A -- TASK G-BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR APPLIED RESEARCH UNDER THE DESALINATION AND WATER PURIFICATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (DWPR) PROGRAM

Notice Date

January 8, 2001

Contracting Office

Bureau of Reclamation, Acquisition Operations Group, Code D-7810, Denver Federal Center, PO Box 25007, Denver CO 80225

ZIP Code

80225

Solicitation Number

N/A

Response Due

March 1, 2001

Point of Contact

Diana Mulligan, (303) 445-2436, Grants and Cooperative Agreements Officer

E-Mail Address

Diana Mulligan (dmulligan@do.usbr.gov)

Description

By 01/12/01 the pre-proposal package may be obtained from the Bureau of Reclamation home page located at URL http://www.usbr.gov/aamsden/AAMSsol.html. Reference FY 2001 Desalination and Water Purification Research and Development (DWPR) Program Pre-Proposal for Task G, Testing of Pilot Scale Systems. Parties without Internet access shall request the pre-proposal package in writing by facsimile to (303) 445-6345 or to the email address contained herein dmulligan@do.usbr.gov. Telephone requests will not be honored. Pre-proposals must be submitted in accordance with the instructions contained in the pre-proposal package and shall not exceed six pages in length. Pre-proposals are due no later than 03/01/01. The U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), is currently requesting pre-proposals for research activities sponsored by the DWPR Program. Through this program, Reclamation is forming partnerships with private industry, universities, local communities, and others to address a broad range of desalting and water purification needs. The overall objective of the program is to reduce the cost of desalting and water purification technologies in order to augment water supply in the United States. The Water Desalination Act of 1996, the authorizing legislation for this program, defines the following important terms (note the definitions are very broad and inclusive): (1) Desalination or desalting means "the use of any process or technique for the removal and, when feasible, adaptation to beneficial use, of organic and inorganic elements and compounds from saline or biologically impaired waters, by itself or in conjunction with other processes." (2) Saline water means "sea water, brackish water, and other mineralized or chemically impaired water." For fiscal year 2001, Reclamation is soliciting pre-proposals in the Testing of Pilot-Scale Systems investigation area for projects of 24 months duration or less (follow-on funding may be available for future demonstration projects). Contingent upon Congressional funding, a maximum amount of up to $270,000 per agreement will be awarded for the investigations for the Reclamation cost-share portion, as follows: amounts up to $150,000 for the first year for pilot plant design, construction, and installation; and amounts of up to $120,000 for an optional second year for testing, modification, and evaluation. Offerors (other than academic institutions of higher education) must be willing to cost-share 50% or more of the project cost, depending on the financial need of the project. Offerors proposing to provide additional cost-share will be given greater consideration. Cost-sharing may be made through cash or in-kind contributions from the offeror, or third party non-Federal participants. Cost-sharing is not mandatory from academic institutions, but is strongly encouraged. The authorizing legislation for this program provides for up to a total of $1,000,000 per year to be awarded to academic institutions of higher education, including United States-Mexico binational research foundations and inter-university research programs established by the two countries, without any cost-sharing requirement. No profit or fee will be allowed. Patent rights for any developments will be retained by the research partner (offeror) in accordance with provisions contained in the solicitation. Reclamation's laboratory facilities are available for use on a cost reimburseable basis. These include laboratory and pilot-scale equipment at the Technical Service Center in Denver, Colorado, and the state-of-the-art water treatment facility, the Water Quality Improvement Center, in Yuma, Arizona. If you need detailed information on these facilities and costs, please contact the above. Any responsible source, to include individuals, academic institutions, commercial or industrial organizations, private entities, public entities (including state and local), or Indian Tribal Governments, may submit a pre-proposal which will be considered by Reclamation. Foreign entities, other than United States-Mexico binational research foundations and inter-university research programs established by the two countries, are not eligible for funding under the authorizing legislation for this program. Federal agencies are not eligible to apply. Pre-proposals will be reviewed for overall scientific and/or technical merit; results from earlier successful research studies indicating the project is at pilot-plant stage; potential contributions to Reclamation's DWPR program objectives; qualifications of the proposer; and reasonableness of the estimated project costs. Meritorious pre-proposers will be encouraged to submit a full proposal. Submission of a pre-proposal is not mandatory; however, offerors are strongly encouraged to do so in order to receive the benefit of the initial pre-proposal screening process. Solicitation packages for the full proposals will be issued on or about 04/02/01, with a due date of approximately 45 days after issuance. For fiscal year 2001, Reclamation anticipates the award of one (1) or two (2) financial assistance agreements of 24 months duration or less, with Federal funds of about $150,000 awarded for the first year of the agreement, subject to the content and quality of proposals received; however, should additional funding become available and successful first year results are obtained, additional awards may be made without further competition. TASK G -- TESTING OF PILOT-SCALE SYSTEMS -- The primary objective of this emphasis area is twofold: (1) to cost share the design, fabrication, and testing of laboratory-scale systems, processes, and concepts; and (2) to cost share the design, construction, and testing of pilot-scale systems. Awards under this task typically result from successful research studies from one of the other emphasis areas in the DWPR program that demonstrates a high level of success and a need for further technology development. However, any researcher may submit a pre-proposal who can provide sufficient documentation indicating a high level of prior successful research has been accomplished and that the project is at design, build, and testing pilot-plant stage.

Web Link

AAMS Current Solicitation Listing (http://www.usbr.gov/aamsden/)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010110/ASOL006.HTM (W-008 SN50A3X3)