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W912PM25QA020
SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE FOR BRANDT ISLAND PUMPOUT SUBSURFACE INVESTIGATION
This is a Sources Sought/Request for Information only. This is NOT a Solicitation Announcement, nor is it a Request for Proposal. This request does not obligate the Government in any contract award.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, is conducting research to determine the market capabilities of potential contractors to perform a subsurface investigation for the purpose of collecting soil and strength parameters for the existing dike and foundation soils to complete slope stability analysis, in addition to characterizing the existing soils within the disposal area. Methods of investigation should accurately locate changes in the soil strata. Equipment shall be able to traverse the site in wet, soft, or dry materials.
Brandt Island is approximately 168 acres in size and located south of the existing Port of Morehead City, across the Morehead City Harbor Channel. The existing Brandt Island disposal area encompasses approximately 64 acres and has a controlling top of dike elevation of approximately 37 feet msl. It is assumed that 2 feet of freeboard will be required at all times during disposal operations and water and dredged material will not be allowed above elevation 35 feet msl. within the disposal area.
In addition to fieldwork, the Contractor shall be responsible for the collection, transportation, processing, and geotechnical analysis of soil samples in a laboratory certified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Laboratory testing shall be conducted in accordance with USACE guidelines and relevant ASTM standards to support future engineering evaluations and design activities.
All work shall be completed in accordance with applicable safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements, and coordinated with USACE representatives throughout the duration of the investigation.
The Contractor shall be fully responsible for the transportation of all personnel, equipment, and materials to and from Brandt Island for the duration of the geotechnical investigation. Brandt Island is only accessible by water vessel; therefore, the Contractor must make all necessary arrangements for marine transportation to support field operations. No land access is available.
2. Site Information. Site maps, navigation charts and bathymetric maps may be acquired from the Wilmington District, Navigation Section. Historical tide data can be acquired from the NOAA Tides and Currents website; https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions.html?id=8665728. Borehole coordinates will be provided by the Wilmington District for navigational purposes.
3. Water Vessel Requirements. All waterborne vessels shall be compliant with established US Coast Guard guidelines and regulations.
4. Field Work. The Wilmington District requests fifteen (28) Standard Penetration Test (SPT) borings, four (4) Undisturbed (UD) sample borings, and sixteen (16) Cone Penetration Test (CPT) soundings be conducted.
Standard Penetration Testing (SPT).
a. Each SPT boring is to be advanced by using mud rotary or hollow stem auger with cleanout to the top of the next sample as described in EM 1110-1-1906 and ASTM D1586. The location of the borings is shown in Table 1. Borings shall be performed within 50 feet of the proposed locations and located in the field with a Real time Kinematic (RTK) Global Positioning Systems (GPS) unit. The RRTK GPS unit shall have an accuracy within 0.2 feet. The approximate locations of the SPT borings are shown in Figure 1. Proposed Boring Location Plan.
b. Four split spoon samples should be taken in the upper ten feet then at five-foot intervals thereafter (e.g. 1’-2.5’, 3.5’-5’, 6’-7.5, 8.5’-10’, 15’-16.5’, etc.). Topsoil/rootmat depths should be recorded on the boring logs.
c. The depth to water table during drilling and at 24 hours shall also be noted on the drill logs. The split spoon sampler shall be driven by a 140 lb. automatic safety drive hammer free falling 30 inches for each blow count. Soil sampling is to be performed carefully to minimize inclusion of drilling sludge in the samples taken. Hammer efficiency of the rig should be provided to USACE.
d. Split spoon refusal is defined as less than 12” of split spoon penetration after a minimum of 100 blows from a 140 lb safety hammer. Each boring shall be backfilled with bentonite. Open holes shall be covered when no drilling is being done to prevent damage, or injury to animals and people.
e. Soil conditions within the interior are expected to vary in material, including but not limited to: OH, OL, SM, SC, SP, MH, ML, CL, and CH.
f. Approximately 1,460 feet of SPT sampling is estimated for this task. The depths, boring name, and approximate coordinates are shown in Table 1.
Undisturbed Sampling
a. Three auger/rotary borings will be advanced to a depth of 40 feet beneath the ground surface, for the undisturbed samples. Assume eight (8) Shelby tubes, two undisturbed samples per auger boring, up to 40 feet in depth. The depth of the undisturbed samples shall be determined from the data collected from the companion/nearby SPT Boring and the CPT soundings. Prior to pushing the proposed Shelby tube sample, depths shall be submitted to USACE for approval.
b. Undisturbed samples shall be obtained with a three (3) inch outside diameter, thin-walled, Shelby tube sampler, continuously pushed with a fixed-piston type sampler (Hvorslev fixed-piston sampler or equivalent) for a penetration of 30 inches. The overall length of the sampling tube shall be 36 inches. Undisturbed samples are to be taken in accordance with ASTM D 1587, “Thin-Walled Tube Sampling of Soils.”
c. Once samples have been removed from the boreholes for undisturbed soil borings, they shall be sealed within the sampling tube with wax, end caps, and the ends taped prior to shipment to the laboratory for extrusion, classification, and testing. All tubes shall be identified and labeled immediately to ensure correct orientation and to accurately identify the samples. ENG Form 1742 and/or ENG Form 1743 (or equivalent) and should be completed and securely fastened to each sample. Sample tubes shall be shipped to the testing laboratory such that they are not allowed to roll around in the shipping vehicle, nor should they be dropped or otherwise roughly handled. Samples shall be protected from extreme temperatures and exposure to moisture. All storage, extrusion and shipment procedures shall be done in accordance with EM 1110-1-1804, Chapter F, paragraphs 6-5 through 6-7.
d. 160 feet of auguring/mud rotary drilling is estimated for the UD sampling for this task.
Cone Penetration Test Soundings
a. A total of twelve (12) Cone Penetration Tests (CPT) should be performed to depths shown in Table 3. This totals approximately 960 feet of drilling. The CPT soundings should be performed in accordance with ASTM D5778.
b. Raw data, containing depth, tip friction, sleeve friction, porewater pressure shall be provided to the technical POC and COR via DoDSAFE. CPT sounding logs for the CPT soundings shall be provided to Wilmington District (SAW) personnel as well as entered into OpenGround. Groundwater readings should be taken at the CPT sounding locations at the completion of drilling. CPT soundings should be filled with bentonite. CPT sounding logs shall include depth, tip friction, sleeve friction, porewater pressure, N160, undrained shear strength, and modulus of elasticity. CPT data shall be entered into USACE Bentley OpenGround Cloud.
All interested firms with 541360 as an approved NAICs code have until 15 July 2025 at 1500 ET to submit the following information:
- Name & Address of your Firm
- Point of Contact (Name/Phone/E-mail)
- Current SAM
- Business Size, to include designation as HUBZone, 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Woman-Owned Business, and Large Business. Any supporting documentation that confirms your socio-economic status should be provided, i.e., letter of certification from VA confirming SDVOSB status. The Government must be able to verify SBA certification of HubZone and 8(a) via SAM.
- Evidence of capabilities to perform comparable subsurface investigation work. The contractor must provide evidence of comparable work on two (2) recent projects (not more than seven (7) years old.) Include the project name and description of the key/salient features of the project (completion date, total contract value, and your company's level of involvement in the project, i.e., subcontractor (type), prime, GC, etc. and your specific role. Additionally, if you were teaming with another firm, clearly identify your role on the project(s) submitted. Please provide at least one point of contact (with e-mail address and phone number) for project validation. The Government will not give credit to projects if the lack of information hinders the ability to determine relevancy and/or level or experience.
- Documentation of a drill rig that is capable of performing Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) and CPT soundings as specified. The rig should be an ATV capable of drilling on relatively soft ground. The contractor shall assume that mats are necessary to access the drilling locations. Drilling equipment furnished by the contractor needs to include at least two standard 1-3/8-inch I.D. x 2-inch O.D. x 2 feet-long splitspoon samplers (ASTM D-1586 dimensions), bits capable of drilling through gravel, and at least 100 feet of “N” rods, drilling machinery of a type or types approved by USACE, complete with a "safety" drive hammer of 140 pounds weight, safety-hammer and all other accessories for taking SPT samples of soil at the locations shown. Supplies shall include all casing, rods, piping, pumps, drilling mud, sample jars, power, mats, and all equipment necessary to accomplish the required borings, soundings, and sampling.
- Firm's capability to perform, to include geographic span and project size.
- Information on Teaming Arrangement (if applicable). Although we are not looking for formal signed agreements at this time, if you intend to "team" with another firm, formally or informally, you must submit information, not more, than one (1) page, about your team's involvement. More specifically, you must submit sufficient information for the Government to determine the roles each team member will play and what your socio-economic status is or will be considering the proposed arrangement. Therefore, included in your one (1) page if you are a Small Business and you intend to mentor/protégé and/or JV with a large business both team members must sign agreeing that 40% of the labor will be performed by the 8(a) firm. Additionally, if the team is a mentor/protégé arrangement, identify the areas that will be mentored. Any supporting documentation that confirms your socio-economic status as a team should be provided.
The Government may not give credit to your socio-economic class if there is not sufficient documentation to support it or if the Government cannot verify through other means that your business is as such.
Responses to this Sources Sought Announcement will be used by the government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested businesses, regardless of size should submit a narrative demonstrating their Specialized Experience in similar type contracts, Past Performance, Key Personnel. Capability statements should include size/classification of your firm, bonding capacity, details of similar projects, and the completion dates, references and contract amounts for the similar projects listed.
Narratives shall be no longer than 30 pages. The requested information shall be submitted electronically to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Attn: Diana D. Curl and Rosalind M. Shoemaker
E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]
The email should be titled: MHC Brandt Island Geotech Investigation
THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS SUCH.
Do not send hard copies of advertising or promotional materials. Please ensure that all responses are comprehensive and provide a name and point-of-contact for your firm for follow-up by this office or the procuring contracting officer. If you have responded to any previous e-mail messages or had other communications with our office regarding preliminary market research for this project, please be advised that it will be necessary for you to respond to this e-mail and the questions contained therein. Any responses involving teaming agreements should delineate between the work that will be accomplished by the Prime Contractor and work accomplished by the teaming partner
All information is to be provided on a voluntary basis at no charge to the Government. There is no entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs related to or arising out of responding to this request for information. All information provided becomes property of the Government. There is no guarantee, expressed or implied, that the market research for this acquisition will result in any guarantee of award or acquisition strategy.