Purchasing And Contracts Management Branch, Environmental Protection Agency, Fairchild Building -- 7th Floor, 499 S. Capitol Street, S.W. Washington, DC 20024

B -- CONTRACT SUPPORT FOR FY99 & BEYOND STATE GRANT REQUIREMENTS JOINT EPA & STAPPA/ALAPCO WORKGROUP SOL FX0001 DUE 042897 POC Mekeba Brown WEB: NOT AVAILABLE, NOT AVAILABLE. E-MAIL: NOT AVAILABLE, BROWN.MEKEBA@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV. This contract action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source using the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR Part 13. BACKGROUND The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators/ Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (STAPPA/ALAPCO) are sponsoring a cooperative analytical effort to estimate the additional requirements for federal grant funds necessary to carry out Clean Air Act activities in FY 1999 and beyond. This project is to be accomplished in two phases. The first phase of this joint effort is already underway and focuses on FY 1999. The first phase will identify and examine the programmatic activities and underlying assumptions of five major air quality planning and management work areas: 1) ozone, 2) particulate matter, 3) air toxics, 4) other pollutants, and 5) the role of multi-state organizations. Associated funding needs, alternative sources of funding and potential program disinvestments are also to be identified. This will be accomplished using five small work groups comprised of both senior EPA staff and state and local air office directors. A sixth 'policy' work group has been formed and will coordinate and assist the activities of the other five groups. The activities of this multiple work group approach are to culminate at a one-day workshop at the spring annual meeting of STAPPA/ALAPCO at the Sagamore Hotel in upstate New York on April 30, 1997. The objective of the workshop is to have the work group participants, other EPA managers and the STAPPA/ALAPCO membership, discuss the results of the analytical review and make recommendations on FY 1999 program priorities, additional funding requirements, and alternative funding sources. These sources can include: 1) CAA 1 05 grants, 2) state/local contributions, 3) other non- 1 05 EPA funds, 4) permit fees, and 5) other funding mechanisms. OAR will utilize the work groups' products, along with other information, to develop a FY 1999 funding strategy and a straw FY 1999 air grant allocation. The objective of the second phase of the project is to build upon the efforts of the FY99 workgroups to develop a more accurate assessment of out-year needs (i.e., FY 2000) and an appropriate funding strategy including a national region-by-region allocation adjusted for relative risk and need. This, will involve a' validation' of the estimates of the FY 1999 work groups using 6-8 case studies of recipients actual funding patterns, pricing of activities, and program priorities. This information will be compared against the objectives of the national allocation and examined for the agencies' productivity in achieving the desired environmental results. Using this information, and other information which OAR program offices and state/local agencies supply, a revised FY 2000 allocation framework and strategy will be developed. PURPOSE AND TASKS In order for OAR to complete the above analytical effort in a timely and successful manner, contractor support is necessary. Numerous deliverables will be required and include: 1) a project work plan outlining analytical approach as well as a schedule for completing phase 11 of this project; 2) a proposed matrix of phase I resource requirements for FY '99 that distributes these requirements among the ten EPA Regions (with recommendations on alternative sources of funding, including 105 grant funds, and appropriate accountability measures will be included in this matrix report); 3) a case study report on 6 to 8 state and local air agencies on how they use their funding; and 4) a projection of state and local air agency funding requirements, identified by program areas for both high priority and base activities, for FY 2000. An oral presentation by the contractor on deliverables 2, 3 and 4 will be made to the EPA and STAPPA/ALAPCO workgroup at the completion of those deliverables. The contractor shall provide technical support to EPA and the FY 1999 Funding Work Group asfollows: Task 1 -- Prepare a work plan for supporting EPA in completing the second phase of this project. This shall include a discussion of analytical methods to be used and a schedule for accomplishing the tasks. In order to complete this task the contractor shall attend the joint EPA and STAPPA/ALAPCO Workshop on April 30, 1997, in order to gain necessary background information. A draft of the work plan is due to the project officer one week following the conclusion of the workshop. The contractor shall provide ten (IO) copies of the draft as well as a copy on computer diskette. All diskette submissions shall be in WP 6.1 format. Following receipt of EPA and review comments on the draft work plan, the contractor shall incorporate comments and submit a final work plan within one calender week to the project officer. The contractor shall provide ten(10)copies of the final plant as well as a copy on computer diskette. Task 2 -- Based on areas of consensus reached at the joint EPA-STAPPA/ALAPCO workshop and in close consultation with OAR, prepare a report, including a matrix of resource requirements of proposed program elements on an EPA region-by-region basis for FY 1999, that outlines options on: a. the resources needed to implement new priorities and/or increased needs for existing priorities; b. existing resources in the "base" already associated with the program's new priorities c. enhancements to the "base" for necessary, on-going activities and/or new priorities d. the "base" activities that may be eliminated as a result of changes to the program e. lower priority base activities that may be reduced or deferred to allow greater expenditures on current priorities In addition the contractor shall outline options in the report for: f. Identification of alternative funding sources for these activities g. Accountability measures for both priority and base activities. A technical appendix providing information and explanations of calculations made in the report and matrix is to beincluded. A draft of this report and matrix is due to the project officer within three (3) calender weeks of the start of task 2. A final report and matrix which incorporates EPA comments is due to the project officer one (1) calender week following receipt of EPA review comments. Task 3 -- Conduct 6 to 8 state and local air management case studies, that reasonably represent the work of air management agencies nationally, in order to provide detailed information on, the use of its 105 and other funds. These case studies shall examine the level of spending by these agencies on the four air program activities used in the first phase of the joint work group process. It will also analyze the base program elements of air agency work in order to determine how agencies actually expending their funds. The analysis shall identify the spending and distribution between 105 grant funds and other sources and include estimates of actual resources needed to adequately carry out the program activities. Results from this study should provide EPA with information that allows an examination of the allocation of ffundsfor base program activities in future fiscal years. At a minimum, this task shall include: the presentation of recommended options for the selection of state and local programs to be studied, the development of appropriate data and information gathering techniques, the conduct of the agency by agency study, the analysis of the study results and the preparation of an analytical report based upon these results. The contractor shall provide ten (10) copies, as well as a computer diskette copy of the draft study within ten(10)calender weeks of the start of task3 to the project officer. A final study (10 copies and diskette) is due to the project officer within two weeks of receipt of EPA review comments. Task 4 -- Prepare a study of air management agency resource requirements for FY 2000, based upon the information and data obtained in tasks 2 and 3, and other information that may be supplied by EPA and state/local sources. This study shall include a projection of resource requirements by program area and its major activities including possible disinvestments,reductions and /or deferments as necessary. The study shall include the factors listed in task 2 but would not include a formal region by region allocation. The essential element of this deliverable is for the contractor to either confirm the accuracy of the phase 1 work group consensus recommendations on program priorities or provide data and information that would direct EPA to a realignment of those priorities and the appropriate distribution of funds nationally. The study is due in draft form within six (6) calender weeks following the completion of task 3. A final report (ten copies and diskette version) is due within two (2) calender weeks following EPA comments. SUBMIT INQUIRIES TO: US EPA; 401 M STREET, SW; BIDG & PROPOSAL ROOM -- 300 FAIRCHILD; -- or email your response to: brown.mekeba@epamail.epa.gov or Fax to 202 260-1929 Attn: Mekeba Brown -- NO PHONE CALLS ACCEPTED. (0104)

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