Description
This is a Sources Sought Notice (hereinafter "Notice"). This Notice is an essential step in determining market interest and feasibility in accordance with FAR Part 10 and is for information and planning purposes only. This Notice is solely for the Government's use as a market research tool. This Notice does not constitute a request for proposals, a solicitation, or a request for quotes. If determined appropriate, then both a synopsis and a solicitation may be anticipated in the Fiscal Year 2016 timeframe. All responsible sources are encouraged to submit a response to this Notice. All information received will be considered. Failure to respond to this Notice does not preclude a firm from offering on any resultant solicitation; however, a lack of interest in this requirement may keep this effort from moving forward competitively. This Notice shall not be construed as a commitment or authorization to incur costs in anticipation of an award. The Government is not bound to make any awards under this Notice. Interested parties should provide a statement of interest on company letterhead by no later than 3:00 pm EDT on August 10, 2015 . Responses are preferred via email; hard copies will also be accepted . If the statement of interest will be provided via hard copy, please notify the primary or secondary point of contact identified herein. At a minimum, t he statement of interest shall address the following criteria: (1) capability and experience in the ownership and/or leasing, operation, and maintenance of Natural Gas systems; (2) financial capacity with regard to leasing or ownership interest, expansion, and operation of a utility system; (3) understanding of any applicable state or local utility law or franchise requirements, and capability of complying with such requirements; (4) understanding of the federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations and its familiarity and experience with environmental compliance procedures and regulations for the state for which the utility is located; (5) a primary point of contact, including phone number and email address; and (6) business size (other-than-small, small, or any subcategory of small business) relative to the NAICS code 221210 . The potential opportunity for set-asides for small businesses and small disadvantaged businesses will be considered on the basis of the responses received. If you are interested in this effort, please provide the information requested above to the DLA Energy Contracting Office. Requirement The Defense Logistics Agency Energy (DLA Energy) seeks to identify and obtain information from responsible sources in connection with the acquisition of utility services for the privatization of the Natural Gas Distribution System (NAICS 221210) at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas (PBA). Privatization is defined as the conveyance of a utility system to a municipal, private, regional, district, or cooperative utility company or other entity. The conveyance may consist of all right, title, and interest of the United States in the utility system(s). Utility Privatization (UP) will be accomplished in accordance with 10 U.S.C. §2688 - Utility Systems: Conveyance Authority. It is intended that privatization will reduce the Government's life cycle costs. The resulting privatization will include the ownership interest of the system(s), operation, and maintenance. The new owner shall operate and maintain the system(s) and provide utility services to the Government. The Contractor/System Owner shall furnish all management, supervision, permits, equipment, supplies, materials, transportation, and any other incidental items or services required for the complete ownership and provision of utility services by the use of these utility systems being privatized, including operation, maintenance, repair, upgrades, and improvements to the utility systems. All responsibility for maintaining reliable service, including such items as environmental compliance, maintenance costs, major system renovations, construction, equipment, manpower, and overhead costs shall become the responsibility of the new utility system(s) owner . Installation Description PBA is located in Jefferson County, Arkansas, approximately 35 miles south-southeast of Little Rock, Arkansas. The 13,444-acre (approximate) installation is under the jurisdiction of the Commanding General, U.S. Army JMC. PBA has approximately 927 buildings with total floor area of nearly 3.6 million square feet. PBA's daylight population is composed of approximately 900 military, civilian and contractor employees. The work force has minor fluctuations. PBA's mission is to provide specialized manufacturing, maintenance, storage, and distribution of readiness products and delivers technical services to the war fighter and homeland defender, while focusing on quality and value when responding to national defense needs. The PBA vision is to be the preferred center for specialized products and services, responsive to national defense needs. Key organizations on PBA, other than PBA staff, include the U.S. Army Health Clinic - PBA, Industrial Hygiene/Preventive Medicine Services, U.S. Army Technical Escort Unit, Armed Forces Reserve Center (AFRC), and the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC). Additional installation information may be located at: http://www.pba.army.mil/default.aspx Secure Documents If sufficient interest is identified and this requirement proceeds in a competitive action, several of the solicitation documents will be posted as "secured" on the Federal Business Opportunity ("FedBizOpps" or "FBO") website. In order to view those documents, vendors will need to obtain special access. The process of obtaining access is somewhat lengthy, therefore all interested vendors are encouraged to begin that process as soon as possible. Instructions for obtaining access are provided below. Instructions for access to the FBO Secure Site To access the secured, but unclassified, documents in the FBO system, vendors must follow these instructions: •1. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ . For assistance with SAM, please contact the SAM help desk. Contact information is available at https://www.fsd.gov/ . •2. Once registered in SAM, go to the FBO website at https://www.fbo.gov/ and log in. Verify your SAM registration within the FBO system. For assistance with FBO, please consult the FBO Vendor Guide, which is available at https://www.fbo.gov/downloads/FBO_Vendor_Guide.pdf . •3. After your SAM registration is verified in the FBO system, please follow the steps as outlined below: •a) Begin by clicking on the secured document link, which should then provide you with the corresponding link for the DD Form 2345, Military Critical Technical Data Agreement. The DD2345 is also available at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/JCP/forms/DD2345Form.pdf . •b) Fill out the DD 2345 and submit a hard copy of the original form, together with all required documentation, to the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS), U.S./Canada Joint Certification Program (JCP), at the address listed on the form. •c) JCP will return an approved and signed certified form, which will include your certification and expiration date. Please note that delays may be incurred if forms and/or required documentation are incomplete or incorrect. •d) For assistance with the DD2345, or to inquire about the acceptability of electronic provision of documentation, please contact the U.S./Canada Joint Certification Office, DLIS. Contact information is available at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp/team.aspx . DLA Energy is not involved in the approval process and cannot provide assistance with processing. •e) Once approval is received, it can take up to 24 hours for the JCP information to reach all systems. •4. Once you receive the approved DD2345 from JCP, and have verified your status on the JCP website, enter the FBO system and click on the secure document link. The FBO system will require you to enter your MPIN. If you are not prompted to enter a MPIN, please contact the FBO help desk. Contact information can be found at https://www.fsd.gov/ . •a) The MPIN is a mandatory data element created by the SAM registrant which must have nine characters [consisting of at least one letter (upper or lower case) and one number, with no spaces or special characters permitted] •b) The MPIN allows access to related acquisition systems (i.e. ORCA and PPIRS). It also validates access to sensitive, but unclassified, documents associated with a notice posted to FBO. •5. Following verification of the MPIN in FBO, vendors must then submit a request for explicit access to the secure documents through the FBO system by clicking on the secure document line, then clicking the "Request Explicit Access" button. Upon requesting explicit access in the FBO system, vendors should send an email notification to the DLA Energy personnel assigned to the procurement, so that they can approve the request in the FBO system. Vendors will receive an email once the access request has been approved by DLA Energy. Once the MPIN has been verified in the FBO system, and explicit access has been granted, vendors will be able to enter the system and view the secure documents. Place of Contract Performance: Address: Pine Bluff Arsenal , Arkansas Postal Code: 71602 Country: United States Pine Bluff, Arsenal 71602 United States Contracting Office Address: Defense Logistics Agency (Lorton) DLA Energy-FEE (Utility Services Division) 8725 John J. Kingman Road, STP 10400 Ft. Belvoir, VA, 22060-6221