Inactive

This is a Sources Sought Notice and is for market research purposes only. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPSOAL, QUOTATION OR BID. NO SOLICITATION IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers... This is a Sources Sought Notice and is for market research purposes only. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPSOAL, QUOTATION OR BID. NO SOLICITATION IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District is conducting market research to identify sources (Small Businesses and Other-than-Small Businesses) that have the knowledge, skills and capability to perform the work concerning the potential project described below. The Government will use the responses to this sources sought announcement to make appropriate acquisition decisions for this project. Responses are to be sent via email to wayne.c.weidenhamer@usace.army.mil and david.w.neal@usace.army.mil no later than 2:00 PM, 13 July 2020. Please include the sources sought notice identification number in the subject line of the email submission. Questions or assistance regarding small business can be directed to the Omaha District Small Business office at cenwo-sb@usace.army.mil PROJECT BACKGROUND: Plains snowpack and soil moisture measurements in the Upper Missouri Basin (UMB) are currently less than desirable for National Weather Service (NWS) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) hydrologic modeling needs. The UMB is the plains area of the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa. The plains area consists of portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The entire area of the upper basin is approximately 315,000 square miles. The plains area of the UMB, which excludes the mountainous areas above elevation 5,500 feet and about 10,000 square miles in Canada, totals about 270,000 square miles. With the plains region covering a large area of the UMB, understanding plains snowpack and soil moisture can be a tremendous aid to basin monitoring and forecasting. State Mesonets have been installing meteorological measuring stations throughout the UMB. USACE is eager to expand this network by retrofitting existing sites, as well as adding new sites to the network. The UMB Soil Moisture and Snowpack Monitoring Network (Network) will be implemented in the plains regions of Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Coordination between contractors, federal agencies, tribes, and land owners will be vital to ensure all information is relayed to the appropriate party. There are approximately 172 existing soil moisture sites in the upper basin that will need upgraded equipment installed. Of these 172 sites, 148 are owned and operated by five state Mesonet office (MT, WY, ND, SD, and NE); the other 24 are owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (AgriMet). There are total of 368 new sites that will need new equipment installed, which will complete the 540-site network. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Corps is seeking a contractor to assist in the expansion of the UMB Network by establishing a point of contact and liaison between the state Mesonets, the Corps, other contractors, and other state and federal stakeholders. The contractor would be responsible for refining a site selection methodology based on stakeholders concerns, and developing a site database to provide information as implantation progresses. The contractor will act as a liaison between individual state Mesonets, and between the Mesonets and the Corps. All issues brought up by the states will first be discussed with the contractor, who will then be responsible for being the voice of the state Mesonets. All instruction and guidance from the Corps will be presented to the Mesonets through the contractor. The contractor will assist in making all transactions, deliverables, and submittals comparable throughout the UMB. USACE anticipates issuing a five year contractor with a base and four option years. Specific tasks include: 1. Coordination among agencies and stakeholders. The contractor will coordinate with appropriate federal, state, and local agencies, including but limited to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) All state agencies in the Missouri River Basis State and local soil conservation Districts Tribes Topics of Coordination include: NEPA and Section 106 (USACE) Landowner Agreements/Access to Sites (Mesonets, USACE, and NRCS) Soil Sampling (NRCS and Mesonets) Data Transmission/Availability (NOAA and Mesonets) Site Location (Mesonets, USACE, and NRCS. Site access and location will be necessary to meet policies and requirements specific to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, in order to be in compliance and move forward with updating an existing or new site. USACE will need to have access to each site to ensure Section 106 compliance. Site visits for Section 106 compliance will need to be coordinated with landowners, as well as the appropriate personnel from USACE. Site access will also be necessary for soil sampling, which will be done by NRCS. This will need to be coordinated between NRCS and landowners. NEPA documentation can be done at a desk, but site coordinates will be necessary. Each site will need to transmit all data to the Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) database, which is operated by NOAA. The contractor will coordinate with the respective agency and make them aware of any identified database connection issues. 2. Site Selection Methodology. A key task for the contractor is development of the site selection methodology. The contractor shall facilitate the new site selection process, but is not the decision authority. The contractor will need to take into account all participating agencies concerns. Using data provided by NRCS and the Corps, the contractor will work collaboratively with the Mesonets to determine new site “candidate” locations. Once the contractor and Mesonets have compiled a list of “candidate” locations, NRCS and the Corps will make the final decision on new site locations based on dominant soil type and site topography. The proper site topography is necessary to ensure that plains snow data obtained from the site is representative of the area. In addition to new sites, the contractor will be responsible for working with the Mesonets to prioritize retrofitting the existing Mesonet sites in the UMB. The contractor will be responsible for monitoring any proposed location changes to existing sites, and coordinating with USACE to ensure that NEPA and Section 106 requirements are met prior to any site retrofits. 3. MADIS Data Connection. All data from the UMB Network will transmit data to the NOAA MADIS database. The data collected at the UMB Network sites must be directly comparable across the UMB so that the data can be used in models and forecasting efforts for the entire UMB. The contractor will coordinate with NOAA to ensure all sites transmit all site data, except photos of snow coverage, to the MADIS database, and ensure transmitted data is comparable across the UMB Network. If the data is not being transmitted, or if the data is not comparable across the UMB, the contractor will notify the respective agency for resolution. In the event that a site is not transmitting, or if MADIS is inaccessible, the contractor will be responsible for notifying MADIS and USACE. The contractor shall facilitate the inclusion of the retrofitted and new sites in the National Mesonet Program, which is part of NOAA. 4. Reporting. The contractor will be responsible for communicating all requests and recommendations between the Mesonets and USACE. The contractor is responsible for scheduling and leading meetings that include USACE and all other agencies involved, as deemed appropriate to the topic at hand, as implementation progresses. Topics of discussion may include, but not be limited to, site selection, soil sampling, NEPA and/or Section 106 compliance, installation procedures, operations and maintenance, and all elements involved in the storing, retrieval and review of data in the MADIS database. The contractor is responsible for making recommendations, not decisions. All decisions will be made by USACE. 5. Site Database. The contractor will develop and maintain a web-based geographic application that displays information from all sites (installed and to-be-installed) in the UMB. This application will be accessible by USACE so that the information ca be used in developing various reports to provide leadership. The application will include the site name, site location, site owner, data transmission times, instrumentation, soil information, and links to snow depth camera photos for each site. This application will provide soil characteristics for each site, as well as the ability to view archived historical data for each site. Contractors should have general knowledge and ability to develop expertise in the following areas: Interaction with multiple stakeholders with varying authorities and often competing interests; Key products needed for reservoir management; Environmental regulations and associated processes required to comply, including NEPA, NHPA, and the Clean Water Act; Soils, classification techniques, and monitoring requirements for soil moisture and infiltration calculations; Geographic Information Systems; Field data transmission techniques, include the MADIS database; and Requirements for data licensing between state and federal agencies, including the Department of Army SUBMISSION DETAILS: All interested, capable, qualified and responsive contractors are encouraged to reply to this sources sought notice. Interested contractors should submit a narrative demonstrating their experience with providing similar services or the ability to provide similar services. Narrative should also demonstrate knowledge of the information stated above in this notice. Narratives shall be no longer than 10 pages. Email responses are required. Please include the following information in your response/narrative: Company name, address, and point of contact, with phone number and email address CAGE Code and DUNS Number Business size to include any official teaming arrangements as a partnership or joint venture Details of similar projects, if applicable and how work is similar to this requirement Start and end dates of similar work, if applicable Project references (including owner with phone number and email address) Project cost, duration and complexity of job Responses will be shared with the Government and the project management team, but otherwise will be held in strict confidence.