Recovery - Water Quality AnalysisQuestion & Answers

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

(ii) This solicitation, R09PS80R16 is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). The Bureau of Reclamation Project # is 13.000. The applicable Treasury Account Symbol is TAS::14 0681::TAS.

(iii) This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-42.

(iv) This solicitation is a 100% small business set-aside. NAICS Code is 541380, Small business size standard is $12M.

(v) This combined synopsis/solicitation is for the following commercial service:

0001: Conduct analysis of water samples for Nutrients (soluble orthophosphate, total phosphorus, nitrate+nitrite-N, ammonia-N, total nitrogen), major ions (Ca, Mg, Na, K, SO4=, Cl-, CO3=, HCO3-), TDS, TSS, and TOC. Must be able to achieve required detection limits of 0.005 mg/L for soluble orthophosphate (0.002 mg/L preferred), 0.01 mg/L for total phosphorus, 0.01 mg/L for Nitrate+Nitrite-N, 0.01 mg/L for ammonia-N, and 0.2 mg/L for total nitrogen. Qty: 600 each.

0002: This contract requires the contractor to provide services funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). Section 1512(c) of the Recovery Act requires each contractor to report on its use of Recovery Act funds under this contract in accordance with 52.204-11 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-Reporting Requirements (Mar 2010 Deviation). All reporting actions must be completed and delivered within the required reporting timeframes IAW FAR 52.204-11 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-Reporting Requirements (Mar 2010 Deviation). Qty 1 lump sum.

(vi) Description of requirements for the items to be acquired: 600 water samples will be collected by Reclamation and sent to the contractor for analysis. Collection of water quality samples will be conducted in August or September 2010, depending upon reservoir turnover. A minimum of 300 samples will be provided to the lab in August and a minimum of 150 samples will be provided in September. Depending upon field conditions, up to 150 additional samples may be provided during the two-month period. Samples will be shipped from multiple locations in groups of approximately 10-30 samples. The contractor will prepare hardcopy reports and provide the data in Excel spreadsheets. Archived samples will be maintained for at least 6 months from analytical date. Samples will be analyzed by the contractor as samples are received to meet holding times for the requested analyses. The holding time is likely to be exceeded for soluble orthophosphate samples, but those samples will be filtered in the field and should be analyzed by the laboratory with 48 hours of receipt. All analytical data shall be provided in Excel spreadsheets and delivered electronically to Denise Hosler via e-mail (dhosler@usbr.gov) and Chris Holdren (gholdren@usbr.gov) as soon as analyses are complete for each sampling set.

(vii) The contract period of performance will be from date of contract thru 12/31/2010. All reports shall be delivered via email as specified in Para (vi).

(viii) The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial, applies to this acquisition. IAW this provision, offerors shall submit a description of the technical capability of the offeror in sufficient detail to evaluate experience and proficiency in conducting water quality analysis. The offeror shall also submit no more than three (3) recent past performance examples of work the offeror considers most relevant in demonstrating successful performance of the proposed effort.

(ix) FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The Government will make award to the offeror that represents the best value, price and other factors considered. The following factors will be used to evaluate offers: Technical capability of the offeror, past performance, and price. Technical capability will be evaluated by the offeror's demonstrated experience and proficiency in conducting water quality analysis. Past performance evaluation will focus on the quality of previous work produced by the offeror relevant to scientific water quality sample analysis. Technical capability and past performance when combined are significantly more important than price. The Government's objective is to obtain the highest technical quality considered necessary to achieve the project objectives, with a realistic and reasonable price. The Government reserves the right to make an award to other than the lowest-priced schedule contractor if the superior technical submission or the submission indicating a reduced performance risk, warrants paying a premium.

(x) The offeror must have completed the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) which is the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items. The web site address is https://orca.bpn.gov/.

(xi) FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

(xii) FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes Or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items Alternate II applies to this acquisition. Additional FAR 52.212-5 clauses cited in the clause applicable to this acquisition are b(1), b(3), b(8), b(10), b(12), b(18), b(19), b(21), b(22), b(23), b(24), b(25), b(26), b(33), b(38).

(xiii) FAR 52.203-15, Whistleblower Protections Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (June 2010) and FAR 52.204-11, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-Reporting Requirements (Mar 2010 DEVIATION) also apply to this acquisition. The full text of all incorporated provisions and clauses are available at https://www.acquisition.gov/FAR/ or by request via email to rbrackett@usbr.gov.

(xiv) Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) ratings do not apply to this acquisition.

(xv) Quotes are required to be received no later than 12:00 pm Local Time, August 2, 2010 and must include the following: Company name, address phone numbers, DUNS number, Tax ID or Federal ID number, itemized quote. Offerors shall also submit the required technical capability information and past performance information. Quotes shall be delivered via email to rbrackett@usbr.gov.

(xvi) Please direct any questions regarding this solicitation to Rob Brackett at rbrackett@usbr.gov