B01_Performance Work Statement_Prescribed Burning.pdf

Performance Work Statement Prescribed Burning Pine Bluff Arsenal

April 15, 2024

1.0 Background

Pine Bluff Arsenal (PBA) is 35 miles southeast of Little Rock and 8 miles northwest of Pine Bluff. PBA is bordered on the east by the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System and on the west by the Union Pacific Railroad and US Highway 65, making it directly accessible by rail, road, or waterway.

The installation is 8 1/2 miles long by 2 3/4 miles wide and covers 13,497 acres. It includes 952 buildings which provide 3.3 million square feet of floor space. It also has 42 miles of railroad track and 2 million square yards of roads and paved surfaces. Overall population consists of approximately 800 government civilian employees, contractor personnel, and military personnel.

PBA manufactures, smoke, riot control, incendiary, and pyrotechnic mixes and munitions.

Limited production facilities are used to manufacture chemical defense items such as clothing and protective masks. Pine Bluff is the only active site at which white phosphorous-filled weapons are loaded.

2.0 Purpose

The purpose of this Performance Work Statement (PWS) is to provide prescribed burns for a 1-year base period with up to four (4) 1-year options. Annual funding will not exceed $20,000.00.

The application of prescribed burning in an ecologically sound manner restores and/or enhances sub-climax communities that have evolved and are dependent upon periodic burning. Under natural conditions, lightening was the source of fire introduction into Arkansas's fire dependent ecosystems. In an effort to maintain this ecologically important function, the timely application of prescribed burns to predetermined areas is critical. It is anticipated that Prescribed Burning will be required on tracts as small as 20 - 50 acres, to areas as large as several hundred acres per application. The anticipated base period burn map for 2018 is attached. A revised anticipated burn map will be provided each year the contract is extended but will be within the perimeters identified above.

3.0 Definition

Prescribed burning means the controlled application of fire in accordance with a written prescription for vegetative fuels under specified environmental conditions while following appropriate precautionary measures that ensure that the fire is contained to a predetermined area to accomplish the planned fire or land-management objectives. Prescription means a written plan establishing the criteria necessary for starting, controlling, and extinguishing a prescribed burn.

Smoke sensitive areas are areas within which, for reasons of visibility, health or human welfare, smoke could have an adverse impact.

4.0 Objective

The objective of this conservation practice is to:

1) Control undesirable vegetation

2) Reduce wildfire hazards

3) Improve wildlife habitat

4) Improve plant production quantity and/or quality

5) Remove slash and debris

6) Restore and maintain ecological communities

5.0 Description of Work

The Contractor shall provide all necessary labor, equipment, fuel, tools, transportation and travel required to prescribe burn designated areas, including establishing fire and/or fuel breaks, fire application and control equipment, as determined each year. All acreage to be controlled burned will be conveyed at the beginning of each period of performance utilizing (all but not limited to) Geographical Position System (GPS) coordinates and map delineations (Proposed Project Area Boundary Maps and GIS Shapefiles of the Project Area). Typical size of prescribe burn units will range between 500 to 700 acres; however it could be more or less. A Certified Prescribed Burn Manager who has successfully taken courses S190 and I100 shall be constantly present during all prescribed burns conducted at PBA.

Contractor shall perform the prescribed burns when ground debris is most conducive to burning.

Desired months for burning are between 1 Jan – 15 March. If weather conditions do not permit optimal burns during these dates each year, burns will be allowed until 15 April. Should conditions never present for a minimum of 70% ground debris burn, the work and funding will be cancelled for that year. The Contractor shall provide a Prescribed Burn Plan to the PBA Natural Resource Specialist (NRS) at least seven (7) calendar days before anticipated burn start date. Prescribed burning shall not be conducted prior to obtaining required prescribed burning authorizations through the PBA NRS, PBA Fire Department, PBA Security and the Arkansas Forestry Commission, in that order. The Burn Plan shall include, but not be limited to, an ignition plan, smoke management plan, fire behavior management plan, safety plan, and burn schedule. Contractor shall ensure prescribed burns remain inside the boundary lines and be responsible for any damage caused to Government property outside the boundary lines.

Contractor shall use off-terrain vehicles during the burns to minimize the impact to landscape.

The planning and application of prescribed burning shall comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules and regulations, i.e. Arkansas Smoke Management Program (SMP) - Smoke Management Guidelines, Clean Air Act.

6.0 Period of Performance

Base Year: Date of Award + 365 days

Option Year One: Day 366 + 365 days Option Year Two: Day 732 + 365 days Option Year Three: 1,098 + 365 days Option Year Four: 1,463 + 365 days

7.0 Government Points of Contact (POC)

Natural Resource Specialist – Wes Sparks, ph. 870-540-3247, wesley.e.sparks.civ@mail.mil Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) – Richard Colburn, ph. 870-540-3289, richard.p.colburn.civ@mail.mil

8.0 Additional Information

Recognized Holidays. Facilities will be closed on Federal Holidays. If a holiday falls on a scheduled service day, the contractor shall reschedule in the same week to either the workday preceding or following the holiday. The scheduled holidays are:

New Year’s Day Labor Day Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Columbus Day President’s Day Veteran’s Day Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day Juneteenth Christmas Day Independence Day

Hours of Operation. The contractor is responsible for conducting business between the hours of 7:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M., Monday thru Thursday. If weather conditions permit optimal burns outside of the normal hours of operation, the Contractor shall request approval to work from the Contracting Officer/COR at least 48 hours prior to projected start of burn.

When an unforeseen facility closure, inclement weather, or other event found to be an acceptable delay by the Contracting Officer precludes completion of services on a regularly scheduled workday, the Contracting Officer shall have the following options: Reschedule the work to be performed the following day, or other day as determined by the Contracting Officer;

or, forego the work and reduce the contract price to reflect the reduced value of the services performed.

Place of Performance. The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at Pine Bluff Arsenal; postal address is U.S. Army, Pine Bluff Arsenal, 10020 Kabrich Circle, Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71602-9500. Service locations are across the installation.

Physical Security. The contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government equipment, information and property provided for contractor use. At the close of each work period, government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be secured.

Passes and Badges. All contractor employees shall obtain the required employee passes. The contractor shall, prior to the start of the contract, submit to the Contracting Officer an estimate mailto:wesley.e.sparks.civ@mail.mil of the number of personnel expected at any one time on the contract. The Government will issue badges without charge. Each employee shall wear the Government issued badge over the front of the outer clothing.

The contractor shall return the employee's pass and badge within five (5) days when an employee leaves the contractor's service. The contractor will be assessed $44.00 for each employee pass and badge not returned to the Government. Passes and badges issued to contractor employees shall not negate the requirement for employee identification required in the "Identification of Contractor Employees" paragraph.

The company name shall be displayed on the contractor's vehicles in a manner and size that is clearly visible. All vehicles shall display a valid state license plate and shall be maintained in good repair. Privately owned vehicles are allowed at this job site.

Anti-Terrorism and Operations Security. All contractor employees, including subcontractor employees, requiring access to Army installations, facilities, or controlled access areas shall complete AT Level I awareness training within 30 calendar days after contract start. The contractor shall submit certificates of completion for each affected contractor employee and subcontractor employee to the COR within ten (10) calendar days after completion of training by all employees and subcontractor personnel. AT Level I awareness training is available at https://atlevel1.dtic.mil/at.

The contractor and all associated subcontractors’ employees shall comply with applicable installation, facility, and area commander installation and facility access and local security policies and procedures (provided by the Government representative). The contractor shall also provide all information required for background checks to meet installation access requirements to be accomplished by the installation Provost Marshal Office or Security Office. The contractor workforce must comply with all personal identity verification requirements as directed by DoD, HQDA, and/or local policy. In addition to the changes otherwise authorized by the changes clause of this contract, should the Force Protection Condition (FPCON) at any individual facility or installation change, the Government may require changes in contractor security matters or processes.

The contractor and all associated subcontractors shall brief all employees on the local iWATCH program (training standards provided by the requiring activity ATO). This locally developed training will be used to inform employees of the types of behavior to watch for and instruct employees to report suspicious activity to the COR. This training shall be completed within 30 calendar days of contract award and within 30 calendar days of new employees’ commencing performance, with the results reported to the COR no later than 40 calendar days after contract award.

All technical data included in this solicitation for bid or performance/scope of work is covered under Army Regulation (AR) 530-1, Operations Security (OPSEC) and the Pine Bluff Arsenal (PBA) OPSEC Plan. Information will not be released to additional subcontractors or the general public without prior approval from the applicable PBA OPSEC Action Officer (OAO), the PBA OPSEC Officer and applicable Public Affairs Officer. Contract awardee will be required to https://atlevel1.dtic.mil/at submit written documentation explaining procedures to be taken by awardee for the protection of this information. This documentation (titled {Name of Contract Individual/Company} OPSEC Plan for Contract Number: ______) will be submitted through the PBA Contracting Officer or his/her designated representative through applicable OAO, to PBA OPSEC Officer for review and approval. Documentation will be submitted no less than ten (10) working days prior to contractor accessing controlled and/or sensitive information protected under AR 530-1 and the PBA OPSEC Plan. Contract work will not commence until written protective procedures have been approved by PBA OAO and PBA OPSEC Officer. Access by contractor to this protected information prior to approval will be in violation of contract.

Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings. The contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer, COR, and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings the Contracting Officer/COR will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

The COR monitors all technical aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration.

The COR is authorized to perform the following functions: Assure that the contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract; Perform inspections necessary in connection with contract performance; Maintain written and oral communications with the contractor concerning technical aspects of the contract; Issue written interpretations of technical requirements, including Government drawings, designs, specifications; Monitor contractor's performance and notifies both the Contracting Officer and contractor of any deficiencies; Coordinate availability of government furnished property, and provide site entry of contractor personnel. A letter of designation issued to the COR, a copy of which is sent to the contractor, states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially with regard to changes in cost or price, estimates or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order.

Key Personnel. The Government considers the prescribed burn manager to be key personnel.

The contractor shall provide a prescribed burn manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who shall act for the contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the Contracting Officer.

The prescribed burn manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The prescribed burn manager and alternate(s) must be able to read, write, and speak English.

Identification of Contractor Employees. All contract personnel attending meetings, answering Government telephones, and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are Government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed. All contractor and subcontractor employees working under this contract shall be identified by a distinctive nameplate, emblem, or patch attached in a prominent place on an outer garment. Employee identification shall not be substituted for Arsenal badges.

Fire Protection. The contractor and his/her employees shall know where fire alarms are located and how to turn them on. Contractor employees operating critical equipment shall be trained to properly respond during a fire alarm or fire per local activity instructions.

No fire or flame producing device will be used on the Arsenal without prior approval of the Contracting Officer/COR and the Fire Chief.

Smoking will be permitted only in authorized/designated smoking areas with the approval of the Contracting Officer/COR. Smoking is not permitted inside or within 50 feet of any Arsenal building.

Environmental Protection. The contractor shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, and with the regulations and standards referenced in AR 200-1 (http://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/pdf/R200_1.pdf) and AR 200-2 (http://www.benning.army.mil/garrison/DPW/EMD/content/PDF/ar2002.pdf). All environmental protection matters shall be coordinated with the Contracting Officer/COR. In the event that a regulatory agency assesses a monetary fine against the Government for violations caused by contractor negligence, the contractor shall reimburse the Government for the amount of that fine and all other costs. The contractor shall also clean up any oil spills that result from the contractor's operations. The contractor shall comply with the instructions of the Environmental Protection Coordinator with respect to avoidance of conditions which create a nuisance or which may be hazardous to the health of military or civilian personnel.

Safety Requirements. The contractor shall comply with local, state, and Federal Occupational Safety and Health requirements and provide report of accidents and citations to the Contracting Officer/COR within 72 hours of occurrence.

Prior to commencing work, the contractor shall meet with the Contracting Officer/COR to discuss and develop mutual understandings relative to administration of the Safety Program.

All contractor personnel shall receive the Pine Bluff Arsenal General Safety Briefing prior to reporting to work. If proof of briefing attendance cannot be provided for any employee, that employee shall not be available to work until proof of attendance is provided. Time and location of briefing will be provided to the contractor at the Post Award meeting.

The contractor shall ensure compliance with PBA Policy Letter 385-3, “Wearing of Safety Clothing and Equipment in Manufacturing Areas of Pine Bluff Arsenal”. All contractor personnel will comply with ANSI Z133.1; wear reflective bright orange or lime green vests while conducting operations on roadways.

The contractor shall ensure compliance with the Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR

1910.1200 and provide the COR with verification that each contract employee has been http://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/pdf/R200_1.pdf http://www.benning.army.mil/garrison/DPW/EMD/content/PDF/ar2002.pdf provided this training prior to beginning work on the installation. The COR will provide site specific hazard communication information as requested by the contractor.

The contractor's workspace may be inspected periodically for OSHA and Army violations.

Abatement of violations will be the responsibility of the contractor and/or the Government as determined by the Contracting Officer. The contractor shall provide assistance to the Safety Office escort and the federal or state OSHA inspector if a complaint is filed. Any fines levied on the contractor by federal or state OSHA offices due to safety/health violations shall be paid promptly.

Equipment shall be maintained in a safe operating at all times. Equipment shall be stored in the areas so designated. The contractor shall secure vehicles and mobile equipment by removing the keys from key operated ignition or by other physical means when not in use. Electrical equipment must operate using existing building circuits. The contractor shall prevent the operation of electrical equipment which requires power exceeding capacity of existing building circuits.

Work sites shall be kept free of debris and material which could cause injury to workmen or others in the area. When deemed advisable by the Contracting Officer/COR, signs shall be posted to warn of specific hazards.

Hoists, cranes, derricks, or similar equipment shall not be operated where it is possible to bring any part of the machine, suspended load or lines closer than ten (10) feet to power lines unless the lines have been de-energized and grounded.

Such other safety measures as the Contracting Officer/COR may determine to be reasonable and necessary for the protection of personnel and property will be enforced.

Contractor Management Reporting (CMR). The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) operates and maintains a secure Army data collection site where the contractor shall report ALL contractor manpower (including subcontractor manpower) required for performance of this contract. The contractor shall completely fill in all the information in the format using the following web address https://cmra.army.mil/default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2F. The required information includes. (1) Contracting Office, Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) or also known as the COR; (2) Contract number, including task and delivery order number; (3) Beginning and ending dates covered by reporting period; (4) Contractor's name, address, phone number, e-mail address, identity of contractor employee entering data; (5) Estimated direct labor hours (including sub-contractors); (6) Estimated direct labor dollars paid this reporting period (including sub-contractors); (7) Total payments (including sub-contractors); (8) Predominant Federal Service Code (FSC) reflecting services provided by contractor (and separate predominant FSC for each sub-contractor if different); (9) Estimated data collection cost; (10) Organizational title associated with the Unit Identification Code (UIC) for the Army Requiring Activity (the Army Requiring Activity is responsible for providing the contractor with its UIC for the purposes of reporting this information); (11) Locations where contractor and sub-contractors perform the work (specified by zip code in the United States and nearest city, country, when in an overseas location, using standardized nomenclature provided on website);

(12) Presence of deployment or contingency contract language; and (13) Number of contractor and sub-contractor employees deployed in theater this reporting period (by country). As part of its submission, the contractor shall provide the estimated total cost (if any) incurred to comply with this reporting requirement. Reporting period shall be the period of performance not to exceed 12 months ending September 30 of each government fiscal year and must be reported by 31 October of each calendar year. Contractors may use a direct XML data transfer to the database server or fill in the fields on the website. The XML direct transfer is a format for transferring files from a contractor’s system to the secure website without the need for separate data entries for each required data element at the website. The specific formats for the XML direct transfer may be downloaded from the website.