Inactive

Description: MARKET RESEARCH FOR ALL QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES DUE BY 2:00 PM ON March 22, 2019. THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a solicitation or a request for proposal and n... Description: MARKET RESEARCH FOR ALL QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES DUE BY 2:00 PM ON March 22, 2019. THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a solicitation or a request for proposal and no contract will be awarded based on this notice. No solicitation or specifications are available at this time. Please monitor FBO, this sources sought will not be linked to a solicitation. The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) is conducting market research to determine if any Small Business sources have the current relevant qualifications, experience, personnel, and capability to perform the work described herein under a program entitled "Technical Support for U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Ballast Water Management (BWM)" Program". The primary NAICS code for this sources sought notice is 541620, Environmental Consulting Services. The National Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (PL 101-646), as amended by National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (PL 104-332), authorized the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to develop and implement a regulatory program to prevent the introduction of Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) into the waters of the United States by vessels discharging ballast water. Pursuant to the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (hereinafter "NISA"), the USCG published regulations that established the National Ballast Water Management (BWM) Program for U.S. Waters. The program applies to all vessels that are equipped with ballast water tanks and transit the waters of the United States bound for ports or places in the United States. A key component of the USCG BWM program requires that all vessels manage their ballast water if entering U.S. waters after operating outside of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The USCG's Final Rule, Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters (Federal Register Vol. 7, No. 57; March 23, 2012), requires that ships manage ballast water to comply with the discharge standard. While some options exist for managing ballast water without treatment (for example, no discharge of ballast water, use of public drinking water, use of a shore-based discharge facility), the USCG expects that most ships will meet the discharge standard by employing treatment technologies. The Volpe Center provides technical support for the USCG's Environmental Standards Division (CG-OES-3) Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) and BWM programs. The support is specifically for the Ship Technology Evaluation Program (STEP), Alternate Management System (AMS) Program, and Ballast Water Treatment System type approval process. These programs evaluate the engineering design and performance of ballast water treatment systems, integration of the treatment system into ship's operations overall and its ballast management regime, biological study plan and experimental design for determining the operational and biological efficacy. To perform these tasks, the Volpe Center will assemble and manage a Review Panel consisting of a project manager, marine biologist, micro biologist and marine and water treatment engineers who are subject matter experts. Contractor personnel for these tasks shall consist of a marine biologist, micro biologist, and water treatment engineer experienced with shipboard ballast water treatment systems. Responsiveness to the tasks must follow the Coast Guard's guidelines. In order to best provide support to its sponsors in this important work, the Volpe Center anticipates the need for assistance in the following seven (7) task areas. 1. Participate in intergovernmental and industry stakeholder BWM technical conferences and teleconferences to address emerging technical issues. 2. In support of the Ship Technology Evaluation Program (STEP), perform assessments of prototype ballast water treatment systems designed to kill or deactivate marine life by experts in marine biology and engineering. The work will include desktop reviews of system engineering specifications and experimental study plans for assessing treatment effectiveness, field observation of the system's operations and the execution of the tests. 3. Review Alternate Management System (AMS) applications, including detailed evaluations of data packages submitted by manufacturers to demonstrate the biological efficacy of foreign type approved Ballast Water Treatment (BWT) technologies for use in U.S. waters. 4. Perform larger scale analyses of the biological efficacy data held by the USCG on previously accepted AMS submissions. 5. In support of the U.S. Type Approval Program for BWT systems, assess the scaling methods used by BWT systems manufacturers when they increase the treatment rated capacity (ballast water flow rates) by combining base units in series or parallel. 6. Analyze the data vendors provide with an AMS application for missing information compared to the data requirements for U.S. Type Approval. 7. Resolve disparities between the vendor's and the independent laboratory's assessment of test data requirements for U.S. Type Approval. Please respond to all of the following questions. Your responses to all four (4) questions shall not exceed six(6) type written single pages using 11 font size and Times New Roman. Failure to either answer all four (4) questions and/or stay within the six (6) single page maximum will result in your firm not being considered as part of this market research. 1. Briefly identify past professional experience which clearly demonstrates that your firm is qualified to perform work under all 7 task areas identified above. Please include points of contact and telephone numbers for all referenced projects for verification. 2. Does your firm qualify to compete under a total small business set-aside under NAlCS 541620? If yes, if a total small business set-aside is conducted will your firm compete? 3. Does your firm have a nationwide presence or capability to meet all 7 tasks no matter where or when they may occur? (If yes, please address in as much detail how you would meet this need through current capabilities and/or national locations of current offices?) 4. Is your firm registered in System for Award Management (SAM)? If yes, please provide your SAM identification number and ensure your Reps and Certs are current or up to date in SAM. https://www.sam.gov/portal/pub!ic/SAM/. If not, you are required to be registered in SAM to do any business with the government. AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. This is for planning purposes only and is a market research tool to determine availability and capability of potential Small Business Sources. The government will not reimburse responders for the cost of any submittals. Interested firms must submit a written capabilities statement (not to exceed six (6) typed written single pages using Times New Roman font size 11) to the above named point of contact providing clear and convincing evidence of the firms' capability to provide the required services as outlined in the seven (7) task areas and answering the four questions provided above. Please provide your DUNS and Cage Code numbers with your capabilities statement. Written capability statements must be submitted within twelve (12) calendar days from the date of publication of this synopsis. Responses received after twelve (12) calendar days or without the required documentation will be considered non-responsive and will not be considered. Such documentation will be utilized solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. The Government will not pay for any documentation provided in response to this synopsis and documentation received will not be returned to the sender. A determination by the Government to compete or not to compete this requirement on a full and open competitive basis will be based upon responses received to the synopsis and is solely within the discretion of the Government. Statements of Capability should be sent Roland Regan, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142 or by email to Roland.Regan@dot.gov.