R--OVERVIEW OF MODELS AND RESEARCH NEEDS FOR TMDL IN WATERSHEDS

The purpose of this amendment is to 1) change the anticipated contract type to firm fixed price and 2) extend the anticipated issue date to March 2003. The revised text is as follows: The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), Land Remediation and Pollution Control Division (LRPCD) has a requirement for the development of a review document that shall assist EPA in selecting an appropriate watershed model or an integrated watershed modeling system (i.e., externally linked modules) for Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) development and evaluation of alternative Best Management Practices (BMPs) to achieve desired load reductions in targeted watersheds. Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires all states to develop and implement TMDL for their impaired water bodies and water bodies threatened to become impaired. While considerable improvements have been achieved in reducing the amount of point source pollution from factories and municipalities being discharged into U.S. waters, over 40 percent of the Nation's water bodies remain impaired, in that they do not meet water quality standards for their designated use (USEPA 1996). Much of this is attributed to agricultural drainage and other diffuse-source pollution (NPSP) whose control is difficult because the source areas can be hard to identify and typical treatment methods are infeasible due to the distributed nature of the pollutants. Hydrologic, transport and fate models simulate cause-and-effect relationship and offer an effective alternative for quantifying potential benefits of planned restorations of disturbed watersheds and evaluating the efficacy BMPs. The objectives of this contract will be to provide a review document that: (1) evaluates watershed hydrologic/hydrodynamic and water quality models that can be used by states for developing and implementing TMDL for sediments, nutrients, and toxins; and (2) identify areas in which further research and development could improve the performance and usability of currently used models. The RFP shall be competed on a full and open basis and the EPA anticipates the award of a firm fixed price type contract. Solicitation No. PR-CI-03-10115 is expected to be issued approximately March 2003 and close 30 days thereafter. It will be available on the internet at http://www.epa.gov/oam/cinn_cmd. Interested parties are expected to download the solicitation and subsequent amendments from the given web site. Hard copies will only be issued on a limited basis to those eligible firms without internet access. Request for hard copies shall be mailed, faxed or e-mail to the POC. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to frequently check the site for any amendments. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which will be considered by the EPA.