Sole_Source_Justification_as_required_by_FAR_13_106-1b1_1.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

PR: 0040649172

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, plans to contract on a sole source basis. This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).

2. Nature of Action Being Approved.

New firm fixed price type contract to InnovaSea Marine Systems Canada Inc., DBA Vemco.

3. Description of Supplies or Services.

This requisition is needed to supply a total of 25 long-term acoustic receivers with acoustic release mechanism, 30 long-term acoustic receivers with transponders, 128 acoustic telemetry tags of various sizes depending on the project application, and a communication deck box with transponding cable to operate the receivers remotely. This equipment is essential for the success of multiple ongoing research on the control of invasive Grass Carp and the restoration of Lake Sturgeon. This purchase request seeks administrative efficiency by combining the acquisition needs of two projects that both utilize the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System.

[1] 30 items: VR2Tx-69khz Coded Acoustic Receiver with Transponder (GRASS CARP) [2] 5 items: VR2AR-69khz Coded Acoustic Receiver with Acoustic Release (GRASS CARP) [3] 20 items: V13-1x-A69-1604; Rounded Case (Redhorse/white bass/channel catfish) [4] 8 items: V16T-4x-A69-9004; Rounded Case (GRASS CARP) [5] 1 item: VR100 Manual Tracking Acoustic Receiver (GRASS CARP) [6] 1 item: VHTx 69kHz 25-meter waterproof cable for VR100 (GRASS CARP) [7] 50 items: V7-2x-A69-1604; Rounded Case (STURGEON) [8] 30 items: V9-2x-A69-1604; Rounded Case (STURGEON) [9] 20 items: V16-4x-A69-9001; Rounded Case (STURGEON) [10] 20 items: VR2AR-69khz Coded Acoustic Receiver with Acoustic Release (STURGEON)

4. Estimated Dollar Value.

5. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) only one source reasonably available.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5.

InnovaSea Marine Systems Vemco (herein, IMS-Vemco) is the only vendor that can supply the requested equipment for the following reasons:

IMS-Vemco technology and coding techniques are not based on an open standard.

This means that IMS-Vemco is the only manufacturer of fish tags that can be decoded

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

by acoustic receivers already owned by the USGS and USGS partners within the Great Lakes. These partners include the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System (GLATOS), which owns and maintains a basin-wide acoustic receiver network valued at over $1M. Use of fish tags and receivers compatible with GLATOS receiver networks greatly reduces government's costs when performing fish telemetry research. Failure to obtain tags and receivers compatible with existing Vemco infrastructure in the Great Lakes risks the GLSC not fulfilling its science mission.

IMS-Vemco tag IDs and deployments are managed through the Vemco tag ID database which is solely owned and accessible by Vemco Proper management of tag ID's is critical to insure that signals from acoustic-tagged fish do not interfere with one another, leading to data loss and mission failure.

IMS-Vemco is the only manufacturer of acoustic receivers that offers an integrated receiver-acoustic release (the V2AR, AR, and VR4 w/AR2) which is needed by GLSC projects conducting research in deep-water environments. None of the receivers manufactured by other manufacturers come equipped with an integrated acoustic release.

IMS-Vemco is the only vendor that manufactures acoustic tags that transmit at the specified frequency (69 kHz) and also meet all size (varies depending on species),

7. Other Information.

Failure to obtain tags and receivers compatible with existing IMS-Vemco infrastructure in the Great Lakes will significantly increase the Government's cost to complete mandated research. Cost to duplicate the existing basin-wide receiver network with receivers produced by another manufacturer is estimated at $4.2M. This estimate is based on the number of Vemco 69kHz receivers currently in the Great Lakes telemetry network (N = 2363) and an estimated receiver unit cost

Acoustic telemetry technology is not currently manufactured on the basis of an open standard, which inhibits development of a standard competitive marketplace.

Each acoustic telemetry manufacturer is the sole developer, manufacturer and supplier of its own equipment, so there is no cross-compatibility among brands. Acoustic telemetry suppliers have begun discussions about developing transmitters than can be detected by receivers made by any manufacturer, but development and implementation of this standard is probably a decade away, if it happens at all.

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted.

Market research indicates there are no authorized resellers for VEMCO equipment. Also, no other manufacturer equipment is compatible with the existing Government inventory as noted