Sole Source Justification - Wetland Mitigation Credits CAPA Project__Redacted.pdf

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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NOTE: If a Justification was approved for the preceding acquisition, a copy of the approved Justification for the predecessor action must be included in the staff package for approval of the instant Justification. This applies to Justification staff packages that are submitted for review and approval at a level above the contracting officer. The predecessor Justification will be used as a reference document by the approving official.

Is this a new or amended J&A Document? New Amended ( Prior to Award Only! )

Is this a Bridge Action as defined in the AF Bridge Action Reduction Plan? Yes No

Funding level for this acquisition: >SAT and < $700K > $700K and < $13.5M

Contracting Activity: 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron / PKC

Purchase Request / Local ID Number:

Program / Project (and PE, if applicable): Wetland Mitigation Credits

Program Type (PEO or Other Contracting):

Authority: AFFARS 5313.501 - 10 U.S.C. 2302b, Implementation of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (41 U.S.C. 1901)

AFFARS 5313.501 - 10 U.S.C. 2304a, Special Emergency Procurement Authority (41 U.S.C. 1903)

Estimated Contract Cost Justification Type: Class Individual

COORDINATION (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

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I. Contracting Activity.

Department of the Air Force, 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron/PKC Hurlburt Field, FL 32544.

PR #: TBD

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

This action will be awarded as a new contract. This acquisition is not a modification to an existing contract. The contract type selected for this acquisition is Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) in accordance with FAR 12.207(a). The contract number is TBD.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

CLIN 0001: Freshwater Forested Mitigation Bank Credits, Quantity of 39.87 (Each).

This anticipated price of each credit totaling for the entire acquisition. The delivery is anticipated to be immediate due to The Westervelt Company's (Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC) availability of the credits. The quantity is based on a U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers (USACE) functional assessment of the construction site and impacted wetlands that determined how many credits are appropriate for the project identified below. The cost of mitigation credits to a third party is determined by the bank sponsor, Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC, based on market value, recouping investment cost, market demand, and the amount of credits to be purchased. A credit is valued by the extent of the lift in ecological function that will be achieved at the site.

The Combat Aircraft Parking Apron (CAPA) Project's location is within the waters of the United States associated with East Bay River and East Bay Swamp. The project site is located at 415 Independence Avenue, USAF Hurlburt Field, in Sections 6 and 7, Township 2 South, Range 24 West, Okaloosa County, Florida.

Military Construction (MilCON) 3300 appropriations shall be used to fund subject requirement.

IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

This acquisition is anticipated to exceed the Simplified Acquisition Threshold but will not exceed $7M. FAR Subpart

13.5 procedures shall be utilized in this acquisition. Only one responsible source for this acquisition exists. Therefore, the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is AFFARS 5313.501 - 10 U.S.C. 2302b, Implementation of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (41 U.S.C. 1901)

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

There is no other known source of forested wetland mitigation bank credits within our watershed and/or service area, which is the Pensacola Bay Watershed. While freshwater forested wetland credits are available from Garcon Peninsula Mitigation Bank, the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank is the only bank where the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM) has been used. Wetland permitting requires mitigation to be assessed in the same manner as the proposed impact area. A Wetland Rapid Assessment Procedure (WRAP) method was used for the creation of the Garcon Peninsula Mitigation Bank which differs from the UMAM used for the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank. Regulatory agencies will not allow credits to be applied from this bank due to the differences in assessment methods.

The Mitigation Rule of 2008 (Federal Clean Water Act of 1972, Section 404) set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) outlined standards for selecting a location for compensatory mitigation which should be driven by an assessment of watershed needs. The goal of this mitigation is to replace the ecological function and loss of wetland, therefore, the compensatory wetland should also be in-kind replacement of wetland type. The USACE and the FDEP are responsible for determining the appropriate form and amount of compensatory mitigation required. A wetlands mitigation bank is a wetland area that has been restored, established or enhanced to compensate for future conversions of wetlands undergoing development activities.

Permittees, upon approval from regulatory agencies, can obtain credits to meet the requirement for compensatory

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

25 May 2018 Page 4 of 6 mitigation. The value of these credits are determined by quantifying the wetland function and then the credits are certified/approved for purchase by the FDEP and USACE. Mitigation banking is performed away from the development site but within the same watershed.

In accordance with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Permit Number, SAJ-2016-02855-SP-EPS, freshwater forested federal mitigation bank credits shall be purchased from the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank (SAJ-2007-04377). In the interest of achieving functional replacement, in-kind compensation of aquatic resource impacts are required. Furthermore, in accordance with Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Environmental Resource Permit No. 0318613-004- EM/46, freshwater mitigation credits shall be purchased from the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank to offset unavoidable impacts that will occur from the CAPA Project.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable.

This sole source requirement will be posted to the electronic Government Point of Entry for public notification;

Contract Opportunities (www.BetaSam.gov). Any challenges to this sole source requirement will be brought to the attention of the Competition Advocate prior to contract award.

A Sources Sought notice was posted to Federal Business Opportunities in order to seek competition. This notice was posted on 12 June 2019 and closed 19 June 2019. No responses to this notice were recorded.

In accordance with 33 CFR Part 332.3(e), required compensatory mitigation shall be of a similar type to the affected aquatic resources. A determination of applicability of the Bank shall be made by the USACE in association with the entities proposing the impacts and attempting to utilize the Bank credits. The purpose of the Bank is to offer wetland compensatory mitigation for private and public projects anticipated within the mitigation service area.

The USACE and FDEP deemed the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank as the only Bank in the mitigation service area authorized to provide credits for the CAPA Project. The Mitigation Banking Instrument (MBI), USACE No.

SAJ-2007-04377-IP-EPS, regarding the establishment, use, operation and perpetual maintenance of the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank has been prepared by Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC (WES), who is the sponsor of the Bank. WES is required to maintain the lands within the Bank pursuant to the terms of the Mitigation Bank Permits issued by the State of Florida and the USACE.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The contracting officer will utilize techniques recommended in FAR 13.106-3(a)(2) to determine the price fair and reasonable. Current market research and a comparison of past Government acquisitions for the same or similar items will be used for determining the price as fair and reasonable. Published credit pricing offered at other Florida bank sites will also be used for price comparison purposes.

The bank is the site itself, and the currency sold by the bank sponsor to the impact permittee is a credit, which represents the wetland ecological value equivalent to the complete restoration of one acre.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

A mitigation bank is a site where wetlands and/or other aquatic resources are restored, created, enhanced, or in exceptional circumstances, preserved expressly for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation in advance of authorized impacts to similar resources. The service area of a mitigation bank is the designated area (watershed, county) wherein a bank can reasonably by expected to provide appropriate compensation for impacts to wetlands and/or other aquatic resources. Credits and debits are the terms used to designate the units of trade (currency) in mitigation banking. Credits represent the accrual or attainment of aquatic functions at a bank. Credits are debited from

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25 May 2018 Page 5 of 6 a bank when they are used to offset aquatic resource impacts. The assessment methodology used to quantify the amount of available credits is also required to quantify debits in the given service area of a mitigation bank.

Due to USACE and FDEP regulations, market research for this effort was limited to the Mitigation Service Area (MAS) area of Northwest Florida. Two (2) Banks were identified within the mitigation service area, Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank and Garcon Peninsula Mitigation Bank.

(1) A search through Federal and State data bases for mitigation banks in the Pensacola Bay watershed produced results for the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank and the Garcon Peninsula Mitigation Bank.

(2) The Garcon Peninsula Mitigation Bank cannot be used due to the fact that their wetland credits were not evaluated under the UMAM wetland assessment protocol. A different assessment method was used for the creation of the Garcon Peninsula Mitigation Bank, which differs from UMAM, and regulatory agencies (USACE and FDEP) will not allow credits to be applied from this bank due to the differences in assessment methods. Garcon Peninsula Mitigation Bank's credit ledger also revealed credits that are not appropriate to this project. The permits issued by USACE (SAJ-2016-02855-SP- EPS) and FDEP (0318613-004-EM/46) clearly state which type of credits are required and from which Bank. The Garcon Peninsula Mitigation Bank does not posses the correct credits and were not identified or authorized to release credits for the CAPA Project.

(3) Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC's credit ledger specified both the correct type of credit and the quantity that the Government is seeking. This information, combined with the Florida EPA laws governing Wetland Mitigation Banks, indicates that Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC is the only responsible source for these particular credits.

(4) Research on GSA Advantage for wetland mitigation banks in Northwest Florida in the Environmental category yielded 0 results. A web search engine, Google, for wetland mitigation bank credits yielded 28 results but were for companies throughout the United States providing environmental consulting services and wetland assessments. These companies were not mitigation banks in the service area and did not meet the requirement. A search of FDEP's Mitigation Bank Ledgers for the Northwest District showed nine (9) mitigation banks: Bear Creek, Breakfast Point, Devils Swamp, Garcon Peninsula, Nokuse Plantation, Pensacola Bay, Sand Hill Lakes, St. Marks, and Sweetwater. Due to the credit type and quantity required, USACE and FDEP identified the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank as the sole provider of credits for this effort.

(5) Bank credits generated by the management activities and authorized in the State and Federal permitting documents are available for use by public, private and commercial entities within the mitigation service area of a given project and as described through a mitigation bank instrument. The majority of credits released through permits are for commercial and residential construction activities, not related to Federal, State, or Local Government activities/ projects.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

The Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank, USACE Permit No. 0284438-001, was assessed as having a potential of 197.54 freshwater forested credits on an 1,188 acre site. The Garcon Peninsula Mitigation Bank, USACE Permit No.

0170880-001, was assessed as having a potential of 4.26 freshwater forested credits on an 337 acre site. The Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank is the only known Bank within the mitigation service area to have sufficient credits, type and quantity, available for the execution of the CAPA Project in accordance with permits issued through regulatory agencies.

Wetland mitigation bank credits are identified to not have national stock numbers and cannot be ordered through the supply system. The availability and requirements for use of this unique product has prevented its procurement from being made through the supply system. Federal regulation prohibits the purchase of credits from outside the watershed where the wetland impact occurs.

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X. List of any sources that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank, owned by Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC (WES). The land for the Bank was acquired in 2008 by WES for the purpose of the establishment of the Bank. The property had previously been identified for purchase by the State of Florida under the Florida Forever Program, but was removed because the property owner was not a "willing seller", which is a requirement of that acquisition program.

XI. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required.

1SOCES/CEIE will continually research the commercial market place within the Pensacola Bay Watershed for other mitigation banks that might become available. A similar level of market research will be performed on future acquisitions. We are engaged with other DoD agencies that are working with commercial vendors engaged in wetland mitigation solutions to meet our tactical requirements. We will reevaluate alternatives once the develop-able land has reached its capacity and mitigation credits are again required to offset wetland impacts for future mission growth.

Federal regulation prohibits the purchase of credits from outside the watershed where the wetland impact occurs. The Bank credits generated by the management activities and authorized in the State and Federal permitting documents are available for use by public, private and commercial entities within the mitigation service area of a given project and as described through a mitigation bank instrument. Future competition shall be based on the results of regulatory agencies functional assessments of the given project location. If multiple Banks within the mitigation service area provide the specific "in-kind" type and quantity credit required, a competitive acquisition shall be pursued.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.