Waste Management Services

Description

Please note: This is a Prior Information Notice and is part of our Market Engagement. This is not a call for competition at this time. All details contained within this notice and following supplementary documentation are estimates and may be subject to change up to the release of the Contract Notice. The Coal Authority (CA) is a non-departmental public body and partner organisation of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) with a mission to make a better future for people and the environment in mining areas. The Coal Authority manages the effects of past coal mining, including subsidence damage claims which are not the responsibility of licensed coal mine operators. It deals with mine water pollution from both coal and metal mines and other mining legacy issues. The Coal Authority currently has the capacity to treat 220 billion litres of mine water every year. Treating mine water has directly protected and improved over 350km of rivers, protects several important regional aquifers, enhances biodiversity and provides local amenity land. By treating the mine water we have prevented nearly 4,000 tonnes per year of iron solids and other pollutants entering watercourses or aquifers. Last year 97% of the iron solid waste was recycled or reused. The Coal Authority is issuing this Prior Information Notice as part of a wider Market Engagement piece in order to establish market interest for the Waste Management Services Framework and for the purposes of conducting further consultation with interested parties to shape the procurement strategy for this requirement. Lot 1: The Coal Authority currently operate 161 individual reed beds providing treatment capacity at 59 mine water treatment sites and 130 settlement ponds at 53 sites. The purpose of the mine water treatment sites is to remove iron that has been mobilised from old mine workings into groundwater. These mine water treatment sites operate by enabling oxidation of the iron, which is then precipitated as iron hydroxide (ochre) and settled in settlement ponds. The effluent from the settlement ponds is then passed through reed beds to polish the water before discharge to local water courses under discharge consents. The reed beds are planted with a variety of wetland plants that act primarily as filters to remove any remaining ochre from the water before it is discharged. Over time there is a build-up of ochre within the settlement ponds and biomass from reed growth together with the ochre and any wind-blown dust that is captured within the reed bed. For the reed beds and settlement ponds to operate correctly the available headroom for the water levels have to be maintained within an acceptable range. So an amount of this build up has to be removed periodically and disposed of through an environmentally sustainable route. To achieve the removal of the build-up within the reed beds and settlement ponds, we require a competent and experienced contractor(s) to provide an environmentally sustainable disposable route for the reed bed and settlement ponds material. The contractor(s) will need to demonstrate their ability to dispose of the material complying with the permits required for disposal and their expertise in finding environmentally friendly disposal routes i.e. not landfill Permit required for reed bed material disposal: • Bespoke mobile plant permit for land spreading using EWC 19 13 06. Following market analysis and feedback from market engagement the requirements will be structured across three lots to maximise the probability of the most beneficial outcome being delivered and to lower barriers for SME's: • Lot 1 - Reed Bed Management Excavation, transplant existing reeds, procure and plant new reeds - £1.75m per annum - £7m per framework • Lot 2 - Reed Bed Disposal: - Transportation and sustainable disposal avoiding landfill - £1.75m per annum - £7m per framework • Lot 3 - Sludge & Ochre Management - Lagoon desludging, excavation, transportation, ochre preparation, packing and haulage - £1m per annum - £4m per framework The estimated values are based on the budget granted to the Coal Authority currently for these services. This is subject to change and not guaranteed. Additional information: Please express your interest in attending by contacting Sarah Kendrick Procurement Business Partner: sarahkendrick@coal.gov.uk The Coal Authority is seeking individual engagement sessions with interested parties to better understand market conditions, identifying and reducing potential barriers and for development of the procurement strategy. Further contact will be made from your initial expression of interest to arrange engagement sessions. Following the expression of interest, a supplementary document will be sent to interested parties to introduce further details in relation to this requirement. We anticipate the sessions will be held virtually over a duration of 2 days on the 26th of June 2024 - 27th of June 2024, however this may be subject to change. Please ensure you register your interest by Monday the 26th of June 2024. We would welcome you to join us to discuss this opportunity. Any costs incurred by participating in this exercise will be borne by the participating organisations. Please note that this is not a call for competition. Any future procurement will be subject to a separate advertisement.