Attachment Justification_1.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, plans to contract on a sole source basis. This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).

2. Nature of Action Being Approved. A new contract to be awarded to the University of Massachusetts (UMASS) Amherst Geosciences Electron Microprobe/SEM Facility.

3. Description of Supplies or Services. The service required is monazite electron microprobe analyzer (EMPA) petrochronology. This is a combined petrologic and geochronologic analysis of monazite grains in a polished thin section. The produced data are wavelength dispersive chemical maps, trace element data, and a U-Th/Pb chemical age for several micron-sized analytical spots on monazite in a thin section. The requiring program office is the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program.

4. Estimated Dollar Value. xx

5. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – only one source reasonably available.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5.

Monazite petrochronology uses the electron microprobe to measure U, Th, and Pb at high precision to determine a chemical age for the analytical spot. The precision of the resultant age is a function of the counting statistics, and so dependent X-ray generation and collector efficiency.

The UMASS Amherst facility collaborated with NSF and vendors to design an EMPA to improve X-ray count statistics by a factor of 10x, corresponding to an age precision increase of a factor of 2-3x, allowing for ~1-2% analytical uncertainty on Paleozoic aged samples. This reduction in age uncertainty is critical to separating the age differences in our geologic projects.

For example, in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge of NC and VA the determination of a monazite age of 340 Ma vs 350 Ma may result in very different geologic interpretations.

The improved age precision is unique to the UMASS-Amherst laboratory as a result of the NSF-funded “Ultrachron Project,” and the 10 Ma age difference can only be resolved using EMPA at UMASS. No other laboratory can offer the same precision—the instrument is one-of-a-kind.

7. Other Information.

The usefulness of the analytical data is not only a function of precision, but also accuracy.

Accuracy in this method is largely a function of measuring the background at high accuracy and precision. The UMASS lab developed a multi-point background method to account for curvature in the background, and this requires specialized software. Further, the lab has published their method of analysis and background determination in detail. No other labs have published the same level of detail, and this information is critical from a QA/QC perspective for the end-user.

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted.

EMPA are relatively common and are present at most large universities. However, monazite petrochronology is not a common method of analysis because it is only used in geology and it requires special expertise and machine specifications (see above). As noted above, the Ultrachron EMPA is one-of-a-kind and specifically designed for EMPA monazite geochronology, and so no other machines to meet the Government’s minimum needs exist.

In order to verify that no other sources can provide this degree of analytical precision, a notice of intent to award sole source was posted on the web portal beta.sam.gov.

9. Future Plans to Permit Competition.

Future requirements will undergo market research and be competed to the maximum extent practical. 10. Recommendation and Certification from Program Office

Based on the above, I recommend this acquisition be conducted on a sole source basis and certify the above statements are true and accurate.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) considers employee signatures to be personal Protected Information, and therefore all employee signatures have been redacted. By posting this document, the Contracting Officer attests all appropriate signatures have been obtained.

11. Certifications from the Contracting Officer:

a. The contracting officer has determined that the price is fair and reasonable compared to pricing from laboratories with this general type of analyses.

b. This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

12. Approvals

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) considers employee signatures to be personal Protected Information, and therefore all employee signatures have been redacted. By posting this document, the Contracting Officer attests all appropriate signatures have been obtained.