# SCOPING

**NAO 217-104 Overview:**

Modernization/replacement/consolidation investments initially approved
under the Capital Investment Review process shall have the following
analyses conducted:

-   project requirements definition (required for siting analysis and
    space/A&E/design analyses);

-   initial siting analysis;

-   National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process;

### Initial Architecture & Engineering (A&E) studies; concept design

**NAO 217-104 Responsibilities**:

**CAO:**

-   Coordinates timely preparation of an A/E Program Study, Statement of
    Work (SOW), and other Scoping Phase deliverables, as applicable

-   Coordinates with Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO) to provide
    procurement support to the LO to comply with National Environmental
    Policy Act (NEPA) requirements

-   Develops prospectus and updates the OMB Exhibit 300, as necessary,
    to reflect latest cost and schedule information

-   Develops Quality Assurance Plan for project

-   Prepares the DOC Step Two Approval package

-   Seeks and obtains DOC and OMB approvals

-   Prepares detailed requirements analysis (Program Study) with LO
    input

-   Performs real property acquisition functions for the LO, to include
    tentative and final Lease/Acquisition Agreements

-   Determines whether Interagency Agreements or Memoranda of
    Understanding are needed for the candidate project; develops draft
    versions of these documents in conjunction with the sponsoring LO;
    and coordinates NOAA (and as required DOC) review and clearance of
    these documents

-   Prepares analyses and briefing materials for the FIMB

-   Schedules and coordinates the FIMB decision point briefing

-   Works with the AGO Contracting Officer to develop the Acquisition
    Strategy for the project with input from the LO

**Goal and Sub-goal Leads and Program Managers:**

-   Ensures project requirements developed by the LO support program
    requirements

**Line Office:**

-   Supports the OCAO in preparation of an A/E Programming Study SOW
    and, if applicable, other Scoping Phase deliverables

-   Provides input to the detailed Project Requirements Analysis
    (Program Study)

-   Provides input to A/E Design SOW

-   Assists the CAO in preparing for and briefing the FIMB

-   Develops preliminary Information Technology (IT**)** infrastructure
    requirements, including network design

-   Coordinates requirements for NOAA IT enterprise architecture
    standards with the Office of the Chief Information Officer

-   Ensures AA-level approval in accordance with LO policy

**Facility Investment Management Board:**

-   Approves projects for advancement to DOC Step Two Approval

Table 2-1 Steps:

S-1 Develop Spend plans

S-2 Prepare Scoping and Conceptual Design (15%) SOW

S-3 Task A-E and Issue Notice to Proceed

S-4 Obtain Scoping Information

S-5 Perform Initial Siting Analysis

S-6 A-E submits Conceptual Design and Updated Cost Estimate

S-7 Prepare SOW for NEPA Contractor

S-8 Award NEPA Contract

S-9 Perform NEPA Process

S-10 Update OMB Exhibit 300

S-11 Update PDRI

S-12 Prepare for and Conduct FIMB Review

S-13 Prepare DOC Second Step Approval Package

S-14 Approval to Proceed to Planning and Design

Scoping is a process designed to examine a proposed project early in the
process, is intended to identify the range of issues raised by it and to
outline feasible alternatives.

Scoping is considered an effective way to bring together and resolve
concerns of cooperating agencies, as well as other agencies and
interested persons, including the general public, who are potentially
affected by the project or who might not be in accord with the action on
environmental concerns.

## Project Requirements Definition

The Requirements Document further defines the details of the project
building upon the functional requirements and Facility Concept Study as
appropriate. It forms the basis for developing documents for the budget
and/or project approval

**Content of the Requirements Document.** The Requirements Document
expands upon the Facility Concept Study, emphasizing the detail project
description by room/area. This document includes the results of any
studies that have been completed and provides detailed criteria (e.g.,
size, location, environmental) for each of the rooms, activities, or
functions included in the facility. The project's PDRI documentation is
included in the Requirements Document.

**Format of the Requirements Document.** The outline established for the
Facility Concept Study should be maintained with the supplemental
descriptive materials referenced to the project description section of
the concept study. The PM can help ensure the completeness of the effort
by providing the project advocate/user with a checklist to document the
features of each room or functions within the facility. The following
elements are included as appropriate:

a.  Narrative description of the purpose and/or function of the
    room/area,

b.  Physical dimensions of the room/area including ceiling or hook
    height,

c.  Number and type of personnel assigned to the room/area,

d.  Environmental and occupational safety and health-related
    requirements (e.g., temperature, humidity, ventilation, workstation
    design, particle counts, radio frequency shielding, noise
    attenuation),

e.  Process power, grounding, and lighting requirements,

f.  Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems and emergency power
    requirements,

g.  Process plumbing requirements,

h.  Utility metering and Energy Management Control Systems
    (EMCS)/Utility Control Systems (UCS) requirements,

i.  Fire protection requirements,

j.  Communications distribution systems requirements,

k.  Special structural requirements (e.g., access, vibration controls,
    floor loading),

l.  Electrical and mechanical systems redundancy requirements,

m.  Maintainability and operability requirements,

n.  Security requirements,

o.  Material handling requirements (e.g., crane or hoist requirements),

p.  Listing of major items of process equipment to be installed,

q.  Environmental pollution control requirements,

r.  Identification of the present location of the activity, if existing,
    or of an activity similar in nature,

s.  Any special studies that influenced the criteria should also be
    referenced and added in an appendix as appropriate, and

t.  The project's PDRI documentation as appropriate.

## Initial Siting Analysis

A well-executed site analysis forms the essential foundation for a
cost-effective, environmentally sensitive, and rational approach to
project development. The following outline addresses site analysis.

**Specific Community**

a.  Location: Description of remote siting, if applicable, to include
    transportation, distribution and supply capabilities

b.  Discussion of extreme temperature variations, precipitation levels,
    prevailing winds, humidity, and freeze thaw index are examples

c.  Physical Setting: Longitude, latitude, proximity to rivers, and
    erosion concerns are examples

d.  Flooding concerns: Discussion of seasonal flooding, if applicable

e.  River concerns, if applicable

f.  Seismic hazard concerns: Determined from spectral response maps in
    the International Building Code

g.  Archaeology and Historical Significance: Discussion of
    archaeological interest within the developed area of the city or
    town

h.  Vegetation: Varieties, density, wetlands, hills, trees and tundra
    areas, if applicable

i.  Transportation: Road and airport connections

j.  Culture: Diversity of population

k.  Population: Census, and analysis of stabilization growth

l.  Government: Details of City incorporation

m.  Utilities:

n.  Water and Sewer: Discussion of improvements to water and sewer
    systems to protect health, meet current environmental regulations,
    increase reliability and operability and meet system requirements
    for a 20-year planning interval

o.  Electricity: Provider and reliability

p.  Other services, such as fire, telephone, and refuse disposal

q.  Geology and soils

**Site Description**

Public water, electricity, telephone, proximity to town center,
availability of housing, and transportation facilities

**Initial Site and Building Design Scheme Considerations**

a.  Elevation above sea level

b.  Building orientation

c.  Security

**Building Solution**

a.  Civil elements

-   Demolition of existing structures

-   Clearing of trees and vegetation

-   Removal of organic material

-   Gravel fill

b.  Architectural/Structural Elements

-   Foundation walls

-   Floor framing

-   Wall framing

-   Roof framing

-   Insulation

-   Windows and doors

-   Accessibility

c.  Mechanical Elements

-   Heating Air Conditioning and Ventilation

**Architectural Building Systems Analysis**

Building compound, options considered, features/benefits/unit cost and
recommendation

## NEPA Process

For all major federal actions (as defined by 1998 40 CFR 1508.18), the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to
assess: the environmental impact of the proposed action; any adverse
environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be
implemented; alternatives to the proposed action; the relationship
between local short-term uses of our environment and the maintenance and
enhancement of long-term productivity; and any irreversible and
irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the
proposed action should it be implemented. Preparing the required NEPA
compliance studies may take 12 to 24 months for significant projects,
and may be a critical path item in project implementation. To avoid
delays, the appropriate studies and fair evaluation of reasonable
alternatives should begin early and becomes an integral part of the
initial project planning.

Prepare SOW

Award Contract

Environmental Assessment

Finding of No Significant Impact

Environmental Impact Statement

Record of Decision

## Initial A-E Studies

Programming studies are developed in coordination with the project
manager, project engineers and user community. Architectural programming
provides:

a.  Project values, goals and requirements

b.  Efficiency factors

c.  Net totals to arrive at gross square footage requirements

d.  Building codes requirements and standards such as:

-   Americans with Disability Act, amongst other requirements, building
    design should include enablers for individuals with disabilities

-   Brooks Act, which establishes quality-based versus price-based
    selection of Architect/Engineer (AE) firms

-   Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards addresses overtime pay

-   Davis-Bacon Act addresses minimum pay scales

-   Miller Act requires performance and payment bonds

-   Executive Order 12148, Greening the Government through Leadership in
    Environmental Management

-   Space size standards for various building types

e.  Visualization of alternative designs

f.  Surveying and mapping

g.  Soils engineering

h.  Conceptual designs

## Concept design (Schematic Design)

a.  During the *Schematic Design* phase, a list of spatial requirements
    (number of offices, conference rooms, and special spaces) will
    baseline the design. The goal during this phase is to acquire a
    complete and accurate understanding of project requirements. For
    example:

-   A code analysis will establish specific zoning and environmental
    restrictions. Based on the Program and Code Analysis

-   A preliminary design sketch of a site plan (the proposed building
    located on the site), floor plans (layout) and elevations (exterior
    views of the building) will be produced.

-   Then an Outline Specification; a list describing the proposed
    products and materials to be used on the project will be prepared

-   Depending on the size and complexity of the project, multiple
    schemes will be prepared and discussed to focus on the benefits
    and/or drawbacks of each scheme.

b.  Use of several different presentation methods such as 3D perspective
    drawings and/or models is encouraged. Upon completion of the
    *Schematic Design* phase, a preliminary cost estimate for each
    potential scheme is prepared

**IT Design Considerations**

**Network Infrastructure.** All major NOAA facilities will have an above
standard IT network infrastructure consisting of cabling,
wiring/equipment closets, conduits, routers, switches, firewalls,
monitoring systems, etc. This infrastructure will be a single
consolidated system based on industry best practices, technology trends,
and industry-wide open standards. Each facility will have a homogeneous
generic structured cabling system based on the ANSI/TIA-EIA standard
(currently 569-A) capable of running any voice or data application
foreseeable in the next 10 to 15 years. The IT network infrastructure
for a given facility will be managed by a single point of contact or
Network Operations Center (NOC) that is administered jointly by the
local building tenants and the NOAA CIO. All major decisions pertaining
to a given network infrastructure, including planning a new building and
its associated network, will be approved by the local NOC the NOAA CIO
and CAO.

**Network Operating Centers**. When planning a new building it is
essential that a NOC be established for the facility as early as
possible so that IT network considerations may be included in the
overall building plans from the outset. A preliminary network design
should be in place prior to the commencement of the architectural
planning process. This preliminary design will at a minimum include:
approximate bandwidth requirements (present and future) for internal and
external network connections; approximate number of required cable drops
(outlets); density, size, and rough placement of wiring closets and
computer rooms; approximate size and rough placement of main cable
distribution closet; approximate size and rough placement of conduit
and/or other cable paths; and the desired size and location of building
entrances for external cable connections. Deliverables for the final
plan of an IT network infrastructure should include detailed Division 17
Statement of Work or Project Manual specifications, Communications
Systems (CS) architectural drawings, and communications equipment,
firewall, and monitoring systems design specifications & drawings.

## Energy Savings Considerations

### Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC)

Under Energy Savings Performance contracts, private sector energy
service companies finance, install and maintain new energy efficient
equipment in federal facilities at no up-front cost to the government. 
The energy service company is paid back over time from the dollars saved
by the agency on its energy and maintenance bills.  The savings are
contractually guaranteed to exceed payments, so the savings are
guaranteed to be available to repay the financing.

### Utility Energy Efficiency Service Contract (UESC)

One of the best ways for Federal agencies to implement efficiency and
renewable energy projects is through partnerships with their franchised
or serving utilities. Federal agencies often enter into utility energy
service contracts (UESCs) to implement energy improvements at their
facilities.

With a UESC, the utility typically arranges financing to cover the
capital costs of the project. Then the utility is repaid over the
contract term from the cost savings generated by the energy efficiency
measures. With this arrangement, agencies can implement energy
improvements with no initial capital investment; the net cost to the
Federal agency is minimal, and the agency saves time and resources by
using the one-stop shopping provided by the utility.

More than 45 electric and gas utilities have provided project financing
for energy and water efficiency upgrades at Federal facilities,
investing more than \$600 million through utility energy services
contracts since 1995. The Edison Electric Institute has committed to
encouraging \$2 billion in private investment funding by 2010 for
life-cycle, cost-effective Federal facility improvement projects. In
fiscal year 2000, \$157 million in private-sector investments generated
\$35 million in savings at Federal facilities. These projects are now
paying for themselves from a share of the cost savings resulting from
efficiency improvements.

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 authorizes and encourages Federal agencies
to participate in utility energy efficiency programs offered by electric
and gas utilities and by other program administrators (e.g., state
agencies). These programs range from equipment rebates (i.e., utility
incentives) to delivery of a complete turnkey project. Federal
legislation and numerous legal opinions demonstrate that agencies have
full authority to enter into utility energy service contracts as well as
take advantage of utility incentive programs.

The Scoping segment concludes with the selection of the site,
negotiation/acquisition of the property, and preparation of the
prospectus and revised Exhibit 300 for the project. The FIMB
consideration/approval will be based on the prospectus and Exhibit 300.
Combined with the favorable FIMB outcome, the prospectus and Exhibit 300
are forwarded to DOC to obtain DOC Step Two Approval.