Exception_to_Fair_Opportunity.docx

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY FACT SHEET

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity FAR 16.505 (b)(2)(i)(B) Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

(1) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Acquisition Management Cincinnati Procurement Operations Division (CPOD)

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved: Award of a sole source task order on a multiple-award contract: TSAWP, EP-C-12-055, PR-OW-16-00204.

(3) A description of the services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value from your IGCE):

Drought affects both the quantity and quality of water and presents increased risk of water quality impairment and an inability to meet water quality regulatory requirements. Anticipating and planning for these drought situations is critical to the long-term success of EPA’s national water program and resource management of water withdrawal, loadings, and management of refugia by states, tribes and federal agencies.

One effect of drought is that it concentrates dissolved chemicals and reduces dilution of mineral inputs. Even streams with no anthropogenic inputs have some dissolved minerals and these can become more concentrated with drought (Burt et al 2014; Caruso 2001). Increased mineral ions affect all water uses including water for drinking water for people and livestock, irrigation and industrial uses, and habitat for aquatic life.

This Task Order focuses on protection and management of aquatic life. Wildlife dependent on freshwaters, such as streams, are physiologically adapted to a limited concentration range of dissolved minerals and suffer adverse effects when concentrations exceed their physiological tolerance to dissolved minerals. This project shall evaluate and refine geophysical models for predicting the concentration of dissolved ions that occur during drought conditions (Anning and Flynn 2014; Olson and Hawkins 2012). The project shall also estimate the effect of increased dissolved minerals on the presence of aquatic life (U.S. EPA 2011).

Specifically, the work entails the development and validation models to:

· predict surface water physical and chemical characteristics in particular ionic concentration from soil, geology, precipitation, vegetative cover and other geophysical parameters. Estimated cost $110K.

· predict extirpation of aquatic life ( fish and benthic invertebrates) based on field data from eco-epidemiological extirpation models that have already been developed by TetraTech, background levels of dissolved ions in streams and rivers, and change in salt concentration due to drought conditions. Estimated cost $100K

· assess the risk of extirpation and extinction from changes in ionic concentration associated with drought using the predicted ionic concentration for a region and validate with field data sampled during drought and non-drought years in the study area. Estimated cost $40K

· Option 1 includes for refining the geophysical models owing to potential confounders such as temperature, evapotranspiration, and/or flow. Estimated cost $50K.

· If need and funding are available, Option 2 may develop predictions for on-going or anticipated droughts in the U.S. that may occur in 2017-2018. Estimated cost $200K

(4) Identification of the exception to fair opportunity and the supporting rationale, including a demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the exception cited. If the logical follow-on exception (Paragraph C above) is used, the rationale shall describe why the relationship between the initial order and the follow-on is logical (e.g., in terms of scope, period of performance, or value).

As allowed under FAR 16.505 (b)(2)(i)(B), this task order must be issued as an exception to fair opportunity because only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized. The required work does not entail routine calculations or literature searches. Rather it requires unique methods development with very large and complex data sets.

The research and development work described here requires a breadth of knowledge that is rare. It requires a team of scientists with strong analytical skill combined with expertise in geophysical and ecological sensibilities for normal and drought conditions for a wide range of geophysiographic conditions, from the mesic but drought affected regions in Georgia to the devastating arid droughts in the West. TetraTech is uniquely qualified by having broad experience working in streams across the U.S. Furthermore, they are intimately familiar with specific and recently developed eco-epidemiological methods that may be used to develop water quality criteria. Using the same data sets and methods provides consistency across both applications, efficiency in time, and cost savings for this proposed task order. These new methods developed by TetraTech are draft and EPA has not yet released them to the public and so other researchers are not yet familiar with the scientific or analytical concepts. However, the need to address drought conditions is immediate and TetraTech alone has the ability to quickly and cost effectively develop tools to help minimize ecological harm from drought at the necessary level of quality needed.

(5) A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable: The Contracting Officer and the Program Office anticipate that the cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. TetraTech can immediately address one of the problems associated with drought because it has already developed the data sets and methods for determining the concentration of dissolved minerals (bicarbonate, sulfate, calcium, magnesium and other ions) that lead to the disappearance of species from streams. Familiarity with the methods, the statistical code, and data sets saves substantial time and money. There are more than 24 large data sets of paired biological-chemical data used to develop the draft methods for water quality criteria for specific conductivity (a measure of the concentration of dissolved ions in streams). The cost to quality assure these data sets alone represents a savings of more than $100k. Furthermore, TetraTech developed a precursor 2-dimensional model that predicts the dissolved mineral concentration that leads to 5% extirpation of species. This skill set and ecological knowledge base makes it easier and therefore less expensive to develop in this task order a 3-dimensional model that predicts 0-50% loss of species based on a change in streams during a drought. Additionally, CPOD and the Program Office will review the submission that the contractor will submit in response to the Task Order Solicitation. These costs will be compared to the IGCE and historical information available.

(6) Any other facts supporting the justification: N/A

(7) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made: At the termination of this project, the quality assured R-code and data sets will be made public. Currently, some of these supporting material are being quality assured on a different contract prior to public release. That product and the proposed task order work should be completed at about the same time thus immediately expanding the opportunity for broader availability of the methods and datasets. This requirement to provide all data sets and R-code in a user friendly format is a part of the task descriptions.

(8) The justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief.

(9) Any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel as demonstrated by his signature below.

(10) The contracting officer is the approving official for this action and has determined that (b)(2)(i)(B)(Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized) of FAR 16.505 applies to the order.

Technical Officer’s Certification & Concurrence I certify that the facts and representations stated in this justification are complete and accurate which form the basis to award this requirement.

Signed By Susan M. Cormier, Ph.D. on 4/12/2016 Susan M. Cormier, Ph.D.

Technical Officer

Contracting Officer’s Certification & Approval I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signed By Noelle Mills, Contracting Officer, on 4/12/2016 Noelle Mills Contracting Officer