Description
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Office of Water (OW), Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water (OGWDW), Technical Support Center (TSC), seeks a contractor to provide technical support services for the Drinking Water Optimization Program. The successful contractor will provide support for optimizing drinking water systems to maximize public health protection and assuring regulatory compliance within the scope of the contract. Under this contract, the term optimization refers to improving the levels of drinking water treatment provided, for any contaminant, so that the highest levels of water quality are attained. The successful contractor will supply all necessary labor, material, services, equipment, and facilities in support of the effort delineated by the statement of work. The contractor shall provide support to TSC's optimization program through projects in the following areas: 1) Area-Wide Optimization Program Activities; 2) Technology Transfer; and 3) Total System Optimization (TSO). The general protocol of the existing Composite Correction Program (CCP) will be the basis for all activities. In the area of Area-Wide Optimization Program Activities (AWOPs), tasks shall include: facilitating planning meetings, preparing summaries of the meetings including action items agreed upon, implementing workshops and presentations to train regions and States with the development of their AWOP, preparing materials associated with the meetings, implementing literature searches as well as information derived from other experiences in performance improvement implementation. The contractor shall provide training on both the Composite Correction Program (CCP) and Performance Based Training (PBT) as part of the support to the regional multi-state AWOPs, shall facilitate familiarization of regional and State staff with actual drinking water treatment plants, and demonstrate the various aspects of the CCP and PBT. The contractor also shall work with State personnel and EPA staff in the multi-state AWOPs to identify potential links with these programs and develop strategies for integration of the activities into the AWOPs. In the area of Technology Transfer, tasks shall include the development of materials as needed to meet the goals of TSC's treatment optimization program. The contractor may be asked to develop/deliver optimization activities and resulting materials. In the area of Total System Optimization (TSO), tasks shall include: 1) adapting fundamental technical information from various sources to practical operational procedures and spreadsheets that assist water systems to optimize their treatment plant and distribution system for various treatment objectives; and 2) identifying the required experts and working with them to provide the required practical technical tools to achieve TSO. Potential TSO areas in which the contractor may be expected to work shall include, but are not limited to: disinfection/disinfection byproducts (D/DBP); distribution systems for DBOs and microbial control; ground water; Total Coliform Rule; Lead and Copper Rule; and source water protection. Field-studies and/or laboratory bench-scale studies may be needed to support the development of the various TSO areas and the contractor may be required to provide analytical support for these activities. See Cincinnati website, http://www.epa.gov/oam/cinn_cmd for posted draft Statement of Work for this requirement. Be advised, Statement of Work changes are possible when final RFP is released. The proposed contract will be a cost-plus-fixed-fee, level-of-effort, term type contract, with a base period of one year and four one-year option periods, totaling 60 months. The base-level-of-effort (LOE) for each of the five periods will be approximately 2,200 direct labor hours, with options for additional LOE of up to 2,800 direct labor hours in each period, for a total potential 25,000 direct productive labor hours over the five years, if all options are exercised. This procurement is a small business set-aside under NAICS code 541330 with a size standard of $4,000,000. The solicitation, PR-CI-04-10925, is anticipated to be available in late August 2004. Award is intended to be made by February 15, 2005. It may be accessed through the EPA's home page on the World Wide Web (www.epa.gov). The direct link URL is http://www.epa.gov/oam/cinn_cmd. It is the responsibility of offerors to frequently check FEDBIZOPPS or the EPA website address for updates or changes. No hard copies will be available. The Contract Specialist for this procurement is Jamie Sclafani at 513-487-2045. All responsible small businesses may submit an offer, which will be considered by the agency. Numbered note 1 and 26 applies.