Morganza to the Gulf, Reach F Construction

THIS NOTICE IS FOR SOURCES SOUGHT ONLY.

This announcement is seeking information from industry, which will be used by the Government for preliminary planning purposes. No proposals are being requested or will be accepted with this sources sought, and no reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this synopsis. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND NO CONTRACT SHALL BE AWARDED FROM THIS SOURCES SOUGHT. After review of the responses to this notice, and if the Government intends to proceed with the acquisition, a separate announcement will be published on the System for Acquisition Management (SAM) website (SAM.gov).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District is issuing a Sources Sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and experience with construction of earthen levees in an environmentally sensitive marsh habitat in Southern Louisiana with utilities involved and possibly requiring barged materiel for the upcoming construction of Reach F Levee for the Morganza to the Gulf, Risk Reduction System.  The purpose of this Sources Sought synopsis is to gauge interest, capabilities, and qualifications of the construction community, as the Government must ensure there is adequate interest, capability, and competition amongst the potential pool of responsible contractors. The Government will use responses to this SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE to make appropriate acquisition decisions for this procurement.

Morganza to the Gulf, Reach F Construction is anticipated to be approximately four miles of earthen levee in a marsh environment over intersecting utilities. The project is located southwest of Dulac, starting approximately thirteen miles of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and running parallel to the Houma Navigation Canal. The Estimated Magnitude of construction is between $25,000,000.00 and $100,000,000.00. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 237990. General work consists of clearing and grubbing, degradation of existing levee, embankment placement up to elevation 17.0’, placement of geotexile, access roads, surfacing, turf establishment, and other related incidental work.  Experience working in unique local marsh/ open water conditions, around existing utilities, and with barged materiel is imperative to success.

The Government intends to provide a borrow site within 20-25 miles from the project area. The plans and specifications allow for the contractor to provide alternate borrow source through the “Provision for Right of Way for Convenience” (see appendix A for further details). The questions herein this Sources Sought will help the project team analyze the feasibility of using this provision.

All interested firm’s response to this Sources Sought Synopsis shall be limited to five (5) pages and shall include the following information:

1. The Firm's name, address, point of contact, phone number, website, and email address.

2. The Firm’s interest in bidding as a Prime, Joint Venture, or Partner.

3. The Firm’s single and aggregate bonding capacity.

4. The Firm’s small business social economic categories certification, if applicable: Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Veteran Owned Small Business, Women Owned Small Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zones, etc.

5. The Firm's capability to perform such heavy construction methodology. The Firms shall provide examples which include, at a minimum, the following information:

1. Experience in construction of earthen levee projects.
2. Experience with projects in a marsh habitat, open water, and around environmentally sensitive areas.
3. Experience with barging material.
4. Contract type, firm fixed price or cost reimbursable.
5. Customer name
6. Timeliness of performance
7. Customer satisfaction
8. Project awarded cost and final completed construction cost.
9. This contract will include a provision allowing for Right of Way (ROW) for Convenience where a contractor, at their discretion, may locate and propose their own borrow source. If the government were to grant additional time for ROW for Convenience, what cost saving measures would you propose? See ROW for Convenience requirements in Appendix A below.

Submission of your interest is not a prerequisite to any potential future posting, but participation will assist in identifying sources with required capabilities. Respondents WILL NOT be notified of the results of the evaluation. Statements that do not meet all requirements or are not submitted within the allotted time will not be considered. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. There is no bid package or solicitation at this time. 

NOTE: Contractors must be registered in SAM (System for Award Management) to be eligible for contract award or payment from any DOD activity. Registration requires applicants to have a UEI number. Recommend registering immediately to be eligible for any potential procurement. Please send your responses no later than 12:00 p.m. February 28, 2025, via email to lauren.a.gandolfi@usace.army.mil AND Christopher.Nuccio@usace.army.mil.

Appendix A

Provision for Right of Way for Convenience

If the Contractor proposes a deviation from the Government furnished rights of-way for his convenience, the Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer or its representative in writing. Contractor shall not provide any permanent rights of-way for the project. The Contractor is cautioned that any deviation to the Government furnished rights-of-way is subject to all applicable Federal and state environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with these environmental laws and regulations may require additional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents, cultural resources surveys, coordination with the Louisiana State Historical Preservation Officer, water quality certification, modification of the Federal consistency determination, etc.

The Government is ultimately responsible for environmental compliance; therefore, the Government will determine the additional environmental coordination and documentation necessary for a proposed deviation to the Government furnished rights-of-way. For any environmental investigations the Government is to perform on areas outside of Government furnished rights-of-way, the Contractor shall provide sufficient rights of entry to the Government. The Contracting Officer will advise the Contractor of the additional environmental coordination and documentation that must be completed.

The Government shall be responsible for any additional environmental compliance; however, the Contractor may conduct specific tasks identified by the Government. The Government will offer advice and assistance to the Contractor in conducting these tasks. Depending on the environmental impact of the proposed deviation, obtaining the coordination and documentation may not be approved or could take as much as 180 days for approval by the Government.

The Government must review, approve and ensure distribution of all environmental compliance documentation and ensure all comments on the same have been resolved before any utilization of any areas outside of the Government furnished rights-of-way. The Contractor shall reimburse the Government for actual expenses incurred for assistance in completing or attempting to complete additional environmental coordination and documentation, which expenses will not exceed two hundred thousand ($200,000) dollars. There is no guarantee that environmental compliance will be obtained; therefore, the Contractor shall assume all risks and liabilities associated with pursuing a deviation. Any delays resulting from the deviation and/or the environmental coordination and documentation shall not be made the basis of any Contractor claim for increase in the contract cost and/or increase in contract time. Deviations will be at Contractor’s sole risk and liability, including, but not limited to, such liabilities associated with items such as hazardous substances regulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601 et. seq.), and at no cost to the Government. Government assistance in obtaining additional environmental clearances does not relieve the Contractor of responsibility for complying with other Federal, state or local licenses and permits.