C38_-_JOFOC_1.pdf

Department of the Interior Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

(JOFOC for Acquisitions > SAT) (Optional for Acqs. SAT)

I recommend that the BUREAU OF use other than full and open competition for the acquisition of the following supplies or services. If this acquisition is to be made with only one source or a limited number of sources, negotiations will be conducted with the indicated proposed supplier(s).

I certify that this recommendation contains the information required by FAR 6.303-2 and its contents are accurate.

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

ANN

SLAUGHTER

Digitally signed by

ANN SLAUGHTER

Date: 2023.02.02 13:09:19 -05'00'

DAVID VILLANI Digitally signed by DAVID VILLANI Date: 2023.02.02 14:37:56 -05'00'

Identify one statutory authority for this acquisition to be conducted under ''other than full and open competition'' procedures [FAR 6.303-2(b)(4)]. Provide narrative justification associated with the respective stated authority in block number 15.

JOFOC for RRB Project #1156

“Surface Water Droplet Size Distribution (DSD) Instrument Evaluation”

(aka DSD project)

The Government of Canada, through the Multi-Partner Research Initiative (MPRI) program, is sponsoring a unique research project that will involve the controlled release of oil in the north Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Labrador, Canada, with the intent of conducting research on the use of dispersants and associated innovative technologies to monitor the dispersed oil. The field trial is scheduled for August 2023. The MPRI program is chartered by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) – a Canadian environmental agency. The NRCan MPRI mission, as stated on their website, is:

“The MPRI supports collaboration among leading experts to identify research gaps and priorities, improve our understanding of oil spills in the offshore, as well as coastal and onshore environments. Activities under the initiative also aim to increase knowledge about the impact of spills on organisms, develop new technologies and protocols for clean-up, and support science-based decisions that minimize impacts to the environment and habitat recovery.”

The Government of Canada contacted four US agencies (USCG, US EPA, NOAA and BSEE) in 2020 during the early stages of planning for this field experiment, and all four agencies have agreed to partner on the project. The Canadian Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) authorized the controlled release of oil under a Canadian oil spill release permit (under Section 161.5 of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act) in October 2022. This action enables the various research projects to begin planning for participating in the field trial.

In order to facilitate a multi-national project, and associated funding from multiple international research teams, NRCan has hired the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) – under the leadership of Principal Investigator Dr. Michel Boufadel - to serve as the “Dispersant Field Trials Project Team Leader” for this Canadian Dispersant Field Trial, known as CADIS. All underlying research initiatives on the CADIS field trial must be directed through the Principal Investigator at NJIT. This is a condition of being able to participate in the offshore field experiment.

The BSEE research project, intended to test several types of sensors to detect the Droplet Size Distribution (DSD) that results from the use of dispersants on surface oil slicks, will be contracted through NJIT, with support from internal OSPD Response Research Branch scientists.