The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Emergency Response Operations located in Raleigh, NC is in need of an "on call" Tractor Trailer and Driver for their Deployable Response Unit (DRU). This is a mobile, stand-alone, fully-functional communication command center deployed throughout the contiguous United States (CONUS) for emergency response activities. In addition to emergency deployments, the DRU will occasionally be transported for outreach and public awareness events. NOTE: "DRU" and "trailer" may be used interchangeably throughout this notice. Driver must be : A U.S. citizen; At least 21 years of age; Have a valid CDL Class A; Must be knowledgeable and compliant with Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR), Title 49 Transportation, and all other applicable transportation regulations. SCOPE OF WORK 1) Contractor must be available by phone 24 hours a day/7 days a week to respond to emergency transport requests; 2) Driver must be onsite at specified location within 24 hours of initial notification to transport trailer to specified destination within CONUS; 3) Prior to movement, Driver shall make a full inspection of trailer tires/brakes/lights and inspect undercarriage for any loose cables or wires. Driver is to immediately report any problems requiring attention to the ERO USDA Representative. Driver may be required to remain with the trailer or remain on-call until repairs are completed; 4) Driver will transport trailer to specified destination by specified date, and inform local USDA Representative of delivery (drop off) date and time one hour prior of arrival; 5) Driver will ensure trailer is level, stabilized and in good working condition prior to departure from the specified (drop off) location; 6) Driver will remain within physical proximity of trailer at all times until possession is accepted by authorized local USDA Representative; 7) Driver will pick up trailer from original drop off location within 48 hours of notification; 8) Upon pick up, Driver will notify ERO USDA Representative of estimated date and time of arrival at specified destination (usually Raleigh, NC) and inform ERO USDA Representative one hour prior of arrival; 9) In the event trailer is transported from the original drop off location to a location other than Raleigh, NC, Driver is to inform local USDA Representative of arrival date and time; 10) Upon arrival at final destination, Driver shall level, stabilize and insure trailer is in good working condition, and accepted by USDA Representative prior to departure. 11) PPQ Eastern Regional Office is the home base and we finance the equipment and supplies for its deployment. The Contractor would be required to provide the tractor/trailer to transport the DRU. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE Will be determined by each individual order DELIVERABLE SCHEDULE 1) Emergency deployments: Contractor is to be available by phone 24 hours a day/7 days per week. Within 24 hours of initial notice, a qualified driver must be dispatched to transport the trailer to any specified location within CONUS by the specified date; 2) Non-emergency deployments: Contractor will be given no less than 14 days notice prior to transport of trailer to any specified location within CONUS by the specified date; 3) Contractor/Driver must be compliant with Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR), Title 49 Transportation, to include, but not limited to compliance with maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles. LOCATION OF WORK 1) CONUS, primarily Eastern Region (ER), but may extend to Western Region (WR) up to two times per year upon request; 2) CONUS ER includes: AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV, WI. PERSONAL IDENTITY VERIFICATION (PIV) & BACKGROUND CHECKS In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.204-9 Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel. (Jan 2011); The Contractor shall comply with agency personal identity verification procedures identified in the contract that implement Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance M-05-24 and Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS PUB) Number 201. 1) Should the results of the PIV process require the exclusion of a contractor's employee; the contracting officer will notify the contractor in writing. 2) The contractor must appoint a representative to manage compliance with the PIV policies established by the USDA Directives 4620-002 series and to maintain a list of employees eligible for performance of the work. 3) The responsibility of maintaining a sufficient workforce remains with the contractor. Contractor employees may be barred by the Government from performance of work should they be found ineligible or to have lost eligibility. Failure to maintain a sufficient workforce of employees eligible for work performance may be grounds for termination of the contract. 4) The contractor shall insert clause 52.204-9 in all subcontracts when the subcontractor is required to have routine unaccompanied physical access to a Federally-controlled facility and/or routine unaccompanied access to a Federally-controlled information system. 5) The PIV Sponsor for this contract is a designated program point of contact, which in most cases is the local Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), unless otherwise specified in this contract. The PIV Sponsor will be available to receive contractor identity information at day and times to be specified (office address for registration will be provided). The Government will notify the contractor if there is a change in the PIV Sponsor, the office address, or the office hours for registration; however, it is the contractor's responsibility to meet all aspects of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4). Interested sources are encouraged to complete and return Attachment 1 to the contracting office. Telephonic inquiries will not be honored. Please email all questions regarding subject item(s) prior to Sources Sought closing date to
[email protected]. Small Business concerns are encouraged to participate. This is not a request for competitive proposals, but instead a market research method to determine interested sources. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. No requests for capability briefings will be honored as a result of this notice. The Government will not award a contract based on the information received, nor reimburse participants for information or items they provide. Information or materials provided is strictly voluntary. Please Email or Fax Attachment 1 to Carol Dingess at
[email protected]. fx# 970-472-1897 Email is the preferred method of communication. Please be sure to include notice # APHIS-PPQ-15-738201 on subject line. Telephonic inquiries will not be honored. Closing date for submissions of Statement's of Capability is April 16 at 4:00PM MT. Any entity wishing to do business with the federal government under a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-based contract must be registered in SAM at http://sam.gov. ****REGISTRATION IS FREE*** For FREE registration assistance please contact http://www.aptac-us.org/new/Govt_Contracting/find.php or call 1866-606-8220 Any entity doing business with the Federal Government must also obtain a Dunn and Bradstreet number. If your company does not have a DUNS number, you may contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one by calling 1- 866-705-5711or via the following website: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 484230 Specialized Freight Trucking - Long Distance. The Small Business Size Category is $27.5Mil. The Federal Government is not responsible for notifications to offerors regarding the issuance of any solicitation nor any of its amendments regarding this notice. It is the interested verndor's responsibility to check this web site periodically for updates. Telephone and email requests will not be accepted