Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity_Redacted.pdf

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JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

FOR AN ORDER EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

(AUTHORITY: FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i))

1305M221DNMAN0008/1305M221FNMAN0417

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Eastern Acquisition Division (EAD), and Office of Marine and Aviation Operation (OMAO).

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

This justification for an exception to fair opportunity is for a new requirement to establish a firm fixed price task order under the multiple award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) for COVID-19 testing support services specifically in accordance with IDIQ contract number 1305M221DNMAN0008. The Government intends to solicit from the following awardee:

BioIQ, Inc. (BioIQ) 2300 Windy Ridge Pkwy Suite 850 South Atlanta, GA 30339

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

Marine Operations Center – Atlantic (MOC-A), Marine Operations Center – Pacific (MOC-P), and Marine Operations Center – Pacific Islands (MOC-PI) require contract support in providing COVID-19 testing services and lab analysis of the specimens collected at various locations across the United States. The period of performance for this requirement is 8/13/2021 – 9/30/2021 and the total estimated value for this task order is

4. Authority and supporting rationale. The contracting officer has determined the circumstances of the acquisition meet the following statutory exception under FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i) as supported below:

Urgent - FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) – The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

BioIQ is the only awardee considered for this requirement as they are the only source capable of providing the COVID-19 testing support services, subsequent lab analysis of the collected specimens, and to provide test results needed for the previously mentioned MOCs. Of the three vendors included under this multiple award IDIQ contract, RecoveryTrek is unable to provide the needed test kits as their test kits did not meet the minimum sensitivity and specificity stated in the Statement of Work (SOW) of the base IDIQ contract, which requires a 95% sensitivity and 98% specificity. Meeting the required sensitivity and specificity percentages is key as all NOAA personnel on board NOAA vessels are required to take to two consecutive PCR anterior nasal swab tests and receive two negative test results prior to them being able to board the vessel. If test kits utilized are not in accordance with the required sensitivity and specificity requirements, then NOAA personnel responsible for collecting and analyzing the test results could not accurately screen the ship’s personnel with any confidence as this could cause a positive case to go undetected and therefore causing a COVID-19 outbreak onboard the ship while it’s on mission. Should this happen, then the ship would have to return to port, cancel all missions until its crew members were cleared, find temporary lodging for the entirety of the crew, and conduct additional COVID-19 testing at a later date to determine when the crew is able to board the ship again. Because of this, utilizing these test kits would create considerable additional costs as well as cause significant delays in OMAO carrying out their congressionally mandated missions.

Furthermore, Catalyst PR has notified NOAA that they are unable to provide the needed clinicians onsite to conduct these tests for the NOAA ship’s crew members and time is not sufficient to wait until they are prepared to provide the staff needed to complete this requirement.

Therefore, as previously stated and in order to ensure that all missions can be met without any delays, a new task order is to be issued to BioIQ. This vendor was selected to perform this requirement as BioIQ has successfully performed multiple task orders previously for OMAO and the Government has high confidence based upon their satisfactory past performance for them to perform successfully for this requirement.

Due to the urgency of this requirement, a Notice to Proceed (NTP) was issued on 8/13/2021 to BioIQ for them to begin performance of this task order by shipping test kits to the locations that needed them immediately to ensure that MOC could meet their sailing schedule without any delays, scheduling courier services to pick up the test samples from the testing locations, and preparing shipments for future testing events for MOC that require contractor support. Had the Government competed this requirement, it would have further impact MOC’s missions as no ships would be able to sail until the task order was awarded, the test kits were received at the testing locations, and the lab could process the test results for Government review. This would then cause for numerous missions to have to be cancelled in the meantime in which would result in serious injury to the Government.

5. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The contracting officer determined prior to issuing the NTP that the anticipated prices were fair and reasonable as the unit prices for the test kits were determined fair and reasonable at time of the award of the base IDIQ contract in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106- 1, competitive quotations or offers. Additionally, due to the forever changing nature of the ship’s missions and Shelter in Place (SIP) policy, the test results are required to be delivered in a timeframe faster than what is stated in the base IDIQ contract. Therefore, in order to meet these deadlines, courier services and expedited lab processing of the specimens is required. These expedited services are reimbursed to the contractor based upon the commercial market place rates, to include a small handling fee, and are determined fair and reasonable on that basis.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

All supporting facts have been documented herein.

7. Actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

Future procurements for COVID-19 testing support services are anticipated to be placed on a competitive basis with all three vendors under this multiple award IDIQ. Due to the urgency of this requirement and the inability of the other vendors to perform the requirement as previously stated, is the reason for the exclusion to fair opportunity for this requirement. A future requirement for the MOC testing events for October and November is forthcoming and sufficient time is anticipated to solicit quotes and issue a task order. Furthermore, this additional time to compete this upcoming requirement will allow for all three vendors to prepare to ensure they meet all of the technical requirements of the solicitation.

8. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification.

I certify this requirement constitutes the Government’s minimum needs and the supporting data provided herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Patrick Kenney Date Contracting Officer’s Representative

9. Office of General Counsel Concur.

Jonathan Baker Date Office of General Counsel

10. Approving Official Determination of Circumstance Applicability.

In accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(10), the undersigned approving official for this justification hereby determines the circumstance cited above at #4, Authority and supporting rationale, applies to this order.

Contracting Officer’s Certification and Approval

I certify this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Approve

Ashley J. Perry Date

Contracting Officer

Concur