Justification and Approval Trailer Certification_Redacted.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A) JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION Only One

Responsible Source U.S.C. 253(c)(1), FAR 6.302-1

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Procurement Directorate, proposes to enter a contract on a basis of other than full and open competition.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

CBP intends to award a sole source contract to maintain continuity of operations and support Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems (TARS) Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contract activities for like services.

Name and address of the proposed Contractor:

Western Sales & Testing 114 SE 46th Ave Amarillo, TX 79118

Contract Type: Firmed Fixed Price (FFP)

The contract will be funded with the applicable FY 25 Operations and Support funds.

The plan above will facilitate the certification of existing trailers. If additional trailers need to be certified due to unforeseen circumstances or the program office receives additional trailers, funding for these requirements will be covered under the serge CLIN.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

DHS/CBP, Air and Marine Operations (AMO) has the responsibility to secure the Nation’s borders against the unlawful movement of people, illegal drugs, and other contraband between Ports of Entry (POE). To effectively manage the Nation’s borders, AMO requires persistent surveillance solutions aimed at enhancing situational awareness and security in land, air, and maritime environments by allowing personnel to monitor and counteract dynamic and evolving threats.

The Tethered Aerostats Radar System (TARS) provides for long-range search and track of air and surface targets, providing multi-domain awareness to CBP Air Marine Operations Center (AMOC), Caribbean AMOC (CAMOC), Office of Border Patrol (OBP), United States Coast Guard (USCG), and the U.S. military. The TARS program is comprised of aerostats, aerostat support systems, radars, weather equipment, communications systems, winch systems, facilities, special purpose vehicles, associated equipment, and personnel necessary to accomplish the mission.

DLA Aerospace Energy (DLA-E) provides helium product to TARS’ seven operational sites, TMSS two operational sites, and 4 TAS operational sites. All sites require gaseous helium, which is stored in helium tube trailers onsite. Helium provides direct lift aerial support to Aerostat, radar, and other surveillance tools to overcome line of sight constraints to deter illegal activity along the U.S Southern Border, Florida Keys, and portions of the Caribbean. The trailers used to store and provide helium are required to be recertified every 5-10 years to comply with U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Material Safety regulations. Currently, TARS has thirty (30) trailers of which fifteen (15) are out of certification or near the end of the certification period.

Recertification will avoid disruption of site operations that will create a potential national security crisis due to site Non-Mission Capability (NMC). CBP requires trailer support to ensure 24/7 365 continuous operations and maintenance of TARS operational sites. Due to the potential national security crisis, critical nature of this requirement, timeline, resources, and cost, CBP requests a vendor that can meet and or exceed the requirements to recertify helium trailers and ensure the continuation of TARS operations across the fleet.

4. Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open

Competition.

41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart

6.302 - 1 entitled "Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements."

5. Identification of Exception to the Buy American Statute.

None

6. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

(a) Western Sales & Testing (WS&T) of Amarillo, Inc. currently is the only responsible source that will be able to meet the Government’s requirement to recertify trailers to avoid disruption of operations. Western Sales & Testing has almost 60 years of direct experience to include most recently servicing, maintaining, certifying, and repairing helium gas trailers for the TARS program. WS&T has intimate knowledge and understanding of the trailer recertification process. Another advantage WS&T provides is facility location. WS&T’s main testing facility in Amarillo, TX is centrally located within a 24-hour drive to five (5) out of the eight (7) TARS sites, one (1) of the two (2) TMSS sites, and all four (4) TAS operational locations. The proximity of the facility to the operational sites facilitates the transportation of trailers and minimizes transportation cost. BKC Industries, Inc., a subsidiary of WS&T, also provides tube test recertification, trailer refurbishment, and repairs. This additional facility will increase the output of trailers that can be recertified and delivered to the TARS sites. Furthermore, WS&T and BKC Industries have the capacity to store up to 30 trailers between both sites, at no cost to the government. Storage of trailers will circumvent potential transportation delays and will enable consistent flow of inbound trailers to be inspected, repaired (if necessary) and recertified. Finally, WS&T 10-week turnaround time per trailer will enable operational sites to meet the minimum requested number of trailers to be recertified by the end of the contract, if all options are exercised. Given the critical nature of the requirement and National Security implications, TARS concludes a sole source contract is the best option to meet the above timeline and continue operations without disruption.

(b) The program office released a Request for Information (RFI) to gather information from potential service providers to help the program office make informed decisions.

The RFI was intended to determine what vendors were interested, available, and able to complete the tasks. The RFI only produced one vendor.

(c) The impact to the mission that would result if the J&A is not approved and, consequently, the product or service not provided.

If the J&A is not approved, TARS sites will not be able to receive helium because trailers are not certified IAW DOT regulations. The impact will be interruption of surveillance operations across the U.S. Southern Border, Florida Keys, and Caribbean Area of Responsibility (AOR) and would significantly increase illicit activities in areas without coverage. Furthermore, there would be National Security implications if TARS could not continue surveillance operations, which would increase illegal narcotics and human trafficking into the U.S. and surrounding territories. Having DOT qualified helium tubes/ trailers as one of the single points of operation for the TARS operational sites, will allow helium to be stored and used to keep Aerostats inflated, maintained, and aloft at Minimum Operating Altitude (MOA) for continuous aerial, maritime, and surface surveillance. DOT qualified trailers are also used to transport helium to other sites in cases where additional helium may be needed for new Aerostat inflation, lift loss, and helium purity testing. It is in the Government’s best interest to bypass standard open competition process to ensure expedited review and award to start inspection, repairs, and recertification of helium tubes / trailers to meet program requirements. Description of Efforts Made to Ensure that Offers Are Solicited from As Many Potential Sources as Is Practicable.

CBP will publish this J&A on beta.SAM.gov, upon approval, indicating its intent to issue a sole source contract to Western Sales & Testing, Inc. For justifications explained above in Paragraph 6, open competition for this requirement would be unpractical due to the time required to request, evaluate, and award contract, which will conflict with the deadline to recertify the minimum number of trailers and prevent non-Mission capability. The Government proactively solicited as many potential sources as practical to satisfy requirements to justify reason for sole source award.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the

Government will be Fair and Reasonable.

The Contracting Officer anticipates the cost for services will be fair and reasonable based on Government’s IGCE, responses and quotes provided by solicited vendors.

8. Description of Market Research.

The TARS Program Management Office (PMO) conducted market research by engaging with Government entities and industry through meetings, email correspondence and site visits. In addition, the PMO used the internet and databases to research and evaluate potential vendors’ capabilities. These interactions with Government entities and industry provided the PMO with insights into market conditions along with the cost estimate for the effort. Additionally, the PMO released an RFI via SAM.GOV. The PMO market research reflected that there was only one responsible source.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

Sole sourcing this effort to Western Sales & Testing, Inc. will avoid unacceptable risk and disruption to site operations. This action will also allow the sites to continue and receive helium from DLA-E contracted suppliers without lapse in service or selecting a vendor that is not familiar with the TARS mission.

10. A Listing of the Sources, if Any That Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition.

None

11. A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome

Any Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for Supplies or Services Required.

None.

The milestone timeline for completion of the TARS Trailer Recertification procurement is as follows:

Acquisition Event Projected Completion Date

Justification and Approval Submission June 2025 Statement of Work Submission June 2025 Market Research Submission June 2025 Proposal Submission June 2025 Contract Award June 2025

Justification and Approval (J&A) JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION Only One

Responsible Source U.S.C. 253(c)(1), FAR 6.302-1

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