RECOVERY – Analysis of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funded 604(b) planning projects (Contract EP-C-08-004, Task Order 81

THIS NOTICE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. NO SOLICITATION WILL BE ISSUED AGAINST THIS TASK ORDER . The purpose of this Task Order is to support the EPA Water Quality Management program in overseeing the implementation of ARRA by conducting an analysis of the ARRA-funded 604(b) planning projects. The anticipated period of performance for this task order is anticipated to be from April 25, 2011 through April 30, 2012. The task order is funded to $145,043.00. The overall objective of the task order remains the same. It has simply been extended and instead of a national meeting under Task 4, the EPA now requires a series of video and web conferences to discuss the preliminary results of the analysis as well as additional drafts of the products along the way. 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.