RAB Tech Assist Espression of Inter

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org>]

What follows is a notice for expression of interest from eligible 
organizations and institutuions to be a service provider to adminsiter 
and provide technical and public participation assistance for RABs.

In the May 24, 1995 Federal Register DOD published a request for 
comments on three technical assistance options they are considering. 
Though they have not yet decide on an option, they are seeking 
expressions of interest on one option.

This most recent notice was published in the July 10 Federal Register. 
The summary and the full text follow.

~~~WARNING: THIS IS A VERY LONG FILE~~~
*************************************************************

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DOD)
 Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)
Notice of request for expressions of interest: Technical Assistance
for Public Participation
Contact: Patricia Ferrebee (703) 697-7475
*Notices*
(FEDREGISTER 60 FR 35553 07/10/95; 351 lines.)
Item Key: 17216
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE [p35553]

Office of the Secretary
Technical Assistance for Public Participation

AGENCY: Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of
Defense for Environmental Security (DUSD(ES)).

ACTION: Notice of request for expressions of interest.

SUMMARY: On May 24, 1995, the Department of Defense published in the
Federal Register a request for comments on several options being
considered for providing technical and public participation assistance
to community members of Restoration Advisory Boards (RABs) and
Technical Review Committees (TRCs) established at Department of
Defense facilities. The Department of Defense has not yet decided
which option(s) to implement. One option under consideration involves
the use of independent technical assistance provider(s) to administer
which option(s) to implement. One option under consideration involves
the use of independent technical assistance provider(s) to administer
and provide this assistance. The Department of Defense is issuing this
notice to request expressions of interest from eligible organizations
and institutions for cooperative agreements of grants to provide
technical and public participation assistance to community members of
established RABs and TRCs. This request is for expressions of interest
only. Expressions of interest are expected to be no more than three
pages long and it is not anticipated that they will require prior
meetings or discussion with Department of Defense personnel. Guidance
on the establishment of RABs can be found for non-closure bases in the
April 14, 1994, Department of Defense Management Guidance for
Execution of the FY 94/95 and Development of the FY 96 Defense
Environmental Restoration Program and for closure bases in the
September 9, 1993, Department of Defense policy for establishing RABs
at closure bases. Section 326 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (NDAA-95), provides for technical assistance
funding to citizens affected by the environmental restoration
activities ongoing at Department of Defense facilities.

DATES: Submittals must be received on or before September 8, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Mailed submittals should be addressed to: the Office of the
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security/Cleanup,
3400 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-3400.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Ferrebee or Marcia Read at
(703) 697-7475.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Today's notice has the following sections:

I. Introduction

II. Discussion of the Technical and Public Participation Assistance
Provider Concept

II. Discussion of the Technical and Public Participation Assistance
Provider Concept

III. Expressions of Interest and Informational Proposals

IV. Special Instructions

V. Number of Copies Required

VI. Proprietary Information

VII. Submission of Preparation Costs

I. Introduction

 Section 326(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 1995 (NDAA-95) (Public Law 103-337), provides for technical
assistance funding to citizens affected by the environmental
restoration of Department of Defense facilities and requires the
promulgation of regulations on this funding. In the May 24, 1995,
Federal Register, the Department of Defense published a request for
comments on proposed options for providing technical and public
participation assistance to community members of TRCs and RABs. The
options deal with the question of administering funds for assisting
community members near Department of Defense facilities. Among the
options being considered is the use of an independent party other than
the Department of Defense to administer this program and to provide
the assistance. The purpose of this notice is to seek expressions of
interests from eligible organizations and institutions that would be
interested in participating in this effort.

II. Discussion of the Technical and Public Participation Assistance
Provider Concept

 The RABs and TRCs which receive funding for assistance may have
little experience in applying for federal grants or meeting the
various record keeping, accounting and contracting and other
requirements established in the Department of Defense grant and
procurement regulations. Rather than having the community members on
RABs and TRCs devote some of their limited resources to managing
grants in compliance with Department of Defense regulations, the
Department of Defense may seek to procure one or more independent
technical assistance providers to provide technical and public
participation assistance to community members of TRCs and RABs.
Technical assistance would include the provision of technical
advisors, facilitators, mediators and educators. Public participation
assistance means the provision of training and related expenses.
Technical assistance providers would assume full responsibility for
ensuring that the technical services and public participation support
provided are delivered in a timely and effective manner, and that all
funds are managed and disbursed in full compliance with appropriate
Department of Defense regulations. The technical assistance provider
would be subject to audit(s) and liable for any costs disallowed as a
result of an audit. The provider would also be responsible for
ensuring that use of the funds was consistent with the overall program
budget, scope of work and the allocations for individual RABs and
TRCs. The technical assistance provider concept could incorporate
either a nationwide provider or a series of providers set up by
geographic area.

 The community members of individual RABs and TRCs would be
responsible for making requests to the community co-chair or
designated members of the RAB or TRC responsible for applying to the
designated technical assistance provider for assistance and for
preparing facility specific statements describing the type and level
of support requested. The provider would be responsible for allocating
available resources among these competing requests using general
guidelines and established criteria provided by the Department of
Defense.

 Technical assistance providers would be responsible for ensuring
that use of the funds was consistent with the overall program budget,
scope of work and the allocations for individual RABs and TRCs, and
for ensuring that all funds are managed and disbursed in full
compliance with applicable Department of Defense regulations.
Providers would report periodically to the Department of Defense on
activities performed under this program. Providers would also provide
information to the Department of Defense on the status of the program
including the information for the report to Congress required by the
legislation.
III. Expressions of Interest and Informational Proposals

 Respondents to this notice should have, at a minimum, the following
qualifications:

 (1) Perceived as neutral and credible.

 (2) Either have or be able to obtain an interdisciplinary staff
with demonstrated expertise in hazardous substance remediation,
investigation, management and/or research.

 (3) Management capability, for both financial and scientific
management, and a demonstrated skill in planning and scheduling
projects of comparable magnitude to that discussed in this notice.
[p35554]

 (4) Ability to provide facilitation and mediation services.

 (5) Knowledge and experience in environmental restoration
activities preferably at federal facilities.

 (6) A demonstrated ability to disseminate results of hazardous
substance information through an interdisciplinary program to locally
affected and concerned citizens.

 (7) The ability to perform the required tasks either nationally or
within a defined geographic area.

 (8) Not-for-profit.

 Expressions of Interest submitted in response to this notice shall
indicate interest in serving as a technical assistance provider for
providing technical and public participation assistance to community
members of TRCs and RABs that, at a minimum, includes the following:

 (1) The identity of the responding institution, organization or
consortium, including the name, title, telephone number, mailing
address, facsimile number and where available electronic mailing
address of an individual point-of-contact.

 (2) Brief statement of qualifications.

 (3) Summary of ability to perform the required tasks at either a
regional or national level.

 Respondents are advised that the Department of Defense is not
requesting extensive data on technical performance, partnership
arrangements, or project economics as part of any proposed submission
under this notice. Respondents are also advised that any procurement
of technical assistance providers in the future would not be limited
to parties and organizations responding to this notice.

IV. Special Instructions

 Expressions of Interest shall be prepared in accordance with the
special instructions provided, and shall be structured in the order
that follows. Respondents may reproduce and complete these forms
electronically (by computer software) in lieu of completing the actual
forms published in this notice. There is no preference given to the
use of published forms versus electronically recreated forms.

 (1) Cover letter.

 (2) Expression of Interest response form (see Appendix A).

 (3) Attachments to Expression of Interest response form.

Cover Letter

 A single page cover letter should accompany the expression of
interest response form. The cover letter should contain a basic
statement of interest on the part of the responding party in serving
as a provider. The cover letter must include the notice of proprietary
information described in Section VI if one is required.

Expression of Interest Response Form

 Appendix A of this notice provides a form that shall be used for
the preparation of the Expression of Interest response form.
Submitters are required to complete the form in accordance with the
instructions that follow, and then to photocopy that form for use in
their submission. Instructions for the form are provided in the
following section.

 (1) Respondent: Identify the name(s) of the submitting
institutions, organization or consortium listing the primary party
first and listing all other participants in the response.

 (2, 3, 4, and 5) Mailing address: Provide the full mailing address
of the primary single point-of-contact for the respondent (i.e. the
party that Department of Defense should contact if necessary).

 (6) Primary contact. The name of the person who will serve as the
primary point-of-contact for the expression of interest.

 (7 and 8) Phone/Fax Numbers. The telephone and facsimile numbers
for the person identified in item (6), area code first.

 (9) Electronic address: Where one is available, the electronic mail
address of the primary contact.

 (10) Project phase: Respondent should check the box indicating
which phase(s) of the project the respondent is interested in.

 (11) Geographic area: Respondent should indicate whether the
Expression of Interest is national in coverage or should indicate the
geographic area in which it could provide service.

 (12) Attached statements: Respondents shall indicate the number of
attached pages.

Attachment to Expression of Interest Response Form

 Respondent shall attach two statements. Attachment 1 shall indicate
that the respondent meets the qualifications listed in Section III.
Attachment 2 shall include a summary of the respondent's ability to
perform the required tasks as described in Section II.

V. Number of Copies Required

 Each submittal should consist of seven (7) copies, one original and
six (6) photocopies. The original copy of the expression of interest
shall contain all documents that bear original signatures. Indicate
the copy number of each copy using number "1" for the original and
numbers "2 through 7" for the six copies.

 The cover letters, expressions of interest and attachments should
be contained on sheets of paper that contain no writing or information
of any kind on the reverse sides. In each instance, for all items, no
other information shall appear with, or be added to, that required in
Appendix A.

VI. Proprietary Information

 Submitters should strive to avoid including proprietary and
confidential business information in their expressions of interest.
However, information provided by a respondent and identified as a
trade secret or confidential business information will be treated in
confidence, to the extent permitted by law, provided that this
information is clearly marked by the submitter with the term
"Confidential Proprietary Information," and provided that appropriate
page numbers are inserted into the notice that is set forth in the
following section which must be placed in the expression of interest
cover letter:

Notice on Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data

 This submission includes data that constitute trade secrets or
confidential business information and shall not be duplicated, used,
disclosed, in whole or in part, for any purpose other than to analyze
information contained in this submission, except to the extent
permitted or required by law. This restriction does not limit the
Government's right to use information contained in these data if it is
obtained from another source without restriction. The data that are
subject to this restriction are contained in sheets __________ [insert
page numbers or other identification of sheets].

VII. Submission of Preparation Costs

 The Department of Defense is not able to reimburse respondents for
any costs associated with the preparation of expressions of interests
or informational proposals.

 Dated: July 3, 1995.

L.M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[p35555]
Appendix A
U.S. Department of Defense; Expressions of Interest Response Form for
Administration of a Program To Provide Technical and Public
Participation Assistance to Community Members of Restoration Advisory
Boards (RABs) and Technical Review Committees (TRCs)

 (1) Respondent:

 (2) Mailing Address:

 (3) City:

 (4) State:

 (5) Zip Code:

 (6) Primary Contact and Title:

 (7) Phone Number:

 (8) Fax Number:

 (9) E-mail Address:

 (10) Project phase:

 Respondent is interested in:

 [ ] Initial Phase (FY95)

 [ ] Subsequent Phase (if implemented)

 [ ] Both phases

 (11) Geographic area:

 [ ] Nationwide

 [ ] Other

 If other, specify area:

 (12) Number of attached pages:

[FR Doc. 95-16777 Filed 7-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5000-04-M