SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- CRITICAL TECHNICAL REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF MMS SITE-SPECIFIC STUDIES TECHNIQUES
- Notice Date
- 6/5/2006
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- MMS Procurement Operations Branch, Attn: Ms. Rhonda Fernandez 381 Elden Street, MS 2100 Herndon VA 20170
- ZIP Code
- 20170
- Solicitation Number
- 0106RP39799
- Response Due
- 6/25/2006
- Archive Date
- 6/5/2007
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- NSL: NT-04-06 The U. S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) has a requirement for a scientific/technical study to be performed, the objective of which is review and evaluate the appropriateness of the MMS marine mineral site-specific studies conducted to-date and determine if the current procedures/mechanisms and/or study design should be modified to yield information which may be more scientifically appropriate or provide a greater cost/benefit relative to the assessment of environmental impacts of offshore dredging operations on the biological and physical environments.. The prospective contractor will organize a Scientific Review Team (SRT) comprised of recognized scientific/technical experts in the fields of offshore numerical computer wave modeling, physical oceanography, coastal sediment transport, benthic and fisheries biology, and offshore dredging technology in order to review and critique the methodologies employed by the MMS Marine Minerals Program (MMP) site-specific biological/physical studies conducted to-date, as well as the studies currently in-progress. This is to be accomplished by reviewing and analyzing completed environmental studies reports and contracts/work statements/technical proposals for ongoing studies. This will be done in light of MMS' legal responsibilities to assess the possible effects of dredging operations conducted under a lease/negotiated agreement issued by the Agency. Following the review, the SRT will determine and recommend appropriate measures which can be implemented to mitigate any apparent or perceived weaknesses in studies approach and will be required to present the results of the review to the MMS at a pre-arranged meeting. The Contractor will be required to prepare a scientific/technical report containing all relevant information pertaining to the studied review and the study modifications recommended. The format and organization for the manuscript will be agreed upon between the Program Manager (PM) and the MMS-COTR prior to preparation. A draft final report shall be submitted to the MMS for review prior to preparation of the final document. The prospective contractor will also be required to prepare a Technical Summary in the format prescribed by MMS after completion and acceptance of the final report. It is expected that the work effort will take a total of 14 months. The cost of this effort is Not to Exceed $100,000. The MMS Leasing Division, and specifically, the Division's Marine Minerals Branch has been focusing on integrating geologic and environmental information, developed through partnerships with coastal States and contracted or cooperative study efforts, to identify suitable Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sand deposits for beach and coastal restoration and to provide needed environmental information in regards to environmental management of these resources. The MMS has jurisdiction over all mineral resources on the Federal Outer Continental Shelf. Public Law 103-426, enacted October 31, 1994, gave the MMS the authority to convey, on a noncompetitive basis, the rights to OCS sand, gravel, or shell resources for shore protection, beach or wetlands restoration projects, or for use in construction projects funded in whole or part or authorized by the Federal Government. Offshore sand dredging for beach nourishment projects employ hydraulic dredges almost exclusively and are normally either cutterhead or hopper-type dredges. Regardless of the dredging method employed, however, the process could potentially result in adverse effects on various components of the marine or coastal environment if the possible effects are not properly assessed pre-dredging, and if mitigation, in the form of area avoidance or engineering modifications is not employed properly. As a Federal Agency, the MMS is required to ensure that, prior to any dredging operation on the OCS, all mandates of applicable environmental legislation (i.e., NEPA) are met. These mandates require that prior to the initiation of a dredging operation the potential environmental effects must be analyzed using the best available scientific and technical information. In an effort to meet those mandates, the MMS Marine Minerals Branch has been contracting for and conducting site-specific biological and physical environmental studies since 1997. The physical efforts have focused on the use of numerical wave modeling, coupled with sediment transport analyses to assess the effects on the local wave climate and sediment transport regime as a result of possible dredging operations and the removal of sand from within identified Federal sand borrow sites. The biological investigations provide an initial characterization of biological conditions at offshore borrow sites prior to any dredging activity. This information has then been used to infer potential effects on biological organisms and communities, including interpretations of potential rates of recolonization.of these communities. This approach to site-specific studies has been modified only slightly since the inception of the site-specific efforts. In the last several years, a fisheries component has been established to provide information useful during the required essential fisheries habitat consultations with MOAA-Fisheries. Since 1997 the MMS MMP has grown considerably and the number of negotiated sand lease agreements issued has increased from about one per year to four or more per year. The amount of sand being conveyed has changed from on average 1 million cubic yards per project to as much as 4 million cubic yards per project. Additionally the frequency and number of times a specific OCS borrow area has been used has changed. Initial requests were evaluated based on the likelihood that an OCS borrow site would be used by one entity over a cycle of once every 4-6 years. Recent requests now illustrate a trend of borrow areas being accessed on average every 2 years and in many cases by multiple entities. This rapid growth has created new environmental concerns and increased the emphasis on adequately assessing environmental impacts from dredging operations, especially over a long time period and as a result of numerous dredging events in the same area. MMP site-specific studies have not changed significantly since first being conducted in 1997. While site-specific studies, as currently conducted, are sufficient to meet legal mandates, they may no longer be entirely appropriate at this present time. It is imperative that these studies are carried out in a manner that provide the best information for answering environmental concerns and provide the best synergy with other MMP environmental studies. Pursuant to FAR Part 19.303, "Determining North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes and size standards". "The Contracting Officer shall determine the appropriate NAICS code and related small business size standard and include them in solicitations above the micro-threshold." The Contracting Officer has determined that the following NAICS code is appropriate for this requirement: 541710 - This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in conducting research and experimental development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences, such as agriculture, electronics, environmental, biology, botany, biotechnology, computers, chemistry, food, fisheries, forest geology, health, mathematics, medicine, oceanography, pharmacy, physics, veterinary, and other allied subjects. This is a 100% small business set aside, being issued in accordance with FAR Part 13 - SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES and FAR Part 19 - SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS. Interested parties must email their request for a copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) to Rhonda Fernandez, Contract Specialist, Rhonda.Fernandez@mms.gov; fax: 703-787-1041, by 4:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Savings Standard Time, Monday, July 5, 2006. All inquiries must include the solicitation number, your full name, organization name, address, e-mail address, and phone and fax numbers.
- Web Link
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- Record
- SN01062745-W 20060607/060605221636 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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