JOFOC_Simplified-_PR_0040626089_signed_Redacted_1.pdf

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: 8/2/2023 PR Number: 40626089

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

The purpose of this work would be to provide an accurate species list and relative abundance of macroinvertebrate at each waterbody sampled. The end result will be a dataset of macroinvertebrate species used in furthering the Klamath Network Integrated Water Quality and Aquatic Communities Protocols. The resulting data will be used to determine the status of ecological conditions in these parks.

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

__X__ 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.

______ Other _____________________________________________________

Explain: Rhithron Associates is the sole source for this requirement. The analyses need to be conducted following the guidelines of the Klamath Network Monitoring Protocol for Wadeable Streams and Lakes.

This contractor is uniquely qualified because:

1) Their equipment, methods, detection limits, and quality control procedures all meet the guidelines of the monitoring protocol. While other analytical labs may meet the guidelines of a subset of the measurements, to our knowledge this is the only that conforms with the standards and practices utilized in the past 9 years of sampling.

2) Their geographic location makes shipping with minimal sample degradation possible (bug samples must be shipped in water, subject to decay).

3) They have run invertebrate analyses for the following additional National Park units for the compilation of long-term datasets:

a) Crater Lake National Park

b) North Cascades National Park

c) Redwood National Park

d) Lassen Volcanic National Park

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)

e) Whiskeytown National Recreation Area

f) Oregon Caves National Monument

The use of this lab allows the comparability of our data to the data collected and maintained by these other park units. This allows regional assessment of water quality trends. The use of other labs, instruments, methods, and differing quality controls all introduce bias that would prevent the maximum utility of the data.

4) They have performed analyses for other regional land management agencies (e.g., United States Forest Service and the US Environmental Protection Agency). As above, this will facilitate the sharing and comparability of data for regional assessments.

5) This laboratory was used for the mountain lakes pilot project (in 2008) and the wadeable streams pilot project (in 2009). The continued use of this lab is necessary for using the data in trend analysis. A major component and goal of the Klamath Network monitoring program is trend analyses.

3. Market Research. Please explain the results or why one was not performed. State whether any other offers were received or anyone expressed interest: Market research has been completed annually for the past nine years and includes price tracking of the cost of sample processing of macroinvertebrate.

Rhithron Associates has been consistently the lowest priced laboratory offering these services. As an

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) ___________________

Type or Pri

(Signature) ____________________

Type or Print Name: __________________________________________ Contracting Officer