NAICS Code: 541690 THIS REQUIREMENT IS RESTRICTED TO SMALL BUSINESSES ONLY The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8 office, Denver, Colorado, is soliciting quotations from individuals and companies that may have the qualifications to complete several technical assistance and sanitary surveys for the Tribal Public Water Systems located within the State of Montana. If you are interested in submitting a quote, please include the following: 1. A statement of qualifications which should be brief, but should include the resumes of the staff who would be completing the Statement of Work (SOW) tasks. Staff experience should include all background in working with public water systems (PWSs), either as a consultant or as a PWS operator. Please also list all relevant academic degrees that the staff may have. 2. A statement of staff availability. EPA is particularly interested in knowing how much lead time a contractor would need to respond to individual work requests. It is important that those submitting quotations be able to visit a site on very short notice, particularly when problems, such as bacterial contamination, should arise at a regulated Tribal Public Water System. 3. The fully-loaded hourly rate(s) of the person(s) who would do the work. Under this contract, billing will be done as hourly rates plus expenses. All indirect costs and administrative costs must be folded into the hourly rate. Expenses are limited to those incurred by the field staff while performing their duties, or in the preparation and delivery of contract reports (such as xeroxing, photo development, and postage). 4. A list of any public water systems that the contractor currently retains as a client. Also, if applicable, please note which staff currently act as PWS operators for the public water system. (NOTE: This information will not necessary disqualify a candidate from consideration). The full package should be no more than 20 pages in length. Please submit this information to Maureen Martin at the address listed below. U.S. EPA, Region VIII (8TMS-G) 999 18th Street, Suite 300 Denver, Co 80202-2466 Price quotes may also be emailed to
[email protected] or faxed to (303) 312-6339 or (303) 312-6363. Please submit your quotation by August 20, 2003. Please note that more than one award may be made from this solicitation, based on geographic location. (As mentioned in Item #2 above, it is imperative that the contractors be able to respond quickly in the event of an emergency at a public water system.) Awards will be made based on best value. To determine best value, EPA will evaluate the quotations using the following criteria: 1.Technical expertise and familiarity with the Tribal and Indian Reservations as well as the structure and operations of various types of drinking water systems 2. Geographic location of field staff 3. Familiarity with the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141) 4. Ability to respond to individual work requests in a timely manner 5. The proposed hourly rate and associated expenses 6. Past performance, for those contractors who have completed tasks in this Statement of Work under previous contracts; or past performance on other similar kinds of work. 7. Price All questions about this proposal must be submitted in writing to Ms. Minnie Adams, U.S. EPA Region 8, 8P-W-MS, 999 18th St., Ste. 300, Denver, CO 80202 or email to
[email protected] Questions must be received by August 14, 2003. Statement of Work: On-Site Technical Assistance and Sanitary Surveys for Tribal Public Water Systems in Montana The primary purpose of this contract is to assist the Tribal Public Water Suppliers in Montana in complying with the requirements of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. The successful bidder may be directed to perform one or more of the following tasks. Tasks will frequently be performed on-site at the water system, and will be performed only upon prior direction by the EPA Work Assignment Manager (WAM). The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) WAM may not direct the successful bidder to perform all tasks listed below. All tasks will be performed according to EPA guidance, and will comply with EPA regulations where applicable. Responsibilities The contractor will receive written (FAXed or e-mailed) assignments from the contract's WAM for some or all of the following tasks. Each assignment will be made on a case-by case basis. 1.Technical Assistance a. Drinking Water Sampling - Prepare or assist regulated water systems in preparing drinking water samples, calendars and site sampling plans. - Collect or assist water system managers/operators in collecting water samples for relevant regulated contaminants, and other sampling where directed by EPA. b. Compliance Assistance - Prepare or assist water system personnel in preparing Public Notices when a non-compliance (MCL violation, action level exceeding, or monitoring and reporting (MR) violation) has occurred. - Assist water system personnel return to compliance, including assisting with disinfection. - Assist operators in troubleshooting contamination problems. - Prepare or assist water system personnel in preparing annual Consumer Confidence Reports. c. Other Assistance - Provide assistance to operators for efficient operation of their systems, and maintenance support. - Provide assistance with record keeping and reporting. - Assist with equipment installation (e.g. turbidimeters, chlorinators), calibration, and operation. - Provide other assistance depending on specific system needs. - Perform security and safety vulnerability surveys, and recommend improvements where necessary. 2.Training Provide training to and/or for the following: - Managers/operators on the requirements of new EPA rules (e.g., Arsenic Rule, Filter Backwash Rule, Surface Water Treatment Rule, Radionuclide Rule, Ground Water Rule, etc.). - Sample collection for all phases of drinking water monitoring, including how, when and where to take repeat samples and follow-up samples for the Total Coliform Rule. - Operator certification and re-certification, including one-on-one training (tutoring) when directed. - Water system operators and/or utility managers to manage, operate and maintain water systems, including establishing rate schedules, billing, and collection. - System-specific training for operators new to a system, and equipment-specific training for operators with new equipment. - Provide water system operators and/or utility managers on developing maintaining technical, managerial, and financial capacity. 3. Sanitary Surveys - Perform or assist EPA personnel in performing sanitary surveys on individual public water systems, and prepare sanitary survey reports. - Obtain well logs, update "as built" drawings and photos of systems, and other relevant information as necessary to complete the sanitary surveys. - Provide follow-up assistance to water systems in correcting significant deficiencies found during sanitary surveys. 4. Capacity Development - Assist EPA personnel in determining and developing the technical, managerial and financial capacity for specified tribal public water systems as defined by EPA. 5. Circuit Rider Services - Provide on-call assistance to individual water systems for problem solving or emergency compliance issues, and emergency operation. - Perform site visits to confirm completion of specified actions. 6. Source Water Assessments - Perform and/or assist in developing source water assessments with tribal and EPA personnel where indicated. 7. Comprehensive Performance Evaluations - Perform and/or assist in performing Comprehensive Performance Evaluations with tribal and EPA personnel. 8. Other - Identify potential public water systems not currently on EPA's inventory, assist in gathering new systems inventory information. - Identify changes made to water systems on EPA's inventory, including changes in: active/inactive status; population served; pumping, storage, and distribution system; treatment and filtration methods; etc. 9. Reporting - Provide quarterly reports to EPA summarizing task accomplishments and other activities. Reports will be provided to EPA within 10 working days of the end of the quarter in which work was performed. End of Contract Reporting At the end of the contract period, the contractor will prepare a brief (i.e., only a few pages, at the most) report summarizing how many tasks were completed under each of the nine areas of responsibility listed above. Additional reporting requirements are specified under specific areas of responsibility. Additional Requirements (1) For all site visits, the contractor will inform the PWS operator that they are contract employees (not EPA employees) who have been hired by EPA to provide various forms of technical assistance and sanitary surveys. At all times, the contractor will be courteous to the PWS operators and will suggest, but not insist, that the PWS operators follow advice given during the visit. (2) If the contractor observes that a PWS is not complying with any of the drinking water regulations; or, if conditions at the facility pose an immediate public health risk, the contractor will inform EPA as soon as possible. (3) Some written work requests will require an expedited response, particularly in the case of drinking water emergencies. (4). All work performed by the contractor will be done in accordance with pertinent Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements. Duration of Contract: This contract will be in place from the award date until August 31, 2004. Billing The contractor will submit monthly invoices to the EPA in accordance with the Purchase Order. All hourly charges must be for technical/field work, or for any activities associated with technical/field work (such as travel, field work, per diem, lab analyses for drinking water samples, reports preparation, xeroxing, photo development, and postage). Unless prior written approval is obtained by the Contracting Officer and Work Assignment Manager, this contract will not fund any administrative or indirect charges, including QA review of the reports by anyone other than the field personnel. All indirect charges must be considered in the proposed hourly rate. All expenses will be itemized and must be in accordance with EPA cost reimbursement policies. All travel and per diem charges must be made at the same rates as those allowed EPA personnel.