Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

INTRODUCTION The Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in an... INTRODUCTION The Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to conduct a demonstration utilizing an air curtain incinerator for the reduction of vegetative debris in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The project aims to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, and environmental impact of using this technology for debris management in a disaster-prone island environment with limitations on final disposition. The intention is to procure these services on a competitive basis. BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES (IN FULL OR IN PART) OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. All Small Business Set-Aside categories will be considered. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. DISCLAIMER THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A “REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)” TO BE SUBMITTED. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. RESPPONSES WILL NOT BE RETURNED TO THE RESPONDER. NOT RESPONDING TO THIS NOTICE DOES NOT PRECLUDE PARTICIPATION IN ANY FUTURE REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) OR INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) OR RFP, IF ANY ISSUED. IF A SOLICITATION IS RELEASED, IT WILL BE SYNOPSIZED ON THE GOVERNMENT-WIDE POINT OF ENTRY (GPE). IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF POTENTIAL OFFERORS TO MONITOR THE GPE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMMATION PERTAINING TO THIS REQUIREMENT. REQUIRED CAPABILITIES The Contractor shall provide: A. Site Assessment & Preparation 1. Conduct a pre-work site assessment of the proposed demonstration site to ensure suitability of incinerator installation to include any pre-work sampling or testing. 2. Obtain necessary permits and regulatory approvals for the demonstration project. 3. Verify if water service is available near demonstration area or if water trucks must be supplied for demonstration. 4. Prepare the site for installation, including clearing the site, stockpiling vegetation, and ensuring proper access for equipment. The site shall include the following parameters: a. Adequate distance of 1000 ft (305 m) from an occupied dwelling or business b. Adequate distance of 100 ft (31 m) of overhead utility lines c. Available distance of 100 ft (31 m) for separation of debris pile and air curtain incinerator d. Has minimum distance of 30 ft (9 m) wide for fire lane around air curtain incinerator e. Adequate real estate for placement of debris piles away from power lines, 100 ft (31 m) B. Incinerator Installation & Setup 1. Provide and furnish an appropriate air curtain incinerator system designed for vegetative debris reduction at a rate of (minimum x rate of production/hour). 2. Install and setup the incinerator according to the manufacturer specifications and any local regulations. 3. Set up vegetative debris and ash stockpile and staging areas prior to moving to final disposal. 4. Conduct operational testing and ensure proper functionality of the incinerator system. C. Demonstration Execution 1. Provide all necessary management, labor, and supervision to perform an air curtain incineration demonstration and monitoring in order to reduce a total of XX cubic yards of vegetative debris over the course of XX DAYS/HOURS. 2. Load the incinerator with collected vegetative debris and monitor the incineration process. 3. Record and analyze performance metrics to include fuel consumption, burn rates, reduction rates, and emission levels. D. Oversight 1. Provide all necessary equipment and qualified personnel to load the incinerator, stockpile ash debris, and conduct ash sampling as required. E. Monitoring 1. Provide all necessary equipment and personnel to conduct continuous monitoring of personal and community air quality during the demonstration. 2. Provide all necessary equipment and personnel required to ensure the demonstration is executed with regard to all safety requirements as outlined in the EM 385-1-1. F. Disposal & Closeout 1. Adequately dispose of all reduced material at an approved facility or disposal site. 2. Upon completion of work, document conditions and conduct sampling to compare pre-work conditions if required. 3. Restore the demonstration site to pre-work condition. G. Documentation & Reporting 1. Pre-Work Planning Submittals a. Prepare and submit an Air Curtain Incineration Site Safety Plan that includes protective measures for workers and the public. The plan shall include an Activity Hazard Analysis for each definable feature of work in accordance with the EM 385-1-1. b. Prepare an Air Curtain Incineration Site Operations Plan specific to the location including staging areas, site ingress/egress, site management, organizational chart, traffic control plan, site security, baseline environmental testing and monitoring plan, site layout, and environmental mitigation plan. 2. Prepare a comprehensive site assessment report that includes video/photograph aerial and/or ground imagery, notation of important features (ex. structures, fences, culverts, etc.), required sampling, and any required air quality baseline testing. 3. Prepare comprehensive documentation of the demonstration project including procedures, observations, and findings. 4. Generate a final report summarizing the results of the demonstration to include evaluation of effectiveness of the incinerator in reducing vegetative debris volume and mitigating environmental impacts as well as comparing the cost-effectiveness of using the incinerator versus traditional and available debris management methods. Further detail is provided in the draft Performance Based Work Statement (PBWS) attached to this announcement (Attachment 1). If your organization has the potential capacity to perform these contract services, please provide the following information: 1) Organization name, address, email address, Web site address, telephone number, and size and type of ownership for the organization; and 2) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to: 1) provide services consistent, in scope and scale, with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements; 3) implement a successful project management plan that includes: compliance with tight program schedules; cost containment; meeting and tracking performance; hiring and retention of key personnel and risk mitigation; and 4) provide services under a performance based service acquisition contract. ELIGIBILITY The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 562119-Other Waste Collection with a Small Business Size Standard of $47M. The Product Service Code is S208. Businesses of all sizes are encouraged to respond; however, each respondent must clearly identify their business size in their capabilities statement. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION DETAILS (CAPABILITIES STATEMENT) A draft Performance Based Statement of Work (PBSOW) and draft Personnel Qualifications Description are attached for review. (Attachment 1) Interested parties are requested to submit a capabilities statement of no more than ten (10) pages in length in Times New Roman font of not less than 10 pitch. The deadline for response to this request is no later than 2:00 pm, EST, 24 May 2024. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be e-mailed to melaine.e.robles@usace.army.mil. This documentation must address at a minimum the following items: 1) What type of work has your company performed in the past in support of the same or similar requirement? 2) Can or has your company managed a task of this nature? If so, please provide details. 3) Can or has your company managed a team of subcontractors before? If so, provide details. 4) What specific technical skills does your company possess which ensure capability to perform the tasks? 5) In how many days would you be able to mobilize? 6) What type of air incinerator do you intend to use? 7) Do your firm own or rent the air incinerator? 8) Please note that under a Small-Business Set-Aside, in accordance with FAR 52.219-14, the small business prime must perform at least 50% of the work themselves in terms of the cost of performance. Provide an explanation of your company’s ability to perform at least 50% of the tasking described in this PBSOW. 9) Provide a statement including current small/large business status and company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office locations, Unique Entity ID (UEI) number, etc. 10) Respondents to this notice also must indicate whether they qualify as a Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, HUBZone, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern. The estimated period of performance consists of 21 calendar days with performance commencing on or about 1 August 2024. The contract type is anticipated to be Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP). The proposed contract is anticipated to include tasking that would be accomplished by labor categories that are subject to the Service Contract Act or a collective bargaining agreement. Upon evaluation of the capability statements, if it is determined that this requirement will be an unrestricted competition, the Government intends to evaluate the Small-Business responses and conduct further market research to identify a subcontracting goal. Your response to this Sources Sought, including any capabilities statement, shall be electronically submitted to the Contract Specialist, Melaine Robles, in either Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF), via email melaine.e.robles@usace.army.mil. All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government. No phone calls will be accepted. All questions must be submitted to the contract specialist identified above. The Government is not committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided, and no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought. Prior Government contract work is not required for submitting a response under this sources sought synopsis. You must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), to be eligible to receive an award from any Government solicitation. To register, go to www.sam.gov. For additional information visit the website for the Federal Service Desk (www.FSD.gov) which supports SAM or contact them at 866-606-8220 for assistance.