JOFOC.docx

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

Under Authority of 41 U.S.C. 3304 (a) (1) and FAR 6.302-1 “Only One Responsible Source”

1. Contracting Organization

U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3 Office of Policy and Management (OP&M) Contracts Branch (3PM10)

2. Description of Action

Region 3 (R3) awarded Contract EP-S3-07-05, Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Small Business, Response Action Contract II (RACS II) on June 28, 2007 to HydroGeologic (HGL) Inc., for a five (5) year base period plus one five (5) year option period. The Government has exercised the five year option period, which expires on June 27, 2017.

R3 is requesting approval to add a new subcontracting pool (subpool) option increment for $5,325,000 to the Option Period, in order to increase the available subpool capacity. This subpool option increment equals the one subpool increment that was not exercised under the Base Period. The total contract value and ceiling amounts of $65,381,376, shall remain unchanged because, in effect, this would move the unused Subpool Option Increment for $5,325,000 under the Base Period to the Option Period.

3. Description of Supplies/Services

The subject contract provides professional architect/engineer, technical and management services to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support remedial response, enforcement oversight and non-time critical removal activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERLA), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA); and the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act pursuant to the Federal Response Plan (FRP) and other laws to help address and/or mitigate endangerment to the public health, welfare or environment, and to support States and communities in preparing for responses to releases of hazardous substances, as well as counter-terrorism.

R3 RACS II Contractors provide the following services: performance of site management; remedial investigation and feasibility studies; engineering services to design remedial actions; construction management for implementing remedial actions including issuing and managing subcontracts for construction of the selected remedy and engineering services in overseeing construction; engineering evaluation and cost analysis for non-time critical removal actions; enforcement support, including oversight of remedial investigations/feasibility studies, remedial design, remedial action, removal action and negotiation support; and other technical assistance, including community involvement, sampling and analysis support, risk assessment, five-year reviews, long-term response actions and pre-design investigations.

RACS II plays a major role in the effective streamlining and acceleration of Superfund site cleanups and early action to reduce immediate risk to human health and the environment. This will be realized through integration of remedial and removal activities, in order to accomplish non-time critical removals, as well as traditional Superfund remedial actions.

HGL is accomplishing these activities under Work Assignments (WAs) for various Superfund sites, including Central Chemical, Dwyer GW Plume, Jackson Ceramics, Peck Iron & Metal and Standard Chlorine. Currently, there are sixty-three (63) WAs that have been issued.

The contract’s Base Period capacity was $31,822,743. The Base Period’s subpool was structured with three (3) $5,325,000 option increments and one (1) $2,130,000 option increment; one $5,325,000 increment was not exercised.

The contract’s Option Period capacity is $33,558,633. The Option Period’s subpool is structured with three (3) $5,325,000 option increments and one (1) $2,130,000 option increment; all current subpool option increments have been exercised.

Currently, the total subpool capacity for the Option Period is $18,105,000. However, HGL’s pending subcontracts total $17,702,844, with additional subpool costs anticipated to reach an additional $4,214,500: The largest pending subcontract, for an approximate value of $14,000,000 is for the Standard Chlorine site.

As a result of the work required to be completed in the WAs above, R3 will deplete the entire subpool capacity for this contract before the work is completed. EPA therefore, requests that a new $5,325,000 Subpool Option Increment be added to the Option Period, in effect moving the unused $5,325,000 subpool option increment from the Base Period to the Option Period. This will give the HGL contract sufficient capacity to complete current assignments.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition

The authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, Only One responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. “When the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source, … and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for.” FAR 6.302-1(a) (2).

5. Applicability of Authority

Without the additional funds, R3 will most likely not be able to authorize completion of work. If these services cannot be performed without interruption, or if they must be stopped due to lack of funds, there is the further threat of harming the environment. HGL will not be authorized to enter into new, or continue work under existing, subcontracts for current and future sites, as referenced in section 3, above. In particular, the situation is critical for the Standard Chlorine site; this subcontract is for the construction of a surface cap and the cost is $14,111,455. Initially, the subcontract amount was estimated at approximately $12,000,000; however, all bids were higher than this amount. As a result, HGL’s overall capacity will be in danger of depletion and the Standard Chlorine subcontract for the surface cap construction schedule may experience unacceptable delays, as it is scheduled for mid-April 2015.

In addition, other potential subcontracts for HGL sites may not be approved. Some work could potentially be removed from HGL to other R3 RACS firms. However, exhausting the capacity of other RAC contractors is of concern and this may not be a feasible alternative. In addition, even if some of the work might theoretically be able to be performed under a different RAC contractor, there would be unacceptable delays in fulfilling agency requirements. Disruption and delay in execution of the cleanup efforts currently underway will cause a substantial increase in expense for shutdown and restarting projects under WAs, and exacerbate the effects of continued exposure to existing contaminants on both public health and the environment. This would also damage EPA’s credibility in the affected communities.

It is in the Government’s best interest to add to the Option Period’s subpool capacity of this contract in order to avoid work delays and significant costs to both the Government and environment that would be incurred, if there were a lapse in services. The existing contractor is already mobilized, which will allow for uninterrupted services.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition

In accordance with FAR 6.302-1, a notice of intent to increase the capacity for the Option Period, under Contract EP-S3-07-05, will be publicized in FedBizOpps. In accordance with FAR 6.305 (a), the JOFOC will be posted within 14 days after the execution of the modification.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost

The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the services covered by this JOFOC will be fair and reasonable. The basic contract was procured competitively; request for proposal was synopsized in May 2006; negotiations were completed in May 2007 and the subject contract was awarded on June 28, 2007; rates established in the contract were determined to be fair and reasonable based on cost and price analysis. The Contracting Officer shall determine that costs for future contract actions are fair and reasonable by comparing cost proposals with the established contract rates under the basic contract, government estimates and historical prices incurred for similar tasks.

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results or a Statement of the Reason Market Research was not Conducted

In accordance with FAR Part 10, Pre-Award Market Research was conducted for RACS II. HGL, as a small business firm, has established sufficient competition for the Standard Chlorine work, as evidenced in the subcontract package. Currently, no other R3 RACS firm has sufficient capacity to satisfy these requirements. Crossover contracts were also considered but are not viable options because other Regions’ RACS contracts are also expiring and are reaching the end of their respective capacities.

9. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition

The National Remedial Action Framework (RAF) contracts will be awarded using appropriate competitive procedures. They will provide significant increase of capacity and competition for all Superfund work. Future R3 RAC work will be performed under these new national RAF contracts.

10. Contracting Officer’s Certification

The undersigned Contracting Officer’s signature on this document attests that he or she has determined that this document is accurate and complete, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief.

Certification of Contracting Officer:

Signature

Signed by Tiffany K. Gillespie Contracting Officer

Date 03/18/15

Approvals

Reviewing and Approval Official(s):

Level Above Authority:

Signature

Signed by James M. Clark Contracts Branch Chief

Date 03/18/15

Service Center Manager:

Signature

Signed by Raoul D. Scott, Jr., Director For Service Center Manager

Date 03/27/15

Agency Advocate for Competition:

Signed by Susan Moroni, Agency Advocate for Competition

Date 03/31/15

Or

Head of Contracting Activity:

Signature Head of Contracting Activity

Date