Industry Day KTR Inquiries_Govt Responses_20211202.pdf

Norfolk Harbor Deepening Industry Day 30 November 2021 Inquiries and Government Responses

Inquiry 1:

Plans provided show a required depth of ‐56ft with a 2ft buffer to a not to exceed depth of ‐ 58ft;

however, during the Industry Day Meeting, it was stated that the required depth would be ‐55ft with a 3ft buffer to the not to exceed depth of ‐58ft. Please clarify what will be the required dimensions of the dredging areas.

Government Response:

For Channel to Newport News, the base bid includes a required depth of -55 feet with one foot of allowable overdepth. The option bid item would have a required depth of -56 feet with one foot of allowable overdepth. For Norfolk Harbor Inner Channel, the base bid includes a required depth of -54 feet with one foot of allowable overdepth. The option bid items would have a required depth of up to -56 feet with one foot of allowable overdepth. Not to exceed depth of -58 feet for both channels.

Inquiry 2:

Plans provided show a required depth of ‐56ft and a not to exceed depth of ‐58ft. A 2ft buffer between the required depth and the NTE is insufficient and will make it difficult, if not impossible, for the Contractor to achieve acceptance. Please reconsider the NTE depth or the required depth for the project.

Dredged material associated with Norfolk Harbor Inner Channels and Channel to Newport News has been characterized for environmental compliance to a depth of -60 feet MLLW. Due to limited capacity at the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area (CIDMMA), very little excess (non-pay) material will be allowed. Allowing a maximum dredging depth of -58 feet MLLW (or one foot of non-pay material throughout the entire Project) is the most that can be considered due to the current capacity limits at the CIDMMA.

Inquiry 3:

What depth is the material characterized to? 3‐foot of buffer below Grade is not enough for new work dredging. For hydraulic dredging, material will be disturbed and removed well below 3 feet below Grade.

The NTE depth should be at least 4 feet below the Overdepth elevation, with characterization of materials below that.

Vibracore, Boring, and CPT data was taken within Norfolk Harbor Inner Channel and Channel to Newport News to varying depths up to -90 feet, as shown in the geotechnical appendices attached to the plans and specs.

Inquiry 4:

Section 01 14 00 Part 1.3.1 SPECIAL WORK REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS Paragraph d (2) CELL ROTATION REQUIREMENTS AT THE PLACEMENT SITE specifies requirements for disposal in Craney Island and states that “dredged material placed by hydraulic method may not exceed a rate of 22,500 cubic yards in 24‐hours period”. Please clarify the following:

a. Will the quantity above the daily limit be allowed to be placed in an alternative ocean disposal site?

Limit of 22,500 CY per 24-hour period only applies to placement at Craney Island. The Dredge Material Management Plan for this project identifies Craney Island as the primary location for placement of dredged material. Ocean disposal at the Norfolk Ocean Disposal Site was evaluated and considered but deemed to be cost prohibitive.

b. If an alternate disposal area is not provided for the quantity above the specified limit at Craney Island, will the Contractor be required to shut down all pumping activities?

Government Response:

In general, the Contractor shall not pump greater than 22,500 CY into Craney Island in any given 24-hour period. The Contractor may be able to increase pumping volume if they can successfully demonstrate ability to increase pumping volume while maintaining freeboard and water quality requirements. This is subject to Contracting Officer approval and not guaranteed.

c. Will the Contractor be paid at a standby rate unit if a shutdown is required due to reaching the daily disposal limit? This is a great risk that requires the contract to contain CLIN’s for standby. All bidders need to make the same assumptions when pricing.

Government Response:

Standby time will not be paid if a shutdown is required due to reaching the daily disposal limit.

d. Why is there a placement limit? What factors/calculations were made in determining this limit?

Government Response:

The placement limit per 24-hour period has been determined based on the size and geometry of the Craney Island cells and is required to ensure Commonwealth effluent water quality standards are maintained at the spillboxes. The primary factors include weir length of each of the spillways, ponded depth and area required in front of each of the spillways, settlement time of the suspended solids and required ponded area for settlement to occur, and empirical observations and information collected over the past twenty years.

Inquiry 5:

Section 01 14 00 Part 1.3.1 SPECIAL WORK REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS Paragraph d (3) CELL ROTATION REQUIREMENTS AT THE PLACEMENT SITE specifies requirements for disposal in Craney Island and states that “The facility manager has the discretion to direct users of CIDMMA in their placement of material based on cell capacity, or functionality of the appurtenances. At any time, the Contractor may be required to re‐arrange the placement sequence and move the discharge point to a different containment cell as directed by the Contracting Officer. Daily placement rate may also be limited during period of time.” It is crucial for planning of equipment, pipeline, and personnel to know in advance the location of the discharge point at the disposal area and to have a plan as to how the project will proceed. The Contractor should be compensated for via standby CLIN’s for unplanned delays that may increase the cost of the operation due to the decisions of the Facility Manager or the Contracting Officer? Will the contract include standby CLIN’s for disposal site delays?

The approximate discharge location will be provided on the plans; however, the exact location of deposit will be established by the contracting officer before commencement of work. There will be no CLIN for standby time for disposal delays.

Inquiry 6:

Section 01 57 50 Paragraph 3.1 ENDANGERED SPECIES MONITORING states “The Contractor shall identify specific personnel to monitor the visible action area from the dredge plant.” Will the personnel identified as endangered species observers be required to only focus on that task? Or will they be allowed to work on other tasks?

This person would be the equivalent of a “bridge watch” not a NMFS certified Protected Species Observer. This person shall be trained in endangered species identification and protocols (USACE provides the training). This person shall monitor the visible action area and equipment for the presence of endangered species during dredging. Other tasks could potentially be completed so long as they do not interfere with the ability to monitor the visible action area and dredge plant for endangered species and/or their parts.

Inquiry 7:

Daily effluent visual checks and samples to check for TSS on each spillway are required. Will the Contractor be allowed to self‐perform this work?

The contractor is required to self-perform the work using a Hach DR 900 Multiparameter Portable Colorimeter or approved equal for TSS as well as provide visual inspections every four hours throughout the day. Visual Inspections and TSS readings are required to be logged daily via the USACE Water Quality Database.

Inquiry 8:

During the Industry Day meeting, it was mentioned that MEC’s and Endangered Species takes could require the shutdown of dredging activities. Will a standby unit rate CLIN be provided to compensate for this time?

The Government is still considering the feasibility of allowing standby time for specific case scenarios that involve endangered species takes and MEC encounters that substantially disrupt dredging operations. Final decision will be made prior to contract solicitation.

Inquiry 9:

Section 35 20 23 Paragraph SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY OF WORK AREAS states, “Unless directed otherwise, the Contractor may perform the scheduled dredging work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” Please clarify the following:

a. What would be a cause for the Contractor to be directed to limit the dredging schedule?

Government Response:

Including but not limited to the following. A safety concern, accident, or emergency that requires a stand-down of operations. Weather event that requires suspension of work and safe harbor procedures, unable to satisfy freeboard or water quality requirements, violation of requirements outlined in COMMANDER’S POLICY MEMORANDUM NUMBER WRD‐01.

b. Will you provide a standby unit rate that will be used as compensation if the Contractor is required to work on a limited schedule?

No standby time will be provided for compensation if the Contractor is required to work on a limited schedule for an interim time period in context of Section 35 20 23 Paragraph SECURITY

AND PUBLIC SAFETY OF WORK AREAS.

Inquiry 10:

Section 35 20 23 Paragraph 1.4.3 COORDINATION WITH OTHER CONTRACTORS states that “other contracts may be in force for the construction of other features of work on or adjacent to the site of work being accomplished under this contract.” Please clarify the following:

a. Will a schedule and details of the other work being performed be provided well in advance of bid, as to provide the Contractor time to plan and price adequately?

Please refer to Government response to inquiry number 5. During the time period this work is anticipated to be performed, various other contracts are scheduled for placement of dredged material upland into Craney Island and placement of material into the Rehandling Basin. In addition, dike raising contractors, government personnel, and other contractors will be utilizing the facility. These schedules are subject to change. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor on this contract to be fully informed of the extent of the limits of work to be performed by other contractors.

b. If more than one contract is assigned to place material into Craney Island simultaneously, will the daily limit be applied per contractor? Or will the limit be applied to the total quantity of material being placed?

The inflow limit into Craney applies to placement into individual cells. If more than one Contractor is placing material into a single cell at Craney, the inflow limit would apply to the total amount of material placed into the cell in any given 24-hour period. With that stated, the Government’s intent is to ensure the deepening project is prioritized to be provided the daily placement limit.

c. If more than one contractor is pumping into Craney Island, who would be held responsible for water quality and environmental requirements?

All contractors pumping material into Craney are responsible for ensuring water quality and environmental requirements are met.

Inquiry 11:

ENCLOSURE A. Geotechnical Data, Norfolk Harbor and Channels Navigation Improvement Project General Reevaluation Report provides soil information from vibracores collected in 1983, 1990, and 2007. Please provide the sieves analysis and boring logs for that data and any other soil data available.

All available geotechnical information will be provided at the time of contract solicitation.

Inquiry 12:

It is stated on the COMMANDER’S POLICY MEMORANDUM NUMBER WRD‐01 that “The character of dredged material to be placed at the CIDMMA shall meet all requirements under the CWA and shall be acceptable to the District Commander.” Will an alternate disposal site be provided if the material dredged is tested and not approved for placement in to CIDMMA?

The material to be dredged under this contract is understood to be suitable for placement at Craney Island.

Inquiry 13:

Referencing the character of dredge material language, is the offshore disposal site available for this contract?

The Dredge Material Management Plan for the Norfolk Harbor Inner Channel and Channel to Newport News Deepening Project has identified Craney Island as the primary location for placement of dredged material. Ocean disposal at the Norfolk Ocean Disposal Site was evaluated and considered but deemed to be cost prohibitive.

Inquiry 14:

Please consider allowing use of mechanical dredging for this Project.

Mechanical dredging with placement of dredged material upland by hydraulic unloader and pipeline will be allowed. Use of the Craney Island Rehandling Basin for placement of dredged material will be limited to a maximum of 150,000 cubic yards in support of ‘clean-up dredging’ for final acceptance of work. Location(s) for Hydraulic unloading operations will be limited based on potential impacts to navigation, pumping distance, and depths required for a fully loaded scow(s).

Inquiry 15:

Please provide criteria for the application of bed leveling.

The use of bed leveling will be limited to ‘clean-up dredging’ for final acceptance of work. Bed leveling will only be allowed in areas of the dredging prism where appropriate. These areas will be identified as part of the final solicitation documents but as an example, bed leveling has been shown not to be effective in loose, soft, fine-grained materials sub-bottoms. The criteria to evaluate alternative bed leveler designs is as follows. All criteria listed below must be met. In addition, all designs will be required for submission, review, and approval by the Contracting Officer. Design submittal does not guarantee approval.

1. The contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer of location and start and stop dates of any bed leveling activities.

2. Bed levelers shall be constructed of a smooth steel blade with no teeth and a bottom length angling forward approximately 45° forward of the blade face, or other similar design that shall produce a sediment wave in front of the leading face of the beam to disturb sea turtles off the sea floor bottom.

3. All support structures are to be welded to the back of the blade with no primary or secondary attachment points extending beyond the width of the blade face which could serve as impingement or "pinch" points for passing sea turtles.

4. The bed-leveler shall be slowly lowered to the sea bottom and the depth of the bed leveler adjusted constantly to meet required depth and to compensate for tidal fluctuations.

5. The bed-leveler shall be towed/pushed along the bottom no faster than 2 knots.

6. The contractor shall submit drawings and photographs to the Contracting Officer of the proposed bed leveler documenting when and where the bed leveler will be used in the channel.