Intent_to_Award_Notice__DOIGFBO250032_1.pdf

Intent to Award Notice – DOIGFBO250032

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Mission Area, Observing Systems Division, Hydrologic Networks

Branch requests a sole source acquisition with the following provider of atmospheric deposition station operation services for a cooperatively supported station between the USGS and the site owner, State Agricultural Experiment

Station (University of Florida) and operator, Josh Whiddon, in support of the interagency National Atmospheric

Deposition Program, National Trends Network (NADP-NTN

The total anticipated period of performance will be 04/08/2025 - 04/07/2026 (+ four option years).

The USGS is aware of no other source that can provide the above. Therefore, it intends to make an award to Josh

Whiddon unless it is contacted by any vendor who believes they have similar technical expertise and can provide the same service(s). Vendors are invited to contact the Contract Specialist, Leah Williams via email at lwilliams@usgs.gov no later than 09:00 AM ED, Tuesday, April 08, 2025, with an affirmative answer. Vendors shall reference “DOIGFBO250032” in the subject of email when responding to this notice.

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.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (FAR 13.1)

The following information is provided to demonstrate the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications:

Operation of a NADP-NTN wet atmospheric monitoring station. Operation requires weekly site visits to the site to collect, process, and ship the precipitation sample, collect, process and transmit associated data with the site including the precipitation gage record and perform routine instrument checks, maintenance and repairs as needed. NADP site operations is described in detail in the document "National Trends Network Site Operations

Manual" at NTN-2000_Operations_Manual_v_OB2.

Mr. Whiddon is an employee of the State Agricultural Experiment Station (SAES), University of Florida, and is being trained to operate this site by the former site operator. The precipitation monitoring equipment is located on the University’s property, the electric power is provided by the University, and the field and laboratory equipment are owned by and housed in University’s facilities. Mr. Whiddon, as an employee of the Experiment

Station and University has access and permission to access the site to perform these tasks. The site is not open or available to the public.

Where a USGS-supported site can be potentially operated by any number of interested individuals or organizations, we offer those site duties via a competitive process. This document describes the situation where we have sites that cannot be competed due to the cooperative partnership aspect of these sites’ location and ownership. No other source is known in the Elkader, Iowa, area that is qualified to complete the requirement.

Although these cooperative sites have typically been operated for many years often by the same organization or individual, when and if the opportunity arises to either relocate the site or have the operation of the site turned over to another organization, the USGS has and will in the future use a competitive process to select a new site operation partner.

mailto:lwilliams@usgs.gov https://nadp.slh.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NTN-2000_Operations_Manual_v_OB2.pdf