Document ID: EPA-HQ-OEI-2003-0012-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-03-11T05:00Z

SUPPORTING
STATEMENT
1.
IDENTIFICATION
OF
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTION
a)
This
information
request,
which
EPA
is
tracking
under
Information
Collection
Request
(
ICR)
1038­
10,
covers
the
procedures
for
requesting
information
in
Requests
for
Proposals
(
RFP)
and
Invitations
for
Bids
(
IFB).
The
current
0MB
control
number
is
2030­
0006.

b)
The
Office
of
Acquisition
Management
of
EPA
issues
RFPs
or
IFBs
to
vendors
who
are
interested
in
selling
products
or
services
to
the
Agency.
The
method
for
soliciting
bids
or
proposals
from
the
public
is
set
forth
in
the
Federal
Acquisition
Regulation
(
FAR).
FAR
14.201­
1
sets
forth
the
uniform
format
for
IFBs
while
FAR
15.406­
1
sets
forth
the
format
for
RFPs.
RFPs
are
generally
issued
for
more
complex
services
or
supplies
and
are
used
more
frequently
by
EPA
than
are
IFBs.
Both
IFBs
or
RFPs,
depending
on
the
circumstances
surrounding
the
acquisition,
are
used
when
the
estimated
price
of
the
procurement
is
over
the
simplified
acquisition
threshold
of
$
100,000.

2.
NEED
FOR
AND
USE
OF
THE
COLLECTION
a)
The
legal
authority
for
this
collection
is
41
USC
253.
Collection
of
responses
to
Agency
RFPs
and
IFBs
is
essential
to
the
Agency's
mission.
Contractor­
provided
supplies
and
services,
such
as
emergency
and
remedial
clean­
up
services,
treatability
studies,
and
equipment
are
all
procured
through
this
process.
A
description
of
the
supplies
or
services
needed
is
developed
by
the
requiring
office.
The
contracting
office
composes
an
RFP
or
IFB
based
on
these
needs.

b)
Information
provided
by
vendors
in
response
to
an
RFP/
IFB
is
used
to
evaluate
which
vendor
will
provide
the
best
product
in
terms
of
quality,
timeliness
and
price.
This
evaluation
is
completed
by
the
contracting
staff
and
may
include
input
from
the
requiring
office.

3.
THE
RESPONDENTS
AND
THE
INFORMATION
REQUESTED
a)
Respondents
will
normally
be
large
or
small
businesses,
profit­
making
or
nonprofit,
which
are
interested
in
selling
their
goods
or
services
to
the
Agency.
Typically,
these
respondents
fall
into
one
of
the
following
Standard
Industrial
Classifications:
1629
­
dredging
and
surface
cleanup
activities,
3821
­
laboratory
apparatus,
7379
­
computer
related
services
and
8748
­
business
consulting
services.

b)
FAR
Parts
14
and
15
set
forth
the
types
of
information
requested
in
an
IFB
and
RFP.
This
information
request
will
discuss
information
which
EPA
requests
in
IFBs
or
RFPs,
and
which
is
not
specifically
addressed
in
FAR
clauses
or
certifications
already
cleared
through
the
Office
of
Management
and
Budget
(
0MB).
Information
collections
required
by
FAR
15.8,
Price
Negotiation,
are
approved
by
0MB
under
Control
Number
900­
0013.
All
information
collections
required
by
FAR
and
approved
by
0MB
are
listed
in
FAR
1.106.
c)
For
IFBs,
the
Agency
requires
the
respondent
to
provide:

1)
prices
for
the
supplies/
services
requested
2)
a
list
of
contracts,
by
number,
for
the
same
or
similar
supplies/
services
to
include
a
description
of
the
product,
type
of
contract
awarded,
and
a
list
of
the
Agencies
to
which
this
product
was
provided.

d)
For
RFPs
the
respondents
must
provide
the
following:

1)
prices
for
the
supplies/
services
requested;

2)
information
on
past
performance;

3)
technical
and
cost
information;
and
4)
general
financial
and
organizational
information
e)
In
order
to
submit
the
information
requested,
a
respondent
would
have
to
gather
available
data,
such
as
history
of
previous
contracts.
In
formulating
pricing
or
cost
information,
a
respondent
may
have
to
research
or
analyze
company
financial
records.
Information
would
then
be
compiled,
reviewed
and
recorded.

4.
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTED­­
AGENCY
ACTIVITIES
COLLECTION
METHODOLOGY
AND
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
a)
Agency
activities
in
preparing
the
IFB/
RFP
include
the
following
tasks:
developing
the
specifications
or
statement
of
work,
putting
together
the
solicitation,
answering
respondent
questions,
and
reviewing
respondent
data.

b)
Respondent
data
will
be
reviewed
by
a
contract
specialist
and
technical
specialist,
if
required.
Computer
software
will
be
used
to
review
and
check
cost
or
pricing
data
for
correctness
and
completeness.
A
copy
of
the
response
will
be
kept
in
the
contract
file.

c)
SMALL
ENTITY
FLEXIBILITY
The
information
collected
is
essential
to
evaluating
the
respondents'
ability
to
meet
the
Agency's
needs
for
supplies
and
services.
This
information
must
be
provided
by
both
large
and
small
businesses.
Only
the
minimum
information
necessary
to
ensure
the
submission
of
complete
and
proper
bids
and
proposals
is
required.
Because
the
information
is
necessary
for
bid
review
and
proposal
evaluation,
separate
or
simplified
procedures
cannot
be
developed
for
small
businesses.
d)
COLLECTION
SCHEDULE
This
information
is
collected
on
a
one­
time
basis
when
the
Agency
has
a
requirement
for
supplies
or
services.
RFPs/
IFBs
are
mailed
to
respondents
who
are
interested
in
providing
the
required
products
or
services
to
the
Government.

5.
NONDUPLICATION
CONSULTATION
AND
OTHER
COLLECTION
CRITERIA
a)
Information
requested
in
an
IFB/
RFP
is
unique
to
a
specific
procurement;
this
information
cannot
be
obtained
from
any
other
source.

b)
The
following
vendors
were
contacted
to
discuss
this
collection
activity:

Representative
Firm
Phone
Barbara
Gleason
Laucks
Testing,
Inc.
(
206)
767­
5060
Mike
Pierce
Compuchem
Lab,
Inc.
(
919)
248­
6415
Craig
Roberts
EDS,
Corp.
(
703)
742­
1587
Keven
Loughman
Unisys
(
703)
847­
3818
Each
individual
consulted
indicated
that
he/
she
understood
the
need
for
the
information
collected
and
did
not
find
the
collection
excessively
burdensome.
Estimated
time
to
complete
the
information
collection,
given
by
each
firm,
was
considered
in
the
"
Respondent
Burden
Estimate."

c)
IFBs
and
RFPs
are
only
issued
when
the
Agency
has
a
need
for
a
particular
supply
or
service.
Respondents
reply
only
if
they
are
interested
in
selling
products
or
providing
services
to
the
Government.

d)
This
information
is
in
accordance
with
OMB's
general
guidelines
for
Federal
data
collection
with
the
exception
of
requiring
the
same
information
from
small
business
as
from
large
businesses.

e)
Information
collected
under
this
request,
particularly
cost
and
pricing
data,
is
treated
as
Confidential
Business
Information(
CBI).
CBI
is
protected
from
public
release
in
accordance
with
the
Agency's
confidentially
regulation,
40
CFR
Part
2.201
et
seq.

6.
ESTIMATING
THE
BURDEN
AND
COST
OF
THE
COLLECTION
a)
ESTIMATING
RESPONDENT
BURDEN
i.
Labor
Costs
Respondent
burden
estimates
for
this
collection
are
divided
into
two
categories:
burden
for
responding
to
an
IFB
and
burden
for
responding
to
an
RFP.
Sealed
bidding,
or
responding
to
an
IFB
is
a
simpler
process
than
responding
to
an
RFP.
Only
fixed
price
contracts
can
be
awarded
through
the
sealed
bidding
process
and
the
Agency
requires
much
less
information
in
IFBs.
More
complex,
cost
reimbursement
contracts
are
awarded
in
response
to
RFPs.
The
Agency
requires
extensive
cost
and
pricing
and
technical
data
in
RFPs.

Respondent
Burden/
Cost
Estimate
for
IFBS
Collection
Activity
Burden
Hours
Cost
1.
Read
IFB
and
research
2
hrs
$
175.00
information
requested
2.
Create/
gather
information
4
hrs
$
174.80
3.
Compile/
review
information
1
hr
$
87.50
4.
Type
report
lhr
$
24.00
TOTAL
8
hrs.
$
461.30
Steps
1
and
3
of
the
information
collection
are
generally
completed
by
a
company
program
manager.
This
is
an
administrative
person
responsible
for
coordinating
with
the
technical
and
financial
specialists
and
placing
the
proposal
or
bid.
Specialists,
both
financial
and
scientific,
are
responsible
for
completing
step
2.
Information
compiled
by
the
technicians
is
put
in
report
format
by
a
typist.
EPA's
Cost
Advisory
Branch
estimates
the
loaded
hourly
rate
for
a
program
manager
is
$
87.50
for
a
technician
the
rate
is
$
43.70
and
for
a
typist
the
rate
is
$
24.00.
These
rates
are
based
on
the
Cost
Advisory
Branch's
experience
with
EPA
contract
rates
which
they
audit
routinely.
Rates
are
also
consistent
with
prior
information
collection
clearances,
adjusted
for
inflation.
Estimated
time
to
complete
each
step
is
based
on
consultations
with
contractors
and
Agency
contracting
staff.

Based
on
the
Agency's
tracking
system
for
contracts,
last
fiscal
year
288
bids
were
submitted,
and
we
expect
this
to
remain
fairly
constant
for
the
period
covered
by
this
request.
With
each
response
taking
8
hours
to
complete,
the
total
estimated
contractor
burden
for
completing
IFBs
is
2,304
hours.
The
annual
cost
to
respondents
is
$
132,854.40.

Respondents
Burden/
Cost
Estimate
for
RFPs
Collection
Activity
Burden
Hours
Cost
1.
Read
RFP/
research
information
30
hrs
$
2,625.00
2.
create/
gather
information
118
hrs
$
5,156.60
3.
compile/
review
information
67
hrs
$
5,862.50
4.
type/
report
information
36
hrs
$
864.00
TOTAL
251
hrs
$
14,508.10
The
rates
and
division
of
labor
is
the
same
for
IFBs
and
RFPs.
(
Rates
and
duties
are
discussed
above.)
The
total
burden
hours
to
respond
to
one
RFP
is
251
hours.
Agency
records
show
last
fiscal
year
1,081
proposals
were
reviewed.
We
anticipate
a
10%
reduction
in
proposals
received
for
the
coming
year
due
to
increased
use
of
other
Agency's
contract
vehicles,
and
increased
use
of
contract
reform
measures
such
as
oral
proposals.
Therefore,
we
are
utilizing
a
projected
quantity
of
973
proposals
to
calculate
the
contractor
burden
for
this
information
collection
request.
This
puts
the
total
hourly
burden
for
RFPs
at
244,223
hours.
Annual
cost
for
RFP
information
collection
is
estimated
at
$
14,116,381.

The
total
respondent
burden
for
both
IFBs
and
RFPs
is
246,527
hours.
Total
annual
cost
for
IFBs
and
RFPs
is
estimated
at
$
14,249,235.

(
ii)
Capital/
Start­
up
Costs
Because
it
will
not
be
necessary
for
respondents
to
acquire
any
capital
goods
to
provide
the
requested
information,
EPA
has
estimated
no
incurred
capital/
start­
up
costs.

(
iii)
Operating
and
Maintenance
Costs
Operating
and
Maintenance
costs,
which
include
such
items
as
file
storage,
photocopying,
and
postage,
are
negligible.

c)
ESTIMATING
AGENCY
BURDEN
AND
COST
Agency
burden
is
presented
separately
for
IFBs
and
RFPs.
As
noted
before,
much
more
time
is
needed
to
review
respondent
data
on
an
RFP
because
there
is
more
data
to
review
and
the
data
is
more
complex.

Agency
Burden/
Cost
Estimate
for
IFBs
Collection
Activity
Burden
Hours
Cost
1.
Develop
specifications
38
hrs
$
1,140.00
2.
Compile
IFB
30
hrs
$
789.00
3.
Review
data
received
contract
specialist
24
hrs
$
631.20
contract
officer
4
hrs
$
120.00
TOTAL
96
hrs
$
2,680.20
Specifications
are
developed
by
a
technical
specialist
in
the
program
office.
Salary
for
a
technical
specialist
was
calculated
at
the
GS­
13
level.
Estimate
includes
GS­
13
salary
at
$
25.86
per
hour,
multiplied
by
a
factor
of
1.16
to
account
for
benefits,
which
yields
a
loaded
rate
of
$
30.00.
A
contract
specialist
is
responsible
for
compiling
the
IFB,
consultations
with
the
technical
specialist
concerning
contractual
requirements,
and
reviewing
the
respondents'
bids.
The
rate
for
the
contract
specialist
is
calculated
at
a
GS­
12
level,
and
an
hourly
loaded
rate
of
$
26.30
is
utilized.
The
contract
specialist
is
supervised
by
a
contracting
officer
who
will
review
the
contract
specialist's
findings
concerning
the
information
received.
Median
grade
for
a
contracting
officer
is
GS­
13,
so
the
loaded
hourly
rate
is
$
30.00
as
described
in
the
preceding
paragraph.

Agency
records
indicate
that
62
IFBs
were
issued
in
preceding
fiscal
year.
This
number
is
expected
to
remain
fairly
constant.
Therefore,
total
Agency
burden
for
IFBs
is
5,952
hours
(
62
IFBs
per
year
x
96
hours
per
IFB.)
Total
Agency
cost
for
IFB
preparation
is
calculated
at
$
2,680.20
per
IFB
times
62
IFBs
for
a
total
of
$
166,172.40.

Agency
Burden
/
Cost
Estimate
for
RFPs
Collection
Activity
Burden
Hours
Cost
1.
Develop
specifications
80
hrs
$
2,663.20
2.
Compile
IFB
40
hrs
$
1,200.00
3.
Answer
respondent
questions
40
hrs
$
1,200.00
4.
Review
cost
data
contract
specialist
80
hrs
$
2,400.00
contract
officer
24
hrs
$
928.80
cost
analyst
60
hrs
$
1,800.00
manager
4
hrs
$
175.08
TOTAL
328
hrs
$
10,367.08
Due
to
the
increase
in
the
amount
and
complexity
of
data
required
under
an
RFP,
some
of
the
labor
categories
involved
in
the
review
are
more
skilled
than
those
required
to
evaluate
an
IFB.
For
example,
a
contract
specialist
who
completes
steps
2,
3,
and
4
above,
would
be
a
GS­
13.
The
contracting
officer
would
be
a
GS­
14.
An
audit
of
the
cost
data
would
be
performed
by
a
cost
analyst
who
would
generally
be
a
GS­
13.
A
managerial
review
is
also
required,
and
would
be
accomplished
at
the
GS­
15
level.
All
rates
are
calculated
as
described
in
above,
utilizing
the
medium
salary
for
the
grade,
multiplied
by
a
factor
of
1.16
to
account
for
benefits.
A
GS­
13
is
calculated
at
$
30.00
per
hour;
a
GS­
14
at
38.70
per
hour,
and
a
GS­
15
at
43.77
per
hour.

Agency
records
indicate
that
a
total
of
248
RFPs
were
issued
in
the
preceding
fiscal
year.
We
anticipate
issuing
5%
fewer
IFBs
in
the
coming
year
due
to
increased
use
of
other
Agency
contract
vehicles.
Therefore,
a
quantity
of
261
RFPs
was
utilized
to
calculate
the
following
estimated
total
Agency
burden
hours.
261
RFPs
requiring
328
hours
each,
represents
a
total
Agency
burden
of
85,608
hours
associated
with
this
element.
Total
Agency
cost
is
estimated
at
$
2,705,807.80
for
261
RFPs
at
$
10,367.08
each.

Agency
burden
for
IFBs
and
RFPs
combined
is
91,560
hours
and
$
2,871,980.20.

d)
REASONS
FOR
CHANGE
IN
BURDEN
The
last
information
collection
clearance
request
approved
by
OMB
contained
399,342
hours
for
1,731
responses.
This
request
estimates
246,527
burden
hours
for
1,261
responses.
Overall,
the
respondent
burden
has
decreased
by
152,815
hours.
This
decrease
is
due
to
a
decrease
in
the
number
of
proposals
anticipated
as
a
result
of
Government­
wide
contract
reform
measures.
There
are
also
smaller
adjustments
in
the
time
required
to
complete
each
submission
due
to
increased
use
of
and
improvements
in
technology..

e)
BURDEN
STATEMENT
Public
reporting
for
this
collections
of
information
is
estimated
to
average
195.5
per
response
based
on
total
projected
burden
hours
(
246,527)
divided
by
the
number
of
bids
and
proposals
expected
to
be
received
by
the
Agency
(
1,261).

Send
comments
on
the
Agency's
need
for
this
information,
the
accuracy
of
the
provided
burden
estimates,
and
any
suggested
methods
for
minimizing
respondent
burden,
including
through
the
use
of
automated
collection
techniques
to
the
Director,
OP
Regulatory
Information
Division,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
2137),
1200
Pennsylvania
Ave,
Washington,
D.
C.
20460;
and
to
the
Office
of
Information
and
Regulatory
Affairs,
Office
of
Management
and
Budget,
725
17th
Street,
NW,
Washington,
DC
20503,
Attention:
Desk
Officer
for
EPA.
Include
the
EPA
ICR
number
and
OMB
control
number
in
any
correspondence.

Burden
time
means
the
total
time,
effort,
or
financial
resources
expended
by
persons
to
generate,
maintain,
retain,
or
disclose
or
provide
information
to
or
for
a
federal
agency.
This
includes
the
time
needed
to
review
instructions,
to
develop,
acquire,
install
and
utilize
technology
and
systems
for
the
purpose
of
collecting,
validating,
and
verifying
information,
processing
and
maintaining
information,
and
disclosing
and
providing
information;
to
adjust
the
existing
ways
to
comply
with
any
previously
applicable
instructions
and
requirements;
to
train
personnel
to
be
able
to
respond
to
a
collection
of
information;
to
search
the
data
sources;
to
complete
and
review
the
collection
of
information;
and
to
transmit
or
otherwise
disclose
the
information.
An
agency
may
not
conduct
or
sponsor,
and
a
person
is
not
required
to
respond
to
a
collection
of
information
unless
it
displays
a
currently
valid
OMB
control
number.
The
OMB
control
numbers
for
EPA's
regulations
are
listed
in
40
CFR
Part
9,
and
48
CFR
Chapter
15.
7