Notice of Intent to Sole Source.pdf

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

The Department of Energy, Idaho site office (DOE-ID) Acquisition Management Division, on behalf of Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory (RESL) intends to negotiate with A2LA of Frederick, MD on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 6.302-1, I hereby determine that the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) is available from only one source, and competition is precluded for the reasons indicated below.

The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) contract agreement for the RESL is due for renewal. This contract renewal is essential in order for RESL to maintain its accreditations for operations.

The accreditations currently maintained by RESL are: International Organization for Standardization/International Electro-technical Commission (ISO/IEC) 17025:2017, ISO/IEC 17043:2010, and ISO 17034:2016. The availability of accrediting bodies providing accreditations to all three of these standards is limited. However, A2LA has provided these required accreditations to RESL for operations since 2005.

Although, A2LA is no longer the only provider available that can offer all three specific accreditations, due to the reasons stated below it is in the best interest of the government to remain under contract with A2LA. In addition to the international standards, all accrediting body organizations have their own supplemental policies and internal requirements that must be complied with for maintaining accreditations.

The A2LA accreditation services must be performed for five years from the date this contract is awarded due to the following:

1.Switching to a new accrediting body provider would require RESL to undergo additional surveillance and assessments, as well as having to remodify the entire quality management system in order to tailor to the new provider’s policies; this process alone may take up to two years to complete.

2.Due to the need for accreditation, it is in the best interest of the government to maintain accreditation services with A2LA for the next five years while working towards preparation for a competitive solicitation and award for these services.

Department of Energy anticipates issuing a purchase order to A2LA for this requirement in the amount of $77,450.00 over a five-year period from the date of this award.

Interested parties that believe they could satisfy the requirements listed above for DOE may identify their capabilities in writing on or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation. Information submitted as a response to this notice will be used solely to determine whether competitive procedures could be used for the acquisition. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to, Pete Hawkes at, hawkespd@id.doe.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted by February 20, 2026, no later than 1600

(4:00 PM) MST.