RFB for GAC Filter Media Replacement

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
Sealed proposals will be received in the Office of the Procurement Manager, Greenville Utilities
Commission, 401 S. Greene Street, Greenville, North Carolina 27834 until 3:00 pm (EDT) on
July 9, 2026 and immediately thereafter publicly opened and read for the furnishing of: GAC
Filter Media Replacement.
Instructions for submitting bids and complete specifications will be available in the Office of the
Procurement Manager, Greenville Utilities Commission, 401 S. Greene Street, Greenville, North
Carolina during regular office hours, which are 8:30AM - 5:00PM Monday through Friday.
Greenville Utilities Commission reserves the right to reject any or all bids. Late bids will
not be considered.
1

SECTION I
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FORMAL BIDS
RELATED TO THE PURCHASE OF APPARATUS, SUPPLIES,
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
JULY 9, 2026
1.0 NOTICE TO BIDDERS
Sealed bids, subject to the conditions made a part hereof, will be received in the Office of the
Procurement Manager, Greenville Utilities Commission, 401 S. Greene Street, Greenville, North
Carolina 27834 until 3:00 pm (EDT) on the day of opening. Bids submitted in a fax or e-mail
in response to this Invitation for Bids will not be acceptable. Late Bids will not be
considered.
2.0 STANDARD FORMS REQUIRED
Each bidder must submit a proposal on the enclosed bid forms. The bid must be signed by
an authorized official of the firm. Return only the attached Proposal Form. Do not return
the Advertisement for Bids, Instructions to Bidders or Specifications.
3.0 PREPARATION OF BID
Bids must be in sealed envelopes clearly marked on the outside with the name of the bid and
the bid opening date and time. Bid shall be addressed to PROCUREMENT MANAGER,
GREENVILLE UTILITIES COMMISSION, 401 S. GREENE STREET, GREENVILLE, NORTH
CAROLINA 27834.
4.0 TIME FOR OPENING BIDS
Bids will be opened promptly and read at the hour and on the date set forth in the advertisement
in the Office of the Procurement Manager, Greenville Utilities Main Office, 401 S. Greene Street,
Greenville, North Carolina. Bidders or their authorized agents are invited to be present.
5.0 DEPOSIT
A deposit is NOT required for this bid.
6.0 NC SALES TAX
Do not include NC sales taxes in bid figure; however, Greenville Utilities Commission (GUC)
does pay sales tax. Sales tax should be added to the invoice as a separate item.
7.0 FEDERAL EXCISE TAX
GUC is exempt from Federal Excise Tax and will issue a Federal Exemption Certificate upon
request to the successful bidder.
2

8.0 EXCEPTIONS TO BE CLEARLY STATED
If bid is not in strict accordance with Section II, "Specifications," bidder must list or note all
exceptions on the Request for Proposal Form, otherwise, it is fully understood that the
successful bidder will furnish equipment and/or materials exactly as specified. GUC reserves
the right to accept or reject bids with noted minor deviations from specifications and to
determine the lowest and best responsible bid from the standpoint of quality, performance, and
price.
9.0 EVALUATION AND AWARD OF BIDS
GUC reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to waive any and all informalities, and to
disregard all nonconforming or conditional bids or counter proposals. In evaluating bids, GUC
shall consider whether the bids comply with the prescribed requirements, plus all alternates or
options requested. GUC reserves the right to include or exclude any option or alternative in
GUC's opinion is in GUC's best interests. If a bid is to be awarded, it will be awarded to the
lowest responsible bidder whose evaluation by GUC indicates that the award will be in GUC's
best interests. Only firm prices will be considered for award of this bid.
10.0 PROMPT PAYMENT DISCOUNTS
Bidders are urged to compute all discounts into the price offered. If a prompt payment discount
is offered, it may be considered in the award of the contract.
11.0 NUMERICAL ERRORS
In the case of a discrepancy between a unit price and the extension (the unit price multiplied by
the number of units), the unit price governs. In the case where numerical bids are stated both in
numbers and in words, the words govern.
12.0 BID WITHDRAWAL
A bidder must notify GUC in writing of its request to withdraw a bid within seventy-two (72)
hours after the bid opening, not including Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays. In order to justify
withdrawal, the bidder must demonstrate that a substantial error exists and that the bid was
submitted in good faith.
13.0 MINORITY BUSINESS PARTICIPATION PROGRAM
GUC has adopted an Affirmative Action and Minority and Women Business Enterprise Plan
(M/WBE) Program. Firms submitting a proposal are attesting that they also have taken
affirmative action to ensure equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment, and to utilize
M/WBE suppliers of materials and/or labor.
14.0 QUANTITIES
Quantities specified are only estimates of GUC's requirements. GUC reserves the right to
purchase more or less than the stated quantities at prices indicated in the submitted Proposal
Form based on our actual needs.
3

15.0 DELIVERY
Shipments will be made only upon individual releases from a blanket purchase order issued by
GUC in accordance with GUC's current needs. Time is of the essence with respect to all
deliveries under this Agreement.
Delivery of all equipment, materials, or supplies shall be made Free on Board (FOB) GUC
Water Treatment Plant, 1721 Waterway Road, Greenville, North Carolina 27834, unless
otherwise specified. The agreed price for such equipment, materials, or supplies shall include
all costs of delivery and ownership, and risks of loss shall not be transferred from Provider to
GUC until express written acceptance of delivery and inspection by GUC. Delivery hours are
between 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM Monday-Friday only. GUC's purchase order number is to be
shown on the packing slip or any related documents. GUC reserves the right to refuse or
return any delivery with no purchase order number or which is damaged. GUC will not be
charged a restocking fee for any delivery which is refused or returned.
16.0 DELIVERY TIME
Delivery time is to be stated and will be considered in the evaluation of bids. Failure by the
successful bidder to meet quoted delivery shall be interpreted as non-compliance with these
specifications and may be deemed sufficient cause for removal of the manufacturer and/or
distributor from our lists as acceptable manufacturers or bidders.
17.0 MANUFACTURER
Bidder is to specify the manufacturer of cables being quoted.
18.0 CONTACT INFORMATION
Questions regarding this bid request should be directed to Cleve Haddock, Lifetime CLGPO,
Procurement Manager at (252) 551-1533, haddocgc@guc.com. All questions regarding this
bid must be received by or before 5:00 pm (EDT) on June 30, 2026.
19.0 CONTRACT PERIOD
N/A.
20.0 UNIFORM GUIDANCE
Contracts funded with federal grant or loan funds must be procured in a manner that conforms
with all applicable federal laws, policies, and standards, including those under the Uniform
Guidance (2 C.F.R. Part 200).
21.0 TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The attached Terms and Conditions apply to all purchases made by Greenville Utilities
Commission (GUC) and must be considered as part of the bid proposal.
4

SECTION II
GREENVILLE UTILITIES COMMISSION
SPECIFICATIONS FOR GAC FILTER MEDIA REPLACEMENT
GRANULAR ACTIVATED CARBON EXCHANGE
GAC
1. SCOPE OF WORK
This specification section is for the turnkey exchange of spent Anthracite media/sand and
replacement of new virgin GAC/sand as follows:
a. Furnish all labor, materials, equipment, and supervision for the removal,
transport, and disposal or reactivation of spent anthracite media from the filters.
b. Furnish all labor, materials, equipment, and supervision for the supply, and
installation of virgin GAC/sand into the filters.
c. Number of filters: (2) Two
d. Number of Cells per filter: (2) two @ 17ft x 16ft or 544ft2 per filter
e. Required depth of GAC 4 feet
f. Volume of GAC per filter: 2,176 ft3
g. Total volume required for (2) two filter: 4,352 ft3
h. Volume of sand 12" per filter (1) one 544 ft3 plus 1" skimming allowance and
5% extra. Disinfection of Sand prior to installation of GAC. Bacteriological
Analyses will be performed by Greenville Utilities Commission with acceptable
results prior to installation of GAC.
i. Total volume of sand for (2) filter 1,235 ft3
Whenever a brand name is mentioned in the bid request, the naming of the item is intended
to establish the type, function, performance, and quality required.
2. BID CHECKLIST
a. All bids must include the following:
i. Affidavit of Compliance: 20 Year virgin GAC manufacturing
experience
ii. Affidavit of Compliance: Owner of two (2) dedicated potable
reactivation facilities
iii. Confirmation of comprehensive general liability insurance
iv. Five (5) references for GAC to be supplied
5

v. Source of coal, carbon manufacturing location, and description of the
reagglomeration/thermal process
vi. Affidavit of Compliance: GAC is 100% virgin, 100% bituminous coal-
based reagglomerated material
vii. Pricing Sheet
3. BIDDER'S QUALIFICATIONS
a. Bids shall only be accepted from manufacturers of bituminous coal-based
reagglomerated activated carbon. With a minimum of (2) two virgin
manufacturing facilities located in the United States.
b. Bidders shall have a minimum of 20 years' experience manufacturing virgin
granular activated carbon and shall submit proof via a Manufacturer's
Certificate and/or an Affidavit of Compliance.
c. The bidder shall certify that it is the owner and operator of a minimum of two
(2) NSF certified reactivation facilities dedicated to the receiving and
production of potable reactivated GAC and shall submit proof via the
reactivation facility's NSF Certificate and/or an Affidavit of Compliance. This
requirement demonstrates the manufacturer's commitment to sustainable GAC
use.
d. Bidder shall furnish evidence of comprehensive general liability insurance in
the minimum amount of $2,000,000 to provide protection from claims that may
arise from the supplier's products, shipment, installation, removal, and
reactivation/disposal of the spent carbon.
e. Bidder's virgin and reactivation manufacturing processes shall produce
NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 certified products.
f. All field service technicians must be direct employees of the Bidder, no
outsourced or day laborers are permitted.
g. Bidder must manage and maintain its own private fleet of potable grade bulk
trailers dedicated to transporting and delivering GAC.
h. Failure to comply with any of the above qualification requirements will be
considered "non-responsive" and the bid will be rejected.
5. PRODUCT SPECIFICATION - VIRGIN GAC
The bidder shall supply 100% virgin GAC for the replacement of spent Anthracite in the
filters. The virgin GAC shall meet the following specifications:
a. Virgin GAC shall be one of the following:
a. FILTRASORB 816M as manufactured by Calgon Carbon Corporation
b. Approved equal
i. If approved equal is awarded, a sample must be submitted to
Greenville Utilities Commission or an approved third party
laboratory within seven (7) days after bid closing to confirm
product conformance with all specifications in this section. If
6

any specifications does not meet requirements in this document,
bid will be rejected. Additionally, rapid small scale column
testing (RSSCT) by a third-party testing facility shall be
performed and results provided to owner 10 days of bid closing.
b. The coal shall be mined and the corresponding GAC manufactured in the
United States.
c. The GAC product designated by the bidder as the material to be supplied for
this bid shall have twenty (20) years of history of use in municipal drinking
water facilities in North America with a minimum of ten (10) installations.
Bidder shall submit references per the Reference List requirements in Section 7.
d. The GAC shall be manufactured in a facility certified to conform to the
Management System Standard ISO 9001:2000 or later. A copy of the valid
certificate must be submitted with the bid. ISO 9001:2000 or later certification
assures that the GAC manufacturing is of consistent conformance to stated
product quality and standards listed in the specifications.
e. The GAC shall comply with AWWA B604, latest edition.
f. The GAC shall conform to the requirements of NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 Drinking
Water System Components - Health Effects standard.
g. The GAC shall comply with the requirements for activated carbon as defined
by the Food Chemical Codex (FCC), latest edition, as published by the U.S.
Pharmacopeia.
h. The GAC must be a 100% reagglomerated bituminous coal-based product,
sized to a granular form prior to thermal activation. The following materials
shall not be accepted if submitted in lieu of the required product, nor may any
amount of these materials be blended into a mix with the required
reagglomerated, bituminous coal-based product:
a. Broken pellets, regardless of base material
b. Direct activated GAC, regardless of base material
c. Lignite-based GAC
d. Peat-based GAC
e. Wood-based GAC
f. Coconut-based GAC
g. Sub-bituminous-based GAC
h. Anthracite-based GAC
i. The GAC shall be capable of removing color, tastes, odors, and other organic
contaminants from water.
7

j. Bidder shall indicate the source of coal, carbon manufacturing location and a
description of the reagglomeration/thermal process. The engineer/owner
reserves the right to inspect the GAC manufacturing and thermal processing
facility.
k. Product as packaged shall meet the following specifications:
Product Specification: Value Test Method
FILTRASORB 816M
Iodine Number (mg/g), min. 900 TM-4, ASTM D4607
Moisture, weight %, max. 2 TM-1, ASTM D2867
Effective size, mm 1.3-1.5 TM-47, ASTM D2862
Uniformity Coefficient, max. 1.4 TM-47, ASTM D2862
Abrasion No., min. 75 TM-9, AWWA B604
Trace Capacity Number, (mg/cc), min. 10 TM-79, TM-85 (converted to TCN
Screen Size (US Sieve), weight %
* Larger than No. 8, max. 15 TM-8, ASTM D2862
* Smaller than No. 16, max. 5 TM-8, ASTM D2862
Apparent Density, g/cc, min. 0.50 TM-7, ASTM D2854
l. The Certificate of Analysis shall certify that the GAC is in full compliance with
the specifications stated herein.
m. The successful bidder must provide a signed Affidavit of Compliance stating
that the GAC being supplied is:
a. 100% virgin, with no reactivated carbon content whatsoever, and
b. 100% bituminous coal-based, reagglomerated material made in the
United States of America.
6. PRODUCT SPECIFICATION - SAND
The bidder shall supply sand for the replacement of spent sand in the filters. The sand
shall meet the following specifications:
a. The filter sand shall be high-grade silica sand complying with the latest edition
of the Standard Specifications for Granular Filter Material-AWWA B100. It
shall be well graded. Material showing abnormal grading shall be rejected.
The sand shall be washed silica and completely free from mica, dust, dirt,
and foreign substances of any kind and shall have a specific gravity of 2.65.
The 10 percent size (D10) or effective size shall be between 0.45 and 0.55
millimeters. The uniformity coefficient (ratio of D60 to D10) shall not
exceed 1.40. Sand shall have an acid solubility of less than 5 percent.
7. CARBON EXCHANGE PROCEDURES
a. Field Service personnel supervising the GAC exchange must be directly
employed by the manufacturer of the GAC
i. The GAC manufacturer's supervisor must have a minimum of 5 years'
experience in performing carbon exchanges.
8

ii. Supervision of the GAC exchange by a third party or sub-contractor
shall not be allowed.
b. Bidder shall submit a detailed carbon exchange procedure.
i. The preferred method for installation of virgin GAC shall be by
hydraulic water eduction. Owner shall be responsible for water and
air supply, if necessary.
ii. The preferred method for spent Anthracite removal shall be
hydraulic eduction. Owner shall be responsible for water and air
supply, if necessary.
c. Spent Anthracite removed from filters shall be disposed oversight by contractor
via landfill, incineration, or by another means mutually acceptable by the
Supplier and Owner.
d. Failure to provide the information requested will be considered non-responsive
and the bid rejected.
8. REFERENCE LIST
Bidder must provide five (5) references for which the bidder has provided products and
services as noted above. Required information is as follows:
Account Name
o
City/State
o
Contact
o
Phone No.
o
Type and Quantity of GAC Supplied
o
Failure to provide the information requested will be considered "non-responsive" and
the bid rejected.
SCOPE OF SUPPLY
Bidder is to provide a simple unit price including product cost, delivery cost, and all services
related to the removal, disposal of spent Anthracite and the installation of new virgin GAC
into the three filters.
All unit prices and all lump sum prices in the bid proposal shall include if applicable all fees,
cost, and taxes (if any) related to the project.
By submitting a unit price and entering into a contract, the bidder agrees to abide by all the
criteria set forth in this bid for a period of time as documented in the contract. Failure to do so
will result in the original contract being voided and an award will be made to the next lowest
responsible bidder.
TERM
This is a three-year agreement with two optional one-year extensions. The quoted cubic foot
price will be firm for one-year with an annual price adjustment based on Exhibit A included in
the bid.
9

EXHIBIT A
PRICE/FEE ADJUSTMENT
Adjustment Mechanism for Virgin GAC Pricing:
Virgin GAC:
The fees payable pursuant hereto will be adjusted on (month and date) of each calendar year by
the annual percentage change in the following three price indices, in the proportion indicated next
to each index:
1) U.S. Department of Labor PPI for All Other Basic Organic Chemicals Manufacturing:
Miscellaneous end-use chemicals and chemical products, excluding urea
(PCU325199325199T) @ 40% weight
2) U.S. Department of Labor CPI for Urban Wage Earners for the U.S. City Average
(CWUR0000SA0) @ 40% weight
3) Transportation: U.S. Department of Labor PPI by Commodity for Transportation
Services: Truck Transportation of Freight (WPU3012) @ 20% weight
The percent adjustment shall be calculated by taking the percent difference for each index during
the twelve-month period from (month and date) through (month and date) of the last completed
calendar year as compared to the twelve-month period from (month and date) through (month and
date) of the calendar year immediately preceding the last completed calendar year. These
percentages will then be averaged per the proportions shown above for calculating the final percent
adjustment to which all virgin GAC will be subject.
Annual Limits: Annual increases are limited to a maximum of 10% regardless of the above
calculation, and annual decreases are limited to a maximum of 3% regardless of the above
calculation. No amounts in excess of these limits (either increases or decreases) shall be carried
over to subsequent years.
Initial Fee Limit: Regardless of any annual fee adjustment calculation, fees covered by this
Agreement will at no time be reduced below the Initial Fee.
[Balance of page left blank intentionally]
10