A02.14 SSJ Under SAT - IJC Saint Marys Rapids Sampling - SAM.gov.docx

CUI

SOLE SOURCE MEMORANDUM FOR ACTIONS UNDER THE SAT

IAW FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i)

1. Contracting Agency: United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity (HECSA), 7701 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22315.

2. Description of Action: Approval is requested for a new, firm fixed type purchase order using Civil Funding in the amount of $XX,XXX.XX. The requirement is for services entitled “Data Collection for Development of St. Marys Rapids Performance Indicators”.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The International Joint Commission has ordered an evaluation of the Lake Superior Regulation Plan, Plan 2012, which is a plan selected to provide more natural flows in the St. Marys Rapids to improve habitat. Funding from each of the Canadian and United States Governments has been authorized for work on their respective sides of the international border with the USACE being responsible for executing the United States’ portion of the work. The evaluation of Plan 2012 will investigate how gate operations and varying flow in the St. Marys Rapids have impacted the habitat and ecosystem. Collecting data to establish performance metrics is the first step to evaluate the Plan’s performance.

The current assumption is that going from high volume to low volume of water through the rapids will have the largest negative impacts on organisms through stranding, drying, and freezing. However, going from low to high could result in increased export of larval fish and fish eggs out of the rapids. Redistribution of embryos or larvae out of the rapids will likely result in high mortality rates. Substrate, fish, fish eggs, embryos and other data will be collected to support hydrodynamic models and establish performance metrics. Establishing these models with baseline ground truthing data is required as a first step in the long-term adaptive management of the Lake Superior outflow. The anticipated cost of the work under this contract is $XX,XXX.XX, starting from date of notice to proceed (NTP), estimated to be toward the end of November 2023, and ending around December 31, 2024.

4. Authority Cited: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-1(b)(1), Soliciting from a single source. For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: Adaptive management is a central tenet to progressive water levels management policy and requires evolving targeted data collection and analysis to develop an understanding of system responses to regulated hydrodynamics for decision making. This project addresses a need to apply long-term and targeted data to establish plan performance indicators such as suitable habitat and the incidence of fish, fish eggs, and benthos stranding or flushing. The data will be incorporated into a comprehensive modelling and performance indicator assessment provided by the GLAM and others as defined.

Performance Indicators were not established in the St. Marys Rapids during the Upper Great Lakes Study. The Upper Great Lakes Study was a binational effort directed by the IJC to investigate ways to manage fluctuating lake levels in the face of uncertain water supplies while seeking to balance the needs of those interests served by the system. One of the outcomes of the study was the new Lake Superior Regulation Plan, Plan 2012. The Plan provides a set of rules used to determine the amount of water to release from the lake. The rules are designed to provide socio-economic and environmental benefits both upstream and downstream. More specifically, it was designed to protect important lake sturgeon spawning habitat in the St. Mars River by providing more natural flows and smaller month-to-month changes to benefit hydropower and the St. Marys Rapids interests. This data collection is the first step in developing metrics to quantify the impacts to the Rapids under the criteria set forth by Plan 2012. The habitat (substrate), fish, fish eggs, benthos, invertebrates, larvae, and juvenile stranding or flushing data will be used to support existing hydrodynamic models as well as future ecological models.

The identified contractor is Dr. Ashley Moerke, an ecologist and Professor at Lake Superior State University (LSSU) and Director for the Center of Freshwater Research and Education. Much of Dr. Moerke’s research is focused on freshwater ecology and conservation of freshwater fisheries and aquatic ecosystems, including the ecology of migratory fishes, effects of invasive species and landscape stressors on aquatic ecosystems. Dr. Moerke is uniquely qualified to conduct this work due to her earlier engagement with USACE gathering data in the St. Marys Rapids to support hydrodynamic modeling efforts unrelated to GLAM. In addition to her expertise and support staff, Dr. Moerke’s field expertise and proximity to the St. Marys Rapids warrants her contribution essential to the GLAM effort. Her expertise, laboratory capabilities, and close proximity to the remote site will provide valuable datasets that are unique and are not available from any other source or investigator.

Dr. Moerke is uniquely qualified for this work given her technical expertise and comprehensive knowledge of the unique freshwater ecosystem. As Dr. Moerke is currently employed by LSSU, it is therefore in the best interest of the U.S. Government to issue a contract to the LSSU School of Natural Resources and Environment to perform this work.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: As a means of increasing competition, GLAM and IWR performed market research by considering academia as well as IDIQ and other firms; however, due to the unique qualifications of Dr. Moerke, including her earlier engagement with USACE gathering data in the St. Marys Rapids to support hydrodynamic modeling efforts, research indicated that any outside firm would not be ideal, and would be more costly to the government, for this specialized work.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: This is not a follow-on requirement. To ensure competition, GLAM and IWR performed market research considering academia as well as the IDIQ and other firms. However, due to the unique qualifications of Dr. Moerke for this task, as outlined above, any other firms/academics would not be ideal and would be more costly to the government.

8. Market Research: A Notice of Intent to Sole Source this requirement will be posted to the Contract Opportunities section of SAM.gov. To date, there are no parties interested in this requirement. Additional market research was performed, including literature review of academic papers to identify potential subject matter experts with similar qualifications. However, due to the unique qualifications of Dr. Moerke, it has been determined that this work would not be possible – or at best, would be greatly hindered and more costly to the government – without Dr. Moerke.

9. Interested Sources: To date, no other sources have written to express an interest. Notices required by FAR 5.201 will be posted to the Contract Opportunities section of SAM.gov.

10. Other Facts: The unique qualifications of Dr. Moerke are indispensable to this project. A full and open competition contracting action would result in avoidable delays and increased expenses that the project cannot afford. Without timely contracting action, the study team faces a significant risk to missing the fall field season window for data collection. Such setback would cost the project a full-year delay (as the data collection would have to wait until next fall), which would result in significant shift in the schedule, as other sequential tasks rely heavily on the findings from this work. Additionally, due to the uniqueness of the system and somewhat remote site sampling location, using an expert with extensive background of the unique freshwater system, proximity to the data collection site, laboratory capabilities, and familiarization with challenging and variable onsite conditions is critical and most optimal/efficient to avoid any chance of delays. The unique qualifications of Dr. Moerke, for both site-specific knowledge and understanding, as well as Dr. Moerke’s familiarity with USACE processes, make her the most ideal candidate.

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action is fair and reasonable, based on the procedures found at FAR 13.106-3 (a)(2)(ii), comparison of the proposed price with prices found reasonable on previous purchases and FAR 13.106-3 (a)(2)(vi), comparison to an independent Government estimate. Per FAR 15.403-1(b)(3), certified cost and pricing data is not required.

David A. Kaplan Procuring Contracting Officer Phone: 703-428-8487

12. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

David A. Kaplan Procuring Contracting Officer Phone: 703-428-8487

Approval Based on the foregoing, I approve the acquisition described above in the amount of $XX,XXX.XX on other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i), subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

David A. Kaplan Procuring Contracting Officer Phone: 703-428-8487

Prepared by:

Sung Lee Economist, Institute for Water Resources Phone: 703-428-6140