A02.05 JA ERDC 21-2144 San Fran Bay.pdf

ERDC-21-2144

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Justification Review Document For Other Than Full and Open Competition

Requirement: Gap Analysis and Coordination of the Regional Dredge Material Management Plan Development Process

Authority Cited:

Amount: $600,000.00

Prepared By:

Melissa Keen Phone: 601-634-4880 Contract Specialist

Email: Melissa.A.Keen@usace.army.mil Signature:

Technical Representative:

David L Smith Phone: 601-634-4267 Lead Principle Investigator Email: David.L.Smith@usace.army.mil

Requirements Representative:

Angela Poovey Acquisition Manager Email: Angela.G.Poovey@usace.army.mil

Office of Counsel

Email:

Signature:

Signature:

Phone: 601-634-3542

Contracting Officer:

Chelsea Whitten Phone: (601) 634-4679 Contracting Officer E-mail: Chelsea.M.Whitten@usace.army.mil Signature: WHITTEN.CHE

LSEA.M.11394

93768

Digitally signed by

WHITTEN.CHELSEA.M.1

139493768 Date: 2021.02.09 15:16:15 -06'00'

Daniel L Egger daniel.l.egger@usace.army.mil

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Justification and Approval For Other Than Full and Open Competition

Contracting Activity: The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Contracting Office located at 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199.

Description of Action: Execute a new sole-source, firm fixed price contract with San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) for gap analysis and coordination of the Regional Dredge Material Management Plan development process in the estimated amount of $600,000.00 funded by San Francisco District and civil direct programs.

Description of Services: The Environmental Laboratory has a requirement to perform knowledge gap analysis and coordinate stakeholder communications for the Regional Dredge Material Management Plan (RDMMP) for the San Francisco Bay. This effort will address all federally authorized and maintained navigation channels in the San Francisco Bay System. The main impediments to continued dredging are the criteria associated with limited placement capacity. Efficient execution of the Federal O&M dredging program in San Francisco Bay requires a strategic and regional, systems-level approach that addresses these challenges. All four tasks are estimated to take 2 years and $600,000.00.

Authority Cited:

Reason for Authority Cited: The proposed procurement meets the criteria for exclusion from full and open competition under the authority cited above based on the following:

a) Background: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District (SPN) intends to establish a work effort that addresses the challenges of San Francisco Bay sediment management. The work will lead to a new Regional Dredge Material Management Plan (RDMMP), including development of new beneficial use of sediment from hopper and clamshell dredges. The RDMMP development effort will address all federally authorized and maintained navigation channels in the San Francisco Bay System. Efficient execution of the Federal O&M dredging program in San Francisco Bay requires a strategic and regional, systems-level approach that addresses these challenges. Once the San Francisco Bay RDMMP is complete, a 20-year vision for the Federal O&M dredging program will be established. This is a new contract for services for tasks and deliverables associated with identification of knowledge gaps that would impact a systems-level dredging plan, such as entrainment and its impacts on threatened and endangered species dynamics, sediment supply, marsh creation and response to beneficially-used sediment, quantification of multi-scale benefits of system-scale beneficial use, among others.

This analysis would be the foundation of scopes of work to addressing the knowledge gaps so that the RDMMP can be further developed and refined.

b) Justification: There are no other vendors who have the extensive experience with Regional Data Center for all water quality, wetlands, historical, and spatial data of the San Francisco Bay area and is able to act as an independent 3rd party non-profit scientific research organization to facilitate stakeholder engagement. SFEI manages the Regional Data Center (RDC) and several

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other programs, including 1) Clean Water Program, 2) Bay Regional Monitoring Program, 3) Environmental Informatics Program, 4) Software Engineering, 5) Data Services, and 6) Wetland Monitoring & Assessment. Each of these programs is funded by external partners but housed with SFEI including al data management, modeling and analysis. As the developers of these data portals, SFEI’s ability to access, refine and adapt Bay data on sediment, water quality and ecology to USACE technical activities is unmatched. Educating a new vendor would require learning the contents and features of numerous Bay wide data sets, while also learning the complex regulatory and technical context under which the USACE works. It would take another vendor at least 1 year to bring them up to speed on the datasets managed by SFEI and would require many one-on-one meetings with relevant USACE leaders in order to develop an understanding of the USACE work flow and regulatory posture. Such a timeline is not acceptable to USACE Sediment Management Plans developed in concert with USACE HQ and local resource agencies (state, federal) for San Francisco Bay.

The SFEI team is the only team that can handle the full life-cycle of diverse environmental data and provides data processing, analysis, and visualization services through the RDC in the time frame required by the Performance Work Statement, which is the conduct of a literature synthesis and gap analysis within 3 months of contract award. SFEI leverages the latest innovations in data management to ensure efficient and effective data processing. Clients rely on SFEI for its strong quality control and peerless datasets. There are 7 services offered by the RDC and all are required for this contract. Moreover, as a non-profit, the SFEI solves environmental problems, advances public debate about them through sound science, and supports consensus-based solutions that improve environmental planning and management of the San Francisco Bay without monetary gain. Therefore, contracting with SFEI is critical to the success of this project.

c) Impact: The tasks conducted by SFEI will advance efforts by the USACE to manage dredge material while maintaining environmental uses of San Francisco Bay. Using the data from the SFEI RDC, the USACE can swiftly come to conclusions regarding sediment management in San Francisco Bay, saving thousands of dollars in endless studies and vague conclusions. The USACE is under more pressure to develop an effective RDMMP in a timely and cost-effective manner. Using science-based decision-making, the RDMMP development effort will address all federally authorized and maintained navigation channels in the San Francisco Bay System. The expertise of SFEI is unique, and this contracting action will ensure that USACE addresses knowledge gaps and listens to stakeholders while achieving its navigation mission, a multibillion-dollar industry on the California coast.

d) Alternatives: Possible alternatives include: (1) use of internal personnel/expertise, and (2) suspension of project. The ERDC does not have the internal expertise with Regional Data Center for all water quality, wetlands, historical, and spatial data of the San Francisco Bay area.

Moreover, it would not be considered an independent 3rd party research organization since ERDC is the research arm of the USACE. The option to suspend this project is unacceptable due to the fact that substantial investments have been devoted to the RDMMP development effort, USACE requires immediate recommendations on knowledge gaps and a scientific approach to bridge those gaps, and any significant delays will increase risk of closing San Francisco Bay

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navigation channels. Funding is available by the San Francisco District. There are no other vendors who have the extensive experience with San Francisco Bay water quality data, sediment management, and who are a 3rd party independent research organization. Therefore, contracting with SFEI is critical to the success of this project.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Competition for this action was not feasible based on information in paragraph 5, above, and the required level of expertise for identification of knowledge gaps and make recommendations through scopes of work for addressing the gaps in San Francisco Bay.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: In order to increase competition for future actions, the ERDC will conduct appropriate planning so that another vendor will have the time and opportunity to bring themselves up to speed and be able to perform. The Government will also continue to review the current literature, monitor university laboratory websites and review vendor abilities to increase competition in the future.

8. Market Research: Market research was primarily performed using Sources Sought, internet searches and GSA Professional Service Multivendor Schedule under NAICS 541620 for Environmental Consulting Services. There was only 1 respondent to the Sources Sought: SFEI solidifying the case for sole source. In researching GSA, there are 566 contractors in NAICS 541620 for Environmental Consulting Services. First, it was determined whether a business could perform the PWS requirements. Contractor price schedules were searched using key phrases “San Francisco Bay” (85 vendors) and “non-profit” (20 vendors). Websites for these 20 vendors (13 Small and 7 Large) were checked for qualification criteria outlined in the PWS. No GSA Large or Small businesses had the required experience to perform the PWS tasks. When researching the internet for environmental non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay area, many were engaged with activism or were part of a stakeholder group, but none had the scientists on staff or managed environmental data sets or ran water quality programs:

qualifications needed to perform the PWS. When “San Francisco Bay Regional Data Center” or “Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in the San Francisco Bay area” were searched, the SFEI was the only relevant hit. Market research reveals that there are no vendors other than the SFEI who can perform the tasks and deliverables in the PWS.

9. Other Facts:

a) Procurement History: This is the first procurement with SFEI.

b) Acquisition data availability: A performance work statement and quality assurance surveillance plan have been developed and will be used for this contract. This unique project requires a vendor that has demonstrated long-term experience with data of San Francisco Bay found in the SFEI Regional Data Center to achieve the contract tasks in the timeline required, and is therefore not suitable for full and open competition. The ERDC will continue to survey the marketplace to identify potential sources that can perform requirements of this nature as the need arises.

c) Unusual and compelling urgency: N/A

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d) Subcontracting Competition: SFEI is a non-profit organization under NAICS code 541620 Environmental Consulting Services, with a size standard of $16.5 Million. There are no known small businesses capable of meeting the requirements. Subcontracting opportunities are not considered substantial, however, where the opportunity for subcontracting arises, the use of small businesses will be encouraged and pursued to the extent possible.

10 . Interested Sources: The approved justification document will be posted at the Government point of entry, beta.SAM.

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11. Technical Certification:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief:

12. Requirements Certification:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief:

13. Fair and Reasonable Price Determination:

I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. Cost analysis will be performed to determine that costs are fair and reasonable. Certified cost or pricing data will not be required since this action is beneath the $2,000,000 threshold.

14. Procuring Contracting Officer Certification:

I certify that this justification is accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

David L Smith Signature:

Lead Principle Investigator

Angela Poovey Signature:

Contracting Officer’s Representative

Angela Poovey Signature:

EL Acquisition Manager

Chelsea Whitten Signature:

Contracting Officer

Chelsea Whitten Signature:

Contracting Officer

WHITTEN.CHELS

EA.M.11394937

Digitally signed by

WHITTEN.CHELSEA.M.1139

493768 Date: 2021.02.09 15:18:36 -06'00'

WHITTEN.CHELSE

A.M.1139493768

Digitally signed by

WHITTEN.CHELSEA.M.113949376

Date: 2021.02.09 15:20:38 -06'00'

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

15. Approval:

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of Gap Analysis and Coordination of the Regional Dredge Material Management Plan Development Process on an Other than Full and Open Competition basis pursuant to the authority of subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Chelsea Whitten Signature:

Contracting Officer