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

A -- REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS ALONG THE U.S./MEXICO BORDER SOL 11R015 DUE 091499 POC Pamela E. Smith (919) 541-0635, Purchasing Agent THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN SUBPART 12.6, AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTES ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. The solicitation number is 11R015 and the solicitation is being issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-13. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) anticipates that the contract will be awarded as a result of full and open competition. A firm-fixed-price purchase order is anticipated to result from the award of this solicitation. The associated Standard Industrial Code (SIC) is 8731. This procurement requires the contractor to provided a report on environmental health indicators along the U.S./Mexico border. STATEMENT OF WORK: A. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL) conducts research in support of the Agency's Border XXI program. This program is an innovative binational effort which brings together diverse U.S. and Mexican federal and state entities. As part of that research effort NHEERL is interested in determining the possible resources and approaches available to determine environmental health indicators that could be used to examine benefits of environmental management decisions for air and water pollution. B. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of this project is to determine, evaluate and propose possible methodologies for using/linking environmental health indicators for air and/or water pollution conditions and changes in those conditions that may result from environmental management decisions and activities. This work will require a multi disciplinary approach and involves many issues relating to surveillance, epidemiologic studies, monitoring networks, and exposure assessment that must be integrated into a report. C. CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS: The contractor shall prepare a report on environmental health indicators along the U.S./Mexico border. This includes the following states: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California and their Mexican counterparts and should be limited to those counties along the border. The contractor's report shall include the following: 1) Identification of appropriate health endpoints (e.g., diarrhea, asthma,) 2) Identification of current systems available to provide information on those endpoints, 3) Suggest methodologies to collect that information or methodologies to establish surveillance systems or studies that would provide that information where it currently does not exist. 4) Evaluate existing systems, citing their advantages and disadvantages. 5) Provide documentation in the form of annual reports, listings etc. of all monitoring and surveillance systems identified. Ideally, the contractor shall provide such information for health indicators relevant to air AND water pollution. However, consideration will also be given to proposals that focus solely on one or the other. The contractor shall participate in monthly meetings with the project officer to discuss progress and other issues that arise. The contractor shall provide a final report for this project. It is expected the contractor shall travel once to the Human Studies Facility in Chapel Hill, NC, twice to meetings between representatives of the Border 21 Environmental Health Workgroup and the Air and Water Workgroups, and once to an Environmental Health Workgroup meeting to present the results of this work. The Environmental Health Workgroup and the Air and Water Workgroup meetings will take place along the border area. D. GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES: Background information on the Border XXI program is available at the following web site: www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder. Documents listed on the web site which are particularly relevant for this professional services contract are the Executive Summary, the Border XXI Framework, and the Annual Implementation Plans. The EPA project officer will participate in monthly conference calls with the contractor to monitor progress. The EPA project officer will review a draft of the report and provide written comments 10 business days of receipt of the draft report. The EPA project officer will approve each deliverable. E. SELECTION CRITERIA: The Government will award a Purchase Order resulting from this Request for Quote to the responsible offeror whose quote will be the most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. Offeror information addressing the evaluation criteria should not exceed 15 typed pages. The following criteria will be used to evaluate offers: 1. Knowledge and Technical Approach to Statement of Work. The offeror shall provide: a. their approach to provide the technical and research support activities; b. resumes for employees who would be assigned to work on this project; c. technical reporting capabilities and procedures (capability to produce all required technical reports in a timely and acceptable manner and procedures for assuring high quality products). 2. Past Performance. The offeror shall provide: a. A listing of current and recent contracts (past five years) of similar work. Include information on points of contact in the company or agency, project officer, contracting officer, addresses and phone numbers. Price. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: The contractor shall provide EPA with copies of all data collected, a list of names, addresses and phone numbers of all people contacted. The contractor shall provide EPA with a draft report and a final report (three copies and electronic form in WordPerfect 6.1 or Microsoft Word 7.0). G. SCHEDULE AND DELIVERABLES: Deliverable 1. The contractor shall provide an outline of the report for this project. Due no later than three months after the award of this contract. Deliverable 2. The contractor shall provide a draft report for this project and presentation to the EPA no later than June 15, 2000. Deliverable 3. The contractor shall provide a final report (3 copies) and in electronic format (WordPerfect or Microsoft Word) on a disk or via e-mail on July 29, 2000. Deliverable 4. The contractor shall prepare and make a presentation to the Air and/or Water Workgroup for Border 21 and an additional presentation to the Environmental Health Workgroup for Border 21. This to be accomplished no later than November 15, 2000. The following FAR provisions apply to this solicitation: 52.212-1, Evaluation-Instructions to Offerors-Commercial; 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Item. Evaluation criteria to be included in paragraph (a) of provision 52.212-2 are as follows: (I) Knowledge and Technical Approach to Statement of Work, (ii) past performance; (iii) price, in decreasing order of importance. Technical and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price. All offerors are to include with their offers a completed copy of provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items. The following FAR clause applies to this acquisition: 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items. The following additional FAR clauses which are cited in clauses 52.212-5 are applicable to the acquisition: 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, with Alternate I; 52.203-10, Price or Fee Adjustment for Illegal or Improper Activity; 52.219-14, Limitation on Subcontracting; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity, 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Special Disabled and Vietnam Era Veterans; 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.222-41, Service Contract Act of 1965, As Amended. Cost and technical information should be submitted in separate proposals. Please submit two copies of the technical proposal and two copies of the cost proposal to Pamela E. Smith, Purchasing Agent, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, MD-33, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. Courier Delivery Address is: U.S.Environmental Protection Agency, Receptionist-Administration Bldg. Lobby, Attn: Pamela E. Smith, 79 Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. All offers are due by September 14, 1999, 4:00 p.m. ET. No telephonic or faxed requests will be honored. can be found at http://www.epa.gov/oam/rtp_cmd. Posted 08/27/99 (W-SN373776). (0239)

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