D01_Final_Award_-_JOFOC_1.pdf

ATTACHMENT 2

JUSTIFICATION & APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

for SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS OVER THE MICROPURCHASE THRESHOLD (See FAR

Part 2) UP TO SAT (See FAR 13.106-1)

Date: __December 16, 2022_____________

PR Number: 40603526

1. Nature and/or description of the item/service being procured and its intended use (include the anticipated cost):

This contract is for laboratory analysis of water samples for several chemical constituents, including but not limited to alkalinity, chloride, sulphate, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved silica, calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and total suspended solids. Sample bottles, with and without chemical preservative, and filters for total suspended solids are to be prepared (cleaned) and delivered by contractor to the various parks where we conduct water quality monitoring. The results from laboratory analysis of these samples (in other words, the deliverables of this contract) are used in assessing current status, long-term trends, and potential impaired waters status depending on the chemical constituent and what State they are collected in. The anticipated cost of the work starts at $12,682 in year one and ends at $16,544 per year by the fifth and final year for an estimated total of $71,148 if the contract is exercised for the full five-year period.

2. Sole Source Justification rationale (Check one and explain below):

______ Only one responsible source.

______ Urgent and compelling circumstances exist. Include critical delivery or performance dates, and when you became aware of the requirement. Provide a specific statement of the impact on Government operations, financial or otherwise, if the required delivery or performance dates are not met.

___X__ Other 41 U.S. C. 253(c) and FAR 6.302-3, (b) (2) (i) Establish or maintain an essential capability for theoretical analyses, exploratory studies, or experiments in any field of science or technology.

Explain:

The NPS Great Lakes Inventory & Monitoring Network (GLKN) has been monitoring the water quality of approximately 30 lakes and two large river systems across nine U.S. national parks in the Upper Midwest during ice-free months annually since the mid-2000’s. Included in this monitoring are the chemical parameters listed in 1. Above. We conduct this monitoring to assess both the current condition and long-term trends to preserve and protect these surface waters for current and future generations of park visitors. In order to ensure that we have continued consistency in our datasets to allow us to assess long-term trends in water quality in these lakes and river systems are actually occurring and not simply an artifact of switching from on laboratory to another, we need to continue to work with a single

Last updated 12/21/2022 laboratory, CT Laboratories, LLC in Baraboo, WI. The authority for sole source is 41 U.S. C. 253(c) and FAR 6.302-3, (b) (2) (i) Establish or maintain an essential capability for theoretical analyses, exploratory studies, or experiments in any field of science or technology. CT Laboratories (CT) has provided these services to GLKN in a satisfactory manner since 2010. CT has extensive experience in providing analytical services in support of Federal projects, including the Department of Defense, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers, and NPS. The key qualification needed from the contractor for this work is the ability to provide consistent analyses for the same set of chemical parameters over time using consistent methodology, equipment, and staff. This is work that requires a great deal of technical training, and even among laboratories certified for these specific analyses there is variation in data produced.

Introducing a new laboratory, even if the laboratory is certified for the same set of chemical parameters, could shift the results for these chemicals higher or lower for given lakes and river sites and could increase the overall variability in the dataset. Any of these false trends would confound our assessment and would increase the probability that we would reach an erroneous conclusion about a long-term trend. In the case of a consistent shift up or down in the reported values, we may provide incorrect evidence to State water quality experts tasked with assessment potential impairment status for surface waters. Also, with increased variability, we may conclude, in error, that there was no significant change in these chemical parameters over time, when in fact there was a change in these values that was not detected due to the decrease in statistical power that accompanies an increase in data variability.

3. Market Research. Please explain the results or why one was not performed. State whether any other offers were received or anyone expressed interest:

For market research, I reached out to two analytical labs in the upper Midwest that GLKN and VOYA (a park within GLKN) have or are actively buying their services. One, the University of Minnesota-Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute, does not analyze some of the water quality parameters (calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and dissolved silica) we need and therefore is not suitable. The other, White Water Associates in Amasa, MI, does analyze all the parameters we are asking for but their publicly-available pricing is substantially higher than CT Laboratories, resulting in a 5-yr cost estimate of $93,500 vs. an estimated $55,500 for CT Laboratories.

For the CT Laboratories estimate I took into account the cost of the same laboratory work from a contract we had with them from 2014-2019, and from credit card transactions from 2020-2022 when annual purchases from the lab through the Learned Professional Services option did not exceed the micro-purchase threshold of $10,000. For costs in 2023 I used updated publicly available pricing information from then, and then for the next four years assumed an annual 3% inflation factor. Last, CT Laboratories is a women-owned small business concern that is at least 51 percent directly and unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more women who are citizens (born or naturalized) of the United States.

So, while the justification for sole source is primarily based on potential problems with data continuity, variability, and integrity that could occur by switching analytical labs, and the cost of having to send samples to two labs to verify accuracy of results, market research indicates that unlike the other two labs, CT Laboratories analyzes all the parameters we are interested in at a low cost and is also a women-owned small business.

ATTACHMENT 2

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

for SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS OVER $3,000 ($2,000/$2500 for Construction/Services AND UP

TO $150,000

(See FAR 13.106-1)

PR Number ________________________

4. If this is a determination for sole source, the contracting officer certifies:

a. Only one source is available, or urgent and compelling circumstances exist.

b. The anticipated price will be determined fair and reasonable using the price analysis techniques described in FAR Part 13.106-3(a).

(Signature) _______________________________________ (Date)___December 21, 2022____

Type or Print Name: _David VanderMeulen_________________________________________ Aquatic Ecologist

(Signature) _______________________________________ (Date) ___________________________

Type or Print Name: __________________________________________ Contracting Officer

Over $50,000:(if applicable)

(Signature) _______________________________________ (Date) ______________________

Warranted Individual 1 Level Above Contracting Officer

Craig Bryant

10 Jan 2023

Katherine Bernard 1/10/2023

40603526