Description
THIS NOTICE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. NO SOLICITATION WILL BE ISSUED AGAINST THIS SYNOPSIS. The purpose of this Modification 30 is to obligate $127,717 in support of Work Assignment 3-101. The anticipated period of performance for this work assignment will be from August 4, 2011 through May 31, 2012. This modification also reduces the funding associated with Work Assignment 2-100 to $20,729.78. The period of performance for this work assignment was from July 9, 2010 through May 31, 2011. Under WA 3-101, the contractor shall provide support for five regional Tribal and Territory Small Water System Technical Training Workshops. The locations for these workshops have been identified as Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, and the U.S. territories of Guam and Saipan. The goal is to provide training to as many of the employees of tribes and territories as possible that received American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for wastewater and drinking water projects. There are 96 wastewater projects and 64 drinking water projects on Tribal lands. Five projects are in the US Territories. It is estimated that up to 60 attendees will join us at each workshop in Guam and Saipan, and up to 40 attendees at the other 3 workshops in the continental U.S. The overall objective of the workshops is to teach system operators and managers how best to operate, troubleshoot and maintain small wastewater and drinking water systems. The workshops will also include a module for tribal and system leaders on effective utility management. One of the most significant challenges with small, rural wastewater systems is the inability or lack of knowledge by their operators to maintain these systems. Providing technical assistance to Tribal Governments and US Territories can be particularly challenging due to highly remote geographic locations. In addition, many of these communities lack access to technology for webcasts and even basic internet access. The workshops that will take place on Guam and Saipan will enable us to reach many system employees instead of just bringing a couple of their employees to workshops on the mainland. The contractor support staff identified for these activities must have knowledge of the subject matter, experience developing training tools and techniques, professional tribal work experiences, and knowledge of different learning styles and tribal and territory culture. Under WA 2-100, the contractor provided support to EPA in its management and oversight of ARRA projects included in the interagency agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Indian Health Service (IHS) the contractor shall: a. Develop a generic quality assurance project plan for water samples collected at completion of Drinking Water and Clean Water facility construction; and b. Develop draft and final meeting reports to assist the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) and Office of Wastewater Management (OWM) with implementing the Protocols for Oversight of Tribal Projects Funded through an Interagency Agreement between EPA and IHS by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 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 the 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.