Description
THIS NOTICE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY.NO SOLICITAION WILL BE ISSUED AGAINST THIS SYNOPSIS The purpose of this Modification 60 to COntract EP-C-08-015 is to obligate $1,045,648.26 in new funding for Option Period 3 in support of several Work Assignments issued to support the Office of Water?s efforts related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These work assignments are as follows: Work Assignment 3-101 which has an anticipated period of performance of January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. This work assignment is currently funded to the amount of $537,951. Work Assignment 3-102 which has an anticipated period of performance of January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. This work assignment is currently funded to the amount of $569,196. Work Assignment 3-103 which has an anticipated period of performance of January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. This work assignment is currently funded to the amount of $1,565,486. Work Assignment 3-105 which has an anticipated period of performance of April 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. This work assignment is currently funded to the amount of $50,000. Work Assignment 3-106 which has an anticipated period of performance of January 28, 2011 through December 31, 2011. This work assignment is currently funded to the amount of $500,000. Work Assignment 3-107 which has an anticipated period of performance of March 14, 2011 through December 31, 2011. This work assignment is currently funded to the amount of $574,730. Work Assignment 3-108 which has an anticipated period of performance of April 12, 2011 through December 31, 2011. This work assignment is currently funded to the amount of $88,600. Under WA 3-101, the contractor will continue to provide support for technical and administrative tasks to inform and coordinate Regional and Headquarters policy development and decision-making on meeting the BA provisions of ARRA particularly in regard to requests for waivers from the requirements of section 1605. Efforts include:O Collect and log all requests for waivers from the requirements of the Buy American provisions of the ARRA. O Evaluate waiver requests related to the purchase and installation of construction material and equipment for water and wastewater facilities to ensure waivers comply with applicable justifications.O Evaluate construction cost estimates and develop detailed independent construction cost estimates as needed to evaluate waiver requests for the purchase and installation of construction material and equipment for water and wastewater treatment facilities, including estimated costs for iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured goods. Compare project costs using goods manufactured in the US compared to foreign manufactured goods. O Prepare a report on each waiver. O Develop a tracking spreadsheet database documenting each waiver request. Under WA 3-102, the contractor will continue to provide the technical and logistical assistance to support the EPA in achieving the goal, objectives and requirements of the ARRA provisions as to ?Green Infrastructure.? Efforts will revolve around the review of DWSRF project proposals received by the individual State for ARRA funding to determine whether those projects have a green component, and make recommendations for green practices that can be incorporated into the projects. The effort will include providing technical assistance to states and applicants in developing and reviewing the ?business cases? that are submitted along with projects in support of considering them as green projects. The primary focus is on the green aspects of drinking water infrastructure projects. The work is intended to supplement and be coordinated with EPA?s efforts for the GPR through the CWSRF. This work assignment will benefit the agency by advancing our goal of encouraging the development and implementation of projects that provide the social, health and environmental benefits to be derived from "environmentally green" projects under ARRA?s Green Project Reserve (GPR). Under WA 3-103, the contractor will continue to provide the expertise and support to assist EPA?s effort to assure an effective, legal and appropriate expenditure of ARRA funds to achieve the objectives of the economic stimulus through significant program implementation and oversight. Support tasks include assisting in: tracking the program?s implementation; reviewing EPA Regional ARRA implementation efforts; assisting and training EPA Regional Offices in the oversight of State ARRA programs; training and assisting States in implementing their ARRA program including tracking and providing technical assistance to applicants; developing information to assess the successful implementation of the program; and providing reports on achievements to senior EPA and Executive Branch officials, the U.S. Congress, the water industry and other stakeholders and the general public. Under WA 3-105, the contractor will provide needed technical and engineering support to EPA Region III in its oversight of DC in order to ensure successful implementation of the ARRA requirements for ARRA-funded DDOE CW projects. Under WA 3-106, the contractor will support an evaluative process of EPA?s drinking water and wastewater utility management; utilities that have received ARRA funding will be given technical assistance and guidance to implement utility management practices that are expected to lead to improved sustainability of the ARRA funded project. Subsequently, the contractor will provide support for the iterative evaluation using the Effective Utility Management (EUM) framework and tools (e.g. EUM Primer, Keys to Management Success, sample performance measures) of 100 utilities that received ARRA funds for water infrastructure improvements. Following each evaluation, the contractor will work with the utility to develop an improvement plan based on the assessment and the priority each utility places on specific management attributes. A subset of utilities that are pre-identified by states will receive on-site technical assistance and training to implement their improvement plans. Under WA 3-107, the contractor will provide support to EPA and State SRF programs in the management and oversight of ARRA funds provided to the SRF assistance recipients. Management/oversight of the SRF ARRA funds will include assisting EPA and State SRF programs in the review/inspection of State SRF assistance recipients to ensure proper use of ARRA funds and compliance with ARRA requirements. Specifically, the contractor shall conduct 182 inspections and document reviews involving SRF assistance recipients in the following States: New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Minnesota, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Under WA 3-108, the contractor will study how SRF ARRA funds were spent with regards to disadvantaged communities. The study will examine the extent to which subsidy was preferentially awarded with regards to socioeconomic indicators, both in terms of the use of preferential interest rates and `additional subsidization? in the form of grants or grant like instruments. Comparable analyses will be conducted for both the DWSRF and CWSRFs and, to the extent possible, will provide a basis of comparison with a previous study on historical use of subsidy by the CWSRF. The study will provide a basis for understanding how subsidy is used under provisions such as those included in ARRA so as to inform future policy. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) contains specific acquisition requirements that must be met when using appropriated funds from the Act, including the need for acquisitions to be in accordance with the FAR and, to the maximum extent practicable, awarded as fixed-price (FP) contracts using competitive procedures. However, the Office of Management and Budget?s guidance allows for the use of other than FP contracts. Although the Agency?s Office of Water (OW) contracts were not awarded as FP contracts, they were awarded competitively, and each contract structure was selected to provide the contractor with the greatest incentive for efficient and economical performance, given the types of services to be performed. The existing OW contracts have sufficient qualified acquisition personnel to provide appropriate contract administration and oversight to monitor contract performance to mitigate the Government?s risk. In order to meet the requirements of the Act in t he most prudent business manner within the time constraints imposed, existing OW contracts are the most appropriate contractual vehicles consistent with Agency plans that promote the goals of the ARRA.