Multi-Well Federal Plugging Contract Region VII (7)

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is soliciting bids for a Multi-Well Federal Plugging Contract (ARFQ DEP23-28) covering Region VII, which encompasses 16 counties including Barbour, Brooke, Doddridge, Hancock, Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Monogalia, Ohio, Pleasants, Preston, Ritchie, Taylor, Tyler, Wetzel, and Wood. The procurement seeks contractor services for the permanent remediation of 17 documented or undocumented orphaned and abandoned oil and natural gas wells located on public lands, including state wildlife management areas, state forests, and city/county/state parks, with the potential addition of up to five more wells depending on funding availability. The scope of work encompasses five primary line items: well location, identification, inspection, and prioritization; permitting; well plugging; and wellsite reclamation, with each line item priced on a per-well basis for the 17 base wells, plus five alternate bid lines for one additional well each to be submitted as lump sum amounts inclusive of all costs. Contractors must comply with Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements, West Virginia Code and applicable regulations (35 CSR 4 and 35 CSR 6), obtain all necessary permits from the WVDEP Office of Oil and Gas, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, and submit comprehensive documentation including abandoned well inspection forms (IR-9F), environmental impact evaluations (IR-9A), property ownership evidence (IR-9B), and monthly progress reports (IR-9D). The mandatory pre-bid meeting was held on November 17, 2022, at 10:00 AM EDT at WVDEP headquarters in Charleston, West Virginia, with the technical questions deadline of November 22, 2022, at 4:00 PM EDT and a bid submission deadline of November 29, 2022, at 10:30 AM, with all bids required to be submitted electronically through the wvOASIS Vendor Self Service portal. Contractors must identify at least four of the selected wells as Class 1 wells posing immediate threats to human health, safety, or the environment, and all work will be subject to third-party compliance officer oversight independent of the contractor.

No specific set-asides for disadvantaged enterprises or restrictions limiting bidder eligibility based on business classification are identified in the solicitation documents; however, all contractors must hold a valid West Virginia contractor's license, possess a 5% bid bond, maintain a 100% performance bond and 100% labor/material payment bond, and carry commercial general liability and automobile liability insurance with minimum limits of $2,000,000 per occurrence (or $1,000,000 for contracts valued at $25,000 or less). Contractors must comply with drug-free workplace requirements and submit a certified affidavit, and for construction projects exceeding $500,000, meet a 75% local labor market hiring requirement. The contract is structured as a term contract with an initial one-calendar-year term and renewal options for up to three successive one-year periods subject to mutual written consent of the agency and vendor and Attorney General approval. No incumbent contractor information or specific award value ranges are disclosed in the available solicitation documents, though the contract amount will be calculated as the sum of unit prices multiplied by the quantity of 17 wells for each primary line item plus the lump sum amounts for each of the five alternate wells. Liquidated damages are assessed at $1,000 per working day for delays beyond the contract completion date, and the contract is contingent upon legislative appropriation or alternative funding availability, with non-appropriation not constituting default.