D03_MVK_Subsequent_JA_Columbia_Lock__Dam_HCA_Approved.pdf

BARFIELD.LANNY.B.123078

Digitally signed by BARFIELD.LANNY.B.1230785062 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=BARFIELD.LANNY.B.1230785062 Date: 2019.02.20 12:46:19 -06'00'

FINCH.STEVEN.HANDLE

Y.1270607035

Digitally signed by FINCH.STEVEN.HANDLEY.1270607035 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=FINCH.STEVEN.HANDLEY.1270607035 Date: 2019.02.20 13:43:44 -06'00'

ERWIN.DEMETRIC.THOMPSO

N.1230772092

Digitally signed by ERWIN.DEMETRIC.THOMPSON.1230772092 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=ERWIN.DEMETRIC.THOMPSON.1230772092 Date: 2019.02.20 15:41:12 -06'00'

COSEY

MAYFIELD.SARAH.LYNNIESE.1256607286

Digitally signed by COSEY MAYFIELD.SARAH.LYNNIESE.1256607286 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=COSEY

MAYFIELD.SARAH.LYNNIESE.1256607286

Date: 2019.02.20 16:18:39 -06'00'

S0CT9LJE

Typewritten Text Senior Contracting Official

S0CT9LJE

Typewritten Text 6 March 2019

Control #: MVK-2019-0013

For Official Use Only

SUBSEQUENT JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District Contracting Office, 4155 Clay Street, Vicksburg, MS 39183-3435.

2. Description of Action:

The purpose of this action is to modify contract W912EE-18-C-0012, which was awarded to Massman Construction Company on 16 August 2018 for the performance of emergency repairs to Columbia Lock and Dam #4 located on the Ouachita River in the State of Louisiana, in order to increase the scope and value of the repair efforts.

The current contract was awarded on a sole source basis and was supported by Justification and Approval (J&A) Control Number MVK-2018-0051 citing FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency, that was approved by the Alternate Command Advocate for Competition on 3 October 2018 (following verbal approval provided on 10 July 2018).

Therefore this action to increase the value of the sole source contract is considered a subsequent J&A and will be approved at the cumulative non-competitive value of the contract, which places the approval at the level of the Head of the Contracting Activity.

On 29 November 2018, pursuant to the authority at FAR 6.302-2 - Unusual and Compelling Urgency, the USACE Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA) provided verbal authority for the PCO to modify contract W912EE18C0012, to increase the total contract value up to an amount not to exceed $35,000,000. At that time, the District was realizing that the damage was significantly more extensive than originally thought, but did not yet know the full extent of the required emergency repairs.

On 18 January 2019, the cumulative non-competitive value of the contract exceeded the Command Advocate for Competition’s authority with the issuance of Modification P00008 and thus the HCA verbal authority was invoked. This J&A documents the HCA approval.

To date there have subsequently been (14) modifications issued to this contract, increasing the total contract value to $17,934,246.64.

The contract is Firm Fixed-Price and is funded by 12E Emergency O&M funds.

3. Description of Supplies/Services:

The work consists of furnishing all plant, labor, materials and equipment, and construction related to the emergency seepage repairs at the Columbia Lock and Dam, located on the Ouachita River in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana. Principal features of work include mobilization and demobilization; excavating and backfilling of stone protection; installing new sheet piling; sub-aqueous grouting of scour holes and sheet piling; placement of stone protection within scour holes; installation and dewatering of new relief wells; foundation drilling/coring and grouting beneath concrete approach aprons and lock walls; removal of existing concrete blocks, construction of new concrete lock chamber blocks, and placement of new and existing concrete lock chamber blocks; exploratory drilling and sampling; site monitoring including surveying and reading of piezometer and relief well data; web camera system; storm water pollution prevention, and environmental protection.

The above described work is being completed in six (6) areas which mainly consist of drilling grout/sounding holes and injecting grout or concrete into the voids detected under compromised sections of the lock. Sections or areas of work include one (1) the lock’s upstream approach slab, two (2) upstream gate sill, three (3) landside lock wall, four (4) downstream gate seal, five (5) downstream gate seal and (6) optional repairs to the lock chamber floor.

The original J&A was approved for an estimated $10M and the contract was subsequently awarded in the amount of $9,854,000 with three options totaling $1,105,475 to be exercised as funding became available, for a total contract value of $10,959,475. The contractor was required to complete the repairs not later than 120 calendar days after the date the contractor received the notice to proceed, which was issued on 31 August 2018, and acknowledged on 04 September 2018. Work commenced under the contract on 11 September 2018. After the contract was awarded, it was discovered that increased grout and tremie concrete is required to fill the significantly larger than expected voids under the lock. Based upon currently known information, the District anticipates that the “best case scenario” is that the project will require an estimated additional $7M to $10M in work, while the “worst case scenario” is that the project will require an estimated $10M to $20M additional funding to complete the repairs. Therefore, this subsequent J&A provides approval to increase the contract from $10,959,475 to an estimated value of $35M. The period of performance has changed to 250 calendar days from notice to proceed. The estimated contract completion date has been revised to 15 May 2019.

4. Authority Cited:

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(2), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency. The Agency’s need for the supplies or services is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured unless the agency is permitted to limit the number of sources from which it solicits bids or proposals, full and open competition need not be provided for.

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

a. Background

The US Army Corps of Engineers has statutorily assigned missions, which include maintaining civil works projects such as the Columbia Lock and Dam, on the Ouachita River, in the State of Louisiana, for the benefit of the public. As described in the previous J&A

Control Number MVK-2018-0051, severe foundational undermining was discovered at the Columbia Lock and Dam #4. The emergency specifically involved voids being discovered beneath the lock’s approach slab, gate sill and landside wall of the lock chamber. A large sand boil was visually detected moving foundation material from the lock chamber out into the downstream channel. The boil, in conjunction with the voids beneath the lock approach and wall, potentially endanger the integrity of the lock structure’s ability to maintain the upper pool’s water level.

On 03 July 2018, due to the dual concerns of structural failure and the potential inability to maintain upper pool, a dam safety emergency was declared by Vicksburg District command elements. Navigation remains suspended to all marine traffic through the lock.

On 10 July 2018, pursuant to the authority at FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency, verbal approval was received from the USACE Alternate Command Advocate for Competition to negotiate and award an emergency construction contract, for immediate seepage repairs to the Columbia Lock and Dam on the Ouachita River in Louisiana. The authorization included authority for the Vicksburg District Contracting Office to proceed with contract award and complete a written J&A after the fact. The authorization was for an estimated value of $10M. On 16 August 2018, contract W912EE-18-C0012 was awarded to Massman Construction Company in the amount of $10,959,475. The contract value included a base amount of $9,854,000, and three (3) options valued at $1,105,475 for repairs to Columbia Lock and Dam #4. Work commenced under the contract on 11 September 2018.

The Alternate Command Advocate for Competition approved the written “after the fact” J&A on 3 October 2018.

At the time of award it was estimated that the quantity of grout necessary to fill the voids under the upstream and downstream approach slabs and gate sills was approximately 48.9 cubic yards. 0n 01 November 2018 as work progressed and a significant amount of drilling was completed on the upstream lock approach slab (area one), it was determined that the void in the upstream approach slab is actually nearly 10 times larger than estimated for all the upstream and downstream slabs and sills combined, with approximately 450 cubic yards of grout needed just on the upstream approach slab. Similar voids have been verified under the upstream gate sill. These larger voids necessitate significant overruns in the volume of grout required to fill the voids and thus the contract cost. Indications are that the land side lock wall and downstream approach will also see similar overruns requiring additional modification of the contract.

Based on the size of the voids discovered as a result of the contractor’s drilling the Project Development Team (PDT) in coordination with the Contractor have determined that a change to a combination of grout and a less expensive mix of tremie concrete will be best to complete the needed repairs. Initial best case estimates are that the project will face an estimated 46,000 cubic yards overrun of grout/tremie concrete to complete the project.

b. Justification

The proposed contract action meets the criteria for other than full and open competition under FAR 6.302-2 due to the urgent and compelling circumstances surrounding this requirement, in that a delay in award of the modification to increase the value of contract W912EE-18-C0012 would result in serious injury, financial, or other to the Government.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Dam Safety Program uses risk to inform how it manages the approximately 700 dams it operates and maintains, with life safety the highest priority. This approach is a best practice adopted to evaluate, prioritize and justify dam safety decisions. Using risk information allows USACE to repair its dams in the most effective manner within a constrained budget. Columbia Lock and Dam has a Dam Safety Action Classification (DSAC) rating of 4, meaning the dam is inadequate with low risk such that the combination of life, economic or environmental consequences with a probability of failure is low, and the dam may not meet all essential USACE engineering guidelines. If a breach occurs at this structure, the upper pool could not be maintained at its intended elevation and would drop down equal to the lower pool elevation of 34 ft. Navigation would be suspended indefinitely, water supply intakes upstream of Columbia Lock and Dam would be left with insufficient elevation to provide water to its customers, and house-boats, upstream of Columbia Lock and Dam could be beached due to low river conditions. In addition, extensive bank caving of the river channel banks would occur upstream of the project due to a lower river level, potentially damaging adjacent lands and structures.

If the sand boil and voids beneath the lock walls were left unaddressed, a failure of the lock structure and loss of upper pool was inevitable. The sand boil would continue to pipe foundation material from underneath the lock walls until the lock walls became unstable and failed, falling into the lock chamber. Failure of the lock walls would progress from downstream to upstream until the upper miter gates either failed or until the upper pool was routed around the lock chamber. As a result, a loss of damming surface would be realized, and ultimately a loss of upper pool level would be experienced. A loss of upper pool level would result in a complete loss of navigable water depths upstream of Columbia Lock and Dam. Losing damming surface means that the river can no longer be dammed to provide sufficient navigable depths within the river. Either a complete rebuild or repairs to the structure in a fully failed condition would cost exponentially more money than the interim repairs to be performed, and the time duration to restore the river system and its associated benefits (navigation, water supply, etc.) would take several years rather than the 120 days that are required to complete the current repairs. The District declared the Official Dam Safety Emergency on 3 July 2018. For the reasons detailed above, it was essential that the District take immediate action in order to prevent further damage and possibly a complete failure of the lock walls, and to circumvent additional impacts and restore navigation through the Columbia Lock and Dam. The increased voids have only exacerbated the urgency of the needed repairs. The current contractor must continue efforts without delay and it is not possible to compete the additional grout work.

c. Alternatives

Exploratory drilling continues to improve our understanding of the overall damages to the structure and the remediation work needed to address these damages. Progression of grouting work to fill the voids further defines the nature and magnitude of the work required.

The Government is leveraging expertise throughout the enterprise to address the challenges at the lock and dam. The Government is working with the Engineering Research and Development Center, the Levee Safety Center, the Inland Navigation Design Center and other federal partners to ensure that we are dedicating the best engineering minds and technology to understand the situation at Columbia.

As exploratory drilling along the riverside lock wall did not identify any voids, there is a low to medium level of confidence on the estimated voids that we know exist under the landside lock wall. Exploratory drilling is currently in progress on the downstream gate sill and the approach slab. With the continued progression of drilling and grouting operations, confidence levels continue to improve.

As the Government gains a better understanding of the extent of the damage on the lower end of the structure, it will be better suited to identify a more formalized schedule for repair completion. With the amount of unknowns and assumptions in consideration, the completion date for the repair work is subject to change. It is estimated that the remaining work will require a two to four-month extension to the contract duration, to on or about April 2019.

Once the current work is completed, the dam safety emergency will be re-evaluated and consideration given to resumption of navigation through the Columbia Lock dependent on the successful completion of all repairs.

d. Impacts

Cost

Letting the lock fail by allowing the situation to go uncorrected would affect life, health, and safety of the citizens the locks were created to protect. Additionally, the government would be significantly harmed as the assigned mission would fail, navigation would be permanently suspended on the Ouachita River, and the city of Monroe, La would face impacts to their drinking water supply due to loss of the Columbia Lock Pool. A negative public opinion of USACE, and the USACE mission would likely result from the above scenario.

Loss of navigation, and recreation on the Ouachita River, due to closure of the Columbia Lock has already occurred and is ongoing. Permanent failure of this project could likely result in long term loss of navigation, loss of pool to the water supply for the city of Monroe, Louisiana, and potential damage to the system upstream of the lock chamber.

A complete failure of the project, a likely scenario without the successful completion of the ongoing emergency repairs, will have an impact on commerce and would be an unacceptable scenario to the public.

A failure to complete the project to a point where navigation is restored to the system will also have a negative impact to other USACE contracts awarded in this same watershed that are dependent on the moving of a large volume of stone through the Columbia Lock to the Monroe Pool. Specifically contract W912EE18C0016 awarded in the amount of $28,117,000 for the stabilization of the Monroe Flood Wall. A likely scenario would be that this contract would have to be terminated for convenience in part, or in total, due to the excessive cost of transporting this volume of stone by any means other than by barge through the Columbia Lock.

Water Supply

Impacts to municipalities and industries that rely on the upper pool at Columbia Lock and Dam would be severe if the repair were not to be installed. The city of Monroe, Louisiana uses the upper pool to provide water to its citizens, and several industries and electric companies depend on the upper pool for their business and to provide electricity to their customers. All would be severely impacted by a failure of the Columbia Lock and Dam and a loss of the upper pool.

Private Citizen Impact

In addition, several boat houses would be completely beached and extensive bank caving could be expected due to loss of the upper pool at Columbia in which lands and structures adjacent to the banks of the Ouachita River would be impacted including several stretches of the nearby levees and the Monroe, Louisiana flood wall.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

Upon the determining that this situation would require an emergency procurement, the MVK contracting office began identifying potential contractors with a history of successfully completing lock repairs, of similar scope and magnitude, on previous USACE construction contracts, who were potentially capable of mobilizing immediately. The intent was to offer this requirement to a limited number of capable contractors under limited competition. Four potential contractors were included in the initial solicitation, and all but one (Massman Construction) submitted a no bid response for various reasons, including contractual commitments to other USACE districts, volume of work available to industry at this time, and risk associated with this project.

No additional efforts were made to obtain competition after award of the initial base contract.

Due to the fluid conditions impacting the timing of when technical decisions will be made, and when full funding is identified, the Contracting Officer must be in a position to act quickly to make necessary modifications to allow completion of the current contract. The current mission will not afford sufficient time for a full and open competition for completion of the work. Making the necessary modifications to the contract, without causing significant delay in the progression of the work is the most cost effective option for the Government to pursue. Any delay would also certainly have a cost impact associated with a work stoppage, as the contractor is currently mobilized with daily onsite cost impacts.

7. Actions to Increase Competition:

This requirement is a one-time requirement. The Vicksburg District continues to solicit similar non-emergency requirement using full and open competition from various sources.

8. Market Research:

Market research identified 6 potential contractors that were considered technically capable based on their history of successfully completing lock repairs, of similar scope and magnitude, on previous USACE construction contracts. Of the contractor’s identified only 4 indicated initial interest in the requirement and requested to be included on the solicitation for proposals. On 23 July 2018 an onsite pre-bid conference was held with potential interested bidders in attendance to receive an overview of the project, solicitation, and the plans and specifications for the work.

In response to the solicitation, all potential bidders except Massman Construction submitted a “no bid”. Contract W912EE-18-C0012 is awarded to Massman Construction Company in the amount of $10,959,475. The contract value included a base amount of $9,854,000, and three (3) options valued at $1,105,475. Work commenced under the contract on 11 September 2018 and the work is ongoing. The Government has not conducted further market research at this time, and it is the intent to modify this contract for any additional cost associated with grout and concretes overruns.

9. Interested Sources:

Per FAR 5.202 (a)(2), (2), “The proposed contract action is made under the conditions described in 6.302-2 (or, for purchases conducted using simplified acquisition procedures, if unusual and compelling urgency precludes competition to the maximum extent practicable) and the Government would be seriously injured if the agency complies with the time periods specified in 5.203”. Based on the above-referenced regulation, a synopsis of the proposed contract action was not posted.

10. Other Facts:

It has been ultimately determined that modifying the existing contract for the additional work and cost associated with the grout & concrete overruns due to larger than estimated scouring under the lock, as indicated in the paragraphs above, under the Urgent and Compelling authority at 6.302-2, is in the best interest of the Government.

11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the subsequent justification, are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief:

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/06.htm#P117_17256 http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/05.htm#P87_14913

Name: Lanny B. Barfield

Title:

Chief, Geotechnical Branch

Signature:

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

Name: Lanny B. Barfield

Chief, Geotechnical Branch

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination:

I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for these contract actions will be fair and reasonable. Certified cost and pricing data was obtained to award the original contract (W912EE-18-C-0012), an independent government estimate prepared, an analysis of the proposal was conducted, and fair and reasonable rates for the original contract were negotiated. All contract modifications, both the 14 executed thus far and for each anticipated future modification, are not expected to individually exceed the threshold to obtain new certified cost and pricing data. If any modification exceeds the certified cost and pricing data threshold then certified cost and pricing data will be obtained and a cost analysis conducted as no exceptions to obtaining certified cost and pricing data has been identified.

New independent government estimates are obtained for all modifications and compared against contractor proposals and price or cost analysis are conducted as appropriate. All modifications are examined individually to determine that the price to the government is both fair and reasonable and will be negotiated as necessary to reach fair and reasonable prices.

Name: R. Ellis Screws

Contracting Officer

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

Name: R. Ellis Screws

Contracting Officer

Approval

Based on the foregoing subsequent justification, I hereby give authorization to proceed with modification of Contract W912EE-18-C0012 for the Ouachita and Black Rivers, Caldwell Parish, LA, Columbia Lock and Dam Seepage Repair, Ouachita River on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 USC 2304(c)(2) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency. In order to complete larger than originally anticipated emergency repairs, this approval allows an increase in the contract value from $10,959,475 to an estimated $35,000,000, subject to the availability of funds and provided that the services described herein are otherwise authorized for acquisition.

MICHAEL D. HOSKIN Date Brigadier General, USA Head of Contracting Activity