Redacted JA - Explosive Waste Incinerator Support.pdf

Controlled Unclassified Information (See FAR 2.101 and 3.104-4)

FAR Subpart 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items – Sole Source Justification and Approval

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Contracting Command – New Jersey

2. Description of Action: The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (CCDC-AC) requests a firm-fixed-price contract with Aptim Federal Services, LLC, 1725 Duke Street, Suite 400, Alexandria, VA, 22314. The Government projects award for April 2021 and fiscal year 2021 Research, Development, Test & Evaluation funds will be used. An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The U.S. Army (CCDC-AC) has a need for support services in the routine maintenance, installation, equipment calibration, troubleshooting, supply of critical parts & material, operations, and permitting support for the (EWI) facility at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. Additionally, a Comprehensive Performance Test (CPT) will be required as part of this effort in order to maintain New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permits for the EWI facility.

Base Period: FY21 to FY22 Value: $1,011,387.84 Option Period 1: FY22 to FY23 Value: $606,993.13 Option Period 2: FY23 to FY24 Value: $617,517.80 Option Period 3: FY24 to FY25 Value: $698,117.17 Option Period 4: FY25 to FY26 Value: $280,793.13

Total: $3,214,809.07

4. Authority Cited: Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5: Only one source reasonably available.

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

(a) Currently, Picatinny Arsenal has two available methods for disposal of energetic waste: the EWI facility and the open burning ground. The open burning ground is an open air disposal area and which is under constant pressure from environmental agencies to cease operation. The EWI facility is typically run on a 24 hour basis, with burn campaigns occurring usually every month. Before the burn campaigns occur, experienced personnel provide operational and field support by performing maintenance checks on the system, calibrating all necessary equipment, and ensuring that software and support equipment is functional. During these campaigns, the EWI may operate for 3-5 consecutive days, 24 hours a day. During the period of burns, there is a possibility that a malfunction with the EWI and support equipment will occur which may need further maintenance or repair services to be performed to correct the malfunction and ensure little or no downtime to the system. Due to the complexity of the EWI, the support equipment and operation of a system with explosive waste, expert contractor knowledge and experience are required.

The proposed contractor is Aptim Federal Services, LLC (previously Chicago Bridge and Ironworks (CB&I), and prior to that, Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc.). Aptim is the only company currently capable of supporting the proprietary EWI system. Aptim constructed the EWI facility at Picatinny Arsenal, built and installed the components and support systems that make up the proprietary EWI system, and programmed all of the software for the system. Aptim has successfully provided commercial technical and operational field support, software support, process and equipment upgrades for the EWI facility over the last ten years since the facility achieved full operational status. During this time period, the incinerator has undergone numerous NJDEP and EPA inspections without a Notice of Violation.

In order to maintain NJDEP and EPA permits for the EWI facility, the contractor is required to conduct a CPT with subsequent confirmatory testing in accordance with 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 63.1207. Without expert contractor support to keep the EWI facility in compliance with 40 CFR63.1207, CCDC-AC would potentially face fines, lose its permits, and be forced to cease operations of the EWI facility. There are a very limited number of companies who possess the capability to conduct a CPT and confirmatory testing with incinerators; however, Aptim is the only known source with the experience in conducting the required CPT specifically for the incinerator in the EWI facility at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. Aptim has also provided the permitting support needed to ensure that the equipment is functional within the permitted standards.

Furthermore, CCDC-AC is required to conduct a CPT no later than 31 July 2021 in order to comply with an EPA Administrative Order (CAA-02-2015-1009). If the mission critical deadline to conduct the CPT is not met, CCDC-AC would be forced to shut down the EWI, leaving the burning ground as the only means of hazardous waste disposal at Picatinny Arsenal. The burning ground would not be able to accommodate the amount of excess waste accumulated at Picatinny Arsenal, so CCDC-AC would be forced to shut down its research and development activities once its waste was at capacity. Not only is this critically detrimental to CCDC-AC’s primary mission, EWI system downtime could have an impact on the permitting approvals/renewals that are needed to operate the EWI area.

Pursuing competition for this procurement would result in unacceptable performance risks, as detailed above, delays in fulfilling the agency requirement and substantial duplication costs. The Government would expect to be negatively impacted with a twelve month program delay and duplication costs of approximately $8,791,155.00 estimated, as based on the original contract pricing for the EWI system, to be equivalent to the cost to replace the entire existing proprietary EWI system. This includes the costs for a new EWI system design ($451,530), equipment, software installation and training

($2,552,582), EPA and CPT testing to establish compliance ($1,647,981), and change orders to establish and maintain acceptable system performance ($4,139,062).

(b) Alternatives:

If another contractor were required to provide support services to support the existing EWI, to include the hardware and software that is proprietary to Aptim, there would be associated schedule delays and costs that would be either directly or indirectly passed on to the Government and would not be recouped through competition. This information is broken out as follows (program delays and duplication costs are based on the time and costs estimated to complete the engineering tasks and the CCDC-AC Average Contractor Rates for a Senior Engineer at an hourly fully loaded rate of $182 per hour and a 40 hour work week):

I. A new contractor would have to review and understand the software language and codes of the current EWI system. They would need to learn the software codes and how it is programmed, used to operate the system, and how the algorithms and process parameters incorporated into the software were developed. The estimated time for another contractor to review and understand the EWI system software would be 1 month at a cost of approximately $47,320.00.

II. A new contractor would have to review and understand how the EWI operates as an entire system. The complex system consists of the EWI, grinders, slurry tanks, continuous air monitors; waste feed equipment, solvent recovery systems, mixers, and software, along with the individual pieces of support equipment. The contractor would have to spend a substantial amount of time reviewing facility and installation drawings. Extensive time would also have to be taken to ensure that the contractor learns the maintenance and operation of the Continuous Monitoring System, Grinder, Slurry Tanks, and Feed System. The estimated time for another contractor to understand how the EWI system operates as a whole would be 4 months at a cost of approximately $126,187.00.

III. A new contractor without previous experience working in similar explosive environments would have to receive training in order to understand the associated regulations and become familiar with how the EWI system worked with explosive waste as opposed to commercial waste. This training is not easily attainable due to the rarity of such systems. The estimated time for another contractor to train and understand the regulations for the EWI would be 4 months at a cost of approximately $126,187.00.

IV. A new contractor would have to learn and understand the air permitting regulations associated with the EWI system as well as the reporting requirements that are needed to maintain and/or acquire permits. The estimated time for another contractor to learn air quality and permitting regulations would be 1 month at a cost of approximately $31,547.00.

V. After reviewing and learning the EWI system, trial runs would have to be performed to ensure that a new contractor could provide the necessary support that is needed during full operation. The estimated time for another contractor to conduct trial runs would be 2 months at a cost of approximately $63,094.00.

While developing the current requirement, CCDC-AC reviewed its available in-house personnel and the feasibility of independently operating the EWI facility on a 24-hour basis. CCDC-AC currently has five (5) personnel available to operate the EWI equipment during burn campaigns. However, Government personnel do not have the expertise to obtain proper environmental permits, program equipment software, or service equipment malfunctions and repair the EWI if needed during the burn campaigns. In comparison, Anniston Army Depot currently operates their hazardous waste disposal facility on a 12-hour basis with forty (40) operators and support personnel. Therefore, it is not practical for CCDC-AC to dedicate Government personnel to actively maintain the specialized training and EPA and NJDEP certifications required to independently operate the EWI.

The Government personnel will continue receiving on-the-job training related to EWI;

however, the need for contractor support will not be totally eliminated.

Fulfilling this requirement with a sole source contract to Aptim is necessary to meet technical and performance requirements. As the designer, builder, and software developer of the EWI system at Picatinny Arsenal, Aptim already possesses the necessary level of expertise, experience, and familiarity with the current EWI system to provide continued support services to meet the Government requirements.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: The Contracting Officer shall publish the notices required by FAR 5.201.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: Full and open competition is not practical for the proposed contract action. Aptim is the only source that currently possesses the requisite level of expertise, experience and familiarity with the current EWI at Picatinny Arsenal.

The Government continues to conduct market research on an annual basis to determine if market conditions have changed. Any future procurement of these services would be met either through full and open competition or justification for other than full and open competition.

8. Market Research: Market Research was conducted by publishing a Sources Sought Notice W15QKN-21-X-0DW1 on beta.sam.gov on 29 September 2020 in order to seek current source information on the capability to provide support services for the EWI. In addition to the Sources Sought Notice, the Government contacted knowledgeable people in Government and industry, queried Government databases, and conducted internet searches; however, the additional market research identified only one capable vendor, Aptim Federal Services, LLC. Four responses were received in reference to the Sources Sought Notice, summarized below.

RV Global Solutions, Inc., Small Business, CAGE: 6TC84. The vendor did not demonstrate the required knowledge on equipment programming or maintenance/repair of the EWI facility equipment. Based on the above, this vendor is not capable of meeting the Government’s requirement.

Trident Dredging and Marine Construction, LLC, Small Business, CAGE: 7EV43. The vendor did not demonstrate the required knowledge on equipment programming or maintenance/repair of the EWI facility equipment. Based on the above, this vendor is not capable of meeting the Government’s requirement.

El Dorado Engineering (EDE), Small Business, CAGE: 8T744; While EDE has many capabilities as they relate to incinerators, they have not demonstrated capabilities in maintenance and repair of the Continuous Emission Monitoring System, a key component of the EWI, which cannot operate without a working system, the solvent injection system and Picatinny Arsenal’s unique slurry preparation system.

Aptim Federal Services, LLC, Large business, CAGE: 1YQ36; Aptim has experience in the design, installation, and operation, permitting support and testing of incinerators.

They have operated numerous incinerators in the U.S., including the one at Picatinny Arsenal. The evaluation concluded that Aptim is the only source available that can meet all of the Government’s requirement.

9. Interested Sources: To date, no other sources have written to express interest in the acquisition.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History:

i.

(1) Contract: W15QKN-20-P-0033, Aptim Federal Services, LLC, awarded 4 March

(2) Competitive Status: Sole Source

(3) J&A Authority: Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C.

1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5

(4) Actions to Increase Competition: Full and open competition is not practical for at this time for the proposed contract action. Aptim is the only source that currently possesses the requisite level of expertise, experience and familiarity with the current EWI at Picatinny Arsenal. The Government continues to conduct market research on an annual basis to determine if market conditions have changed. Any future procurement of these services would be met either through full and open competition or justification for other than full and open competition.

(5) No previous full and open competition contracts for these requirements were identified.

(6) No unusual patterns were revealed by the procurement history.

(7) No significant changes have occurred since the previous J&A was approved.

ii.

(1) Contract: W15QKN-16-D-0058, CB&I Federal Services, LLC (now Aptim), awarded 21 April 2016

(2) Competitive Status: Sole Source

(3) J&A Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1); FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(A) and (B)

(4) Actions to Increase Competition: It is not practical for the Government to dedicate

Government personnel to actively maintain the specialized training and EPA and NJDEP certifications required to independently operate the EWI since hazardous waste incineration is a shrinking field and the government expects the level of support needed will continue to decline in the future. Government personnel will continue receiving on-the-job training related to EWI; however, the need for contractor support will not be totally eliminated. The Government will conduct market research on an annual basis in an effort to find viable competition.

(5) No previous full and open competition contracts for these requirements were identified.

(6) No unusual patterns were revealed by the procurement history.

(7) No significant changes have occurred since the previous J&A was approved.

iii.

(1) Contract: W15QKN-12-D-0002, Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc. (now

Aptim), awarded 28 February 2012

(2) Competitive Status: Sole Source

(3) J&A Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1); FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(A) and (B)

(4) Actions to Increase Competition: Picatinny Arsenal engineers and technicians have been receiving on the job training with Shaw Environmental personnel and will continue to do so with this new effort to gain the knowledge and experience in operating the Explosive Waste Incinerator System. Gaining on-the-job training will provide the engineers and technicians with the capability to perform future services in-house and there will be no need for an outside contractor. While Government personnel have received basic training related to EWI, it is not practical to dedicate Government personnel to actively maintain the specialized training and EPA and NJDEP certifications required to independently operate the EWI since hazardous waste incineration is a shrinking field and the level of support needed has declined (intermittent/part-time basis).

(5) No previous full and open competition contracts for these requirements were identified.

(6) There were no unusual patterns that were revealed by the procurement history.

(7) No significant changes have occurred since the previous J&A was approved.

11. 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: Dhirendra Patel Date: 7 December 2020 Title: Chemical Engineer Signature:

12. 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: Paul C. Betts Date: 7 December 2020 Title: Branch Chief, Propulsion Pilot Processes Signature:

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

This determination will be made using a price analysis and Independent Government Estimate (IGE). As a part of this basis, certified cost or pricing data is not required because the item and/or services being acquired are considered commercial and are not expected to exceed the threshold for obtaining certified cost or pricing data.

Typed Name: Jason Kenlan Date: 7 December 2020 Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Typed Name: Jason Kenlan Date: 7 December 2020 Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of EWI support services on a sole source basis pursuant to the authority of the Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

STEPHANIE T. PASCALE

Advocate for Competition Army Contracting Command – New Jersey