Intent_to_Award_Notice_(FBO)_DOIGFBO250024_1.pdf

Intent to Award Notice – DOIGFBO250024

The US Geological Survey (USGS) has a requirement for a provider of atmospheric deposition station operation services for a cooperatively supported station between the USGS, the site owner, Auburn

University, and operator in support of the interagency National Atmospheric Deposition Program, National Trends Network (NADP-NTN).

The total anticipated period of performance will be 02/03/2025 - 02/02/2030 (Base year plus four option years).

Location: The station (Farlington Fish Hatchery), designated site KS07 in the NADP-NTN network is located in Crawford County Kansas, latitude 37.6511, longitude -94.8036, on land owned by the Kansas

State Department of Fish and Game.

The USGS is aware of no other source that can provide the above. Therefore, it intends to make an award to Josh Jagels 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 2:00 PM ES, Monday, February 03, 2025 with an affirmative answer.

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:

Nature of Action Being Approved. 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 and operator in support of the interagency National

Atmospheric Deposition Program, National Trends Network (NADP-NTN):

Description of Supplies or Services. 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".

Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority

FAR Part 6.302-1.

Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5. Every year the National Atmospheric Deposition

Program (NADP) fulfills thousands of requests for data, maps, and other information through its World-

Wide-Web site. These requests come from scientists and policymakers and from students and other people interested in using NADP data to address important questions about the health of our atmosphere.

The NADP is now in its third decade and has a continuous record of more than 20 years of precipitation chemistry data at some sites. The length and quality of the NADP data record are due to the steadfast efforts of NADP Site Operators who have spent several hundred thousand hours collecting and measuring samples. The information the USGS gains from these sites will equip us to make more responsible mailto:lwilliams@usgs.gov decisions about how to preserve and improve our air quality and how to manage our agricultural, forest, aquatic, cultural, and energy resources. KS07 is one of the sites that NADP is required to collect data from on a weekly basis and has done so for many years.

USGS is responsible for the operation of atmospheric deposition sampling sites where the land and the site are owned by another organization, agency or individual and are in restricted scientific research areas.

It is a mutually beneficial scientific and technical partnership between these organizations, agencies, and individuals who have purview over the site locations and desire the information collected from these sites.

USGS needs information gathered from these sites as part of a national network for national-scale measurement of the status and trends in wet deposition and water quality from protected undeveloped watersheds. Moving the site would result in a break of the long-term environment monitoring record, i.e., a new site location data would not be comparable to the previous site, which has continuous monitoring data back to 1984 for atmospheric deposition at site KS07.

Primary equipment is owned by the USGS and other equipment essential to operating the site such as platforms, electrical power service, access paths, fences, sample processing field laboratory building and roads at the site is owned by the land-owning organization, agency, or individual.

Josh Jagels is an employee of Kansas State Fish and Game and is fully qualified to perform all the specified activities and fulfill these requirements. This site has been in operation since 1984 and has been operated weekly by Mr. Jagels for many years. As such, Josh Jagels is fully qualified and trained to perform all the functions of station operation, data collection, and service/repair. The additional cost to train a new operator is approximately $----- for travel and training. Mr. Jagels is familiar with all aspects of site operation can seamlessly switch to a new contract without loss of data because of this knowledge, skill, and ability in KS07 site operation. Mr. Jagels has approval to service the site weekly, which is in a fenced, locked, and public-restricted area from the landowner, Kansas State Fish and Game. Kansas State

Fish and Game will not allow third-party contractors to operate equipment located on this private and access restricted area. Mr. Jagels also has permission from his employer to contract directly with the

USGS for site-operation responsibilities. Mr. Jagels services the site early each Tuesday morning prior to beginning work at the fish hatchery.

The primary reason the USGS is not operating this site is because we do not have the personnel available to travel to and service the site on a weekly basis, nor would such an arrangement be cost-effective. Due to previous reductions in personnel at the USGS Kansas Office, they indicated in 2012 that they would not be able to continue contract renewal coordination or serve as site Supervisor for KS07, therefore these functions were transferred to the National Water Quality Assessment Program, Atmospheric

Deposition Program.

Future Plans to Permit Competition. Although these cooperative sites have typically been operated for many years often by the same highly skilled and trained 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.