JOFOC Shoreline Studies.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) Shoreline Studies

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center

(GSFC).

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a sole-source contract to the Virginia Department of Wildlife

Resources (VDWR) for both physical and ecological impact assessments to enable NASA to respond to immediate, near term and future impacts on Wallops Island, with the objectives of

(a) mitigating adverse impacts on barrier island sediment supplies and migratory bird habitats and (b) enhancing island and habitat resiliency.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

NASA GSFC plans to execute three (3) Shoreline Resiliency Studies totaling approximately

$3,000,000. The studies include (1) Physical Habitat Assessment, (2) Physical Habitat

Impact Assessment, and (3) Ecological (Migratory Bird) Impact Assessment.

The Physical Habitat Assessment monitors both pre- and post-shoreline disturbance recovery of the physical beach and nearshore system, and models impacts and best practices for future shoreline stabilization and coastal resiliency efforts from a physical perspective.

The Physical Habitat Impact Assessment quantifies hydrodynamic and sediment-transport processes along Wallops Island under background conditions and in association with planned future shoreline resiliency activities.

The Ecological (Migratory Bird) Impact Assessment collects migrant shorebird and prey data; models the distribution and abundance of shorebirds and prey in relation to the physical environment; and models impacts and best practices for future shoreline stabilization and coastal resiliency from an ecological perspective.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)

(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) is only one source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements is described below.

VDWR is responsible for conserving, protecting, replenishing, propagating, and increasing the supply of game birds, game animals, fish and other wildlife of the Commonwealth of

Virginia. VDWR serves as the agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of all Virginia natural resources rules and regulations.

VDWR is the policy-making entity with permitting authority and is requiring a series of shoreline studies to support current and future WFF permitting applications. They have authority and existing relationships to manage all Principal Investigators (PIs) teams who will lead these studies. The PI teams are uniquely qualified because they (1) own the

Chincoteague Inlet Modeling Study (CIMS) data set required for the shoreline studies and

(2) own historic and current ecological data of all Virginia barrier islands. The PI teams include Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, The Water Institute of the Gulf, and Virginia

Tech. VDWR and their PI teams have the necessary expertise, qualifications, local knowledge, and experience obtained through years of research conducted in the Virginia barrier island system to complete the work.

This work is critically important to NASA fulfilling its regulatorily derived resource conservation and mitigation responsibilities associated with immediate, near-term and future impacts of shoreline stabilization on Wallops Island. There is no other entity that can manage and perform this work.

Additionally, this work will satisfy existing and future shoreline permit applications, required for shoreline projects critical to Wallops Island infrastructure. NASA has identified a clear need to regularly engage in shoreline management to protect its ocean-facing infrastructure.

The regulatory agencies recognize that these projects may become more frequent and aggressive in the face of the compounding effects of climate change, storm surge, and sea level rise. These shoreline resiliency projects will likely impact the ecology and geology of

Wallops Island and the surrounding barrier island system as sea levels rise and storms become more frequent and intense. Effective studies must be designed to determine mitigation measures to offset the temporary and permanent loss of wildlife habitat, disturbances to or reduction in the local sediment budget, and other predicted as well as unforeseen impacts.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on

August 3, 2023, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to VDWR. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. The

Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the

Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable. The CO and the COR will evaluate the proposal to ensure that that the labor rates, direct labor hours, skill mix, other direct costs and indirect costs are fair and reasonable.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted:

NASA did not conduct market research. VDWR is the policy-making entity with permitting authority and is requiring a series of shoreline studies to support current and future WFF permitting applications. They have authority and existing relationships to manage all

Principal Investigators (PIs) teams who will lead these studies. The PI teams are uniquely qualified because they (1) own the Chincoteague Inlet Modeling Study (CIMS) data set required for the shoreline studies and (2) own historic and current ecological data of all

Virginia barrier islands. The PI teams include Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, The

Water Institute of the Gulf, and Virginia Tech. VDWR and their PI teams have the necessary expertise, qualifications, local knowledge, and experience obtained through years of research conducted in the Virginia barrier island system to complete the work. There is no other entity that can manage and perform this work.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

This mapping, monitoring, and modeling effort recognizes the continued threat to Wallops

Island and associated NASA, Department of Defense (DoD), and Virginia Commercial

Space Flight Authority assets and missions from coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and storm surge. These efforts will inform and assist NASA in the development of future Joint Permit

Applications and in addressing NEPA, Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations, and state wildlife regulations. The work will quantify ecological prey base and hydrodynamic and sediment-transport processes along Wallops Island under background conditions and in association with planned future shoreline resiliency activities, including onshore and nearshore sand harvesting and beach replenishment.

NASA has invested over $100M in shoreline protection efforts since 2012, with a planned additional $40M in the next 18 months. Shoreline protection projects of similar scale and invested cost are planned cyclically approximately every 5 years.

Shoreline protection is required to sustain NASA and tenant missions at Wallops Island including $1.2B in real property assets located on Wallops Island.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). One company expressed an interest in this requirement - Aptim Environmental & Infrastructure, LLC (APTIM). APTIM is not qualified for this work because they neither have access to historical data specific to

Wallops Island dating back to the early 2000s nor the models that have been developed using that data. Through partnership, VIMS, Virginia Tech, and USGS have developed and implemented a linked model system that predicts future habitat changes for one of Virginia’s federally threatened shorebirds, the piping plover. By joining dynamic models of sea-level rise, shoreline change, island geomorphology, and piping plover nest habitat suitability, the linked system models habitat loss across Virginia’s barrier islands resulting from sea-level rise and beach management efforts.

Ecological studies are one of the core deliverables of this effort. Wallops Island has unique geomorphological traits based on its location, history, and use. Ecological factors have evolved with this uniqueness. Unfortunately, the biological resources management skillset provided in APTIM’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ) does not show experience specific to ecological studies in the Virginia barrier island system, specifically Virginia migrant shorebird and prey data, or illustrate partnerships or precedence with Virginia regulators.

APTIM has not demonstrated that they have established historical data sets and/or developed models of Virginia barrier island migrant shorebird and prey abundance, such as the

Shorebird Ecological Impact Assessment, that could be leveraged for the NASA WFF ecological studies.

Additionally, APTIM has not identified that they have established historical data sets and/or have developed models of surrounding hydrodynamics, such as the CIMS, that could be leveraged for the NASA WFF physical studies. NASA requires the data from these studies to be aggregated into the established historical data set and input into the existing models.

APTIM lacks the specialized knowledge to establish baseline data sets and develop advanced models for Wallops Island, within the timeframe needed to accomplish the studies. VDWR, uniquely has this knowledge, access to the CIMS model and the Shorebird Ecological Impact

Assessment, relationships with the advisory partners, and can, therefore, begin the work desired by NASA immediately.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

The Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.