UST - AFVR contract

The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) is soliciting bids for an Underground Storage Tank (UST) Aggressive Fluid Vapor Recovery (AFVR) contract serving Richland County. The procurement is an Invitation for Bid (IFB) seeking a certified contractor to perform free-phase product recovery services using AFVR techniques, skimmers, and absorbents. Qualified bidders must be a South Carolina-Certified Class I Site Rehabilitation Contractor with an approved Annual Contractor Quality Assurance Plan on file with SCDES. The contract requires the ability to complete up to 384 monthly AFVR hours, with equipment capable of providing minimum 250 cubic feet per minute airflow and 25 inches of mercury vacuum. Deliverables include site reconnaissance, mobilization/demobilization, AFVR events of varying durations (8, 24, 48, or 96 hours), effluent disposal for both virgin petroleum and petroleum/chlorinated solvent mixtures, off-gas treatment, and absorbent/skimmer deployments. The solicitation requires bidders to submit proposals by February 12, 2025, at 2:30 pm ET, with a non-mandatory pre-bid conference held via Microsoft Teams on January 21, 2025, at 10:00 am ET. Questions from potential bidders were due by January 22, 2025, at 2:30 pm ET, and the contract award will be posted on February 21, 2025.

The contract will be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, with a one-year initial term and options for two additional one-year renewals, potentially extending the total contract period to three years starting March 1, 2025. Based on historical data from February 2021 to November 2024, SCDES previously directed 75 recovery events, including 72 ninety-six-hour events, three forty-eight-hour events, and eight absorbent events. While no specific set-aside designations or restrictions on organizational types were explicitly mentioned, the requirement for a South Carolina-Certified Class I Site Rehabilitation Contractor suggests a focus on local, qualified environmental remediation firms. The bidding schedule indicates potential service volumes including 75 site reconnaissance units, 100 mobilization/demobilization events, 660,000 gallons of standard effluent disposal, 5,000 gallons of chlorinated compound effluent disposal, and various passive recovery equipment deployments. Although specific budget ranges were not provided, the comprehensive bidding schedule suggests a complex, potentially high-value contract with multiple service components and unit-based pricing.