A52_Mosul_JA_MosulDam_5-6-16_Final.pdf

Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition Mosul Dam Grouting and Bottom Outlet Repair

Oversight Engineering Services

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION – SEE FAR 3.104 and FAR 2.100

Control # 16-0005

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Solicitation Number: W912ER-16-R-0023

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.3, and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.302-1, the use of the statutory authority under FAR 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303- 2 as follows:

1. CONTRACTING AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Division Middle East District (TAM), P.O. Box 2250, Winchester, VA 22604-1450.

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: Due to the circumstances described herein, the Middle East District requests authority to issue a sole source, Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contract for Architect-Engineer (A-E) and design services to AECOM Technical Services (AECOM) in support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) mission to provide A-E services at the Mosul Dam in Iraq, using Other Than Full and Open Competition as prescribed by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services will Satisfy Agency Requirements. The Government estimate for the proposed contract action is $49,051,000, which will be funded subject to the availability of funds.

Prompt procurement of A-E services from AECOM will enable TAM to provide proficient and urgent A-E support to the construction contract awarded by the Government of Iraq (GOI) for the grouting and bottom outlet repair of Mosul Dam. Without this A-E support, USACE will be unable to provide all essential services needed to bring Mosul Dam to a stable structural condition within the critical 18-month construction effort.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES OR NATURE OF CONSTRUCTION: Under the contract, AECOM will provide critical quality assurance, technical, and engineering support for high-volume grouting, maintenance grouting, and repair of the bottom outlet at the Mosul Dam, Iraq. Efforts include the following: a) review grouting activities, b) develop mix designs, c) advise on grouting procedures and locations, d) assess the condition of the grouting gallery and the dam’s bottom outlet concrete and mechanical/electrical structures associated therewith, e) provide repair alternatives, f) monitor construction activities, and g) perform testing on behalf of USACE during foundation grouting and repair of the bottom outlets. The grouting and bottom outlet repair contract was awarded to Trevi S. p. A. (Trevi) in February 2016 under a cost-plus-fee agreement by the Government of Iraq.

The services required for this urgent undertaking are within AECOM’s capability as demonstrated in its response to TAM’s Sources Sought notice issued on the Government’s Federal Business Opportunity (FBO) site requiring experience and capabilities statements from interested A-E firms for the dam related services listed above. AECOM was determined to be the most technically qualified among the firms that responded to the Sources Sought.

4. AUTHORITY CITED: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1(a), “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.”

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED: For the urgent Mosul Dam A-E effort, AECOM Technical Services is considered the only responsible source and was selected as the most highly capable contractor for the specialized work required.

Of the firms that responded to the TAM Sources Sought synopsis, AECOM was found by the USACE Dam Safety Modification Mandatory Center of Expertise (DSMMCX) technical team to be the most highly qualified firm with the specialized experience and technical competence to perform the essential services necessary to meet USACE mission requirements at Mosul Dam. Moreover, AECOM was the only firm whose submission addressed all of the requirements with experience and capabilities relevant to all critical aspects of the work required. AECOM has design and construction experience on numerous projects with dam foundation drilling and grouting, grout curtain design, and dam outlet works rehabilitation. AECOM has current experience with data collection and management at several high risk projects, including specific and ongoing experience with Mosul Dam. AECOM has experience interacting with the Government of Iraq’s construction contractor, Trevi S.p.A., and experience working with Kurdish and Government of Iraq officials and other Middle Eastern nations. AECOM has a significant number of available professionally registered staff that could be utilized to enhance grouting data evaluations, quality assurance, and provide support for USACE decisions.

5.1. ACQUISITION BACKGROUND: Mosul Dam has been recognized as the most dangerous dam in the world for the past decade. Recent assessments by the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers Dam Safety Community, including the Risk Management Center, ERDC, and LRN staff, as well as panels of experts outside USACE, found that it is at a “significantly higher risk” of failing than previously thought. The dam’s structural problems became evident as soon as the reservoir behind it was filled in 1985. It is built on layers of clay and gypsum, a soft mineral that dissolves when it comes into contact with water, and the dam immediately began seeping. Since then, about 100,000 tons of grout have been poured into the structure to prevent it from collapsing. But even this stopgap measure has been disrupted by the Islamic State, which briefly seized the dam in the summer of 2014. The militants still hold the nearby city of Mosul, their de facto capital in Iraq. According to the Army Corps of Engineers’ report of January 30, 2016, the monitoring team has identified “significant signs of distress”.

5.2. UNACCEPTABLE DELAYS: Neglect caused by insurgent military activity around Mosul have delayed more than 24 months of critical operational maintenance resulting in severe subsurface cavitation. In an accelerated and truncated schedule, the construction contractor will conduct minimum initial critical restorations in 12 months, including a 6 month mobilization period.

If the dam fails when water levels are high, the flooding would be disastrous. According to recent studies, the city of Mosul, located approximately 30 miles southeast of the dam, would be hit by a 65-foot wall of water and wiped out within four hours. Farther downstream, Tikrit is expected to be deluged in 50 feet of water before the torrent bursts another dam at Samarra. Within 48 hours, floods 13-feet deep would reach Baghdad. The U.S. Government has estimated the collapse of the dam could cause the deaths of nearly 5 million Iraqis living along the Tigris River. This catastrophic event would not only result in significant loss of human lives, but also the loss of livestock and property damages, causing an economic and humanitarian crisis in the Nation of Iraq.

5.3. IMPACT: The Mosul Dam is at extremely high risk of failure based on current observations made by Dam Safety professionals. They have identified subsidence features on the dam’s embankment and crushing features in the joints within the grouting gallery of the dam. Current piezo metric data and crack meter data, that are representative of ongoing failure mechanisms, are being seen. Additionally, since August, 2014, when ISIL took the dam, there has been the loss of constant grouting that is required to fill continuously developing seepage paths and voids in the foundation, which could allow collapse or movements, resulting in failure of the dam. Currently, the bottom outlet is only partially functional, and one outlet does not permit flow. The dam is not designed for single outlet flow and is resulting in a scouring of materials below the outlet that contribute to the instability of the foundation and the outlet works itself. Not awarding this sole source contract to AECOM for Mosul Dam A-E services will result in mission failure and the potential collapse of the dam, posing a risk to millions of lives in population centers along the Tigris River in Iraq. This contract is part of an overall effort to immediately provide trusted agents, dam safety, construction management, and administration support to the Government of Iraq during high volume grout stabilization efforts and ongoing maintenance grouting for the continued stability of the Mosul Dam.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: A Sources Sought was posted April 11, 2016 on Federal Business Opportunity (FBO) with a response date of April 15, 2016.

TAM received fifteen (15) interested contractors. All contractor capability statements were reviewed by the Dam Safety Modification Mandatory Center of Expertise (DSMMCX) technical team and the results of the Sources Sought analysis determined that AECOM Technical Services was the most capable A-E contractor to meet USACE mission requirements at Mosul Dam. One other firm, MLV Group, has experience with various aspects of dam engineering, but it merely provided a general statement rather than a concise summary of its capabilities and experience relevant to the specific types of work anticipated under this contract and it did not adequately address some of the key technical requirements identified in the Sources Sought notice, particularly those related to grouting of high head dams in karst foundations. The remaining twelve contractors provided experience and capabilities statements that did not address, or only minimally addressed, key aspects of the technical requirements.

Prior to issuance of the Sources Sought, TAM intended to award an A-E Task Order under TAM’s existing Single Award Task Order Contract (SATOC) pool of four contracts that provide A-E services for TAM customers’ requirements in the CENTCOM area of operations. In accordance with the A-E SATOC task order award process, all SATOC holders submitted responses to an RFI in support of the Mosul Dam effort. It was determined that the contractor, Michael Baker Jr./AECOM, JV ( SATOC holder under Contract No. W921ER-14-D-0002), was the most highly qualified contractor to support the requirement. However, in the course of the pre-award process, during the week of 11 April 2016, the Michael Baker Jr. member of the joint venture decided it was unable to support the requirement due to corporate concerns. The pre-award actions were cancelled and the Sources Sought was issued to determine the ability of other A-E contractors to execute the Mosul Dam A-E services requirement.

TAM explored using the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contract with AECOM; however, the process (as described by the contract POC to the TAM Contracting Officer) required additional coordination and time that would not support the TAM suspense for awarding a contract to have the A-E contractor in Iraq by July 2016.

7. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION: It is not contemplated that this will be an enduring requirement. This particular request is a result of the immediate need for specialized A-E services during the 18-month effort by the construction contractor to reinforce and stabilize Mosul Dam. TAM conducted a wide range of market research, as described in paragraph 8, which included researching the availability of other potential sources and exploring other courses of action to meet this requirement. In addition, on 18 April 2016, the requirement was synopsized as a Notice of Intent to

Sole Source on Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) as required by FAR

5.201, affording interested firms an opportunity to submit a written affirmative response indicating its technical capabilities to meet the specific requirement of the Sole Source

Notice. Four (4) responses to the Notice of Intent were received by May 2, 2016, within the 15-day synopsis period. Firms that responded to the notice include: ALRAFIDIAN, Safaa Al-Rawaby, Majone Partners, and Spectrum Integrated Solutions, LLC. The

Sole Source Assessment Team, comprising of subject matter experts from USACE

Dam Safety Modification Mandatory Center of Expertise and from the Risk Manager, Risk

Management Center, did an assessment of Architect-Engineer firms’ written experience/capabilities statements. Based on the Team’s assessment of the written

Statements provided by the five firms noted above, all of them were judged to be unacceptable to meet the requirements of the work at Mosul Dam as described in the Sole

Source Notice. AECOM is the only firm that provided a Statement which clearly demonstrated its experience and capabilities to perform all requirements described in the

Sources Sought and the Notice of Intent.

8. MARKET RESEARCH: Market research was conducted from April 11, 2016 to April 15, 2016 in accordance with FAR Part 10. TAM researched the USACE HQ database and the Interagency Contract Directory database of A-E design contracts. TAM gathered information from other districts, to include Omaha, Huntsville, and Europe, seeking possibilities of utilizing existing contract vehicles.

The parameters under which TAM conducted the research include the following:

Outside the Contiguous United States (OCONUS) – Seeking districts with capabilities within the GCC geographic area.

Request for Information (RFI) – Issued to TAM’s A-E SATOC pool for A-E Dam services in accordance with draft SOW.

Sources Sought – Posted April 11, 2016 on FBO and TAM received fourteen interested contractors.

Querying both Government-wide database and USACE HQ database revealed no available IDIQ contract vehicles that covered the parameters identified above. Districts contacted lacked contracting capability and capacity to satisfy TAM’s requirements.

As a result of the market research, it is determined that the market size and capabilities to perform the project are insufficient to warrant full and open competition. The offerors largely lacked the necessary capabilities to perform the requirements, and the Government review of the market noted a single firm that could meet the requirements of the project. Most likely, the only businesses able to complete the requirements in the Performance Work Statement are large firms, which would be at a greater risk due to the limited indemnification. Market research confirmed that AECOM is the one source capable of performing this requirement that responded to Sources Sought.

9. INTERESTED SOURCES: The Sources Sought was advertised, in accordance with FAR 5.2, Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions, on April 11, 2016 on Federal Business Opportunity (FBO); fourteen interested offerors submitted capability statements.

10. OTHER FACTS: In an emergency effort to restore Mosul Dam, an 18-month construction contract to perform grouting to fill current voids was awarded to Trevi S. p.

A. on March 2, 2016 by the Government of Iraq using emergency international funds.

This construction effort is to continuously grout and maintain stability as the gypsum foundation is lost due to significant erosion of the materials supporting the dam. More than 5,000 cubic meters of gypsum in the foundation of the dam has likely been lost just in the last year. Under the contract’s Statement of Work, AECOM will oversee and provide continuous engineering feedback during the entire emergency construction effort. Without this continuous engineering monitoring of the flows and pressures during the remedial restoration work-- especially the grouting— Trevi’s work could cause an inadvertent immediate catastrophic failure. The A-E effort requiring this J&A must, therefore, provide services simultaneously and continuously, from initiation to conclusion, of the 18-month construction contract.

11. TECHNICAL 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.

NAME: Stephen B. Spoor TITLE: Technical Contract Management Specialist

12. 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.

NAME: Douglas H. Plachy TITLE: Senior Program Manager

13. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION:

"I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for the contract to AECOM Technical Services will be fair and reasonable using cost & price analysis techniques on the elements of AECOM Technical Services proposal offering, in comparison to the details of the Independent Government Cost Estimate. In accordance with FAR 15-403-1(b)(1), certified cost and pricing data will be required of the firm, before the award.

NAME: Abraham Curry TITLE: Contracting Officer

Control # 16-0005

14. OFFICE OF COUNSEL REVIEW:

NAME: Shelly F. Taylor TITLE: TAM Office of Counsel

15. CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION:

"I certify that this J&A is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief."

NAME: Abraham Curry TITLE: Contracting Officer

16. APPROVAL AUTHORITY

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the execution of a sole source contract of $49,051,000.00 to AECOM Technical Services under contract W912ER-16- C-0005, on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. This effort is subject to the availability of the Department of State funds, and to provide the services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

STUART A. HAZLETT

Director of Contracting