*** 18 JUNE 2025 - PLEASE NOTE THE RESPONSE DATE IS EXTENDED TO 3 JULY 2025. ***

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This is a Notice of Intent for an Architect/Engineer (A/E) firm for Environmental Compliance projects and supporting services at or designated by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Rome NY, including subordinate field and other supporting sites (Newport, Stockbridge, Verona, - all located in New York State). See Statement of Scope (ATTACHMENT 1).

Architect-Engineer (A-E) services specializing in Environmental Compliance is required for design of miscellaneous environmental compliance projects and supporting services at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Information Directorate and various remote sites (Newport, Stockbridge, Verona, - all located in New York State). Design services (Title 1) required will be in conjunction with environmental compliance type projects, including preparation of drawings, specifications, plans, design analysis, schedules, environmental timelines, surveys, cost of environmental work estimates and supplementary documentation. Also included are Title II Oversight and Monitoring Services as well as Other Services. Due to the nature of site conditions, the Government reserves the right to require the contractor to be present on site within 2 hours of receiving emergency response requests. Firms beyond a 120 mile radius of Rome, NY, should be prepared to demonstrate their ability to meet the emergency response time. A draft statement of scope is provided in ATTACHMENT 1.

A-E qualification should include:

1. Capability to respond within 2 hours to emergency requests, and report any spill defined as reportable in the NYSDEC’s spill reporting and notification requirements guidance.  Examples of emergency requests may include responding to chemical/petroleum spills for containment and/or removal, emergency air sampling, and hazardous waste/material identification and removal.

2. Ability to coordinate emergency responses with local authorities (Local Fire Departments, Hazardous Material Teams, State and Federal Agencies, etc.). 

3. Various types of A-E Services such as site and/or building investigation, inspection, and testing/monitoring services (air, drinking water, asbestos, lead, PCBs, etc.), preparation of studies and reports may also be needed as related to project design and oversight.

4. Ability to provide training in environmental compliance programs, as necessary.  Projects could include various combinations of disciplines such as Natural/Cultural Resource Surveys and designs (Wetlands Inventories, Threatened/Endangered Species Surveys, Remediation/Restoration…etc. and their associated surveys, Archeological/Historical Surveys and designs, Timber Surveys and cruises, Real Property Surveys and services, Pesticide Management, Air Quality, Refrigerant and BASH management and SPCC/Tanks management and Pollution Prevention Surveys and management.

5. Ability to review and understand applicability of all regulations that pertain to AFRL/RI and assist the team to come into compliance with any and all updated regulations on a continuing basis.

6. Applicable geographic information systems (GIS) shall be used and shall be compatible with current Department of Defense (DOD) GIS standards.

7. Ability to coordinate and provide Real Property Surveys and Services, Tower Inspections, construction related oversight, monitoring and inspection, Pollution Prevention Assessments, Environmental Training (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Hazardous Materials,  Environmental and Resident Engineer, Associated, Asbestos and HazMaterial…etc.) as well as an ability to work the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process from start to finish. NEPA requirements may be within AFRL/RI managed properties or at alternate sites based on mission needs.

8. Ability to complete Hazardous Material/Waste Database Entry and disposal preparations, reporting into Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health-Management Information System and Logistics Readiness Toolkit and Air Quality Database entry, and reporting into Air Program Information Management System and environmental restoration reporting into the Environmental Restoration Program Information Management System as well as provide records management for the Environmental program.

9. Ability to conduct or provide oversight for Interim Remedial Measures (IRM) under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United States Air Force (USAF), DOD, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and any other applicable requirements, is required by the A-E. IRMs may include indoor and outdoor remediation of soil, groundwater, indoor and outdoor air, industrial cleaning of metals and dusts…etc.

10. Ability to design and provide oversight for environmental compliance, pollution prevention, conservation, construction and restoration systems, programs and documents based on Federal, State and local requirements, on an as needed basis.

The Government intends to issue a firm fixed-price Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract with a five-year ordering period. The selected firm must negotiate hourly rates for anticipated disciplines, reproduction, overhead, and other elements. Projects will be issued to the contractor by task orders. The minimum amount to be issued under the contract will be the value of the first task order. The maximum ordering amount is $4,500,000 over the five-year ordering period.

This notice is being issued on a Total Small Business set-aside basis. For information, the NAICS code relevant to this procurement is 541330 with a small business size standard of $25,500,000 average annual revenue.

In accordance with FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Feb 2023) (DEVIATION 2021-O0008, Revision 1), by submission of an offer and execution of a contract, the Contractor agrees that in performance of a contract it will not pay more than 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance, excluding certain other direct costs and certain work performed outside the United States, to subcontractors that are not similarly situated entities. Any work that a similarly situated entity further subcontracts will count towards the prime contractor’s 50 percent subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded. When a contract includes both services and supplies, the 50 percent limitation shall apply only to the service portion of the contract. Other direct costs are excluded from the 50 percent limitation to the extent they are not the principal purpose of the acquisition and small business concerns do not provide the service. A joint venture agrees that, in the performance of the contract, the applicable percentage specified above will be performed by the aggregate of the joint venture participants.

EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Potential sources must provide a complete, written SF330, Parts I and II.  A SF330 is attached to this solicitation (ATTACHMENT 2) and also can be accessed online in the Forms Library at http://www.gsa.gov.

Offerors must be registered in the SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM.gov) database to receive a contract award. If the Offeror does not become registered in the SAM database within 4 days after receiving notification from the Contracting Officer, the Contracting Officer will proceed to award to the next otherwise successful registered Offeror.

EVALUATION FACTORS (ATTACHMENT 3)

(1) PAST PERFORMANCE. Evaluators will award up to 30 points based on the past performance of the firm with respect to their execution of DoD and other contracts, both Government and private.  Evaluation parameters will be set to allow points to be awarded based on level of past performance relevant to the requirements of the Notice of Intent.  Parameters will range from extensive, for maximum points award, to little/no experience for the least number of points award. Contractor shall note if past performance on DoD contracts was as a Prime or Subcontractor.

Reports of completed DoD contracts listed in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) will be reviewed for performance on Government contracts. FAPIIS provides users access to integrity and performance information from the FAPIIS reporting module in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) and suspension/debarment information from the Entity Management section of SAM database. FAPIIS will only display integrity and performance information entered on or after April 15, 2011. Anything earlier will be verified on the CPARS page at http://www.cpars.gov/. 

(2) PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS. Evaluators will award up to 20 points based on their judgment of the professional qualifications and experience of the prime contractor and other firms submitted as part of the team. Contractor must note if they were a Prime or Subcontractor.

(3) CAPACITY FOR TIMELY ACCOMPLISHMENT OF WORK. Evaluators will award up to 10 points in judgement of the capacity of the prime contractor and other firms submitted as part of the team to accomplish the requirements of the Notice of Intent.

(4) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE.  Evaluators will award up to 15 points based on judgment of firms experience relevant to the requirements of the Notice of Intent, with emphasis on projects that required Department of Defense (DoD) and/or United States Air Force (USAF) environmental compliance criteria.

(5) LOCATION. Evaluators will award up to 10 points based on the firm's familiarity with work at AFRL/RI, the locality of (Rome, NY) and its local laws and regulations regarding environmental compliance.

(6) TWO HOUR RESPONSE TIME. All firms responding to the Notice of Intent will be considered: however, evaluators will award either 5 or 0 points based on the firm's ability to clearly and convincingly demonstrate the ability to meet the two-hour response time for emergency requests. The firm either passes or fails the demonstration and is given points accordingly.

(7) VOLUME OF DOD WORK. Evaluations will consider the volume of work previously awarded to the firm by the DoD or a subcontractor to the DoD in the last 12 months and will award up to 5 points with the objective of effecting an equitable distribution of DoD contracts among qualified A-E firms.  Firms with a greater volume of DoD work will be awarded fewer points and vice versa.

(8) KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE WITH GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.  Evaluations will consider the firm's knowledge and experience with current government environmental compliance platforms, such as the ability to complete Hazardous Material/Waste Database Entry and reporting into Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health-Management Information System, Air Quality Database entry and reporting into Air Program Information Management System, and environmental restoration reporting into the Environmental Restoration Program Information Management System. Ability to provide record management for the Environmental program, and use innovative design in environmental compliance, remedial and facility design arenas and will be awarded up to 10 points based on the firm’s past experience with these specific items.

(9) INTERVIEW/DISCUSSION. The Final Selection Board will award up to 50 additional points to the three highest scoring firms, as determined by the Pre-Selection Board. These 50 points will be awarded on, but not limited to, the following criteria: clear understanding of the Scope of Work; examples of outstanding past performance; customer responsiveness; examples of projects completed ahead of schedule; cost control; use of creativeness and imagination in design development; and response to questions from Final Selection Board members. 

TEAMING AGREEMENTS. The prime contractor shall provide a statement in the cover letter confirming executed teaming agreements are in place for all team members included in the prime’s proposal. The statement shall also list all team members and how quality control will be managed between the firms/teams.

BASIS OF AWARD

Basis of Award: Submissions of completed Standard Form 330 (SF 330) received in response to the Notice of Intent will be evaluated by a Government board in accordance with the Selection of Architects and Engineers Statute and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 36.6 to determine the most highly qualified firms. Evaluation of past performance and experience may include information provided by the firm, customer inquiries, Government databases, and publicly available sources. Failure to provide the requested data, accessible points of contact, or valid phone numbers could result in a firm being considered less qualified. Selection of the A/E firms for these contracts will be based on the evaluation factors.

It is anticipated that a single selection board will be assembled to conduct evaluation of responses.  However, the Government has the right to conduct a pre-selection board, a two-part selection.  If the government exercises its right to conduct pre-selection evaluations, the evaluation process will be composed of two evaluation events, a first conducted by a Pre-Selection Board, and a second by a Final Selection Board.  The process for each of the two evaluation alternatives is outlined below.

SINGLE SELECTION OPTION

The Selection Board will use the factors from Evaluation Factors 1 through 8 listed below to score all responses received based on the recommended evaluation factors (ATTACHMENT 3).  Not all evaluation factors are of equal weight, with variations from 5 to 30 points. The highest available score from the Selection Board is 155.  Upon completion of the ratings, an average score is calculated (decimals will be rounded to the nearest point unless .5). The Selection Board then will invite the three highest scoring firms for an interview and will assign points to each firm in accordance with evaluation factors 9, interview.  Points earned during the interview are added to the firm’s Evaluation Factors 1 through 8 score.  The result is a total evaluated score.  The firms are ranked in order by total evaluated score to determine the order of recommendation to the Selection Authority.

TWO-PART SELECTION OPTION

The Pre-Selection Board will use the factors from Criteria 1 through 8 to score responses received based on the recommended evaluation factors (ATTACHMENT 3).  The highest available score from the Pre-Selection Board is 105.  An average score for each firm is calculated (decimals will be rounded to the nearest point unless .5). The Pre-Selection Board will recommend to the Final Selection Board the three highest scoring firms. 

The Final Selection Board will use the factors from Evaluation Factors 1 through 8 listed below to score the SF 330 submission from the three firms recommended by the Pre-Selection Board. Each evaluator will read the respective packages and rate the firms based on the recommended evaluation factors (ATTACHMENT 3). The Final Selection Board will then further evaluate each firm based on interview/discussion Evaluation Factors 9 listed below (worth 50 points). Average scores (decimals will be rounded to the nearest point unless .5) will be calculated to align with the score totals listed in the solicitation. The highest available score from the Final Selection Board is 155. The average Final Selection Board scores will be added to the average Pre-Selection Board scores to arrive at a total evaluated score.   The firms are ranked in order by total evaluated score to determine the order of recommendation to the Selection Authority.  The overall highest available score for selection is 260.  

The Selection Boards will use the factors listed below to score responses received based on the recommended evaluation factors.  (ATTACHMENT 3). 

Firms that meet the requirements described in this announcement are invited to submit their completed SF330 to the attention of Leena Budhu, AFRL/RIKO, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome NY, 13441-4514, [email protected] and courtesy copy to John Haberer, [email protected]. Email submission is the only acceptable form of response. Firms must submit to Leena Budhu at [email protected] with a copy to John Haberer at [email protected]  Receipt of email submissions prior to the posted solicitation closing time will be considered timely. Hard copies, facsimile and alternate replies will not be accepted. Due to the possibility of network connectivity issues, it is highly encouraged that electronic submissions be sent one day prior to notice close. It is the contractor's responsibility to confirm receipt of offer. The SF 330 must be received by 3:00 PM 3 July 2025 to be considered for selection.

Submit all questions in writing to Leena Budhu at [email protected].