Justification and Approval.pdf

This is a Justification and Approval (J&A) document for a non-competitive federal contract action for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The contracting activity is the VA Network Contracting Office 23 (NCO 23), and the requesting activity is the Veterans Integrated Service Network 23 (VISN 23), Sioux Falls VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS) located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The acquisition plan action ID is 36C263-26-AP-2901, and the purchase request number is 438-26-3-1115-0749. The action authorizes a new, single-award, Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract for emergency sewer system rehabilitation. The contractor, Roto-Rooter of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will perform high-pressure jetting, carbide-bit descaling, and relining of the complete sanitary sewer system serving Building 1, including approximately 1,800-2,000 linear feet of main sewer line and 1,400-1,600 linear feet of branches and risers. The contractor will also provide temporary portable restrooms and wash stations during performance. The estimated total cost is $1,329,840.00, with an anticipated performance period of 75 calendar days or less.

The contracting officer invoked the Unusual and Compelling Urgency authority under 41 USC §3304(a)(2) as implemented by RFO 6.103-2 to justify other than full and open competition. Building 1's sanitary sewer system has deteriorated to an imminent state of failure due to age-related degradation, presenting serious risks to healthcare delivery, patient and employee safety, and facility operations. The emergency nature of the requirement and the selected contractor's unique qualifications—including immediate availability, specialized equipment, recent internal video inspection of the affected system, and prior performance on similar water, waste, and storm line repairs at the facility—supported the single-source award decision. Market research, though limited due to the emergency circumstances, confirmed that no other vendors possessed the specialized technical capabilities and immediate response capacity necessary to meet the compressed timeline and prevent catastrophic system failure. The contracting officer determined the anticipated cost to be fair and reasonable through comparative technical and price evaluation against the contractor's proposal in comparison to an IGCE provided by the Contracting Officer's Representative.