[CPEO-MEF] UXO Cleanup Through Fixed-Price Contracts

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@cpeo.org>]

The Army Corps of Engineers has published the following notice of 
Solicitation Registration.  The is the first part of a process that will 
ultimately result in the issuance of fixed price contracts for cleanup of 
OE/UXO.  The actual RFP is scheduled for publication on October 17th.

This approach would require the contractor to be responsible for regulatory 
and stakeholder participation.  This leads to the question of what 
standards private entities will be held accountable to.

Is it really feasible (or suitable) for fixed-price contracts to be issued 
for munitions response when there is no regulator approved cleanup 
standard, no scope of work, and requirements for regulatory and stakeholder 
involvement have not yet been set?  It seems, from where I sit, to be a 
process that will ultimately result in cost overruns, ongoing disagreements 
about cleanup standards, and continued tension with the regulator and 
stakeholder communities.

I'm very interested in hearing other viewpoints.

Aimee
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This requirement is for Fixed Price Response with Insurance (FPRI) 
contracts. A FPRI contract is a new performance based contracting vehicle 
that obligates the contractor to guarantee the fulfillment of a specific 
Army environmental clean-up objective for a fixed price. The contractor 
uses insurance to protect against cost overruns. This type of contract will 
allow the contractor the flexibility to use the most innovative techniques 
in order to close out the characterized sites in the most expeditious 
manner resulting in early regulatory closure.

These contracts will provide Ordnance and Explosives (OE) response action 
services at various Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS), active Department 
of Defense (DOD) installations, DOD sites identified under the Base 
Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC), property adjoining DOD installations, 
and other federally controlled/owned sites which have been impacted by OE 
Operations. OE response action services may occur at sites located in the 
continental United States and worldwide at which OE materials were 
previously stored, evaluated, disposed, or used for military training. OE 
is a safety hazard and may constitute an imminent substantial danger to 
site personnel and the local populace. These contracts will acquire the 
necessary services for the identification, location, removal, and disposal 
of OE at sites in CONUS and OCONUS.

The awardees will integrate, manage, and execute all specified aspects of 
OE response action services, to include system integration, data 
management, project planning, applying innovative technologies/approaches, 
removal and disposal of OE, regulatory interface and requirements, 
stakeholder involvement, community relations, media support, and 
documentation. The overall objective is to clean areas of OE to the extent 
that regulatory closure of the sites will be achieved.

A two-phase evaluation process will be utilized for source selection under 
this solicitation. Those respondents who are the highest-rated offerors in 
Phase I will be asked to make an oral presentation, which could include a 
question/answer session during Phase II. During Phase I, each offeror will 
submit a written proposal to discuss their corporate experience, their 
approach to an initial/actual or sample task order, proposed key personnel 
and other resources, and provide information and questionnaires requiring 
past performance information. This phase forms the basis for the down 
select to identify which offerors will have the opportunity to participate 
in the Phase II oral presentation/interview. Those offerors selected for 
participation in Phase II must make an oral presentation for evaluation of 
technical capabilities approach and safety and management capabilities. The 
contract will be awarded to the offerors who provide the best value upon 
evaluation of all factors.

This acquisition will be conducted on full and open competitive basis 
Fulfilling individual requirements for supplies and services will be 
achieved under the procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation, Part 
16.505 (Orders under multiple award contracts), by the implementation of 
task orders issued under the proposed contracts. Fair Opportunity 
requirements under Section 803 of Public Law 107-107 and implementing DFARS 
guidance will be utilized with award of task orders under the resulting 
contracts. Small businesses are encouraged to apply if they can demonstrate 
the ability to obtain insurance and successfully execute the projects.

The period of performance is for a 2-year base period with 3 one-year 
optional periods of performance. A single solicitation is proposed for 
award of multiple contracts. The award will be up to 3 indefinite 
delivery/indefinite quantity type contracts, for OE response actions, with 
work ordered by issuance of task orders. The contract will be performance 
based. The estimated maximum dollar value, including options, for the 
contracts awarded will be a total of $250 million. There will be a total 
minimum guarantee for the base year of $500,000.00, which will be divided 
by the number of contracts awarded. This is not a request for proposals 
(RFP). It is anticipated that the RFP will be released on or about 17 
October 2003 with proposals due on or about 02 December 2003.

All documentations related to this notice can be found on the following 
websites: 
http://www.hnd.usace.army.mil/EBS/ASP/AdvertisedSolicitations.asp, and 
www.hnd.usace.army.mil/oew/busops.html (look under OE Response and Services 
CONUS and OCONUS).

The services or supplies to be procured under this RFP are classified in 
the North American Industrial Classification System Code (NAICS), which is 
562910, Environmental Remediation Services. In accordance with DFARS 
204.7302, prospective contractors must be registered in the Central 
Contractor Registration (CCR) database prior to award of a contract. Lack 
of registration in the CCR on the part of an offeror will make an offeror 
ineligible for award. Offerors may obtain information on registration and 
annual confirmation requirements by calling (888) 227-2423 or via the 
Internet at . The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item 
under this proposed acquisition. See Numbered Note and 26.



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Aimee R. Houghton
Associate Director, CPEO
1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC  20036
tel: 202-452-8039; fax: 202-452-8095
Email: aimeeh@cpeo.org
www.cpeo.org
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