NCAUR Water Softener Replace

Amendment 0002

The purpose of this amendment is to incorporate the following into the Solicitation:
1. Section C.2.1.3 Construction Security Requirements
2. Section I FAR Clause 25.209-2 First Article Approval-Government Testing (Sep 1989)
incorporated by reference;

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment 0001

The purpose of this amendment is to revise FAR 52.236-27 Site Visit (Construction). An additional Site Visit on 12 December 2023 at 10:00 AM CT has been added and the requirement to pre-register has been removed.

All additional terms and conditions remain unchanged.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has a requirement for NCAUR Water Softener Replacement at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois.

Solicitation 12505B24Q0020 is issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ). The solicitation document, with the incorporated clauses and provisions, is issued in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Parts 13 and 36 and will be incorporated in the awarded firm-fixed price order. Interested vendors should reference the solicitation documents for all terms and conditions. All interested parties are responsible for monitoring this website to ensure they have the most current information (i.e. Amendments) for the solicitation. No paper solicitation will be available.

Notice of Set-Aside for Small Business Concerns: This requirement is a Total Small Business Set Aside.   The associated NAICS Code is 238220, Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning Contractors. The small business size standard is $19.0 million.

Magnitude of Construction is between $100,000 and $250,000.

Period of performance is 90 days after receipt of the Notice to Proceed for the base and option 1 (if applicable).

Bonds: If the contract exceeds $35,000, the offeror to whom award is made shall furnish a payment security, which can be a payment bond or an alternative form per FAR 52.228-13, Alternative Payment Protections.

Site Visit: Organized site visit has been scheduled for November 28,2023 at 10:00 AM CT. In order to attend the site visit, you MUST pre-register by November 27, 2023, at 3:00 PM CT. Pre-register by emailing debora.wells@usda.gov with your company name and the name(s) of the representative(s) who will attend

The site visit will be held for the purpose of providing contractors with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the site which may be helpful in the preparation of offers. Attendance at this site visit is not mandatory for offer submission; however, failure to visit the site will not relieve or mitigate the successful contractor's responsibility and obligation to fully comply with the terms, conditions and specifications contained and/or referenced in this document.

All questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted in writing to the Contract Specialist, Debora Wells, via email to debora.wells@usda.gov. Questions must be submitted no later than 4:00 PM CT on December 5, 2023. Answers to all questions received by that time will be posted as an amendment to the solicitation. No questions will be answered after this date unless determined to be in the best interest of the Government as deemed by the Contracting Officer. Telephone requests for information will not be accepted or returned.

Interested offerers must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). To register, go to www.sam.gov. Instructions for registering are on the web page (there is no registration fee).

The solicitation and associated information will be available only from the Contract Opportunities page at sam.gov.

This solicitation is NOT an invitation for bids and there will be NO formal public bid opening. All inquiries must be in writing via email to the persons specified in this solicitation. All answers will be provided in writing via posting to the web.

DISCLAIMER: The official contract documents are located on the government webpage and the Government is not liable for information furnished by any other source. Amendments, if/when issued, will be posted to Contracting Opportunities for electronic downloading. This will normally be the only method of distributing amendments prior to closing; therefore, it is the offeror's responsibility to check the website periodically for any amendments to this solicitation. Websites are occasionally inaccessible due to various reasons. The Government is not responsible for any loss of internet connectivity or for an offeror's inability to access the documents posted on the referenced web pages. The Government will not issue paper copies.

Biobased Products: This procurement requires the use of Biobased products to the extent that such products are reasonably available, meet agency or relevant industry performance standards, and are reasonably priced. The products should first be acquired from the USDA designated product categories. All supplies and materials shall be of a type and quantity that conform to applicable Federal specifications and standards, and to the extent feasible and reasonable, include the exclusive use of  biobased and recycled products. Please visit www.biopreferred.gov for more information on the USDA Biobased Program and to reference the catalog of mandatory biobased products.

Information concerning the REE policies and procedures regarding the defeminization of equitable adjustments for change orders under construction contracts and the time required for defeminization of those actions per 15 U.S.C. 644 is available at https://www.ars.usda.gov/afm/a pd/acquisitions/.