SOLICITATION NOTICE
H -- Intent To Issue Sole Source For Engine Compliance Testing
- Notice Date
- 12/7/2007
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Environmental Protection Agency, Administrative Contract Service Center, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Nw, Washington, DC 20460
- ZIP Code
- 20460
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-DC-08-00047
- Response Due
- 12/21/2007
- Archive Date
- 1/21/2008
- Point of Contact
- Point of Contact, Helen Britz, Purchasing Agent, Phone (202) 564-9633
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(britz.helen@epa.gov)
- Description
- NAICS Code: 541380 Contracting Office Address: Environmental Protection Agency, Headquarters Procurement Operations Division, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460 NAICS Code: 541380 - Testing Laboratories with a Small Business Administration (SBA) size standard of $11 million dollars. The US EPA/Office of Air and Radiation under the authority of the FAR Part 13 -- Simplified Acquisition Procedures and FAR 6.301-1 -- Only One Responsible Source, intends to issue a sole source purchase order to Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, TX, for engine compliance testing. BACKGROUND: Under Title II of the Clean Air Act (42 USC 7521 et seq.; the Act), engine manufacturers may not legally introduce their products into commerce until EPA has certified that their engines comply with applicable standards. To obtain such certification, engine manufacturers are required to submit descriptions of their planned production engines and test data showing compliance with applicable standards. EPA evaluates the data and, if it is satisfactory, issues a Certificate of Conformity. The Act also authorizes EPA to verify that: (1) test data presented in the certification application was correct and in fact represents the emissions profile of mass produced engines (confirmatory testing); (2) test procedures employed by manufacturers are valid and in compliance with applicable regulations (Selective Enforcement Audits or SEAs); and (3) engines comply with emission standards throughout their useful lives (in-use testing). From time to time, when concerns arise about a particular manufacturer or engine family, EPA must also test engines as part of compliance investigations. These requirements apply to all categories of on-highway and non-road engines regulated by EPA. The penalties for noncompliance can be steep and have serious impact on a manufacturer; therefore, testing used for compliance purposes must be precise and faithful to applicable regulations. For example, if an engine family is found in noncompliance, the certificate of conformity can be voided ab initio and the manufacturer can be fined up to $32,500 per engine sold under that certificate. The Certification and Innovative Strategies Division (CISD) of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) implements the regulations pertaining to the compliance of on-highway and nonroad engines. SCOPE/OBJECTIVE: The objective of this requirement is to provide the Heavy-Duty and Nonroad Engines Group (HDNEG) of CISD with flexible testing and analytical support to ensure manufacturer compliance with emission regulations, as described above. Since compliance investigations occur when there is reason to believe that a problem exists, advance notice of testing may not be provided. CISD needs the ability to respond quickly to a tip or the findings of a compliance official. This requirement focuses on the following categories of engines: Table A: Regulated engines that could be tested under this requirement Engine Category/Regulations On-highway engines/40 CFR Part 86 Non-road engines: -Spark-ignition engines under 19 kW; all classes (I-V), both handheld and non-handheld/40 CFR Part 90 -Spark-ignition engines above 19 kW/40 CFR Part 1048 -Compression-ignition engines/40 CFR Part 89 and 1039 -Marine Spark-ignition engines/40 CFR Part 91 -Marine Compression-ignition engines/40 CFR Part 94 -Locomotives/40 CFR Part 92 -Recreational Vehicles/40 CFR Part 1051 Other regulations, such as Parts 1065 and 1068, may apply to one or more category of engines. Although the majority of engines certified today run on either gasoline or diesel, some engine families have been certified with other fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or compressed natural gas (CNG). Compliance testing may be needed using the fuels used by the manufacturer during certification testing. Compliance testing may require accumulation of engine hours for break-in prior to emissions measurement. Such service accumulation shall be performed according to regulatory requirements, manufacturer specifications or EPA instruction. Engine hour accumulation may also be necessary to evaluate engine durability. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: For the reasons mentioned, the contractor must have a thorough knowledge of the regulations, established expertise, and reliable and well-calibrated instruments. Since CISD may need testing of any engines category in short notice, the contractor must have the capability to test and age all of the engine categories mentioned in Table A, paying particular attention to the different test cycles used in certification. The contractor must provide all personnel, materials, services and facilities required to perform work in response to written assignments issued by the Contracting Officer involving one or more of the engine categories and compliance programs listed. Each work order will provide any necessary background and technical information (such as a description of the test engine/engine family, regulations under which the engine is to be tested, testing parameters, testing fuel, etc.), a delivery schedule and any other pertinent information. The contractor shall maintain confidentiality before and after all investigations. DESCRIPTION OF WORK: At the request of CISD, the contractor will receive and test an engine or group of engines often on a short turnaround basis, which may run from one to six weeks. The contractor will use the test procedures and specifications defined in the regulations applicable to that category of engine (as well as test for the pollutants regulated in that category). CISD may provide additional instructions at the time of the test order, depending on the objectives of the test. The contractor may be required to accumulate hours before testing, either in-house or through other means, on the test engine. In every Technical Direction, CISD will provide instructions on how to obtain and/or dispose of the test engine. Test engines may be shipped to the contractor by the engine manufacturer, an owner or by EPA. In some instances, EPA may request that the contractor buy the engine. Disposal of the test engine could include shipping it to EPA or back to the manufacturer or owner, or simply making arrangements for the manufacturer/owner to pick it up. For the reasons described previously, CISD is not always able to plan the kind of testing it requires as potential compliance issues are often discovered unexpectedly. Therefore, the contractor needs to be prepared to test any of the categories of engines under CISD's purview, as listed in Table A. The contractor may also be required to work on several engines concurrently. However, for short-term planning purposes, CISD expects to start testing mainly small spark-ignition engines under 40 CFR Part 90 and small compression-ignition engines under 40 CFR Part 89 and 1039. The contractor must also have available either in-house or through other means, sufficient engineering and technical capability to perform any necessary maintenance (including diagnostics and repairs) on the test engines and ascertain the reasons for failures, is such a case arises. DELIVERABLES: For each test, the contractor shall deliver a report containing the data gathered during testing and an analysis of such data, as provided by the regulations as requested in the work assignment. The analysis should be pertinent to the needs of the compliance program under which the test was ordered and conductive to determine whether the engine tested complies with emission regulations. CISD will provide guidance as needed on the format and content of each report and may request specific points of analysis, as needed. Technical accuracy is critical to the performance of this contract. The contractor will keep a log of all testing, aging and maintenance done on every test engine. When more than one engine from a particular engine family, manufacturer and/or industry has been tested, the contractor will deliver a summary report. Upon completion of all testing under a work order, all data and reports related to that work shall be delivered to CISD. As each compliance program has unique characteristics, CISD may request additional written deliverables if pertinent to the investigation at hand. Dates and deliverables will be provided in each work order. NO SOLICITATION OR REQUEST FOR QUOTE IS AVAILABLE: Notwithstanding, any firm that believes it is capable of meeting this requirement may submit a response, which if received within two days of the closing date of this announcement, will be considered. Responses to this announcement must be in writing to the contracting officer at britz.helen@epa.gov. Point of Contact, Helen Britz, Purchasing Agent, Phone (202) 564-9633. Email your questions to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at Britz.Helen@epa.gov.
- Record
- SN01466214-W 20071209/071207224610 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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