DESC: The Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), in conjunction with the United States Army, plans to offer the privatization of the natural gas distribution system at Red River Army Depot, Texas. Privatization is defined as the transfer of ownership and responsibility for the operations, maintenance, repair, future upgrades, and future utility system replacements. As a result of this solicitation, the firm will be selected to assume ownership of the above-mentioned utility system. The successful firm will be required to provide expansions to the system to meet future needs of the government. The resulting contract, if awarded, will require the Contractor to furnish all facilities, labor, materials, tools and equipment necessary to own, maintain, and operate the utility systems. The Contractor shall manage the maintenance, repairs, replacement, etc., of the systems to ensure continuous, adequate, and dependable service for each Government or tenant connection within the service area. The Contractor shall be responsible for funding all capital investments required to acquire, maintain and operate the utility systems in a safe, reliable condition and to meet the requirements listed in the contract. Offerors will not be required to submit offers on all of the utility systems and may submit offers on individual system(s) or on groups of systems on an all or none basis. For purposes of economic comparison required by 10 U.S.C. 2688, each system will be analyzed and considered for award separately.The Utility System being privatized is described as follows: Installation: Red River Army Depot Location: Red River Army Depot, Texas is located in Central Bowie County, near Texarkana, Texas. Installation Description: Red River Army Depot (RRAD, Red River or the Installation) is an U.S. Army Installation located in Central Bowie County, near Texarkana, Texas. Established in 1941, the Installation was initially designated Red River Ordnance Depot. The Installation was combined with the adjacent Lone Star Ordnance Plant in 1943 and the two installations were called the Texarkana Ordnance Center. In 1945 the two installations were designated Red River Arsenal and then once again became Red River Ordnance Depot (1961). The two installations were separated again in 1962 and this installation became Red River Army Depot. RRAD consists of 19,081 acres, 3 million square feet of covered storage, and 2.9 million square feet of outdoor storage. Its primary responsibility is the rebuild/reconfiguration of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle System including storage, maintenance and demilitarization of ammunition and missiles. Today RRAD operates as a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Installation. A portion of the Installation was determined to be in excess of the Army’s requirement and as such, a portion of RRAD was BRAC’d or transferred to the local Re-use Authority. Today, the BRAC’d area is active and operated by the Red River Re-Use Authority (RRRA). Utility Systems to be privatized: The following is provided only to give an approximation of the size, scope, and general description of the system. Any numbers should only be used for estimating purposes. The following system parameters are approximations. A. Natural Gas Distribution System Description The RRAD natural gas distribution system consists of all appurtenances physically connected to the distribution system from the point in which the distribution system enters the Installation, and/or Government ownership currently starts, to the point of demarcation as defined by the real estate instruments. Generally, the point of demarcation will be the building footprint. The system may include, but is not limited to, pipelines, valves, regulators, and meters. The following description and inventory is included to provide the Offeror with a general understanding of the size and configuration of the distribution system. The Offeror shall base the proposal on site inspections, information in the technical library, other pertinent information, and to a lesser degree, the description following in subsequent paragraphs. Under no circumstances shall the Offeror be entitled to any rate adjustments based on the accuracy of the following description and inventory. The Installation’s existing natural gas distribution system includes approximately 97,638 linear feet of medium and high-density polyethylene, steel, and coated and wrapped steel pipe, 34 main valves, 83 industrial services and 27 residential services. The distribution mains range in size from less than 2 inches to 6 inches in diameter. There are high and low pressure lines that make up the distribution system. Low pressure is approximately 20-25 psi and the high pressure is approximately 50-60 psi. The entire distribution system at RRAD is owned, operated and maintained by the Government. This includes the section of the distribution system located within the BRAC area. According to Installation personnel and as observed from the inventory, approximately 71 percent of the RRAD natural gas distribution system has been replaced or upgraded to polyethylene pipe since 1970. However, some of the original pipeline (installed in 1943) is still in service. The remaining steel and coated and wrapped steel pipe receives no cathodic protection or checks annually. Overall, the system is considered to be in good to excellent condition as rated by the Installation personnel. Several conditions exist that may effect the ownership and operation of RRAD’s natural gas utility system. Some of these conditions include: radio frequency use limitations, special security concerns, non-government operations and tenants and utilities located inside blast perimeters. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations governing the operation of the Natural Gas Distribution System. The Contractor(s) shall furnish all facilities, labor, materials, tools, and equipment necessary to own, maintain and operate the utility system(s) in a safe and reliable condition. The Contractor(s) shall manage the maintenance, repairs, replacement, etc., of the system(s) to ensure continuous, adequate, and dependable service for each Government or tenant connection within the service area. Real property interests will be conveyed in the form of a Real Estate Easement as an attachment to the RFP. The utility system(s) will be conveyed via a Bill of Sale upon award of the contract. Past performance information from potential Offerors shall be submitted as directed in the RFP. All responsible sources may submit an offer, which shall be considered. Large businesses are required to submit a subcontracting plan with their offer. The cascading preference source selection method will be used in the evaluation of firms for award under this solicitation. Offerors from small businesses will be considered first. In accordance with FAR Subpart 19.5, any award resulting from the solicitation will be made to an eligible small business concern provided that (1) at least two competitive offers are received from responsible small business concerns, and (2) award will be made at a fair market price. If conditions for an award to a small business are not met, award will be made on the basis of full and open competition considering all offers submitted by responsible business concerns. Interested sources shall contact Christine Bond Jawish at 703-767-3298 to be added to our bidder mailing list. A copy of the solicitation will be available after issuance, on the Internet at the below listed URL. The solicitation will be available on or after September 8, 2004. LINKURL: http://www.desc.dla.mil/DCM/DCMPage.asp?pageid=246 LINKDESC: http://www.desc.dla.mil EMAILADD:
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