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Amendment 001 Extends due date to October 10, 2023 at 5:00 PM ET. The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), US Geological Survey (USGS) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) as a means of conduct... Amendment 001 Extends due date to October 10, 2023 at 5:00 PM ET. The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), US Geological Survey (USGS) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in, experience, and the resources to support this requirement for the potential need for services. The USGS Upper Midwest Sciences Center (UMESC) in La Crosse, Wisconsin has a need to significantly reduce the amount of water used while maintaining the capacity to rear multiple life stages of cold, cool, and warm water aquatic species. This is not an announcement of a Solicitation. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.215-3, Request for Information for Solicitation and Planning Purposes (October 1997), this notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP). The DOI, USGS intends to assess the responses to include in its decision-making. This notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the government to contract for services. The government will not pay for any information provided as a result of this notice and will not recognize or reimburse any cost associated with RFI submission. Responses to this RFI will not affect a potential offeror's ability to respond to any RFP that might follow. Please ensure that any sensitive or protected information is marked as such, as this information will be kept confidential except as provided by law. Background The UMESC regularly conducts research that uses aquatic animals (fish, amphibians, and invertebrates) to help inform management of our natural resources. The Center currently uses up to 1,000 gallons of well water per minute for building HVAC (~350 gpm) as well as for indoor/outdoor research and aquatic animal husbandry activities (¿ 650 gpm). The Center has a requirement to reduce water use up to 90% while maintaining current aquatic animal husbandry, research, and facility operation capabilities. The aquatic husbandry facilities could be modified to use recirculating, biofiltration, solids management and water conditioning technologies to reduce water use. It is imperative to maintain diverse aquatic species rearing/holding capacity including, but not limited to, full life cycle cold-, cool- and warm water fish, amphibians, and invertebrates. Capabilities to (1) temperature acclimate aquatic organisms, (2) hold aquatic organisms at various water temperatures, and (3) administer/discharge therapeutic treatments from independent culture tanks must also be retained. The purpose of this RFI is to receive information from qualified entities with a potential interest in designing aquatic husbandry facilities that will minimize water use while maintaining core husbandry capabilities and capacities. The current capabilities of the Center's aquatic husbandry facilities are further described below. UMESC aquatic husbandry facilities and capabilities Indoor facilities: (1) One approximately 7,000 ft2 environmentally controlled main culture room (Figure 1) containing the following tanks/systems/capabilities: a. Vertical egg incubation system (2 x 8 trays, ~12 gpm max.; Figure 2a) b. McDonald-type egg incubation system (10 jars, ~15 gpm max.; Figure 2b) c. Water temperature controlled d. 26 rectangular tanks (500 gallon, ~6 gpm each; Figure 3a) e. 2 tanks have water temperature control for acclimation/holding f. 10 round tanks (500 gallon, ~6 gpm each; Figure 3b) g. Filtered effluent for AIS containment h. All tanks have water temperature control for acclimation/holding i. 4 round tanks (200 gallon, ~4 gpm each; Figure 3c) j. All tanks have water temperature control for acclimation/holding k. 2 square tanks (200 gallon, ~4 gpm each; Figure 3d) (2) Two approximately 300 ft2 ancillary husbandry rooms (Figure 4) a. Flexible use with water temperature control (3) A bio secure semi-recirculating aquaculture system (~ 1,500 gallons; Figure 5) a. ~400 gallons/day water use (4) A bio secure isolation system a. (3 tanks 200-500 gallons; 4-6 gpm when operational) Flexible use with water temperature control Figure 1 (see attached). UMESC ~7,000-ft2 indoor aquatic animal husbandry facility Figure 2 (See attached). Vertical tray and Mc Donald jar egg incubation systems. Figure 3 (see attached). Example 500-gallon rectangular tank (A), 500-gallon circular tank (B), 200-gallon circular tank (C), and 200-gallon square tank (D) in UMESC aquatic husbandry facility Figure 4 (see attached). Ancillary 150-ft2 husbandry room Figure 5 (see attached). Bio secure 1,500-gallon semi-recirculating system. Outdoor facilities: Outdoor aquatic animal research and rearing facilities consist of lined earthen as well as concrete ponds and raceways located within a 6-acre complex (Figure 6). a. 2 lined earthen 0.5 acre (1,630,000-gallon capacity, typically husbandry activity 2 fills/year) b. 1 lined earthen 0.25 acre (815,000-gallon capacity, typically husbandry activity 2 fills/year) c. 13 lined earth 0.1 acre (130,000-gallon capacity, typically 2 husbandry activity fills/year) d. 6 concrete 0.1 acre (130,000-gallon capacity, typically 1 husbandry activity fills/year) e. 24 concrete 0.01 acre (13,000-gallon capacity, typically 1 husbandry activity fills/year) f. 10 concrete raceways (2,000-gallon capacity, up to 35 gpm each) g. 2 concrete raceways (3,000-gallon capacity, up to 50 gpm each) h. 1 concrete circular raceway (3,000-gallon capacity, up to 50 gpm) Figure 6 (see attached). UMESC 6-acre outdoor research and aquatic animal husbandry facility Typical annual production/rearing Coldwater (rainbow, brown, and/or lake trout) a. Eggs-fry = 250,000 b. Fry-2" = 150,000 c. 2-6" = 10,000 d. 6" =1,000 Coolwater (yellow perch, walleye, smallmouth bass, northern pike, lake sturgeon) a. Eggs-fry = outdoor production, 2-3 earth ponds b. Fry-2" = outdoor production, 2-3 earth ponds=15000 c. 2-3" = 10,000 d. 3-6" = 4,000 e. 6-8" = 500 broodstock maintained Warmwater (Bluegill, largemouth bass, golden shiner, black bullhead, channel catfish, fathead minnow, gizzard shad, paddlefish, bigmouth buffalo, common carp, silver carp, bighead carp, grass carp) a. Eggs-fry = outdoor production, ~numerous earth and concrete ponds b. Fry-1" = outdoor production, ~ numerous earth and concrete ponds c. 1-2" = 60,000 d. >2" = 85,000 e. Broodstock: =5,000 Other aquatic species (native mussels, mudpuppies, daphnia) a. Native mussels, glochidia-YOY = 15,000 Daphnia magna - continuous culture Mudpuppies - intermittent production Scope of Services Recirculation, biofiltration, mechanical filtration, solids management, water tempering, and other water conditioning technologies are acceptable for use. System(s) shall be capable of providing a continuous supply of water suitable for aquaculture use as defined by Piper (1982) and Timmons and Ebeling (2013). Tank inflows and holding densities shall conform to flow and density indexes as described by Piper (1982) and Timmons and Ebeling (2013). Consideration should be made to reduce reliance on pumps when possible. Redundant pumps and critical alarms are essential to prevent catastrophic losses. Designs should account for serviceability, solid/waste management, and redundant/secure containment of animals which, may include invasive species. Designs should maximize available space, minimize labor requirements, utilize system automation, and utilize water quality monitoring. Please provide the physical space requirements for the system(s) and a rough estimate of the cost, consisting of engineering cost; capital equipment cost, installation costs, and operating costs. Piper, R. G. (1982). Fish hatchery management. US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Timmons, M. B., and J. M. Ebeling (2013) Recirculating aquaculture 3rd ed. Ithaca, NY. 788 pp POCs: Mary (Beth) Wilson, Contract Specialist, bwilson@usgs.gov. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it shall be synopsized in SAM.gov website (https://sam.gov). It is the potential offerors¿ responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Submission of any information in response to this RFI is purely voluntary. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. Submittals If your organization has the potential ability to meet this requirement, 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. 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. 3) Scope of services. 4) Project schedule. 5) Rough order of magnitude cost separately for each of the proposed services. (Any expenses including travel, lodging and other reimbursable expenses shall be included in the fee for the proposed services.6) Examples of your team's previous successful project (if available). Evaluation The government will evaluate market information to ascertain qualifications and 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. BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS RFI, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION, and multiple awards MAY be made. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. Time of Response Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed services are required to provide a rough estimate of the cost, consisting of engineering cost; capital equipment cost, including installation; and operating cost. Please submit a response to this RFI by 5:00 PM EST on October 20, 2023. All responses under this RFI can be electronically submitted via e-mail to Mary (Beth) Wilson at bwilson@usgs.gov.