Addtional Questions

QUESTION #1:

Item 5 on page 7 of the SOW requires the Contractor to develop application packages for all environmental permits. The SOW also says that the Contractor shall determine which permits can be deferred until more detailed design and specifications are available.

The Section 404 permit and state water quality certificate/permit, Erosion and Sediment Control, and stormwater permits, and approvals required by the Endangered Species Act, etc all require a lot of information that will need detailed engineering drawings and specifications. For example, some of these sites may need an access road built so that construction equipment can reach the site and complete the work. All of these permits are best coordinated at the time when this information is available. This level of detail is typically not available as part of the EA. Given that can you provide more detail on what permits the Contractor would be required to secure and what information would be provided by the USACE to prepare the permit application?

ANSWER #1:

The Corps of Engineers does not issue itself Clean Water Act Section 404 permits, so a 404 permit application will not be required. However, the contractor will be required to coordinate with the appropriate Corps Regulatory offices (Norfolk, Virginia for projects in Virginia and Raleigh, North Carolina for areas in North Carolina) as part of the EA process to ensure project compliance with the Clean Water Act. A Section 401 permit may be required and the contractor will be responsible for preparing this application, which is typically provided to the appropriate State resource agency concurrent with the EA. Applications for water quality certification may be prepared without detailed plans and specifications. The Wilmington District will provide the project details required to assist in the preparation of 401 application and section 404(b) (1). All alternatives considered for the proposed action will be provided by Wilmington District. These alternatives have been developed based on experiences in the J.H. Kerr area. Because of the fluctuating lake levels, stone rip-rap or articulated revetment measures are most effective in meeting the purpose and need of shoreline stabilization and protection of property and features from shoreline erosion. It is not the intent of the Scope of Work to have the contractor design shoreline stabilization measures. However, if a proposed measure is not appropriate for some area due to unacceptable impacts, or if the impacts can be mitigated by a design adjustment, it is expected that such information be brought to the attention of the Wilmington District and the contract Technical POC during the environmental assessment process. Erosion and Sediment control and stormwater permits will not be the responsibility of the contractor preparing the EA, but will be obtained, as necessary, by the construction contractor prior to start of work.

QUESTION #2:

Item 3C on page 6 states that field surveys, if required, would be negotiated and completed under a modification to the contract. Therefore just to clarify, can we assume that any wetland delineation, threatened or endangered species survey, cultural resource survey, flood elevation or scour study, sediment transport modeling, or hydrological modeling would be completed as a contract modification?

ANSWER #2:

Field surveys will be limited to gathering existing data required to complete analyses of project impacts as required by the applicable federal regulations pertinent to this Scope of Work. Contractor will identify any data deficiencies that could require further field studies. If any specific field surveys other than what has been identified within this section are required and agreed to by CESAW, a modification to the contract will be made and an equitable adjustment in the contract price will be negotiated. It is not expected that extensive additional surveys or studies will be required. Information on threatened and endangered species, cultural resources and elevations will be provided by the Wilmington District. Since the proposed alternatives for this work have been previously evaluated by Wilmington District and will be provided to the contractor, it is not expected that scour studies, sediment transport modeling, hydrological modeling, or any other type of physical modeling or studies will be required.

QUESTION #3:

If the offeror does not posses any of the mapping software (GPS/GIS) listed in the solicitation, would it be best to list each one as a Cost Proposal line item, or utilize the software belonging to the Wilmington District?

ANSWER #3:

The contractor shall furnish all services, supplies, equipment required in connection with the SOW. The Wilmington District will not provide or loan software required to perform the requirements of the SOW.

The cost proposal should be submitted as a single lump sum price. The lump sum price should be the total of all costs associated with achieving the objectives and requirements of the SOW - however listing or task breakdowns are not required.

Question #4:

Can you provide the Government’s budget allocation/estimate for the EA work elements?

ANSWER #4:

It is the Government intention is use Simplified Acquisition Procedures pursuant to FAR, Part 13. Simplified Acquisition applies to services that have an anticipated dollar value exceeding $3,000 and not exceeding $100,000.

QUESTION #5

On scope pages 22 and 23, section “c. Part 3 – Price” states that the “cost proposal will contain a listing of all direct and indirect costs associated with achieving the objectives and requirements of the SOW”; however, the section goes on further to state “the cost proposal will be presented as a Contract Line Item Number chart in the following format” of which the chart (on page 23) has a single line item for a lump sum price. Please explain whether the cost proposal is to be either a) a single total lump sum price, b) lump sum price with rate sheet for labor and expenses, c) a task by task breakdown of labor and expenses, or d) some other format.

ANSWER #5:

The cost proposal should be submitted as a single lump sum price. The lump sum price should be the total of all costs associated with achieving the objectives and requirements of the SOW - however listing or task breakdowns are not required.