U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Contracts Management Division (MD-33), Attention: CMB-A, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

A -- CLEAN AIR STATUS AND TRENDS NETWORK CASTNET SOL DAVE-D005 DUE 022097 POC Dave Donnelly, Contracting Officer, (919) 541-7888 E-MAIL: CLICK HERE TO CONTACT THE CONTRACTING OFFICER, donnelly. dave@epamail.epa.gov. The EPA has a current contract for Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) contract 68D20134 with Environmental Science Engineering Inc. This level of effort cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is in its final option period. Under this contract, the contractor operates an integrated network of environmental monitoring sites designed to measure and assess status and trends in atmospheric and ecosystem pollutants and effects. The network consists of fifty-one sites, mostly in the Eastern United States. The design of an integrated monitoring network permits EPA to operate and coordinate, under a single contract, a network with appropriate spatial and temporal resolution to achieve the monitoring objectives of both the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) (Titles I,III, IV, and IX) and the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). Data collection objectives are as follows: To quantify the total deposition of sulfur and nitrogen compounds into sensitive ecosystems with an uncertainty of plusor minus 25%; to quantify the spatial patterns in total sulfate and nitrate with a spatial interpolation uncertainty for wet sulfate and nitrate of plus or minus 25-40%; and to detect a trend in wet sulfate deposition by 1997 and quantify the trend by 2001. The current contract expires July 31, 1997. However, work on CASTNet must continue without interruption to provide a complete data base for trends and spatial analysis of SOx and NOx to determine if Title 4 of the CAAA is being achieved. Only an extension of the present contract can provide uninterrupted critical monitoring support to meet these objectives. Therefore, the Government intends to extend the period of performance of this contract up to 12 months from August 1, 1997, to July 31, 1998, to allow for the continuation and completion of critical ongoing work and to allow for the award of the follow-on contract. The Government's best estimate of the additional labor hours required to complete the existing work for 12 months is 46,000 hours. No additional hours on the existing level of effort contract are required, only a time extension is required. Only the incumbent contractor has the knowledge and "know how" to continue working on the CASTNet without an extensive training and start-up period. It may not be practicable for the Government to substitute a replacement contractor(s) during the extended period of work due to the limited time work is needed, the Government's need to meet regulatory requirements, and the expense of multiple transitions. The work to be completed during this time period requires the same expertise and qualifications as is currently required to perform the work assignments under the contract. Specifically, in order to provide technical support for the operation of CASTNet, the contractor must have, as a minimum, knowledge of monitoring station/platform set-up, siting criteria, site representativeness, and site design, monitoring system operational performance including, but not limited to methods for measurement of pesticides, inorganics like, NOx, NOy, and SO2, methods for characterizing fine particles, acidic deposition; wet, dry, and cloud, and analysis techniques for all the above species requiring laboratory analysis, and measurement data analysis and storage, statistical analysis and reporting of data, interpretive data analysis, and inferential model development and analysis for dry deposition and cloud. The incumbent contractor has in place a qualified/trained contract acclimated staff which matches the unique immediate needs of the Agency to maintain the current CASTNet network. Interested parties who believe they can provide the required services are invited to submit, in writing, an affirmative response demonstrating an ability to immediately assume the on-going CASTNet activities without disruption to the current operations and demonstrating a cost benefit to the Government in view of the short period of performance. Any written response must be received no later than 15 days after publication of this synopsis. In order to be responsive, the correspondence must be accompanied by a written narrative statement of capability and qualifications, including detailed technical information sufficient to permit agency analysis in order to determine a bonafide capability to meet the Government's requirements. Responses without the required documentation will be considered non-responsive. This is NOT a formal notice of solicitation. No telephone or facsimile requests will be honored. See Numbered Note(s): 22. (0036)

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