A16_Sole_Source_Justification_Midway-Palmyra_Emergency_FINAL_SIGNED_REDACTED_1.pdf

CONTRACT #140D0423D0090

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United States Department of the Interior

INTERIOR BUSINESS CENTER

Washington, DC 20240

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

AUTHORITY: FAR 13.501(a), 41 U.S.C. 1901

Midway and Palmyra Atolls Emergency Acquisition Contract Number 140D0423D0090

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Sole Source Justification.”

This document is a sole source justification for the Department of the Interior, Interior Business Center, Acquisition Services Directorate (AQD), Division 2, Branch 1, Team 2, on behalf of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under DOI.

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

The Government intends to award a new sole source contract for point-to-point flights between Honolulu, HI and the Midway and Palmyra Atolls to Mid-Pacific Air Services, LLC to provide critical transport of Government personnel and supplies to these remote locations.

The aviation vendor will provide the necessary flight services for the DOI FWS. The flight services requirements are for exclusive use, long range, multi-engine, jet airplane, commercial aviation flight services. The office of FWS requires these aviation services to support the transport of passengers, goods, and cargo between the islands to accomplish their missions at the respective Refuges.

Identify the specific vendor(s) considered.

Mid-Pacific Air Service LLC 95 Nakolo PL Honolulu, Hawaii, 96819-1808

3. A description of supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

The agency has a need for flight services for long range, multi-engine, jet airplane, commercial aviation flight services from/to Honolulu Hawaii to the Midway and Palmyra atolls.

The office of FWS requires these aviation services to support the transport of passengers, goods, and cargo between the islands to accomplish their missions at the respective Refuges.

Page 3 of of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

Mid-Pac was selected based on its unique qualifications due to the company’s technical capabilities, expertise and resources, and availability.

Mid-Pac owns and operates a Falcon 50 aircraft which seats between 8-9 passengers and has a payload capacity of 3,000 pounds. Mid-Pac is based on Honolulu, Hawaii, which makes it uniquely positioned to serve flights to and from Honolulu and the Midway and Palmyra atolls. With its headquarters in Honolulu, Mid-Pac benefits from having local pilots and aircraft readily available for emergency situations, and to ensure efficient and timely operations during normal business. Furthermore, Hawaii’s remote location presents a challenge for competitors in reaching or effectively servicing the demand, as evidenced by

(prior contractor – See section 9 below) pulling operations on Hawaii without the Government’s knowledge. With respect to Mid-Pac, the company is uniquely positioned in Hawaii’s remote location to service flights from Honolulu to Midway and Palmyra, both on an emergency basis and during normal hours.

DOI personnel have previously inspected Mid-Pac’s aircraft under a Cooperative agreement and certified this aircraft as acceptable in accordance with the Office of Aviation Services (OAS) aircraft safety/technical requirements. In addition to the aircraft, DOI inspectors reviewed Mid-Pac’s pilot information (e.g., pilot license, FAA checks, etc.) to ensure Mid- Pac’s compliance with piloting requirements. Lastly, DOI inspectors also reviewed Mid-Pac’s safety records (flight time hours, accident reports, and/or FAA violations) to ensure the company’s capability to meet safety requirements in the contract. DOI inspectors certified that Mid-Pac’s pilot(s) and safety record comply with contractual requirements. Mid-Pac will obtain carding for their aircraft but must comply with a waiver until their flight following system is fully installed. The waiver stipulates Mid-Pac will submit a flight plan to Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the Airport Manager and contact Air Traffic control every 30 min during flights. Currently, Mid-Pac is completing the registration process of their flight following system which is installed on their aircraft, but needs to be picked up by AFF.gov.

The populations of Midway and Palmyra are dependent on the scheduled charter flights for food, medical supplies, and essential materials required to maintain the facilities of Midway.

There are currently 90 people on the island of Midway, half of which are present for a special conservation project that involved years of planning and millions in public funding. Similarly, Palmyra’s 26 personnel will rely on flights throughout the period of performance. Without flights, FWS operations on Palmyra would not transport personnel off the island, nor would it be replenishing critical supplies. (FWS assists The Nature Conservancy project with replenishing supplies.) Without these flights, Palmyra would be harmed by ceasing all 5 FWS critical projects and ongoing research with five independent research organizations. The loss of flight services has jeopardized research efforts, increases likelihood of waste in public funding, and endangers the livelihood of Government personnel. If flight services are not provided, or significantly delayed, Government personnel will place a larger demand on the limited island resources and lead to a continuously increasing level of urgency on Midway and Palmyra.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR

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An authorization to proceed was issued to Mid-Pac on July 19, 2203. Contract 140D0423D0090 was awarded to firm the terms and conditions with a period of performance of date of award through March 31, 2024. The contract also includes a six-month extension IAW FAR clause 52.217-8. While Mid-Pac performs under 140D0423D0090, the Government will recompete this requirement, including posting a solicitation on SAM.gov IAW FAR 5.101. As mentioned prior, the Government was already conducting pre-award market research for a recompete since the previous contract (Contract No. was in the fourth option period. However, due to unforeseen events that occurred on July 7, 2023, contract 140D0423D0090 was awarded to meet this emergency requirement. The Government will resume the recompete under a normal solicitation now that flight services are in place for Midway and Palmyra.

Milestones are contained above in Section 9 above.

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Date

(Bureau Competition Advocate approval is required for actions valued from $750,001 up to $13.5 million).

Approve

Bureau Competition Advocate Date