Sources Sought/Request for Information Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) – Quincy Bay Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project- Stage 1

Sources Sought/Request for Information Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) – Quincy Bay Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project- Stage 1

Purpose and Objectives:  The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of all qualified companies;  (2) whether they are small or large businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran- owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their understanding and experience relative to the proposed acquisition to assist the Government in determining the expectation of receiving bids from responsible contractors at fair market prices. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set- aside is possible. An organization that is not under the applicable NAICS code can submit a response to this notice, however their capabilities may/may not be assessed for the purposes of this notice. 

A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement as a set-aside based upon responses to this Notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

The Corps of Engineers (COE), Rock Island District does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses received. This announcement is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as commitment by the Government, implied or otherwise, to issue a solicitation or make a contract award. NO AWARD will be made from this Sources Sought Notice. This is NOT a request for proposal, quote or invitation for bid.  Interested parties are expected to review this Notice and the Project Requirements to familiarize themselves with the requirements of this project.

NAICS Code and Size Standard:  In the event a solicitation is issued, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 237990, Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction, with a size standard of $45 Million, is being considered.

Solicitation Type: The Government is considering using a RFO FAR 14 Invitation for Bid for solicitation of this project.

Background: The Quincy Bay Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project area spans approximately 2,350 acres along the right descending bank of the Upper Mississippi River System, situated between River Mile 327.0 to 332.0 within Pool 21. It is located in Adams County, Illinois adjacent to the City of Quincy. The project area contains several Mississippi River Project Master Plan land classifications, including Wildlife Management, High Density Recreation, and Vegetation Management land classifications.

Historically, Quincy Bay was an important stopover point for diving ducks during spring and fall migrations. Sedimentation within the project area has resulted in decreased water depths and reduced habitat availability. Today, the reduced depth of the Upper Bay and lack of aquatic vegetation supports very few migratory waterfowl. Furthermore, floodplain forests have experienced an increase in invasive species and a decrease in regeneration and diversity. Relatively diverse pre-settlement floodplain forests are now largely dominated by silver maple and cottonwood. Without restoration, the project area’s open waters would continue to convert to shallow backwaters and drier bottomland forests would continue to develop into plant communities dominated by flood tolerant species and invasive species such as reed canary grass and Japanese hops.

The entirety of the Quincy Bay Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project consists of the following proposed activities and features: dredged material placement with forest rehabilitation, dredging for overwintering habitat and sediment reduction, bank stabilization, river training structures, cut-through channel modification, Cedar Creek modification, vegetated overflow structures, aquatic vegetation plantings, timber stand improvement, and pothole enhancement. The total project will be carried out in multiple stages. The focus of this Sources Sought is Stage 1: dredging for overwintering habitat, access dredging, topographic diversity enhancement, bank stabilization, and river training structures.

Project Requirements:

Stage 1: Dredging for Overwintering Habitat (OW 1-3), Access Dredging (AD-OW-1 AD-OW-3), Topographic Diversity (TD 1-4), Bank Stabilization (BS 2), and River Training Structure (RTS 4-5) See Figure 1 for feature locations.

Areas considered as part of this Project and described as the Project area include Quincy Bay, Quinsippi Island, backwater areas, and adjacent federally owned General Plan Lands.

Approximately 16 acres of Quincy Bay and backwater channels will require access dredging (AD-OW-1 AD-OW-3), with approximately 19 acres requiring additional dredging to create deeper overwintering habitat (OW 1-3) for native species. Mechanical excavation/dredging will be required.  Channel depths are up to 8 feet below flat pool and will have a channel bottom between 50 and 60 feet wide.  Quantities excavated will be approximately 260,000 cubic yards of material over a total length approaching 16,000 feet. 

Excavated material will be side cast where possible and shaped to tie into the existing bankline. This material will be handled multiple times. Side casting will only be possible for a portion of the material to be removed from the dredge cuts. Material that cannot be side cast and shaped will need to be hauled to the shoreline placement sites. Placement sites are located at a minimum of 25 feet from the channel cut. The placement sites vary in width ranging from approximately 40 feet wide to 60 feet wide. Material will be required to remain within the placement site limits, with no material allowed to reenter the channel cuts, or be removed from the project area.  

These dredge placement sites will be used for topographic diversity features (TD 1-4). A top elevation may not be exceeded at the placement sites, and material will be required to be spread evenly across the placement sites in preparation for future work. Shaping of these sites to maintain a side slope will also be required. Tree/brush clearing will be required in select locations to ensure placement sites tie into the bankline. Trees outside of the placement site limits will not be damaged or removed.

Bank stabilization (BS 2) for approximately 400 linear feet on Cedar Creek will require clearing; hauling, grading, and shaping; and placement of 1,100 tons of RR3 sized stone, with approximately 8 inches of bedding stone underlay. The bank will be shaped to maintain a predetermined slope to height ratio per the project design, with consideration for the width of the stone placement. Surveying after the bank stabilization to confirm the appropriate ratio will be required.

River Training Structures (RTS 4-5) along the exterior edge of topographic diversity placement (TD1) will require specific shaping of dredged material to create more diversity in the placement alignment/orientation.

This will be a construction contract to be primarily constructed during 2028.

Capability Statement/Information Sought:  All parties interested in this project must demonstrate that they would have the potential to be a responsive and responsible contractor. Interested businesses shall include the following information to be considered for this Sources Sought announcement:

1. Company Name, UEI/CAGE (If your company does not have at the time of this sources sought, please be aware that you will be required to register your company in the System of Award Management (SAM) system to be eligible for any future Federal contracts), POC information including an email, current small business and socio-economic status for the NAICS code listed above.
2. Three references for successful work of a similar scale and nature to the requirements of UMRR – Quincy Bay Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project- Stage 1.
3. Company’s interest if a solicitation for this project is issued.
4. Company’s business category and size
5. Company’s capability to perform on the project description outline above.

In order for the Government to make Small Business (SB) set-aside (or other socioeconomic subcategory) determination, it is emphasized that SB concerns provide sufficient written information to clearing demonstrate their capacity, capability, and responsibility (in accordance with RFO 9.1.

Information Submission Instructions:

1. Page Limitations: Interested qualified firms should submit a tailored response that clearly details the firm’s ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above and in the Project Requirements.  An organization’s submission is not to exceed five (5) single sided pages.

2. Number of Copies:  All submissions sent in response to this SOURCES SOUGHT/Request for Information notice must be submitted via e-mail to the contract specialist, Bobbi Boeh at Bobbi.S.Boeh@usace.army.mil and Deputy, Small Business Programs, Troy Robbins at Troy.A.Robbins@usace.army.mil. The e-mail subject line must specify “Response to Sources Sought: UMRR Quincy Bay Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project- Stage 1”.

3. Due Date/Time:  Electronically submitted submissions are due no later than the date listed on the SAM.gov Sources Sought Notice, however this does not restrict the Government from accepting responses after this time, if it is in the best interests of the Government for market research purposes, and also does not prohibit the Government from seeking potential capable, and responsible sources from information available from other resources (for instance:  small business databases, known sources, previous contractors) to determine a final procurement strategy.