, please refer to the Revised State-Supplied Price Sheet entitled “T1368 Revised State-Supplied Price Sheet 9.26.24”, and hereafter referred to as the “Revised State-Supplied Price Sheet” in this document;

· The Revised State-Supplied Price Sheet modifies the Estimated Hours Per Year for Line Item 12. Bidders must submit the Revised State-Supplied Price Sheet as part of its Quote.

· In addition, please note that for all additions, deletions, clarifications and modifications to the Bid Solicitation, please refer to the Revised Bid Solicitation entitled “T1368 Revised Bid Solicitation 9.26.24”, and hereafter referred to as the “Revised Bid Solicitation” in this document. The following sections of the Revised Bid Solicitation have been updated as part of this Bid Amendment:

· Bid Solicitation Cover Sheet;

· Section 3.19, Prior Business Relationship Certification;

· Section 4.1, Site Logistics;

· Section 4.2, Contractor Personnel;

· Section 4.2.2, Requirements For All Contractor Personnel

· Section 4.4.4, Workload and Staffing;

· Section 4.8, Task 6 – Air Quality Regulation and Planning Management Support

· Section 4.8.1, Staffing;

· Section 4.9, Task 7 - Assistance to Bureau of Evaluation and Planning;

· Section 4.9.5, Staffing;

· Section 4.11.1, Detail; and

· Section 9.3, Contract-Specific Definitions.

It is the sole responsibility of the Bidder to be knowledgeable of all of the additions, deletions, clarifications, and modifications to the Bid Solicitation, State-Supplied Price Sheet, and/or the New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions relative to this Bid Solicitation as set forth in all Bid Amendments.

All other instructions, terms, and conditions of the Bid Solicitation shall remain the same.

Bid Solicitation #24DPP00948 T1368 Technical Support for Air Quality, NJDEP

Answers to Questions

Where applicable, each question references the appropriate Bid Solicitation section. Note: Duplicate questions have been removed.

Section Reference Question (Bolded) and Answer

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The Q&A Submission Due Date was August 1, 2024, as specified by Bid Amendment #1.

No, this is not a mistake. There are less permits at the 1/2 Level because, for certain types of sources, NJDEP has General Permits, which do not require case-by-case review as the review was performed at the creation of the General Permit. There are many more General Permits issued each year than case-by-case permits. That is why the remaining permits are case-by-case and are much more difficult.

The numbers in Task 1 and Task 2 tables are average processing time in hours per permit applications.

As stated in Bid Solicitation Section 2.2, Exceptions to the State of NJ Standard Terms and Conditions (SSTC): “Questions regarding the State of New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions and exceptions to mandatory requirements MUST be posed during the Electronic Question and Answer period and shall contain the Bidder’s suggested changes and the reason(s) for the suggested change(s).” Moreover, as stated in Bid Solicitation Section 3.11, Bidder proposed terms or conditions that conflict with those contained in the State of New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions may render a Quote non-responsive.

The Bid Solicitation has been revised as part of this Bid Amendment. Please refer to the Revised Bid Solicitation.

As specified by Bid Solicitation Section 2.3, Bid Amendments, in the event that it becomes necessary to clarify or revise this Bid Solicitation, such clarification or revision will be by Bid Amendment. Any Bid Amendment will become part of this Bid Solicitation and part of any Contract awarded. Bid Amendments will be posted as a file attachment on the “Summary” page of the Bid Solicitation in NJSTART after the cut-off date.

There are no designated dates for release of Bid Amendments. Those Bidders who are on the bid holder list either through commodity code registration in NJSTART or by acknowledging the bid in NJSTART should receive notification of any Bid Amendment(s). If a Bidder is not on the bid holder list, Bid Amendments are still viewable on the “Summary” page of the Bid Solicitation in NJSTART.

It is the sole responsibility of the Bidder to be knowledgeable of all Bid Amendments related to this procurement. An interested Bidder should check the NJSTART “Open Bids” Tab on a daily basis to ensure review of the most updated information.

Yes. Prior to the Quote Opening Deadline, a Bidder should review the documents comprising the submitted Quote to ensure that all of the required documents have been completed and attached. Oftentimes a Quote is deemed non-responsive because a Bidder fails to attach a required form or attaches a blank form. To review a submitted a Quote, a Bidder should log into NJSTART and review each document attached to the Quote submission. Instructions on how to review a submitted Quote can be found in the Quick Reference Guide entitled How to Review a Submitted Quote, which is available on the NJSTART Vendor Support Page under Vendor Reference Guides.

No. Hard copies of quotes will not be accepted. All Quotes must be submitted electronically through NJSTART.

No. Quotes will be publicly opened and announced by telephone conference on the date and time of the quote opening.

(Dial-in phone number: 888-204-5984 / Access code: 2602305)

Yes. When uploading the documents to NJSTART, the Bidder should select the “Confidential” option in NJSTART for attachments on the “Attachments” Tab to request that the documents not be displayed publicly through NJSTART. Marking an attachment as "Confidential" in NJSTART shall not constitute the Bidder's designation of the attachment as exempt from public disclosure under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., or the common law right to know.

If the Bidder intends to utilize Subcontractors as part of its Quote, the Bidder must also submit a completed PBR Certification for each Subcontractor prior to Contract Award. The Bidder should submit the completed PBR Certification(s) with the Quote.

Please refer to Revised Bid Solicitation Section 3.19, Prior Business Relationship Certification, as this section has been revised.

That is correct. Pursuant to Section 4.2, Contractor Personnel, any non-recurring tasks would need a defined work plan and follow up cost estimate which would then have to be approved by the Department. NJDEP anticipates that special projects (i.e., non-recurring tasks) may include administration of federal or state grants received as part of competitive processes. The level of effort to administer such grants depends on the amount of those grants.

Please refer to Revised Bid Solicitation Section 4.2, Contractor Personnel, as this section has been revised.

Yes, equivalent experience can be substituted for an engineering or environmental science degree for Mobile Sources personnel.

Yes, Level 2 personnel has now been included as part of Revised Bid Solicitation Section 4.4.4, Workload and Staffing.

Correct, as part the technical review of a permit application. This may be a part of a Contractor assigned permit review or to assist NJDEP permit engineers in such tasks in the NJDEP permit engineer’s technical review.

Yes, Level 4 and Level 5 labor category has now been included within Revised Bid Solicitation Section 4.8.1, Staffing.

The requirement previously specified under Item B has been removed from Section 4.8 of the Revised Bid Solicitation. Please refer to Section 4.8 of the Revised Bid Solicitation.

The requirement previously specified under Item C has been removed from Section 4.8 of the Revised Bid Solicitation. Please refer to Section 4.8 of the Revised Bid Solicitation.

Item J. What pollutants does NJDEP expect to be proposing rules and/or changes to its SIP?

This Question now references Item H within the Section 4.8 of the Revised Bid Solicitation.

NJDEP does not anticipate any rules at this time. The rules will define the specific pollutants based on pollutants regulated by NJDEP or USEPA.

The workload is provided in detail at Sections 4.9.1 – 4.9.4. As stated in Revised Bid Solicitation, Section 4.9, Task 7 – Assistance to Bureau of Evaluation and Planning, this task assignment will be on an as needed basis. At this time, the program does not have any staffing needs and will identify them in the future depending on the workload demands at that time.

As per response to Question #12 above, a work plan would need to be created with a follow up cost estimate and Department approval process according to Revised Bid Solicitation Section 4.2, Contractor Personnel.

NJDEP continually reviews and evaluates Federal funding opportunities with particular focus on grants that provide funding for innovative local air monitoring approaches such as low cost sensors, geospatial monitoring, and perimeter monitoring. Yes, EPA’s Community Change Grants are an example of the type of Notice of Funding Opportunity the NJDEP would potentially apply for.

Yes, this includes performing emission estimates and benefit calculations which can be used to inform program changes and regulation analysis. Modeled emission calculations can also be used to show increased emissions resulting from vehicle tampering.

Consultative support on specialized equipment can include the transition to heavy-duty OBD testing but can also include testing and analysis of new commercial tampering detection devices. This can also include new technology that may be used as part of the Inspection and Maintenance Program such as remote sensing or advanced technology that might be considered for future use in the program.

Yes. Decoded vehicle registration data is used in numerous ways: fleet analysis, program evaluation, emission benefit calculations, status updates and for planning purposes.

Detail B-6. Does this include annual ZEV credit verification for New Jersey and assisting other S177 states with their verifications?

Yes. Currently this is for light duty vehicles but will include medium and heavy-duty vehicles in the coming years.

Yes, this task is associated with data from EV charging stations and telematic devices installed on electric vehicles of varying weight classes. This includes working with any third-party contractor or other State entity that collects this data. Data analysis can support a wide range of uses, including performing quality assurance for reporting for federal and State grants.

Yes, the data used in dashboards, visualizations and maps can be extracted data from the SAGE system and/or other databases that contain electric vehicle and electric vehicle charging data.

The sequential numbering under Section 4.11.1D has been corrected. The Detail D-5 task pertains to bi-directional charging programs and includes administrative and project management tasks as well as data analysis from pilot programs. The Detail D-7 task does include all the tasks as listed in the posed question.

The Procurement Efficiency Program is mandatory and required under this Bid Solicitation. Please refer to Section 5.11 for additional information.

The Vendor is exempted from the Auto insurance requirements if their performance of the contract will not include the use of company owned vehicles.

However, Vendor employees accompanying State employees in State owned vehicles must supply proof of insurance for Workers Comp in the form of a Certificate of Insurance stating the policy information.

The State of NJ is exempted from the purchase of Auto insurance, and it is our requirement that Workers Comp be provided for Vendor employees, as per the SSTC, while accompanying State employees in State owned vehicles and other duties in support of their performance of the contract.

The estimated hours should be 7,260 as shown in Bid Section 3.23. This has been updated within the Revised State-Supplied Price Sheet.

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