Posted: Jan. 26, 2024, 3:04 p.m. EST
This announcement constitutes a Special Notice Synopsis. This announcement seeks information from industry and will only be used for preliminary planning purposes. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT SHALL BE AWARDED FROM THIS SYNOPSIS. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District previously issued a sources sought notice in October 2023 (W912EP24Z0002) as a means of conducting market research to gauge the interest, capabilities and qualifications of various members of the Construction Community, to include Small Businesses, as the Government must ensure there is adequate competition amongst the potential pool of responsible contractors.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District is now soliciting comments from the construction community to specifically address the potential use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for this large-scale construction project for potential award in FY2024:
Project Name: Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, Broward County Water Preserve Areas, Contract 2, C-11 Impoundment and Mitigation Area A, Broward County, Florida
Project Description: The Broward County Water Preserve Area (BCWPA), Contract 2 project consists of a portion of the overall C-11 Impoundment project. Contract 2 consists of construction of dam and levee embankment, a mitigation area, water control structures, environmentally sensitive area (ESA) systems, lake backfill, drainage conveyance, ancillary features, and associated clearing, grubbing, planting, borrow, and material processing. Contract 2 is the first of two construction phases (combined with future Contract 3) to complete the overall C-11 Impoundment component of the BCWPA project. The overall completed C-11 Impoundment will be an above-ground earthen reservoir targeted to have a total storage of 4,600 acre-feet with an effective interior area of approximately 1,053 acres and a normal pool water storage depth of approximately 4.7 ft. The Contract 2 Dam Embankment (D-511) will have an approximate height of 15ft (crest elevation of 18.8 ft NAVD88). The Contract 2 portion of D-511 embankment will include roughly 4,800 ft of slurry wall along the southern alignments between stations 111+00 to 146+00 (east) and stations 204+00 to 218+00 (west). The slurry wall will be 41 ft tall (EL 6.0 ft NAVD88 to EL -35.0 ft NAVD) with a typical width of 2.5 ft.
The proposed Mitigation Area A', is located north of the impoundment. It will 113 acres of wetland marsh. Water levels within the mitigation area will fluctuate approximately 1.0 ft above average ground elevation (5.3 ft NAVD88). The levees surrounding the mitigation area will have an approximate height of 3 ft (crest elevation of 7.3 ft NAVD88).
Contract 2 includes 12 total Water Control Structures:
- Gated Culverts S-506A, S-508B, S-508D, and S-511
- Ungated Culverts S-500A, S-505E, S-506B, S-508A, and S-509
- Fixed, Broad-crested Weirs S-505B, S-505C, and S-505F
There are two environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) which are to be protected during construction and ultimately excluded from the project by means of embankment alignment. The ESAs will be protected from disturbance during construction and will be avoided by completed project features.
Contact 2 includes a requirement to backfill the existing Central Lake and an existing borrow area. These features are existing quarry pits estimated to be up to 55 feet deep and filled with water. Backfill of the Central Lake and Borrow Area will primarily consist of onsite muck material. However, the Contractor will be provided approximately 10,800 cubic yards of stockpiled limerock aggregate, located adjacent to SW 26th Street and the proposed construction staging area, which is approved to be placed in Central Lake.
Contract 2 will require continuous stormwater management and conveyance of an approximate two square-mile drainage area north of the project site, which flows southward through the project site, plus any stormwater generated within the Contract 2 limits for the duration of the contract. Since stormwater flows will ultimately need to pass south through the future Contract 3 project limits for discharge into the C-11 Canal, stormwater management will include the following control requirements:
- Stormwater system will convey a 100-year storm to the existing A/5 Canal outfall at the C-11 Canal.
- Contractor will construct a temporary shallow drainage diversion ditch from the eastern C-511 Canal to the existing A/5 canal. The diversion ditch will be located along the boundary between the Contract 2 and Contract 3, in a zone of temporary construction limit for future resumption by others.
- Contractor must not construct S-505F broad-crested weir until the eastern section of C-511 and the temporary diversion ditch to the existing A/5 canal are complete.
Other project features and activities include clearing, grubbing, planting, borrow, material processing, boat ramps, soil cement embankment armoring, emergency stockpiles, instrumentation and monitoring stations, wetland preservation/protection, erosion control, and debris disposal.
The Estimated Magnitude of Construction is over $500,000,000.
The estimated period of performance for the contract is 1,947 calendar days after receipt of notice to proceed excluding final establishment of grass after seeding.
The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 237990, Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction. The Small Business Size Standard for this project is $45 million.
A PLA is defined as a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project and is an agreement as described in 29 U.S.C. 158 (f). Effective January 22, 2024, Final Rule (FAR Case 2022-003), implements Executive Order (E.O.) 14063, Use of PLAs for Federal Construction Projects, which requires the use of PLAs in large-scale (defined as $35 million or more) Federal construction projects within the United States. Contractors and subcontractors working on large-scale construction projects must negotiate or become party to a PLA with one or more labor organizations unless an exception is granted. This requirement applies to new solicitations, including task or delivery orders, issued on or after January 22, 2024.
The Government is seeking information from both unionized and non-unionized contractors, as well as contractors familiar with the federal marketplace as well as new entrants, that may be interested in participating in competition for this procurement. Reference is made to: FAR Subpart 22.5 Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects; provision, FAR 52.222-33 Notice of Requirement for Project Labor Agreement; and to clause, FAR 52.222-34 Project Labor Agreement.
In consideration of the above factors and any others which may be deemed appropriate, the construction community is invited to comment on the use of PLA's. The Government is requesting responses to the following questions:
1. Do you have knowledge and/or involvement that a PLA has been used in the local area on projects of this kind? If so, please provide supporting documentation:
- Project Name and Location
- Detailed Project Description
- Initial Cost Estimate vs. Actual Final Cost
- Was the project completed on time?
- Number of craft trades present on the project
- Were there any challenges experienced during the project?
2. Are you aware and/or are there concerns by the prime contractors of skilled labor shortages in the area for those crafts that will be needed to complete the referenced project? If so, please elaborate and provide supporting documentation. Information may reference current apprenticeship statistics and workforce age demographics.
3. Are you aware of time sensitive issues/scheduling requirements where use of the PLA would affect the rate at which the referenced project would be completed? If so, please elaborate and provide supporting documentation.
4. Are you aware of any cost impact where the use of PLA will affect the construction cost of the referenced project? If so, please elaborate and provide supporting documentation.
5. Based on FAR 52.222-33 and alternates and 52.222-34 and alternates do you see any negative and/or positive impacts of submitting the PLA at one phase of the procurement process over another? If so, please explain. Also, provide an estimated and realistic timeframe that your company will be able to submit a PLA.
6. Identify specific reasons why or how you believe a PLA would advance the Federal Governments interest in achieving economy and efficiency in federal procurement.
7. Identify specific reasons why you do not believe a PLA would advance the Federal Governments interest in achieving economy and efficiency in federal procurement.
8. Identify any additional information with supporting documentation/statistics that you believe should be considered on the use of a PLA on the referenced project.
9. Identify any additional information with supporting documentation/statistics that you believe should be considered on the non-use of a PLA on the referenced project.
10. Is your firm a serious interested party in that you intend to submit a proposal for this procurement? Will the use of a PLA impact your ability to bid? If so, please explain?
Additional feedback requested:
1. If you anticipate submitting a proposal, do you have any concerns with obtaining bonding for the estimated period
of performance based on your estimated price proposal? If so, please explain.
2. Does your firm have any potential alternatives to address the bonding capability requirements?
All responses to this Special Notice will be evaluated and used in determining acquisition strategy.
Submission Instructions: Serious interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed project are invited to submit a response to this Special Notice by no later than February 5, 2024 at 2:00PM, EST. All responses under this Special Notice shall be sent via email to Ligaya Lowe at ligaya.m.lowe@usace.army.mil.
