A03.10_OWI_Sole_source_justification_LetterR1_Signed.pdf

Justification and Approval for Sole Source Basis under Simplified Acquisition For

Extratropical and Tropical Cyclones Wind and Pressure Fields for Coastal Hazards System: South Atlantic Regional Systems Management Study

1. Contracting Activity: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199.

2. Description of Action: A new service contract action will be initiated. It will be funded as part of the US Corps of Engineers South Atlantic Comprehensive Coast Study (SACCS).

3. Description of Services: The USACE South Atlantic Division is sponsoring a project for the computation of the coastal storm response and hazards over the entire South Atlantic Division U.S. coastline using the Joint Probability Method (JPM). Management of the data and distribution of results through a public web site called the Coastal Hazards System. The USACE ERDC requires the specific support and analyses associated with the generation of best wind and pressure fields for thirteen historical tropical storms and 100 extra tropical storm events for the South Atlantic coast region of the United States, including the development of TROP file input for the tropical storms and the development of track paths and wind and pressure files for 1200 synthetic storms.

The total price for these products and services contract is $222,000.

4. Authority Cited: Pursuant to FAR 6.302-1(a)(1)(ii), the proposed acquisition will be awarded as a sole source award. Simplified acquisition procedures as authorized by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5 Test Program for Certain Commercial Items will be used. The Government intends to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12 subject to the order of precedence provided at 12.102.

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

The wind/pressure fields required for the storm forcing for the quantification of coastal hazard response must be compatible in all aspects (form, fit, and function) with existing wind/pressure fields presently used in previous and ongoing JPM coastal hazard studies and used in USACE's Wave Information Study (WIS). Specific examples of previous and ongoing coastal hazard studies by the USACE are the 2015 North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS) and the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Feasibility Study (CTS). The current effort requires the development and application of methodologies and products that match previous and ongoing efforts by the USACE in the quantification of coastal hazards along the U.S. hurricane exposed coast.

The products and services sought here will be identically developed to those used for the NACCS and the CTS.

All wind/pressure field specifications used in the NACCS and in the WIS have all been developed by Oceanweather, Inc. Therefore, Oceanweather, Inc. is the only responsible source capable of providing the wind/pressure fields that can also be compatible and consistent with previous work. Oceanweather, Inc. has over the past three decades supplied all wind/pressure fields for the WIS effort and for major JPM coastal studies since Katrina performed by the USACE and FEMA. Some of these studies include:

1. Mississippi Coastal Analysis Project (MCAP) by FEMA(2008)

2. Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) by USACE (2009)

3. Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration (LACPR) by USACE (2009)

4. FEMA Region 6 Flood Insurance Study: Coastal Counties, Texas by USACE (2011)

5. Region II Storm Surge Project by FEMA (2014)

6. North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study by USACE (2015)

7. Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Feasibility Study by USACE (ongoing)

Changing contractors would present a significant risk to the Government as the entire wind/pressure field archives would have to be regenerated, and the entire WIS hindcast re-run. More importantly, diverging from the past methods for generating wind fields would have a detrimental effect on the compatibility of USACE coastal hazard quantification effort and related products. This may result in extensive revisions to recent coastal hazard studies that have been already performed.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: A Market Research study was performed to evaluate viable options for competition.

7. Requirements Certification: “I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

Typed Name: Victor Gonzalez Title:

Date: 13 October 2016 Signature:

8. Contracting Officer Certification: Contracting Officer Certification: “I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

Typed Name: Robbie Beard

Title: Contracting Officer

Date: 13 October 2016 Signature: