JOFOC_YSI_5-26-2026_2.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, Office of Acquisition and Grants Reston, VA 20192

JUSTIFICATION & APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION

REVOLUTIONARY FAR OVERHAUL 6.103-1

1. Contracting Agency and Activity

The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey (USGS), Water Mission Area, Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF).

2. Nature of Action Being Approved

Award of a non-competitive Indefinite delivery/Indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to YSI, Inc. for hydrologic instruments and equipment, and repair and maintenance services. The period of performance will be five years from the date of award. Delivery/task orders will be issued on a fixed-price basis.

3. Description of Supplies or Services

USGS HIF requires parts and accessories, and repair and maintenance services, to support and maintain long-standing YSI systems. The parts and accessories must be fully compatible with YSI, Inc.’s environmental data collection systems.

4. Estimated Dollar Value

$34,600,000

5. Statutory Authority

The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) 6.103-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5.

Only YSI’s equipment and parts will meet the agency’s need, and YSI, Inc. is the only company that makes YSI, Inc. parts and supplies for their systems. No other company’s equipment or parts can be modified to meet these requirements. USGS HIF supports numerous bureaus, federal agencies, tribal nations, and state and local agencies. This represents federal investments of many tens of millions of dollars over many years. The YSI, Inc.

parts and accessories, and repair and maintenance services are required to maintain these systems.

7. Other Information

The HIF currently supports and is fundamental to USGS MEF #3-5: Provide water resource information to support nationwide flood control operations; and MEF #3-4: Monitor the quality and quantity of water in the nation's rivers and aquifers and assess the sources and fate of contaminants in aquatic sources. If this IDIQ PR is not awarded, the HIF will incur significant delays in providing hydrologic instrumentation/equipment to Water Science Centers nationwide. Therefore, USGS’s ability to maintain these essential functions will be severely compromised; Water Science Center offices will be inhibited in their ability to collect timely mission-critical data used in the prevention of loss of life and property.

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted

An important component of the HIF’s overall mission is to actively seek out new vendors and products that meet USGS hydrologic data collection needs as well as identifying new and emerging technologies that may improve or expand agency efforts. Consequently, market research is conducted by HIF staff continually. HIF employees maintain numerous contacts with vendor representatives (both sales and technical staff) and are often some of the first to learn of new products and planned innovations from those vendors. HIF staff also provides information to vendors that helps them ensure that new products will meet USGS accuracy and performance specifications. HIF staff attend industry trade shows and USGS national meetings where they can observe vendor demonstrations and discuss product capabilities. The HIF welcomes vendors to visit our facility and provide presentations about, and demonstrations of, their products. Vendor visits to HIF are a frequent and regular occurrence. HIF staff also maintains a network of contacts with WSC technicians, professionals, and managers. These personnel will often try a new device or manufacturer, and if they believe the equipment holds promise for USGS-wide usage, will contact HIF with a request to perform a rigorous equipment evaluation.

The HIF conducts an annual process to seek input on new equipment evaluations. The process targets the Water Mission Area Discipline Offices (Surface Water, Ground Water, and Water Quality), National Program Managers, WSC staff, and it also offers vendors a mechanism to nominate their products for evaluation by HIF.

Details of this process are on the public HIF website at:

http://water.usgs.gov/hif/programs/instrumenteval/index.html.

In addition to the market research information gained from the activities described above, market research has been conducted via extensive internet searches to identify other sources that offer a combination of hydrologic instrument types as required herein. While some sources exist that offer individual instrument components meeting USGS needs, there does not appear to be another source that can collectively provide (1) multiparameter water quality sondes and sensors with SDI-12 interfaces, internal memory, with and without battery power compartments, and interchangeable sensors, (2) non-contact water level radar systems with SDI- 12 interfaces, (3) non-submersible bubbler systems with SDI-12 interfaces and integrated pressure sensors with ability to meet stringent USGS stage accuracy requirements, (4) rain gages with SDI-12 interfaces, (5) acoustic Doppler water velocity systems including side-mounted acoustic Doppler profilers, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP’s), and wading discharge velocimeters with handheld controllers, (6) ADCP floatation systems, (7) a wide range of sensor cabling options, and (8) the ability to perform repairs, maintenance, and calibration of the instruments.

In conclusion, no vendors that meet this requirement have been found.

9. Future Plans to Permit Competition

HIF will continue to competitively procure all equipment and instruments that are amenable to this form of acquisition. To promote competition, HIF continually tests new devices as they become available on the market. HIF routinely attends vendor conferences, trade shows, meetings, and conferences where vendors are present. HIF also attends local Business and Procurement Expositions in order to make vendors aware of USGS needs and business opportunities. HIF encourages vendors to develop and submit products that meet USGS requirements. In addition, HIF promotes visits from vendors to demonstrate and provide information about their products.

10. Recommendation and Certification from Program Office

Based on the above, I recommend this acquisition be conducted on a sole source basis and certify the above statements are accurate.

Darrell Lambeth, Assistant Hydrologic Instrumentation Research and Operations Chief

11. Certifications from the Contracting Officer

a. Price reasonableness will be established in comparison to previous contracts for the same equipment and services, and to public price list(s).

b. All the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act, (41 U.S.C. 253), as implemented in the Federal and Interior Acquisition Regulations, have been considered in preparing this justification. This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

12. Approvals

Daniel Galvin, Contracting Officer

Stacey Diamond, Chief, Reston Science Acquisition Branch

Scott Morton, Head of the Contracting Activity