Sole_Source_JA_DDMS_1.pdf

Sole Source Justification

Under FAR 13.501* (*format follows FAR 6.303-2, but modified to reflect FAR subpart 13.5 procedures)

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Mission Support (OMS), Office of Acquisition Solutions (OAS)

2. Description of Action: A firm fixed-price purchase order (PO) to MERP Systems, Inc.

3. Description of Services/ Reason for Sole Source: This requirement is for Document and Data Management Support (DDMS) for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). The period of performance is January 24, 2024 with two 1-month option periods. The resultant PO will be a follow-on to the current DDMS contract under GS-35F- 409CA/68HE0H18F1508 with no changes to the scope of work. The estimated value is $665,510.00.

DDMS serves as an integral and vital role of the registration process to the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) by providing the continuous service of protecting human health and environmental safety. This role is consistent to a system that requires its regulatory services to remain open 24 hours a day in the receipt of applications for new registration of pesticides, amending registered pesticides, devices used in the use of pesticides, and the ongoing improvement in the quality products regulated and approved for public and experimental use.

Critical services are rendered to OPP’s in-processing workflow of submitted pesticide applications to the agency for its review and/or approval. Following the processing of meta data, critical services include: 21-day Pre-Screening Review of all documents related to jackets, review of Confidential Statement of Formulars (CSF) for agency approved chemicals in product’s formulation, verification of data-matrixes and chemical pesticide codes, indexing of scientific studies for compliance (e.g. errors, missing data/information, Good Lab Practice, formating, validate metadata matches document description and Cover letter) and filling out a Pass Sheet notating all deficiencies for the federal client.

Furthermore, the DDMS also triages, and reviews all received 6a2 Individual Incident Reports submitted by consumers and pesticide industry (e.g., review toxicity reports, data extraction, entry, and QA), which is extremely critical in supporting the agency’s ability to be notified of all toxic exposure incidents related to a pesticide use. Should any of the tasks performed stop, it will create an immediate and unequivocally catastrophic stop gap for the Government, thus preventing OPP from reviewing and/or registering pesticide product applications affecting a multi-billion-dollar industry and the safety of our nation’s consumers. At this time, only the incumbent, MERP Systems, can reasonably provide the required service support without substantial duplication of cost and an unacceptable disruption to operations.

4. Actions to Increase Competition: The current contract was competed. The requirement for the long-term contract will tentatively be competed using the GSA Multiple Award Schedule.

Contracting Officer Certification/ Approval:

I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature: ________________________________Date: _1/22/2024_______________

Typed Name: _Hillari Hawkins________________Title:__Contracting Officer_________