7200AA19F00016 Tetra Tech CCBO Justification and Approval for TEC Increase -SAM.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION (J&A)

TO: DINA ESPOSITO, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, REFS

FROM: Clare Romanik, Contracting Officer’s Representative

SUBJECT: Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition (J&A)

1. This document sets forth the facts and rationale justifying the use of other than full and open competition, in accordance with AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(3)(i) – Impairment of Foreign Aid Programs.

This document was prepared by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Resilience, Environment, and Food Security (REFS) Center for Energy, Infrastructure and Cities (CEIC) for the Task Order No. AID-OAA-I-14-00059/ 7200AA19F00016, Clean Cities Blue Ocean (CCBO) under the Making Cities Work (MCW) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity Contract.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This is a request to approve a contract modification to the Agency's global flagship program to address ocean plastic pollution, "Clean Cities Blue Ocean" (CCBO), awarded to Tetra Tech ARD. This modification would 1) extend the period of performance by 12 months, from August 28, 2024, to August 28, 2025; and 2) increase the Total Estimated Cost (TEC) by $14.3 million, thereby increasing the TEC of the contract from $53,032,246.77 to $67,332,246.77. The TEC of the contract was previously increased in September 2022, from $47,999,306 to $53,032,246.77, to accommodate several buy-ins to the contract.

Under this action, Tetra Tech will continue activities that are part of the Performance Work Statement, including providing technical assistance to national and local governments in three Pacific Island countries (Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea), the Philippines, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, and Peru to strengthen solid waste management and recycling systems, as well as demonstrate USAID leadership in preventing plastic pollution during ongoing international negotiations on a new global treaty.

3. Description of the supplies or services required, including an estimated value:

USAID needs to scale up well-performing existing activities that address ocean plastic pollution to meet the ambition announced by Administrator Power when she launched the Save Our Seas Initiative together with Congressional sponsors of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act. This Initiative aims to end plastic pollution by 2040 by creating effective systems that will manage waste safely, incentivize recycling and reduce demand for single-use plastic products and packaging that are

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frequently littered. As the linchpin for the Save Our Seas Initiative, CCBO is providing learnings in this new area of development assistance which will inform future USAID programs, including those implemented by local partners. At the same time, CCBO approach, progress and results are informing negotiations on a new global plastic treaty, which commenced in late 2022. CCBO is the only major USAID program currently delivering results under this Initiative and its cost and time extension will enable USAID to continue to demonstrate progress while it grows a diverse portfolio of programs at the individual country level via additional buy-ins. Specific key indicators would be tons of plastic waste diverted from the environment and policy instruments that promote reduction of plastic pollution and sustainable management of municipal solid waste.

REFS/CEIC/Green Cities is requesting the approval of a non-competitive extension of twelve months and a $14,300,000 TEC increase to CCBO. This amount was determined based on the size of proposed buy-ins from several USAID Missions - Dominican Republic, Pacific Islands, Peru, Philippines and Vietnam - in order to conclude CCBO activities in those countries, as well as methane mitigation activities, and closeout costs for the entire program, as laid out in the table below.

Funding source for extension Amount

Pacific Islands buy-in $1,800,000

Philippines buy-in $1,000,000

Vietnam buy-in $1,000,000

Dominican Republic buy-in $1,500,000

Peru buy-in $2,000,000

Methane mitigation buy-in $3,000,000

Green Cities obligation $4,000,000

Total $14,300,000

Additionally, increasing CCBO’s period of performance will allow the completion of planned activities that were significantly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as complementary activities bridging the gap between CCBO and new bilateral and regional, Mission-based ocean plastics activities being launched in all CCBO countries as part of the Agency-wide Save Our Seas Initiative. The TEC and period of performance increase will allow the Activity to continue providing state-of-the-art assistance for improved solid waste management services, including guidance to counterpart governments in remediation of open dumpsites and design of sanitary landfills. CCBO will work with the target local governments to consolidate capacity building through implementation of solid waste management plans, including cost-of-service analyses, funding options, and optimization of collection routes and material recovery facilities. CCBO will continue to leverage financial and other resources from both local and global companies, as evidenced by the partnerships already underway with more than 20 companies in these countries, in addition to the $3 million provided by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation for its activities. In addition, CCBO will build on the work carried out by its 40+ grantees, developing a global network of local organizations that will enable continual sharing of best practices across countries and regions.

Furthermore, this TEC increase and period of performance extension will enable the activity to have the necessary resources to immediately tackle and respond to challenges outlined in USAID’s local systems approach to addressing ocean plastic pollution. This is a complex and unique activity poised to respond to all five pillars in the local systems approach, which focuses on building local capacity, creating sustainable systems through a markets approach, and leveraging additional public and private sector resources. With the United States active in negotiations for a new global plastics treaty to end plastic pollution to be signed in early 2025, highlighting the approach and results of USAID’s work is critical over the next two years. As the Agency’s global flagship program to address ocean plastic pollution, only CCBO has the breadth and depth of experience to bring attention to USAID’s work in the international arena. Across the life of the program to date, CCBO has shared lessons in more than 180 international events.

CCBO also hosts a virtual training hub that has, in the past six months alone, had more than 1000 participants from 30 countries.

4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

Pursuant to AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(3)(i), full and open competition need not be obtained for an award for which the Assistant Administrator responsible for the project or program makes a formal written Determination and Findings (D&F) that compliance with full and open competition procedures would impair foreign assistance objectives and would be inconsistent with the fulfillment of the foreign assistance program.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition that requires use of the authority cited:

Tetra Tech is uniquely positioned to fulfill the current requirements due to preeminent expertise in the field of solid waste management globally and its working relationships with key stakeholders in local and national governments, local NGOs, and recycling and other private sector companies in the CCBO focal countries. It has proven an excellent management and operational ability to adjust to changing circumstances and respond to opportunities to help counterpart governments to deliver on their priorities.

A time and cost extension of CCBO will allow USAID to contribute to new and important global foreign assistance objectives that have arisen over the past year. Thanks to their expertise and the design of CCBO which is both global in scope and has on-the-ground activities in 10 countries, the contractor has been able to respond to emerging national and international priorities such as the negotiations for a new global treaty to end plastic pollution and the Global Methane Pledge. Tetra Tech has proven its ability to build strong local teams mentored by seasoned solid waste management experts in the United States to ensure continuous, high quality technical assistance in a cost-effective manner. Despite the many constraints stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, CCBO has achieved remarkable results to date with respect to preventing plastic waste from polluting our oceans while implementing measures for sustainability of results, including a repository of its training in virtual format.

Through this extension, Tetra Tech will have the time to train municipalities and local organizations to be able to undertake future awards. Additional time to work with local grantees on developing organizational capacity as well as technical capacity specific for advancing local solutions to plastic pollution is critical to set these local organizations up to become direct USAID partners. This supports the Agency's priority to provide more resources directly to local organizations. Two examples of CCBO's strengthening of local grantees is building their capacity to conduct formative research for social and behavior change and to assess and integrate gender considerations across all activities.

6. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was publicized as required by

FAR 5.2 [AIDAR 705.2].

According to AIDAR 706.302-70(c)(3) and AIDAR 705.202(b), advance notice is not required when the authorities at 706.302-70(b)(3)(i) are used; therefore, no notice was publicized.

An award to a local contractor was not considered given the complexity of the existing program and the high-level expertise needed for assessing and implementing evolving technologies to ensure the environmentally sound management of solid waste. Tetra Tech’s Solid Waste Practice, comprised of 600 solid waste specialists, has been ranked number one in solid waste in the US for eight of the last nine years from Engineering News Record, the industry’s standard bearer.

With 40+ years of experience, it provides full-service solid waste planning, design, and construction support for solid waste management programs and facilities worldwide (currently engaged in 2,200 active projects). As part of the CCBO program, its professionals provide technical assistance in developing solid waste management plans, digital tools for system and facility assessments, proof of concept plans for processing facilities, landfill remediation plans, landfill siting, and methane emission monitoring and capture plans.

CCBO was competitively awarded under the Making Cities Work IDIQ. The Mission buy-ins that are motivating the cost and time extension of CCBO represent a continuation of work currently underway by CCBO in each of those countries. In each of its focal countries, CCBO has local staff in place who have been mentored by Tetra Tech international staff and through their ongoing work have earned the respect of national and local counterparts. A disruption of this work by the existing local staff (and their international mentors) would greatly reduce the value of USAID's funding as significant time and effort would be needed to put appropriate staff in place.

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The cognizant Contracting Officer will ensure that all services procured under the proposed ceiling increase are fair and reasonable based on historical expenditures and a review of proposed costs prior to executing the modification. The proposed ceiling increase is based on the task order’s historical expenditures, and anticipated costs related to salary approvals, labor category ceilings, etc. are regulated under the MCW IDIQ and the task order. This ensures that the cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

8. Description of the market research conducted, and the results or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted:

Market research and an IGCE were conducted to inform the initial award of the MCW IDIQ.

Additional market research and an IGCE were conducted to inform the solicitation for this task order in 2019.

DDI/EEI/GC did not conduct market research for this cost and time extension given the likelihood that any delay will impair foreign objectives to address ocean plastic pollution, particularly in island nations of the Pacific, during the negotiations for a new global agreement on plastics and strategic focus on the Pacific. Given the urgency of this requirement in response to the growing environmental crisis from ocean plastic pollution, it is not feasible to select another contractor familiar with the breadth and scope of the work to be undertaken.

Furthermore, upon the technical team’s review of existing Agency awards, it was determined that there are no other existing Agency mechanisms with a scope that would allow the continuation of this work as a buy-in.

9. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

To accelerate addressing the ocean plastic pollution in support of USAID’s Save Our Seas Initiative, which is implementing the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act of 2020, DDI/EEI/GC must expand implementation of prior activities as quickly as possible.

Since 2019, CCBO has provided assistance to seven countries (Dominican Republic, Peru, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines) to combat ocean plastic pollution. With significant additional resources provided to USAID in the FY 2021 budget by Congress specifically to address the issue of ocean plastic pollution, CCBO had to expand assistance to three priority Pacific islands. However, the somewhat lower levels of funding received by USAID to address ocean plastic pollution in the FY 2022 and FY 2023 budgets has made it difficult for USAID to stand up new country-level programs to continue the work of CCBO. To implement the Agency’s Save Our Seas Initiative, launched in 2022 together with Members of Congress, USAID must ensure that CCBO has adequate time and resources to deliver results and prepare the way for new programs, including those to be implemented by local partners. USAID launched the Save Our Seas Initiative during the same year that 175 countries adopted a resolution titled End Plastic Pollution at the United Nations Environment Assembly, which called for the initiation of formal negotiations for a new global plastics treaty with a goal to be signed in 2025. Thus, the next two years are critical for capitalizing on the increased global momentum and attention to this issue. Over the first four years of implementation, CCBO has provided more than 40 grants and technical assistance to local organizations for locally-led solutions to addressing ocean plastic pollution.

A new contractor would not be able to immediately start implementing the Save Our Seas Initiative in the focal countries, especially given the complex policy, technology and market landscape. Therefore, it is in the U.S. Government's best interest to extend this task order. A new contractor would have to build critical relationships at the local and national levels; Tetra Tech has strong relationships already built with technical personnel, civil society, private sector, and government officials, with 138 MOUs in place across all ten CCBO countries.

Logistically, Tetra Tech has established seven offices to support CCBO - a headquarters office based in DC and field offices in the Dominican Republic, Peru, Indonesia, the Philippines (including Regional support across Southeast Asia and support to Pacific Islands countries), and Sri Lanka (including support to the Maldives) that are staffed with dedicated personnel. Tetra Tech already knows the local institutions and private and political sector partners. Finally, Tetra Tech has proved that they are responsive to changing needs and opportunities and can respond swiftly and pivot appropriately to meet USG interests.

In summary:

● Approval of this request would enable the Activity to implement the requirements of the Save Our Seas Initiative immediately and address new foreign assistance objectives related to negotiations of the new global plastics treaty and delivery on the Global Methane Pledge.

● Due to Tetra Tech’s unique capacity in solid waste management, the Activity has developed trusted relationships with key stakeholders in the national and local governments. The actions implemented have contributed substantially to improved policy and capacity to manage waste in an environmentally sustainable manner and prevent plastic pollution.

● Approval of the additional resources and time extension will allow CCBO to complete grant and capacity building activities delayed to the Covid pandemic, and ensure sustainability of the solid waste management model being created in the focal countries.

● No other source could practicably provide these benefits at the level provided by Tetra Tech.

10. Sources, if any, that expressed an interest, in writing, in the acquisition:

No other sources expressed interest in this requirement.

11. The actions the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

USAID does not envision any barriers that would lead to the exception of full and open competition in the future. Subsequent acquisition of these services will be competed to the maximum extent possible.

12. Technical or Requirements Personnel Certification:

In accordance with FAR 6.303, I hereby certify that the technical statements included above and which form a basis for the justification are complete and accurate.

July 24, 2023

Clare Romanik Date Contracting Officer’s Representative

13. Contracting Officer Certification:

In accordance with FAR 6.303, I hereby certify that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Stella Alexander-Sergeeff, M/OAA/DDI DateSupervisory Contracting Officer

14. Approved:

Dina Esposito Assistant to the Administrator, REFS

Date

11/15/2023

11/29/23