Justification and Approval.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

UNDER FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 6.3

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Lease of One Cutterhead Hydraulic Pipeline Dredge with attendant plant for dredging of Mississippi Rivers and existing Harbors in the Memphis District.

1. Contracting Activity: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District

Contracting Office, 167 N. Main Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38103.

2. Description of Action: Request the approval for a modification to expand the capacity of a fixed firm price construction contract W912EQ-21-D-0002, with

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC (GLOD) for the lease of a fully operated Cutterhead Hydraulic Pipeline Dredge with attendant plant, for a period of 188 hours beyond the first option. This lease is for both the vessel and crew, and is an appropriate Unit Price Contract- Time Measurement method of procuring these services per EP 1130-2-520, Section 8-6 Dredging Contracts, paragraph b.(3) "when the quantities of material to be dredged cannot be accurately estimated (e.g., areas of active or erratic shoaling, where shoaling cannot be determined or is difficult to predict prior to bid opening, or where rapidly fluctuating river stages exist), and accurate and timely surveys are difficult to accomplish."

MVM is the requiring activity for this requirement and the additional dredging will be performed in the Memphis District in response to additional dredging hours required at the location of the string-out to assist in the Mooring Facility

Replacement project to accommodate existing and new dry docks in Memphis

Harbor at Ensley Engineering Yard, Tennessee. Based upon the proposal received from the current contractor, this modification has an estimated value of

$498,200.00. The funds to be used for this requirement will be Plant

Replacement and Improvement Program Marine Design Center funding. There will be no matching funds or contributions from third parties. This action was synopsized on SAM.gov (www.sam.gov) on 2 September 2022.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: This modification requirement is for an additional 188 hours of rental of a Cutterhead Hydraulic Pipeline Dredge with attendant plant. The work consists of furnishing, delivering, and operating one fully operated hydraulic pipeline dredge and attendant plant for the removal and satisfactory disposal of material. The dredging location will be in Memphis Harbor at Ensley Engineering Yard, Tennessee. The last option exercised under the

Contract was issued on 01 June 2022 for dredging at nine of the MVM harbors in the amount of $7,336,400.00. On-going design and planning on the refurbishing of the mooring structure at the EEY identified a need to dredge along the existing

Control# MVM-JA-22-07 string-out to accommodate new equipment. For this dredging need at EEY the quantity for the option year one will exceed the current total of 2,000 hours by

188 hours or $498,200.00. Total contract value for Option year One will be increased from $7,336,450.00 to $7,834,650.00, net increase $498,200.

4. Authority Cited: Federal statutory authority is 10 U.S.C.2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 - Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. FAR 6.302-1 (a)(2) expressly authorizes less than full and open competition "[w]hen the supplies or services required by the agency are available only from one responsible source, or, for DoD . . . , from only one or a limited number of sources, and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements[.]" Additionally, FAR

6.302-1 (a)(2)(iii) allows DoD to deem services available from the original source

"in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in - (A) substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is no expected to be recovered through competition or (B) unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements."

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The proposed procurement meets the criteria for exclusion from full and open competition under the authority cited due to the substantial duplication of mobilization cost that would occur if the Government provides full and open competition. Historical pricing for mobilization and demobilization are a significant cost on dredging contracts. By increasing the quantity of dredge rental on the subclin without requesting an additional mobilization and demobilization has, a realized cost saving ranging from

$1,000,000 to $650,000 based on the GLOD bid submitted and awarded April

2021.

a. Background: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains the Ensley

Engineering Shipyard located in the Memphis Harbor/McKellar Lake. This facility maintains a mooring structure for USACE fleet and vessels being serviced by the shipyard. Along the mooring structure are dry docks that lift vessels out of the water for inspections and repairs. The existing mooring structure is in disrepair and undergoing a major redesign and replacement. Part of the redesign is for an additional dry dock to be added. Where this new dry dock will be located requires material to be removed from by dredging to create a depressed area for the dry dock to be lowering underwater allowing vessels to float on to the dry dock before being raised out of the water.

The Cutterhead Hydraulic Pipeline Dredge is appropriate type of dredging within harbor. This is based on the mechanics of the dredging action paired with the type of material deposited within the harbor channel. A Cutterhead Hydraulic

Pipeline Dredge is equipped with a cutting device known as a cutter head. The cutter head is a mechanical rotating tool, which is able to cut hard soil or rock into fragments. The working principle of the cutter head suction dredge is that it disintegrates or breaks the cohesion of the soil to be dredged mechanically by this rotating cutter head, with a half dozen "toothed blades", the process continues by sucking a mixture of dredged material and water from the channel bottom. The amount of water sucked up with the material is controlled to make the best mixture. Too little water and the dredge will bog down; too much and the dredge won't be efficient in its work. The mixture is then discharged using pumps and a floating pipeline to either an upland placement area or open water discharge area.

The accumulated sediment removed by dredging is a mixture of cohesive soil, such as clay and non-cohesive soil, such as sand and gravel. This mixture of soil dictates the type of dredge necessary to achieve beneficial dredging results. The design must be able to cut chucks of clay as small as possible to facilitate subsequent transport because of the risk of clogging. The cutter will have chisels or cutting edges with a large wearing volume and easily replacement parts. The hydraulic design will be optimal, so high production rates can be achieved.

Contract W912EQ-21-D-0002 was awarded to GLDD on 28 April 2021 in the original amount of $7,642,700.00 with one base requirement and two option requirements. Modification P00003 was awarded on 15 Feb 2022 in the amount of $7,973,675.00 to exercise option requirement one and changed the period of performance to through 01 May 2023. To date, the total cost of the Contract is

$15,616,375.00, with a completion date of 01 May 2023.

Market research was conducted and confirmed that the only private hydraulic pipeline dredge available in the Mississippi River Region is the Iowa, which is the same dredge currently under contract with MVM, Contract No. W912EQ-21-D-

0002. No other vessels or technologies were identified that meet current demand.

b. Justification: The mooring structure replacement project ensures Ensley

Engineering Yard will be able to continue the ongoing mission to provide maintenance to marine vessels not only for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owned vessels but to provide maintenance for other government owned vessels.

As explained in sub-paragraph a. above, a cutterhead hydraulic pipeline dredge is a highly specialized system for dredging within harbors. It uses a rotating cutter head to breakup the material for removal through suction and disposal. As explained in sub-paragraphs c. and d. below, a cutterhead hydraulic pipeline dredge is the fastest, most efficient method of meeting these needs and the cost to mobilize an alternative solution is not expected to be recovered through competition and will result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the MVM mission.

Furthermore, any such delay is considered unacceptable due to the impacts described in sub-paragraph c. below. As such, this modification to extend the existing Cutterhead Hydraulic Pipeline Dredge lease under contract W912EQ-21-

D-0002 is vital to the Government as the work must be continued without interruption in order to maintain vessel services at the shipyard.

c. Impacts: Due to the need for a new dry dock at Ensley Engineering Shipyard caused by unexpected mechanical system failures, extending the duration of the existing contract will ensure USACE is able to continue its mission requirement with vessel inspections and repairs. Where this new dry dock will be located requires material to be removed from by dredging to create a depressed area for the dry dock to be lowering underwater allowing vessels to float on to the dry dock before being raised out of the water. Also, delay in this dredging requirement delays installation of the new dry dock, thus limiting ability to make necessary repairs to vessels. Modifying the existing Contract to include additional dredge time in 2022 is the most timely, efficient and economical method to accomplish the additional dredging.

If the Government were to go without a contract for this cutter head dredge until a new contract is awarded, operational impacts of significant financial losses to the

Government and industry are expected to occur.

d. Alternatives: There is no other contract cutterhead hydraulic pipeline dredge available on the Mississippi River system to provide this dredging. Even if other commercial dredges were available, the new contractor would likely require the

Government to pay for the mobilization to the Mississippi River, in an amount that could exceed a million dollars and there is not a reasonable expectation that any such mobilization and demobilization cost would be recovered through competition. These additional mobilization costs would result in the type of

"substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition" justifying the use of acquisition under 10 U.S.C.

2304(c) and FAR 6.302-1 (a)(2)(iii). Since it is also unlikely that any other contractor could be on site in time to perform during the extension period, the delay would result in the type of "unacceptable delay[] in fulfilling the agency's needs" justifying the use of acquisition under 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) and FAR 6.302-

1 (a)(2)(iii). As such, procuring a new cutter head suction dredge through a new contractor does not meet the Government's needs and supports the decision to limit the procurement from GLOD under FAR 6.302-1 (a)(2)(iii).

6. Efforts to obtain Competition: A synopsis was posted on SAM.gov for this requirement IAW FAR 5.201 on 2 September 2022. MVM did not receive any response to the posted synopsis, nor did any contractor other than GLOD show any interest in this requirement. The underlying Contract, W912EQ-21-D-0002, was advertised as an unrestricted RFP with HubZone Evaluation preference. The

Contract was solicited and awarded on a competitive basis, in order to provide opportunities for small and disadvantaged firms to express interest in the requirement and enter the industry, and to foster the growth of existing small and disadvantaged firms. Although no known small businesses have expressed an interest in this project, the prime contractor is contractually required to subcontract at least 50% of its work to a small business.

7. Determination by contracting officer: This action will use the contract unit price which is based on a competitive price received during the solicitation phase. The price was determined fair and reasonable at the time of award.

8. Market Research: A synopsis was posted on SAM.gov for this requirement IAW FAR 5.201 on 2 September 2022. MVM did not receive any response to the posted synopsis, nor did any contractor other than GLOD show any interest in this requirement.

9. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief: WATSON.VIC Digitally signed by

WATSON.VICKIE.LEA.12

Name: Vickie L. Watson, P.E. KIE.LEA.1210 10999732

Title: Operations Project Manager Signature999732 Date: 2022.09.14 14:52:52 -05'00'

10. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on request for proposal, market research conducted, and previously awarded contract.

Name:

Ti dtEENEY.PRISCILLA.G.1105039618 ���:;�l�A.G.1105039618

11. Certification of Legal Sufficiency:

Name:

Title:

Digitally signed by

WILT.MICHAEL WILT.MICHAEL.P.1611496

.P.1611496180 Date: 2022.0 9.1411:26:47 -05'00'

Signature ________ _