Office of Research and Development (ORD) Risk Management and Ecological Exposur

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Cincinnati, OH 45268

Pre-Solicitation Notice
68HERC24R0169
Risk Management and Ecological Exposure Research Support Services (RMEERS)

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) has a requirement for research, technical, and analytical services encompassing all forms of chemical and biological contamination within ecosystems, drinking water, drinking water sources and ambient water, facilities, industrial and municipal sites, infrastructure systems and/or buildings. The research is designed to provide practical multimedia solutions to environmental issues generated by catastrophic or long-term situations, assess and predict exposures of humans and ecosystems to harmful environmental stressors, and also provide the foundation for the development of approaches to reduce exposures, and safeguard human health and the environment. The awardee will be required to provide these support services on-site. This contract is for use by all of ORD, but it is anticipated that the contract will be primarily utilized by Cincinnati offices of ORD.

The Government anticipates award of a single award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract that will allow for the issuance of firm fixed price (FFP) and time-and-material (T&M) type task orders over an ordering period of seven (7) years with a maximum ordering ceiling of $75 million. The anticipated solicitation release is in early to mid-October, and the close date shall be 30 days thereafter. It is anticipated that this requirement will be set-aside for Small Business. The applicable NAICS code is 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences except Biotechnology and Nanotechnology) with a size standard of 1,000 employees. As a reminder, small businesses are required to perform at least 50 percent of the costs of the contract performance with their own personnel (See FAR 52.219-14) under a procurement set aside for small businesses. Award will be made in accordance with FAR Part 15 – Contracting by Negotiation, using a Best Value source selection approach, price and other factors considered, where all non-price criteria, when combined, are significantly more important than price. The successful contractor of any resultant contract will be expected to provide all necessary personnel, equipment, and services necessary to conduct the research activities delineated by the Performance Work Statement (PWS). A draft PWS document accompanies this Pre-solicitation Notice via separate attachment. Be advised that changes to any or all documentation is possible when the final solicitation is released.

The solicitation and resulting contract shall contain the custom local provision Disclosure Requirements for Organizational Conflicts of Interest (EPA-L-09-102). Paragraph (a) of the clause shall read as follows:
(a) The proposed contract requires that the Contractor provide technical and analytical support to USEPA ORD in the conduct of research, development, and evaluation studies. Each offeror shall specifically disclose whether it is one of the following entities:
• Entities that are a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) at a Superfund site.
• Entities that have business or financial relationships with individuals or entities that are a Superfund PRP.
• Entities that manufacture chemicals that are subject to regulation under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), CERCLA, Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), or Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
• Entities that have business or financial relationships with manufacturers of chemicals used in remediation processes.
• Entities that provide test method development services for regulated entities
• Entities that have commercial or intellectual property interests in analytical equipment used to evaluate hazardous waste or other environmental contaminant remediation processes.

Paragraph c: The Agency has determined that offerors identified in paragraph (a) above (further referred to as "these activities") may have significant potential organizational conflicts of interest in relation to the requirements of this solicitation. In addition, a potential organizational conflict of interest may exist with offerors that provide consulting and/or technical services related to these activities.

The solicitation and resulting contract shall also contain the clause, EPAAR 1552.209-74, Limitation of Future Contracting, Alternate V. Paragraph (c) of the clause shall read as follows:

When the contractor is required to evaluate, assess, or test a remediation technology, process, equipment, or computer oriented tool that is specifically identified in a task order, the contractor is prohibited, without the prior written approval of the Contracting Officer, from entering into business or financial relationships with individuals, organizations, PRPs or their consultants, to provide services on or in support of the specific remediation technology, process, equipment, or computer oriented tool identified in the task order. This restriction applies during the life of the contract.

The solicitation will be issued via the FedConnect® portal located at the following internet address: www.fedconnect.net. Questions relating to the solicitation are required to be submitted electronically through FedConnect®. ONLY those questions posted through FedConnect® will be accepted. All responses to questions will be released on FedConnect®. At this Internet site you will be able to register with FedConnect®, enabling you to download the solicitation once released, join the mailing list, and to submit questions. If you need technical assistance in registering or for any other FedConnect® function, call the FedConnect® Help Desk at (800) 899-6665 or email at support@fedconnect.net.

Contractor registration in the Government’s System for Award Management (SAM) is required in order to be eligible for contract award. Registration may be completed and information regarding the registration process may be obtained at http://www.sam.gov. Once issued, solicitation documents will be available electronically for download at https://www.fedconnect.net. Hard copies of the solicitation package will not be distributed. Electronic copies of responses will be required and must be submitted via FedConnect® (https://www.fedconnect.net). The point of contact is Megan Fliter, Contract Specialist, Fliter.Megan@epa.gov.