Signed DUF6 Six Month Extension JOFOC.pdf

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

PROCUREMENT SENSITIVE – FAR 2.101 AND FAR 3.104

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition U.S. Department of Energy

Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) Contract Extension for Operations of the PPPO Depleted Uranium Conversion Facilities to

Align with Completion of the Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth LLC Contract From March 29, 2023 to September 30, 2023

Contract Number DE-EM0004559 Mid-America Conversion Services, LLC (MCS)

Current Period of Performance -- November 3, 2016 to March 28, 2023

1. Agency and Contracting Activity

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Office of Environmental Management (EM)

Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO)

Operations of the Portsmouth and Paducah Depleted Uranium Conversion Facilities Contract

DE-EM0004559

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved

This contract action will extend the current Depleted Uranium Conversion Facilities contract with Mid-America Conversion Services, LLC (MCS), Contract No. DE-EM0004559 for six months, from March 29, 2023 to September 30, 2023 to align with completion of the Fluor- BWXT Portsmouth LLC (FBP) Contract and to allow for the competitive award of new Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) and Operations and Site Mission Support (OSMS) contracts that align work scopes to meet DOE mission needs.

3. Description of Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs

PPPO was established by DOE to reduce the environmental footprint and to oversee the clean-up and environmental remediation of the former gaseous diffusion plants located at the Portsmouth and Paducah sites. One such task is the disposition of over 18,000 cylinders of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) located at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) and over 42,000 cylinders of DUF6 located at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Under the current contract, the primary task is to convert the DUF6, at both Portsmouth and Paducah, to Depleted Uranium Oxide (DUOx), if other uses for the DUF6 are not identified.

PPPO has conducted a detailed evaluation of its current contract portfolio, particularly as it relates to meeting end-state clean-up goals and objectives at its sites. This evaluation indicates there is substantial benefit to the Government and the taxpayer that results from shifting activities from the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) and deactivation and remediation (D&R) missions that are best suited in the DUF6 contract, to include, as examples, Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of site utilities, management of the Emergency Response

Organization (ERO) and related functions, management of site security operations and other associated first responder functions, and Nuclear Material Control and Accountability

(NMC&A).

This change in scope requires aligning the ending of the current contracts at Portsmouth to avoid having an interruption in required services at the site.

The procurement process to select, award and transition to the successor DUF6 Operations contract (OSMS) and the successor D&D contract is ongoing, and due to their complexity, as well as interest from various stakeholder groups, the targeted award date has been delayed.

The MCS contract needs to be extended to avoid interruption of required services by DUF6 Facility operator (MCS).

Given the delays being experienced with the procurement phase for both the Portsmouth D&D and DUF6 procurements, this six month extension is necessary to allow sufficient time for the respective Source Evaluation Boards to complete these contract placements.

The estimated value of the proposed six month contract extension scope is $58 Million to $70 Million.

4. Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 3304(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Unique Qualifications of the Contractor

The MCS six month contract extension is proposed, because the current contractor has the unique capabilities to perform the work as planned. The operation and maintenance of the DUF6 plant is complex, and it would not be feasible for the Government to transition the work to an interim contractor for a short period of time while the follow on contracts, described herein, are being competed. This contract extension will allow the Department to better align the DUF6, Portsmouth D&D, and Paducah D&R planned work activities as envisioned/scheduled. The alternative to a contract extension would be to interrupt required services. DUF6 conversion operations at both sites are a continuous process that require a consistent focus on safety and maintenance to maintain operability; therefore a break in continuity of an operating contractor would be detrimental to the program.

6. Description of the Efforts Made to Ensure that Offers are Solicited from as Many Potential Sources as is Practicable

An Acquisition Integrated Project Team (AIPT) is in the solicitation phase for the follow-on OSMS contract, which encompasses the DUF6 work, as described above. On January 4, 2022, DOE released the Draft Request for Proposal (RFP), and conducted One-On-One’s under Solicitation No. 89303320REM000070 and the Final Request for Proposal for the Operations and Site Mission Support (OSMS), which has been released. Based on the earlier Sources Sought, multiple offerors are expected. Based on the Draft RFP, as well as the two previous procurements, there are a sufficient number of entities technically capable of performing the Operation of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Facilities. However, for the reasons described in Section 5 above, it is in the government’s best interests to pursue the six month extension of the current contract with MCS as it is the only responsible source capable of satisfying the requirements without unacceptable delays and cost.

7. Anticipated Dollar Value of the Proposed Acquisition and a Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable

Based on an analysis of the existing life-cycle baseline and current performance of the incumbent contractor (taking into account all of the innovations, cost savings, and lessons learned implemented to date), the anticipated cost of the proposed six month extension is approximately $58 million to $70 million. The Contracting Officer (CO) will request that MCS submit a proposal for the scope of work discussed under this extension. In addition, an Independent Government Cost Estimate will be developed for the extended period of performance to establish the Government’s negotiation objective for the scope of work and a technical evaluation of the proposal will be completed to help determine that the negotiated price is fair and reasonable.

The CO will also arrange for an audit of the proposal to aid in the determination as to whether the negotiated price is fair and reasonable.

8. Description of Market Research Conducted and Result

The Notice of Intent (NOI) was synopsized on May 27, 2022, giving potential sources an opportunity to comment on the government’s intentions to award a six month contract extension to MCS non-competitively. There were no expressions of interest received from the “Notice of Intent” issued on beta.SAM.gov.

As stated above, market research has been conducted by the AIPT with the Sources Sought Notice, which allowed DOE to assess potential offerors’. Additionally, on January 4, 2022, DOE released the Draft Request for Proposal (RFP), and conducted One-On-One’s under Solicitation No. 89303320REM00007. Similar to the two previous DUF6 procurements, there are firms technically capable of performing this work. The AIPT will continue to perform market analyses in the future for the competitive procurement for these services.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

No other facts supporting use of other than full and open competition have been identified beyond those discussed herein.

10. A Listing of the Sources that Expressed a Written Interest in the Acquisition

There were no expressions of interest received from the “Notice of Intent” issued on May 27, 2022 at beta.SAM.gov.

11. A Statement of the Actions the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers to Competition if Subsequent Acquisitions are Anticipated

As stated above, DOE has a documented expectation to achieve competition under Solicitation No. 89303320REM000070. Therefore, PPPO does not anticipate any barriers to competition for the subsequent follow-on DUF6 contract.

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition U.S. Department of Energy

Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Mid-America Conversion Services, LLC (MCS)

Contract No. DE-EM0004559

Certification

The information contained in this Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Acquisition Initiator/Administrative Contracting Officer:

David R, Senderling Date

Reviews

PPPO Procurement Director:

Robert Swett Date

Assistant Chief Counsel:

Laura Sawyer Date

Approvals

EM HCA:

Angela Watmore Date

DOE Competition Advocate

Jami Rodgers Date

Senior Procurement Executive

John Bashista Date