Justification and Approval MIDWEST BECOS - 23Feb26 - REDACTED 1_Redacted.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

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I. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Air Force Installation Contracting Center (AFICC) 772d Enterprise Sourcing Squadron (772 ESS) is administering the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Environmental Construction Optimization Services (BECOS) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract on behalf of the Air Force Civil Engineering Center (AFCEC) requirement for specialized restoration and monitoring services in the Midwest section of the Continental United States. AFICC 772 ESS is the contracting activity responsible for the proposed contracting action described in this Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition. Please note: To reflect the recent FAR overhaul and the corresponding change in J&A authority, all references to the FAR 6.302-1 in the J&A template shall now correspond to the new FAR reference , FAR 6.103-1.

II. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This Justification and Approval (J&A) authorizes an increase to the maximum ceiling of the existing Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Environmental Construction Optimization Services (BECOS) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract FA8903-20-D-0004. The BECOS Midwest contract was awarded competitively as a 100% Small Business Set Aside using Best Value procedures. This is a FFP contract with cost elements. The Tradeoff methodology was used with past performance being weighed higher than price factors.

The contract was awarded 24 September 2020 with a total ceiling of $60M, and the total period of performance is through 23 September 2030. This increase is essential to support ongoing environmental remediation at ten (10) BRAC installations in the Midwest Region of the continental United States (CONUS): Chanute, General Mitchell, Gentile, Grissom, K.I. Sawyer, Newark, O'Hare, Richards-Gebaur, Rickenbacker, and Wurtsmith.

The BECOS contract provides comprehensive environmental construction and optimization services designed to achieve or accelerate Response Complete (RC) and Site Closeout (SC) in a cost-effective manner. These services are executed in accordance with applicable technical and regulatory requirements to ensure the protection of human health and the environment and facilitate remedy optimization. The need for this ceiling increase stems from unforeseen projects and unscheduled work conditions encountered during ongoing site restoration efforts, requiring additional services beyond the initially anticipated scope, further described in Section III.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

An increase of $15,769,013 is required for the BECOS IDIQ contract, raising the total ceiling from $60 million to $75,769,013. This increase is essential because significant, unforeseen cost drivers that could not have been known at the time of award have rendered the original contract ceiling insufficient to execute vital remediation activities .

Since the contract was awarded, several factors have exponentially increased costs. These include a drastic change in state PFAS guidance, which lowered the Maximum Contamination Level (MCL) from 70 ppt to 4 ppt, creating significant data gaps. In addition, the EPA mandated a change from Analytical Method 537 to the more complex and significantly more expensive EPA Method 1633, and sustained post-COVID-19 inflation has increased the cost of all procurement. These drivers have dramatically expanded the known PFAS footprint at all ten BRAC installations, requiring costly and unbudgeted Interim Remedial Actions such as the installation of in-home filtration systems and the construction of

August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 3 of 6August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 3 of 6 new water treatment facilities, exemplified by the significant and unforeseen work required at the former Wurtsmith AFB.

With only under the current ceiling, the requested $15.7M increase is critical to fund two specific categories of work:

1. New, Unfunded Requirements:

2. Increased Costs for Legacy Work: To ensure the uninterrupted completion of all ongoing non-severable legacy task orders.

In summary, the requested $15,769,013 ceiling increase is essential to continue mission-critical CERCLA remediation activities that have been significantly impacted by unforeseen regulatory and economic cost drivers. As detailed in this justification, full and open competition is not a viable option. Any new contractor would be legally obligated to perform a mandatory 12-18 month data re-validation, resulting in an unacceptable delay that would inevitably lead to statutory default on our Federal Facility Agreements, the complete exhaustion of the remaining budget on non-productive efforts and financial penalties, and an immediate risk to public health. Therefore, authorizing this increase for the incumbent contractor is not a matter of convenience, but is the only course of action that ensures regulatory compliance, maintains mission continuity, and protects human health and the environment during the critical interim period .

IV. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited above.

Pursuant to FAR 6.103-1, LATA-CTI Environmental Services, LLC (LCES), as the incumbent contractor, is the only source capable of providing the required services without causing unacceptable delays for both ongoing legacy work and emergent new requirements

This justification is not based on a preference for the incumbent but on the quantifiable fact that any other source would lead directly to statutory default and mission disruption.

The unacceptable delay is based on the following factors:

1. The Universal Delay from Mandatory Re-validation: The unacceptable delay stems from a single, foundational requirement: any new contractor, before performing either legacy or new work, would be legally and professionally obligated to conduct a complete re-validation of all prior data to assume liability for the Administrative Record. This is not a "learning curve" but a discrete, non-productive project phase conservatively estimated to take a minimum of 12-18 months. This delay is universal, as even a "new" task (e.g., a new PFAS investigation) cannot be performed without the context of the entire site history.

2. Guaranteed Fiscal and Programmatic Failure (For Both Legacy and New Work): This universal 12-18 month delay directly leads to guaranteed fiscal and programmatic failure, irrespective of the work type. It would make it impossible to meet binding milestones in our Federal Facility Agreements (FFAs), placing the Air Force in statutory default and automatically triggering "Stipulated Penalties" of thousands of dollars per day. This creates a dual financial drain: the Government would be forced to pay a contractor for this duplicative effort while simultaneously

August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 4 of 6August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 4 of 6 paying escalating fines to regulators. This would rapidly exhaust the remaining and guarantee a complete work stoppage across all sites.

3. Immediate Risk to Public Health (From Legacy Work Handover): In addition to the universal delays, the handover of ongoing legacy tasks presents an additional and immediate risk to public health. Transitioning the operation of nearly a dozen active groundwater treatment systems creates a significant risk of operational error, which could lead to a contaminant release and place the Air Force in immediate violation of the NCP's primary mandate to protect human health and the environment.

V. Description of 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

FAR 5.202 applies.

A Sources Sought was posted on 6 October 2025, and 15 capability statements were received. The technical evaluator concluded that while 13 other firms possess general capabilities in the environmental sector, none could assume the complex, in-progress tasks without causing unacceptable delays that would place the Air Force at risk of failing to meet its statutory obligations under CERCLA and the National Contingency Plan (NCP). A new contractor would be required to perform a wholesale re-validation of existing RI/FS data to ensure the integrity of the Administrative Record and assume liability, a process that would delay critical ROD milestones. This handover would also jeopardize compliance with enforceable schedules for Five-Year Reviews and risk operational failure of active groundwater treatment systems, directly contravening the NCP's mandate to protect human health and the environment. Therefore, while other sources exist in the market, only the incumbent is a "responsible source" capable of performing this work without causing unacceptable delay.

VI. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

This J&A request is for an increase in the program ceiling. No actual obligations will be made until a task order is awarded. Anticipated costs for task orders executed under this program will be determined fair and reasonable, based on pre-negotiated labor rates and comparative market research for ODCs and consumables.

VII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted within the last 18 months, as of 8 January 2026, to determine the interest and capability of businesses in the market through a Sources Sought (see Section V). 15 companies showed interest in the requirement. Results are further elaborated on in Section IX.

VIII. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

The unique facts supporting this request include the incumbent's relationships, which are direct enablers of legally mandated activities. The established working relationship with local residents is essential for executing the community involvement requirements of CERCLA Section 117, specifically for gaining physical access to private property for ongoing sampling and remediation. A new contractor

August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 5 of 6August 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 5 of 6 would have to restart this trust-building process, risking access denial. Likewise, the established rapport with EPA and state regulators is crucial for the timely negotiation and approval of legally required documents. Re-competing would risk a setback in these relationships that have taken years to establish, a process that would predictably prolong negotiation cycles and itself contribute to the unacceptable delay that this justification is required to prevent.

IX. List of any sources that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

A Sources Sought was posted on 6 October 2025, and 15 capability statements were received. The technical evaluator concluded that while 13 other firms possess general capabilities in the environmental sector, none could assume the complex, in-progress tasks without causing unacceptable delays that would place the Air Force at risk of failing to meet its statutory obligations under CERCLA and the National Contingency Plan (NCP). A new contractor would be required to perform a wholesale re-validation of existing RI/FS data to ensure the integrity of the Administrative Record and assume liability, a process that would delay critical ROD milestones. This handover would also jeopardize compliance with enforceable schedules for Five-Year Reviews and risk operational failure of active groundwater treatment systems, directly contravening the NCP's mandate to protect human health and the environment. Therefore, while other sources exist in the market, only the incumbent is a "responsible source" capable of performing this work without causing unacceptable delays.

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X. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required.

formal acquisition strategy has not been made public, performance must continue for the active non-severable tasks associated with this

IDIQ for their periods of performance.

XI. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.