St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement will receive sealed bids until 12:00 noon, Wednesday, February 19,2020, for aerial adulticiding and larviciding to control mosquitoes by use of a helicopter for calendar year 2020.  Prices should be by hour of operation.  Covered services should include liquid ultra-low volume adulticide, liquid or granular larviciding, and reloading support.  Bids will be opened at the Board of Commissioners meeting February 19, 2020 at the District office at 62512 Airport Road Building #23, Slidell, Louisiana 70460.   Sealed bids should be mailed to the District Office and marked “sealed bid.”  Details and specifications will be mailed or emailed to interested parties upon request by calling the District Office at (985) 643-5050 or emailing a request to info@stpmad.org.  The District reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

Helicopter Adulticiding and Larviciding Bid Specifications

General Scope

St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement (STPMAD) seeks bids for rotary-wing aerial pesticide application service to control mosquitoes. For these services, STPMAD will guarantee a minimum of $300,000 USD within the one-year term of service (date of contract execution).

The contractor offeror must provide aircraft, pilot, fuel, oil, insurance, and loading personnel and equipment to provide aerial mosquito control operations including liquid and granular larviciding and aerial adulticiding. Pesticides will be provided by STPMAD. Spraying will be conducted in congested and non-congested areas of St. Tammany Parish.

Service hours

Each spray mission will consist of a two-hour minimum reimbursable time. Reimbursable service hours are calculated as “skids-up/skids down” time within the boundary of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. If the aircraft is originating outside of St. Tammany Parish then the service hours will be calculated as flight time starting at Slidell municipal airport.  All anticipated ferry time cost should be included in the hourly rate for service. All adulticide missions and most larvicide missions should start at Slidell Municipal Airport. Pre/post-flight activities including flow rate calibrations, pesticide loading, fueling, equipment inspections, and safety checks will not constitute reimbursable service hours. The cost of these activities and of ground loading or fueling crews and equipment should be included in the offeror’s cost/hour of service.

Complete bids

A complete bid must be received by 12:00 noon, Wednesday, February 19, 2020, sealed and marked “sealed bid”, and include: 1) copies of all applicable certifications (e.g. FAA certificates, LDAF pesticide applicators licenses), 2) a summary of the pilot(s)-in-command licensing and experience, 3) an offered cost/hour of service.

Offered bids must meet the following specifications:

Equipment requirements

1. Rotary-wing aircraft application platform capable of a full fuel and 800 lbs. of product load.  Equivalent of a Bell 206 or larger platform.
2. Three separate application systems capable of liquid and granular larviciding and a liquid adulticide (Dibrom) spray system:
   – Liquid larvicide spray system with at least six (6) rotary atomizer nozzles (e.g. Micronair) capable of reliably producing a volume median diameter (VMD) 0.5 between 100-200 µm.
   – Granule larvicide system with rotary spreaders.
   – Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) adulticide spray system with at least two (2) rotary atomizer nozzles (e.g. Micronair) capable of reliably producing average mass median diameter droplets between 30-60 µm with a VD.9 <115µm. All calibrations must comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Louisiana Department of Agricultural and Forestry (LDAF) label and application directions.
3. Aircraft must be equipped with digital global positioning satellite (DGPS) guidance with gridline capabilities. The system must have an accuracy of zero (0) to fifty (50) feet and used in all aerial spray missions as specified by the District Director. Recently updated FAA tower and other obstructions/hazards location data must be available on this navigation system.
4. Aircraft must be equipped with a spray drift management technology similar to AGNAV or Wingman™ GX aerial guidance system. It must receive and process onboard real-time meteorology via AIMMS-20 weather monitoring system.
5. Aircraft must be Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified and comply-with all requirements of FAR part 137.
6. Contractor must be prepared to provide backup aircraft within twenty-four (24) hours. In the event a backup aircraft is not available, STPMAD will not be responsible for minimums not met due to mechanical failure.

Operational requirements

1. ULV adulticide applications shall be conducted between thirty minutes after sunset and thirty minutes prior to sunrise at an altitude of 300 feet.  Swath widths are dependent upon calibration data but are generally expected to be ~1000 feet.
2. Granule larvicide applications shall be conducted during daylight hours between civil dawn and dusk at variable altitudes dependent upon the habitat being treated. Swath widths are dependent upon calibration data.
3. Liquid larvicide applications shall be conducted during daylight hours between civil dawn and dusk at an altitude of 150 feet. As liquid applications are affected by thermal inversions, these applications are conducted in the early morning hours after civil dawn. Swath widths are dependent upon calibration data.

Pilot requirements

1. Pilots must have a minimum of one thousand (1,000) logged and verifiable flight hours.
2. Pilots must demonstrate a clear record of safety in the aerial application and at least 25 hours of nighttime application of pesticides by helicopter.
3. Pilots must possess and maintain current LDAF certification in public health and aerial categories of pest control.
4. Pilots must possess copies of commercial pilot’s license with helicopter rating, first or second-class medical certification, Federal Communication Commission (FCC) restricted radio operator’s permit and copies of any documentation required by the FAA, state and local agencies.
5. One pilot and co-pilot/spotter are required for all nighttime flight activity. One crew member required to use night vision goggles.

Other requirements

1. Contractor must be available for operations within twenty-four (24) hours notification considering all weather perimeters affecting optimal application.
2. Contractor must provide personnel with the capabilities which meet or exceed safety requirements for transferring of pesticides/fuel products to the aircraft in compliance with EPA, state and local agencies as well as the ability to proactively contain any challenges associated with pesticides/fuel product spills.
3. Contractor must abide by pesticide labels for any products used under this agreement and provide documentation of equipment calibration and pesticide application flow rates.
4. Product application density and droplet calibrations will be field-tested for each pesticide used prior to field application at the expense of STPMAD.
5. A mission report must be provided to include the spray event flight path overlaid onto a map to include the snail trail of swath widths sprayed and a shaded area of entire area sprayed. In addition, the report must include the following: pilot’s name, date of application, pesticide applied, time of takeoff, time of landing, time spray-on, time spray-off, emission time, total acres sprayed, total volume sprayed, application rate, length of swath width, speed of aircraft and average height of chemical release.
6. Contractor must maintain current workers’ compensation benefits of $1,000,000, commercial liability insurance of $5,000,000 each occurrence for bodily injury, property damage, and chemical exposure. Contractor must provide an insurance rider naming STPMAD as additionally insured.
7. Equipment maintenance logs and records related to pesticide applications for STPMAD or any records on equipment used for STPMAD pesticide applications shall be made available upon request.
8. Contractor will provide a monthly invoice of hours of service and all billable activity for the prior month by the 5^th day of the subsequent month.
9.  Contractor will allow STPMAD personnel or their representatives to inspect equipment at any time to ensure safety and operational compliance with all applicable requirements.