J&A_LRP_17-01.pdf

CONTROL NO. LRP1 -01

PROJECT/EQUIPMENT: FFP Construction Contract for Emergency Temporary Embankment Stabilization on and/or adjacent to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Property in Blairsville, PA

AUTHORITY: (10 USC § 2304(c)(2), as implemented by FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency AMOUNT: $300,000.00 NAME (Type or Print) TELEPHONE NO

Prepared By: Ryan Moore 412-395-7549

TITLE DATE

Contract Specialist 1/19/2017 NAME (Type or Print) TELEPHONE NO

Contracting Officer Carole Householder 412-395-7274

TITLE DATE

Contracting Officer 1/19/2017 NAME (Type or Print) TELEPHONE NO

Technical Sarah Missenda 412-395-7183

TITLE DATE

Project Engineer 1/19/2017 NAME (Type or Print) TELEPHONE NO

Requirements CPT. Brian Molloy 412-395-7604

TITLE DATE

Project Manager 1/19/2017

SIGNATURES ARE REQUIRED BELOW:

I have reviewed this J&A and find the justification adequate to support other than full and open competition

SIGNATURE DATE

Deputy for Small Business NAME (Type or Print) TELEPHONE NO Sherrie Plonski 412-395-7127

SIGNATURE DATE

Project Manager NAME (Type or Print) TELEPHONE NO CPT. Brian Molloy 412-395-7273

SIGNATURE DATE

Office of Counsel NAME (Type or Print) TELEPHONE NO Shawn R. Pistner 412-395-7495

SIGNATURE DATE

Deputy District Commander NAME (Type or Print) TELEPHONE NO MAJ Cornelius A. Batts 412-395-7102

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

19 Jan 17MOLLOY.BRIAN.T.1289109389 Digitally signed by MOLLOY.BRIAN.T.1289109389 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=MOLLOY.BRIAN.T.1289109389 Date: 2017.01.19 12:05:15 -05'00'

H4DEXCAB

Typewritten Text 01/19/2017 h4ocxsrp Typewritten Text 19 Jan 17

Control No: LRP17-01

Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and

Open Competition Justification

1. Contracting Activity: Pittsburgh District Contracting Branch

2. Description of Action: Award of a new firm fixed price construction contract using Operation and Maintenance (O&M) funding for an emergency temporary embankment stabilization on and/or adjacent to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) property to reduce the rate of progression and prevent further impacts to local utilities and nearby residences.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The contract is for emergency construction services to temporarily stabilize a landslide on the upstream portion of the embankment on and/or adjacent to USACE property in Blairsville, PA. The estimated total value of this requirement is $300,000.

The emergency stabilization will include removal and disposal of fill that has been placed on the existing haul road. The haul road will then be graded and surfaced to allow the contractor access to the toe of the embankment. Steel plates will be installed over the subgrade to arch the failed stone arch culvert to maintain flow of Sulphur Run. Rock fill will be placed at the toe of the embankment to function as a temporary stabilization berm. Rock fill will be placed and spread to cover the specified area to the required depths. The existing protective tarps overhanging the failure surface will be removed and replaced with a well secured geotextile covering.

4. Authority Cited: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(2). Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: In March of 2016, a sinkhole formed on USACE property. Sinkhole formation included failure of an underlying stone arch culvert which conveys Sulphur Run through the embankment. Subsequently, in May 2016, the sinkhole progressed, leading to failure of the overlying embankment. This slope failure impacted several areas to include a failure of North Spring Street, a locally maintained and operated road by the Borough of Blairsville (hereinafter “Borough”). The municipal sewage transfer station for the Borough sits on USACE property and the pipes that service the plant were impacted by the slide. The magnitude of the failure of the stone arch servicing Sulphur Run also increased in conjunction with the slide. Formation of a sinkhole at this location was unexpected as the subsurface conditions do not indicate the propensity for failure. After the embankment failure, preliminary investigations were undertaken to identify the triggering mechanism to ensure that the rehabilitation efforts address the trigger(s) to prevent future failures.

As the initial response to the failure, the Borough instituted limited remedial measures to repair a break in the sewer line and to stop additional damage to their infrastructure. At that time, the Borough also requested USACE involvement regarding the sinkhole.. Since this failure was unexpected, the required funds were not available in the O&M budget for Conemaugh Dam. A request was made to USACE Lakes and River Division (LRD) for release of funds from the 1% Emergency Fund. The USACE Pittsburgh District received $1.9M in funding from the Emergency fund on 21 November 16 which allowed for preparation of the plans and specifications for the emergency stabilization by the Pittsburgh District.

The failure continues to get progressively worse because of the freeze/thaw cycle and ongoing erosion. It has completely undercut the edge of North Spring Street and has made the street structurally unsound and impassable. All traffic has been rerouted, including essential emergency services for the Borough and surrounding community. This closure has already impacted the life and safety of Borough and community residents due to increased emergency response times as a result of the street closure. Should an emergency result in a loss of life or property, the Government could potentially be found liable if emergency response times are a factor.

Two home owners have already submitted homeowner’s insurance claims totaling about $100,000 for flood damages caused by the busted sewer line and the Borough has already invested about $250,000 in repairs and remedial measures.

If this failure continues to progress unchecked, the risk of damage to Borough and private property will exponentially increase as well. Access to a commercial property near the failure is at risk of being entirely cutoff and could eventually fall into the sinkhole if left unmitigated. Additionally, the gas line and sanitary-storm sewer line, which were originally embedded in the failed embankment are at an increased risk of a further catastrophic failure should the embankment continue to erode. The Borough has already relocated those lines once due to the failure, but the continually expanding sinkhole is now threatening the relocated utilities.

The sewer line in this area serves a population of approximately 3,000. Failure of the sewer line will result in loss of services with the potential to back up raw sewage into private residences within 10 minutes of a catastrophic break of the sewer line. Should this occur, the Government could be held liable for environmental, property or personal injury damages that result from a sewer line failure.

An emergency stabilization is required to reduce the rate of progression and prevent further impacts to local utilities and nearby residences to allow for a permanent engineering solution to be developed and implemented.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Due to the unusual and compelling nature of this emergency stabilization as discussed above, it is not feasible to procure this requirement using full and open competition. The drawn-out timeframes from advertisement to award would exponentially increase the risk of injury to person and property. In an effort to obtain as much competition as possible while still operating on an extremely shortened timeline, the Contracting Officer requested Construction and technical personnel from the Pittsburgh District to identify Small Business firms who meet the following criteria: they are within 50 miles of the work location; they could respond quickly to our solicitation; they could mobilize and begin work quickly; they have performed similar work with the Pittsburgh District in the past; and they are known to provide quality and timely work. The following two companies were identified: Charles J. Merlo Inc.

(located in Mineral Point, PA; 28 miles from Blairsville, PA) and Gregori Construction Inc. (located in Sarver, PA; 40 miles from Blairsville, PA).

Both Charles J. Merlo Inc. and Gregori Construction Inc. have been approached to submit proposals on this work. A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be prepared and sent to each of these companies.

Because both companies being solicited are small businesses, a subcontracting plan will not be required. Both are expected to self-perform the majority of the work required. Subcontracting opportunities will be minimal.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: No additional actions have been taken to date. A future larger-scale permanent repair is anticipated to be procured by the USACE Pittsburgh District utilizing full and open competition procedures.

8. Market Research: A direct 8(a) contract was considered, however, the only 8(a) contractor that could be identified for this requirement was Tantara Construction of Worcester, MA, 492 miles from work location in Blairsville, PA.

Since the contractor is located in Massachusetts, their mobilization costs are likely to be high. They also have never performed work with the Pittsburgh District. In addition, they graduate from the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) Business Development (BD) Program on February 7, 2017. If they submit a proposal that is not awardable, negotiations would ensue, and an award to them by February 7 may not be feasible. For these reasons, the Contracting Officer decided that this option is not in the best interest of the Government for this emergency requirement.

As stated in Paragraph 6, construction and technical personnel from the Pittsburgh District were asked to identify Small Business firms who meet the following criteria: they are within 50 miles of the work location; they could respond quickly to our solicitation; they could mobilize and begin work quickly; they have performed similar work with the Pittsburgh District in the past; and they are known to provide quality and timely work. The following two companies were identified: Charles J. Merlo Inc. (located in Mineral Point, PA; 28 miles from

Blairsville, PA) and Gregori Construction Inc. (located in Sarver, PA; 40 miles from Blairsville, PA).

9. Interested Sources: To date, no other sources have written to express an interest in the procurement. FAR 5.202(a)(2) allows an exception for publishing proposed contract action notices required by FAR 5.201. The exception is unusual and compelling urgency and the Government would be seriously injured if the agency complies with the time periods specified in FAR 5.203. If any additional proposals are received by the date and time specified in the Request for Proposals, they will be considered. This J&A will be made publicly available on FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov) within 30 days after contract award in accordance with FAR 6.305(b).

10. Technical Certification:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Typed Name: Sarah Missenda

Date: _19 January 2017____________

Title: Project Engineer

Signature: _________________________

11. Requirements Certification:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Typed Name: CPT Brian T. Molloy

Date: _____________________________

Title: Project Man ger

Signature: __________________________

12. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination:

I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. The basis for this determination is that Request for Proposals will be solicited from two vendors and adequate price competition will be obtained. An Independent Government Estimate (IGE) will also be prepared.

19 January 2017

MOLLOY.BRIAN.T.1289109389

Digitally signed by MOLLOY.BRIAN.T.1289109389 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=MOLLOY.BRIAN.T.1289109389 Date: 2017.01.19 12:06:03 -05'00'

MISSENDA.SARAH.J.12

65406870

Digitally signed by MISSENDA.SARAH.J.1265406870 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=MISSENDA.SARAH.J.1265406870 Date: 2017.01.19 14:03:45 -05'00'

Typed Name: Carole M. Householder

Date: _____________________________

Title: Procuring Contracting Officer

Signature: __________________________

13. Contracting Officer Certification: This certification shall be made by the contracting officer who will sign the contract resulting from this justification and approval. Include the following statement:

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

Typed Name: Carole M. Householder

Date: _____________________________

Title: Procuring Contracting Officer

Signature: __________________________

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of emergency construction services to temporarily stabilize a landslide on the upstream portion of the embankment on USACE property in Blairsville, PA, on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C.2304(c)(2), Unusual and Compelling Urgency, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Date:______________ ______________________________________

CAROLE M. HOUSEHOLDER

Procuring Contracting Officer