RECOVERY - Recovery - ARRA Drinking Water and Wastewater System Training For Tribes and Territories (CONTRACT EP-C-11-009, Modification 4)

THIS NOTICE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY NO SOLICITATION WILL BE ISSUED AGAINST THIS SYNOPSIS AS THIS WORK IS ISSUED AGAINST AN EXISTING AGENCY CONTRACT. The purpose of this Modification 4 is to obligate $350,000in initial funding in support of Work Assignment (WA 0-200). The period of performance for this work assignment will be from March 2, 2011 through December 31, 2011. The objective of Work Assignment 0-200 of Contract EP-C-11-009 is to conduct up to seven regional Tribal Small Water System Technical Training Workshops. 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 50 attendees will join us at each of the seven workshops. The objective of the workshops will focus on how best to operate, troubleshoot and maintain small wastewater and drinking water systems. The workshops will also include a module for tribal 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 them. 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. This Work Assignment will provide up to seven technical training sessions that are geographically reasonable for these ARRA funded Tribes and Territories to travel to. The Indian Health Service (IHS) will fund travel, hotel, and per diem costs for the attendees. The potential workshop training locations may include: Anchorage, Billings, Rapid City, Seattle, Albuquerque, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. This work assignment is also to provide ways to increase information sharing and improve collaboration between EPA Regions and headquarters and IHS working on Clean Water Indian Set Aside (CWISA) projects using ARRA funds. 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 culture. The modification also incorporates into the contract clauses required for contracts involving ARRA funded activities. 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.