Sole_Source_2.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

P/R Number: 40625404 Estimated Dollar Amount:

1. Contracting Agency and Activity: The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Office of Acquisition and Grants, Sacramento, plans to contract on a sole source basis. This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by FAR 13.106- 1(b)(1).

2. Nature of Action Being Approved:

The requested procurement is for Selenium collected from the Salton Sea project. Sample types include: particulate organic matter on filters, detritus, algae, vegetation, invertebrates and fish tissues. As part of a larger coordinated science program among Federal, State, and nongovernmental agencies, we are requesting to use the same laboratory the US Fish and Wildlife Service uses for the endangered Yuma rail (Rallus longirostris yumanensis), so that our work on bioaccumulation within the rail foodweb is directly comparable. Furthermore, we request permission to use the same laboratory that completed our pilot sample analyses for data consistency.

The anticipated contract type is a fixed price per service type.

3. Description of Supplies or Services:

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Western Ecology Research Center, San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station (SFBE), requests award of a non-competitive procurement to the Trace Element Research Laboratory (TERL), at Texas A&M University for processing Selenium from biological tissues, as well as from sediment and water samples. Future phases of the project may expand to assess other trace elements (As, Se, Hg, Al, Ba, Be, B, Cd, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Na, Sr, Tl, V, Zn) that can cause impairment to wildlife and is considered under this justification. Results from sample analyses will be used to address knowledge gaps identified in recent review of selenium data within the Salton Sea region (Rosen et al., in review). The results of this study will be used to refine the largest uncertainties at the base of the foodweb and trophic transfer factors within Selenium bioconcentration models.

Sample types for total Selenium analysis include: particulate organic matter on filters, detritus, algae, vegetation, invertebrates and fish tissues. The suite of analyses for Selenium required for all samples collected include sample pre-treatment (grinding/drying). Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures shall include a method blank, spiked blank, certified reference material, duplicate sample, and spiked sample for each group of 20 or fewer samples. The vendor will need to follow testing procedures approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Fish and Wildlife guidelines for at least a 0.5 micrograms/liter detection limit for Selenium in biological tissues and sediment.

Results must be delivered to Point of Contact electronically as a csv or excel file within 3 months of sample submission. This timeline can be negotiated as needed.

4. Estimated Dollar Value: The estimated value of this procurement is for processing total Selenium from particulate organic matter (filter), detritus, phytoplankton, algae, vegetation, invertebrate, and fish samples. A unit price per sample will include Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures identified in Section 3.

5. Statutory Authority: The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – only one source reasonably available.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5:

No other laboratory can offer all the sample analyses that includes Selenium and 23 other trace elements that meets both laboratory analyses and standard methodology to provide consistent and comparable data with other current and published studies. The Trace Element Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University has the necessary equipment, staff, expertise and accreditation to process all biological samples and can provide results from analysis on the desired timeline. The Trace Element Research Laboratory has processed our Selenium pilot samples, and rail tissues for our project partners, and it is essential that the Trace Element Research Laboratory process this project’s coordinated food web samples to preserve data integrity and comparability within and across projects in order to meet project obligations. If this lab cannot be awarded this sole source agreement, we jeopardize our ability to publish this data and provide research-based products for our DOI and partners in a timely manner.

7. Other Information:

If award was made to another source, we jeopardize the coordinated effort for data integrity and comparability between our pilot project data and with our project partners.

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted:

This study is part of a larger and coordinated effort with Federal, State, and non-Governmental agencies to leverage and coordinate separate research projects for greater usability within the Salton Sea region. As a part of a data review, identified the need to standardize data collection and laboratory protocols to obtain data that would be comparable across space, time, and individual studies. Our pilot biological tissue samples have been analyzed by the Trace Element Research Laboratory and this laboratory is currently used by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to process total Selenium and other trace elements for the endangered Yuma Rail. For the greatest consistency across the analyses of all the food web compartments, we are requesting to use TERL to process our particulate organic matter (filters), detritus, algae, vegetation, invertebrates and fish tissues samples for Selenium.

It is essential that samples be processed in the same laboratory to ensure data integrity and comparability. The Trace Element Research Laboratory, uses the same methods and equipment to preserve data integrity and comparability with other published data and current DOI partner study. It is for this reason that the request is made for a sole source procurement with the knowledge that the competitive process should be pursued whenever feasible/possible when data integrity and comparability within and across projects is not a priority.

Request for Information (RFI) 140G0323Q0158 was posted to SAM.gov for 8 days with one response received, which was determined not to be technically acceptable.

9. Future Plans to Permit Competition: Future requirements will undergo market research and be competed to the maximum extent practical.

10. Recommendation and Certification from Program Office:

Based on the above, I recommend this acquisition be conducted on a sole source basis and certify the above statements are true and accurate to the best of my knowledge.

11. Certifications from the Contracting Officer:

a. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – only one source reasonably available. The Government anticipates receiving a fair and reasonable price by basing it on one or more of the allowable options indicated in FAR 13.106(a)(2).

b. This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief and in the best interests of the government.

12. Approvals