1)
Has NDEQ established a maximum budget for this project that it is willing to share?
Answer: NO
2)
Has Nebraska conducted any previous state-wide (or state-sponsored) waste
characterization studies and if so, can the report(s) be made available?
Answer: NO, Nebraska has not conducted any previous state-wide waste
characterization studies.
3)
Has NDEQ identified state-wide waste characterization studies performed by other states
(adjoining or otherwise) that it can cite as being representative of the level of detail of results
being sought in this effort?
Answer: NO. Note the Project Description And Scope Of Work has been
revised to better reflect the objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1
has been developed to provide additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT
DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment 1.
4)
The RFP mentions residential and commercial waste. There is no mention of
construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Is the study limited to residential and
commercial waste being disposed in the eight targeted landfills, or is it more broadly
defined to include all wastes from all generator sectors (MSW, C&D, residential,
commercial, institutional, industrial, agricultural) that may be getting disposed in the
target landfills?
Answer: The study should include all wastes being disposed in the target
landfills. Residential waste will include waste originating from single family
and multi-family residences and buildings. Commercial waste is more broadly
defined to include all waste originating from sources other than single or
multifamily residences. Note the requirement to sample and report separately
commercial and residential waste has been removed. The Project Description
And Scope Of Work has been revised to better reflect the objective of the study.
In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to provide additional guidance.
See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment
1.
5)
Related to Question 3 above, is there any further breakdown to the annual tons
reported in the RFP for each landfill. For example, is it possible to break these tons
down into residential, commercial, C&D, and mixed/unknown?
Answer: The department has total quarterly tonnage figures for each landfill.
No other breakdown of the information is available. See Attachment 1.
6)
The RFP indicates that the “quarterly progress report must include the summary of
activities that have taken place for the previous quarter.” No mention is made of
providing preliminary statistical analysis of each season. Does this mean that the
statistical analysis (including seasonal comparisons) are not due until the delivery of
the draft report at the conclusion of sorting?
Answer: YES
7)
The RFP provides annual disposal quantities for the eight target landfills. The list of
Deliverables for the project indicates “Statewide averages of the percentage of each
categorized material being disposed of at each of the landfills must be provided.”
Are the annual quantities provided for the eight targeted landfills supposed to be
used as weighting factors to develop state-wide averages, or is there county or
regional disposal quantity data that can be made available to serve this purpose (if
not now, then before the conclusion of the project)?
Answer: Yes, the annual quantities provided for the eight targeted landfills are
supposed to be used as weighting factors to develop state-wide averages.
Annual and quarterly waste disposal tonnage totals at all permitted landfills in
the state are provided in Attachment 1. No further breakdowns are available
by county or region.
8)
The RFP requires the contractor to “specify in the proposal the number of samples to
be taken at each site each season and…indicate the criteria used in determining why
that number is representative of the waste being received at each landfill.”
However, limited guidance is provided on NDEQ’s objectives for conducting the
waste characterization study (beyond inferences that can be drawn from the list of
deliverables). Such guidance is important to justify the criteria for sample sizes.
Please complete the following sentence by checking the ending that best describes
the desired level of detail for the statistically defensible analyses that are to be
performed for this project. “The results of this study should enable solid waste and
recycling program managers to identify incremental recycling/diversion
opportunities…”
a.
“At the state level only, and not differentiate by region, by landfill, or by generator
class (e.g., residential, commercial, C&D, etc.)” (i.e., results are to be used primarily for
new facility planning)
b.
“Within specific generator classes (residential, commercial, etc.), but only at the
state level” (results begin to enable evaluation of current recycling diversion programs,
but only broadly across the state)
c.
“At each of the target landfills, but not differentiate by generator class” (provides
improved macro data at the regional level and enables differentiation of aggregate waste
stream characteristics by region)
d
“Within specific generator classes at each of the target landfills” (enables
detailed evaluation of the effectiveness of current recycling and diversion
programs, as well as opportunities for new programs within the wastesheds of
each targeted landfill?
The Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better
reflect the objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been
developed to provide additional guidance.
See IV.
DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment 1.
PROJECT
9) Page 1, Section I – the first paragraph in this section states the qualified contractor
will perform a “waste characterization study on the amount and composition . . .”. Is
the Nebraska DEQ asking the contractor to estimate the amount of waste disposed in
all landfills in Nebraska by Nebraska residents? If yes, this is a distinctly different
study than doing a waste characterization study, which is what the scope of work in
the RFP focuses on. To estimate the amount or tonnage of waste disposed in the
State of Nebraska we will need to obtain data from all landfills in Nebraska (not just
the 8 listed in the RFP) and account for waste imports and waste exports.
Answer: NO.
10) Page 21, Section IV.C.7 – the contractor is requested to provide a “proposed report
form” as part of the proposal. Is this the proposed form we would use to tabulate the
data during the sorting studies? If no, please elaborate on what the DEQ is
requesting.
Answer: YES
11) Page 22, Section IV.D.5 – the onsite activities list includes a requirement that
commercial and residential loads be sampled and reported separately. Will these
results ultimately be combined to represent “municipal solid waste” or should our
sorting methodology include statistically significant sampling of both commercial and
residential waste which in effect may double the number of samples required.
Answer: Note the requirement to sample and report separately commercial and
residential waste has been removed. The Project Description And Scope Of
Work has been revised. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to
provide additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE
OF WORK and Attachment 1.
12) Page 23, Section IV.E. – the final report is to include the results of the waste
characterization study but also recommendations regarding the areas potentially
needing permanent HHW facilities (item #6), C & D sites (#7), and compost sites
(#8). What kind of database or information does the State have regarding existing
facilities managing these materials and more specifically their location, ownership,
materials accepted, tipping fees, processing capacity, and ability to expand?
Answer: No longer applicable. The list of deliverables has been amended. The
Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better reflect the
objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to provide
additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF
WORK and Attachment 1.
13) Page 23, Section IV.E.9 – the final report is to contain recommendations on any
additional recycling efforts that may be necessary at each location. What is meant by
“location”, is it the 8 landfill locations? The geographic areas these landfills serve?
Does the State know the geographic areas served by the landfills? Does the State
have information on existing recycling programs offered throughout the state so that
the contractor can make recommendations based on the coverage (or lack of) and the
effectiveness (or lack of) of existing programs.
Answer: No longer applicable. The Project Description And Scope Of Work has
been revised to better reflect the objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1
has been developed to provide additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT
DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment 1.
14) The RFP provides for a two year contracting timeframe. Ideally, how long does the
State expect the seasonal sorting at the 8 landfills to take and from that point in time
how long to prepare the final report (which also includes additional solid waste
planning requirements)?
Answer: The contract period is two years to complete the work and prepare all
necessary reports.
15) Have the 8 landfills agreed to work with the contractor to accommodate our needs
during the study? For example, we will need space at the landfill to conduct the
sorting, we may need to erect a temporary tent during the colder seasons, we may
need to have the use of a front end loader to help select samples from incoming
trucks, we may need equipment to aggregate loads at the smaller landfills that may
receive significant self-haul loads. If we do need assistance moving waste to the
sorting area, to aggregate loads or to take representative samples from trucks, will this
be done by the landfill at no cost? Are all the landfills publicly owned and operated
except for the Pheasant Point Landfill?
Answer: The eight landfills have all agreed to allow access and space to conduct the
sorting. The eight landfills also responded to general questions concerning
availability of an impermeable pad, shelter, and equipment. See responses below.
LANDFILL
City of Hastings
Landfill
Lexington
(LASWA)
Lincoln Bluff Road
Northeast
Nebraska Solid
IMPERMEABLE PAD
No
SHELTER EQUIPMENT
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Undecided
Waste Coalition
(NNSWC)
Sidney Area Solid
Waste
Agency
Solid Waste
Agency of
Northwest
Nebraska
(SWANN)
Valentine Area
Solid Waste
Agency
Waste
Management of
Nebraska,
Inc./Pheasant Point
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No pad, however sort could
occur over lined portion of
landfill.
No.
Yes
Contact information for each of the landfills is provided in Attachment 1.
Contact the landfills directly to determine what additional accommodations they
will make, clarifications to their responses above, and to determine if they are
publicly or privately owned and operated. IT IS THE CONTRACTOR’S
RESPONSIBILITY TO DETERMINE AVAILABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
BY THE LANDFILLS.
16) Does the State have a not-to-exceed budget allocated for this project, and if so, can
you tell us what the budget allocation is?
Answer: NO
17) The RFP appears to be formatted for a construction or materials procurement type
project rather than a professional services contract including fixed pricing, best and
final offer, a performance bond and a $100 dollar per day penalty for failure to meet
schedule dates until deliverables are approved. Since this is a consulting study rather
than a construction project, can this performance bond requirement be waived and the
provisions for penalty and retainage be eliminated or reduced to a more typical level
for professional services? Typically retainage on professional service contracts is
zero, since profit margins are not as high as construction projects.
Answer: NO
18) The RFP request is for a fixed price contract (lump sum?) but insufficient data has
been provided to allow the Proposer to determine the number of samples that will be
required to achieve a statistical accurate result. Has NDEQ considered the size
samples and the number of vehicles to be sampled to obtain a statistically
representative sample? This question has significant cost implications. For example,
most waste sort projects involve at least 5 days of sampling to minimize bias and
multiple waste trucks each day that are mechanically or manually reduced to
representative samples. If one consultant assumes 5 days per site, per quarter and one
consultant assumes 1 day there will be a huge price difference and a significant
difference in the selection of “representative” samples. It is suggested NDEQ provide
some guidance on the level of effort that they envision.
Answer: The Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better
reflect the objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed
to provide additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND
SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment 1.
19) Waste deliveries will likely come from four principle sources residential (single
family residential, duplexes), commercial (multifamily residential and
retail/commercial businesses), and industrial (food processing, manufacturing, etc.)
and construction/demolition. Is it the intent of study to sample and analyze all of
these waste streams or to focus only on the first two? Can the state provide any
guidance on the number and size of samples that will be required for the study?
Answer: The Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better
reflect the objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed
to provide additional guidance. See answer to question #4, IV. PROJECT
DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK, and Attachment 1.
20) Will the NDEQ provide summary data on the typical number of vehicles by type (or
waste source) that may arrive at each location in order to determine the number of
samples required to be considered “representative”? If the consultant has to compile
and sort through weigh tickets to accumulate this data, it could impact the cost
significantly.
Answer: NO. The Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to
better reflect the objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been
developed to provide additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
AND SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment 1.
21) The RFP states that payment will be made based on a Fixed Price and not paid until
an acceptable deliverable has been received by the State. Is this intended to mean a
lump sum payment? Please define what the state considers to be deliverables upon
which the Proposer can receive progress payments (e.g. can adequate milestones be
established to allow timely payment, such as after a field sampling event is complete
(majority of labor, materials, travel, lodging) but before the office summary of results
are tabulated). If the intent is that the consultant will only be paid upon delivery of
each quarterly report and a 20 % retainage is being withheld, the consultant will incur
substantial interest charges (i.e., 3, 4 months or longer) while they await payment. As
such the consultant will need to include interest in the overhead cost for the project or
will NDEQ pay interest on retainage. Can payment be changed to a monthly basis
based on project milestones instead?
Answer: The RFP is clear that quarterly payments will be made. The required
deliverables are clearly spelled out. Monthly payments are not an option.
22) The number of waste sorts requested includes 32 events, which will be required
significant funds to conduct. What has the state budgeted for these events and if
sufficient funding is not available will the state scale down the project, abandon the
program or find additional funding?
Answer: See #1.
23) In consideration of the issues of the difficulty maintaining “daily cover on sorted
waste” and other problems associated with the outdoor elements, what provisions will
be provided by NDEQ in terms of enclosed space for conducting the sorts at each of
the various landfill locations? A rain event during the sorting operation will increase
the weight of the sorted materials and distort the results of the study, so some form of
shelter needs to be provided. A bay at a transfer station, vacant building or
maintenance shed is suggested. The location of the building will need to be in close
proximity to the landfill to avoid major inconvenience to the normal delivery process.
Answer: See # 15
24) Heavy equipment (e.g., loaders) will be required to obtain a representative sample
from each truck load selected for sampling. Will the state or the landfills be able to
provide the needed support to conduct the initial sample selection and waste cleanup?
If the consultant has to include the equipment rental and labor for these activities it
will have a significant impact on the price.
Answer: See #15
25) How many loads or tons per season per landfill does the NDEQ anticipate will be
characterized? A Missouri study characterized less than 2% of waste annually. A
military study characterized less than 0.03% by weight.
Answer: The Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better
reflect the objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed
to provide additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND
SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment 1.
26) What is the most recent EPA waste characterization study and where can a copy be
obtained?
Answer: No longer applicable. The list of deliverables has been amended. The
Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better reflect the
objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to provide
additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF
WORK and Attachment 1.
27) What are the most recent studies available in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado,
Wyoming and South Dakota? Where can we obtain a copy of those studies?
Answer: No longer applicable. The list of deliverables has been amended. The
Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better reflect the
objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to provide
additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF
WORK and Attachment 1.
28) Which landfills have indicated the study work can be done inside a building? Will
some of the work (at which landfills) have to be performed on the working face of the
landfill?
Answer: See #15
29) At landfills with multiple facilities (C&D, MSW, recycling), will loads for each type
of facility be characterized? Or only MSW?
Answer: Only the waste to be disposed of in the MSW facility (targeted landfills)
will be characterized.
30) Which landfills have multiple permitted facilities? Please provide types of facilities
at each landfill.
Answer: Does not matter.
31) Will operators allow work after business hours and on weekends to avoid conflicts
with work at the landfill?
Answer: See #15
32) Does all sorting have to be done over lined areas of permitted facilities? If not
possible, we assume we will need to create a lined area or work on concrete pad.
Answer: All sorting must be done over a lined area or some other impervious
surface to prohibit infiltration of leachate into the environment. See # 15
33) Will landfill operators provide staff and equipment assistance on a limited basis?
Once characterization is finished, will operators pickup and haul waste from the
sorting area to the working face of the landfill?
Answer: See #15
34) Are quarterly reports due March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 for
winter, spring, summer and fall?
Answer: YES
35) Is the NE Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan available for our use in
developing recommendations? When was the plan last updated?
Answer: YES. The plan has not been updated. The Project Description And
Scope Of Work has been revised to better reflect the objective of the study. In
addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to provide additional guidance. See
IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment 1.
36) Does NE have numbers available regarding waste trends – increases or decreases in
waste percentages since Subtitle D regulations were put in place?
Answer: NO
37) Does the Department of Environmental Quality want the study to provide statistically
significant findings on a facility-by-facility basis or just on a statewide basis?
Answer: The Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better
reflect the objective of the study. The list of deliverables has been amended. In
addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to provide additional guidance. See
answer #7, IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK, and
Attachment 1.
38) What EPA waste characterization study would you like the Nebraska results to be
compared to?
Answer: No longer applicable. The list of deliverables has been amended. The
Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better reflect the
objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to provide
additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK
and Attachment 1.
39) Will tonnage figures be available for each facility showing the split between
commercial waste and residential waste? If not, then should we include in the
proposal and budget the cost of collecting that data? (We believe the tonnage data for
residential vs. commercial waste is necessary for the study.)
Answer: NO. The Contractor should budget for whatever it believes is
necessary for it to do the job. Note the requirement to sample and report
separately commercial and residential waste has been removed. The Project
Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better reflect the objective
of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to provide additional
guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK and
Attachment 1.
40) What portion of the budget does the Department anticipate being allocated to in-field
data collection, versus the analysis, reporting, and policy recommendations described
on page 23 of the RFP?
Answer: Do not know. The Project Description And Scope Of Work has been
revised to better reflect the objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has
been developed to provide additional guidance.
See IV. PROJECT
DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment 1.
41) Page 28 of the RFP describes the details that are desired in the cost proposal. Does
that mean you want the cost proposal to consist of an itemization of specific
deliverables (e.g., the number of samples, a final report, etc.) and a cost associated
with each deliverable (e.g., cost per sample, cost of report, etc.)?
Answer: Cost of the total project only.
42) The RFP states photographs will be taken of the sampled waste before and after the
sorting task. After sorting, there will be at least 29 categories. Does the NDEQ
require photos of all 29 sorted categories, for each sample?
Answer: As many photographs as it takes to clearly see everything. More than
one category can be in each photo.
43) The RFP states that the vehicle bringing the load must also be photographed. Some
hauling companies may object. Would the NDEQ be willing to inform all licensed
haulers of the study and of the photographing of the trucks?
Answer: If a hauler objects to the photographing of its truck a description of the
vehicle type and any company name will be considered adequate.
44) The level of effort will be substantial with the request to conduct multiple season,
multiple site field events. Therefore, has the NDEQ established a budget range for
completion of this project?
Answer: NO
45) Will the Department consider alternative proposals with fewer sites and/or fewer
seasonal sorts?
Answer: NO
46) Will each landfill have a concrete or other impervious area available for waste
sorting? Each landfill are already required to do random sorts for prohibited
materials. If they are using an impervious surface, it would be advisable to use the
same surface for off-loading materials to be sorted. Please provide details.
Answer: See # 15
47) Contractor Requirements - #4 Contractors will provide...temporary shelter when
necessary". Is this a requirement for shelter for 1) personnel that are doing the
sorting or 2) a shelter/temporary building in which to do the actual sorting during bad
weather or "when necessary" Please provide clarification
Answer: When necessary in order to perform the required tasks in the
judgment of the contractor. See #15
48) Is there a specific criteria/EPA/ASTM or other method that is to be used in sorting the
waste stream in order to characterize it and determine volume and weights? NAC
Title 132 for Integrated Solid Waste is geared toward inspections to assure hazardous
wastes are excluded as does 40 CFR 258, not characterizing all wastes received.
Answer: No specific criteria is specified. See Attachment 1
49) This sorting will be more extensive that than done by each landfill as part of their
permit requirements. Obviously the number or percentage of loads or tonnage to be
sampled will be key to developing a cost estimate. Is right of access and cooperation
of landfill management assured? Since the sorting will interrupt day-to-day landfill
operations this is a concern.
Answer: See #15
50) Since there is the possibility of encountering hazardous waste during the
characterization is NDEQ requiring that on-site workers have initial 40 Hour or 24
Hour HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Site and Emergency Response) and current 8hour annual refresher training?
Answer: It is the Contractor’s responsibility to ensure health and safety
including training for it’s workers.
51) Is there a yearly escalator or COLA-type annual adjustment to
parallel salary and other cost(rent, fuel, etc.) increases? This is
difficult to address for a 2 to 3 year period.
Answer: No. Contract period is two years.
52) Where is the NDEQ Quality Management Plan on the web? Please
provide the URL
Answer: It is not on the website, you can request it through the NDEQ records
management section.
53) Is NDEQ going to provide the waste stream data from neighboring
states and US EPA.
Answer: NO. No longer applicable. The list of deliverables has been amended.
The Project Description And Scope Of Work has been revised to better reflect the
objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1 has been developed to provide
additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK
and Attachment 1.
54) The best data would be if the same statistical comparison is used
across the different sources. Will NDEQ provide the statistical
analyses and methods to be used for data comparison.
Answer: NO, the NDEQ will not provide the statistical analysis and methods to
be used for data comparison. Note the Project Description And Scope Of Work has
been revised to better reflect the objective of the study. In addition, Attachment 1
has been developed to provide additional guidance. See IV. PROJECT
DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF WORK and Attachment 1.
55) Is the assumption correct that the scales at each landfill will be
available for this project?
Answer: See #15
56) Was wondering what exactly a characterization study is? Solid waste meaning
Concrete, wood, and Steel? Where are these 8 sites located? Who has done this work
in the past?
Answer: Please refer to the RFP