LSJ_STORMS 1_75_Redacted.pdf

OPOAM 3008.405-6

Limited-Sources Justification (LSJ)

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DHS/OPO intends to establish a BPA through the Multiple Award Schedule Program under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 152(3), Competitive Procedures, and 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies, in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a), Limiting Sources. A BPA award will be made pursuant to FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(C), in the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on under GSA contract GS-03F-049GA, an original Federal Supply Schedule order. The original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures. The original BPA was not issued under sole-source or limited-sources procedures. The new work is a follow-on to an original Multiple Award Schedule, in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a), Limiting Sources and will be placed in accordance with the applicable Multiple Award Schedule ordering procedures. A Limited Sources Justification pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C), in the interest of economy and efficiency, as a logical follow-on to BPA 70RTAC18A00000003 will be in the best interest of the government. The rationale for establishing a follow-on BPA, due to the " in the interest of economy and efficiency " is to allow DHS to continue to comply with federally mandated records management laws and regulations, as well as to continue to support the Components who have successfully taken advantage of the benefits of using the existing department-wide BPA for the previous five years. This follow-on BPA will allow for the continuance of these critical ongoing services without interruption, while DHS continues to work towards competitively awarding a long term, second generation, STORMS 2.0 BPA that is anticipated to be awarded during the first quarter of FY26. Retrieving, transporting, and reshelving all of DHS’s records would have required substantial Government resources in the transition and would have comprised a significant portion of the period of performance.

This action is essential to ensure compliance with various federal directives and regulations, including but not limited to DHS Directive 141-01, Rev.1, NARA regulations, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)/NARA Directives M-19-21 and M-23-07.

(a) Compliance with DHS Directive 141-01, Rev.1 - Records and Information Management (RIM): The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Directive 141-01, Rev.1 mandates stringent requirements for the management, storage, and protection of records and information.

Our current infrastructure is inadequate to meet these requirements, posing significant risks to the integrity and security of our records. Immediate action is required to upgrade our facilities and systems to ensure compliance and avoid potential legal and operational repercussions.

(b) Adherence to NARA Facility Standards (36 CFR 1234): According to NARA regulations in CFR Title 36, Chapter XII, Subchapter B, Part 1234, our records storage facilities must meet specific standards to protect federal records from damage or loss. Our existing facilities fall short of these standards, exposing critical records to potential hazards. The urgency to rectify these deficiencies is paramount to safeguard our records and maintain compliance with federal regulations.

(c) Implementation of DHS Instruction 121-01-11 - Administrative Security Program: DHS Instruction 121-01-11 outlines the requirements for the administrative security of records, including the safeguarding of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). The current state of

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Rev. 6.2021 3- 3 -our records management systems does not provide the necessary security controls, thereby jeopardizing the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information. Immediate procurement of advanced security solutions is crucial to mitigate these risks.

(d) Compliance with HSAR Class Deviation 15-01, Revision 1: The HSAR Class Deviation 15-01, Revision 1 emphasizes the safeguarding of CUI. Our current systems are not equipped to handle the stringent safeguarding requirements, necessitating urgent upgrades to comply with these standards and protect sensitive information from unauthorized access or disclosure.

(e) Transition to Electronic Records (OMB/NARA Directives M-19-21 and M-23-07): The OMB/NARA Directives M-19-21 and M-23-07 mandate the transition to electronic records management by specific deadlines. Our current infrastructure is not capable of supporting this transition, creating an urgent need for procurement of electronic records management systems to meet these federal mandates and ensure continuity of operations.

(f) Digitizing Permanent Federal Records (36 CFR 1236, Subpart E): Compliance with 36 CFR 1236, Subpart E requires the digitization of permanent federal records. Our existing resources are insufficient to achieve this objective within the required timeframe, necessitating immediate procurement of digitization technologies and services to comply with federal regulations and preserve the integrity of permanent records.

Given the critical nature of these requirements and the potential consequences of non-compliance, it is imperative to expedite the procurement process to address these deficiencies.

Awarding a limited sources follow-on BPA will allow DHS to receive uninterrupted records management and records handling support for a critical departmental function, both economically and efficiently. DHS has encountered extenuating circumstances and delays during the pre-solicitation phase which has caused a delay in the award of the competitive follow-on STORMS 2.0 contract vehicle. Award of this interim BPA will ensure that DHS records and information management infrastructure meets all federal standards and directives in the interim until STORMS 2.0 is competitively awarded.

5. Determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the anticipated order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

The Contracting Officer has determined that issuing the proposed interim BPA to Iron Mountain Information Management LLC., for records management, transportation, conversion, scanning/digitization, physical storage, cloud-based storage and viewing, and destruction/archiving of departmental records support services is in the best interest of the Government. DHS/OPO has an estimated 900,000 cubic feet of physical records stored with Iron Mountain in NARA Certified facilities. Over the course of the six-month base period of performance, and two (2) three-month option periods, these movement costs are not expected to be recovered through competition.

This BPA will be placed in accordance with FAR 8.404, “Use of Multiple Award Schedules.”

The General Services Administration (GSA) has already negotiated fair and reasonable pricing rates. Discounts to these GSA schedule rates will be requested.

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6. A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results, or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research for this requirement was conducted between January 2, 2025, through March 24, 2025, and consisted of interviewing members of the DHS Records Council, the DHS Component Records Officers, and the Integrated Procurement Team (IPT) made up of representatives from various components. Commercial databases, including the North American Industry Classification System, and Government databases, including the GSA Library and GSA Advantage, were reviewed to help identify potential vendors. A Request for Information (RFI) that was released for the overarching recompete, as well as potential vendor websites were also reviewed to assess capabilities. Specifically, only Iron Mountain, LLC can perform these types of services at the quality required in order to meet the critical timeframes mentioned in National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Memorandum M-23-07. An informal review of the market indicates that market conditions have not changed from when the research was initially performed. Also, on April 17, 2025, Contracting Officer reviewed vendors who had previously responded to earlier Request for Information as well as other vendors identified through other market research techniques. The results of this review showed that Iron Mountain is the only vendor able to meet the Governments requirement in the limited time available (see Market Research report).

The Contracting Officer also reviewed GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), Physical Records Management Services, MAS 493110RM and Electronic Records Management (ERMS) Solutions, MAS 518210ERM, to estimate the amount of funding that would be required to be expended for this follow-on effort.

7. Any other facts supporting the limited-sources justification. Additional facts may be stated in this section. If there are no additional facts, you must state that here.

DHS/OPO intends to limit the number of sources solicited pursuant to FAR 8.405-6 (a)(1)(C) for the procurement of services to obtain records management, transportation, conversion, scanning/digitization, physical storage, cloud-based storage and viewing, and destruction/archiving of Department of Homeland Security records. Awarding a limited source follow-on interim BPA will allow DHS to receive uninterrupted records management and records handling support for a critical departmental function, both economically and efficiently.

Addressing the existence of only one source capability, this follow-on interim BPA will ensure DHS remains in compliance with federally mandated records management laws and regulations, as well as to continue to support the Components who have successfully taken advantage of the benefits of using the existing department-wide BPA. This BPA will allow for the continuance of these critical ongoing services without interruption, while DHS continues to work towards competitively awarding a long term, second generation, STORMS 2.0 BPA that is expected to be awarded in fiscal year 2026. The OCIO continuity of operations would be severely impacted should these support services become unavailable. If operations are disrupted and started up again using another contractor, the Government would be financially impacted. If another contractor is used, the Government would also incur the costs of on-boarding individuals and

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Rev. 6.2021 3- 5 -incur a potential lapse in service. This BPA award will provide continuity of operations for existing and continuing needs at the DHS and its respective components. The potential cost of disruption of services may result in substantial financial loss to the agency as any delay in performance may have a direct negative impact to the operations and functionality in support of the agency’s mission.

8. A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to restricted consideration (i.e., limited sources) before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

The government intends to procure the storage and servicing of agency records holdings at locations other than agency owned or operated property, and the scanning/digitization of agency-owned paper/analog records in the future (FY 2026). This will allow the Government to seek competition in future acquisitions for the same type of support, thus eliminating the barriers to competition.

9. DHS intends to post this requirement on System for Award Management (SAM.gov) pursuant to FAR 8.405-6(a)(2)(i).