CPO UMRB Plains Snow & Soil Moisture Monitoring Network
Closed Special Notice Posted
- Agency
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Department of Commerce
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 541690 Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- PSC
- F999 Other Environmental Services
- Place of performance
- Missouri, United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a sole source procurement notice for snow and soil moisture monitoring network services in the Upper Missouri River Basin. NOAA's Climate Program Office intends to negotiate directly with Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in Durham, North Carolina, under FAR authority for purchases under the simplified acquisition threshold. The contract will support the UMRB Plains snow and soil moisture monitoring network with a performance period extending from the award date through October 31, 2026. This procurement falls under the NAICS code for Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services and is classified as Other Environmental Services. The agency has determined that RTI is uniquely qualified as the sole manufacturer and distributor of the required research services.
The sole source justification centers on RTI's exclusive expertise and established relationships within the Upper Missouri River Basin monitoring ecosystem. RTI team members are already engaged in a Viability Assessment for the UMRB Data Value Study and possess detailed knowledge of soil moisture and snowpack monitoring projects that no other organization holds. The company has established contacts with principal investigators from related projects, which will facilitate data acquisition and findings summarization required for a Congressional mandate report documenting soil moisture data value. Firms believing they can fully meet the government's requirements may submit substantiating documentation within 15 days of publication to challenge the sole source approach. NOAA emphasizes that working with another provider would require timeline extensions and could jeopardize meeting Congressional reporting deadlines, making RTI's existing expertise and relationships critical to project success.
Notice text
***The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Acquisition & Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division-Boulder (WAD), Climate Program Office (CPO), intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, under authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with Research Triangle Institute (RTI) located in Durham, NC for UMRB Plains snow and soil moisture monitoring network services to be performed in the Upper Missouri River Basin.
***The sole source determination is based on NOAA’s requirement that RTI is the only vendor that manufactures and distributes these research services. The team of RTI International is additionally a Subject Matter Expert on the content that will be discussed in the report, including the measurement of environmental, health, and natural resource values and the application of these measures to evaluate environmental and risk management policies. Further, this team is uniquely positioned to generate the report because of their direct knowledge about the UMRB Data Value Study. RTI team members are already engaged in a Viability Assessment for the UMRB Data Value Study. Consequently, they have developed a detailed knowledge-base on the Upper Missouri River Basin and the Soil Moisture and Snowpack and Soil Moisture Monitoring Project not held by any other agency. They have already established contact with PIs of other projects that will be included in the report, which will greatly facilitate acquiring and summarizing findings from these projects, as required for the report. NOAA technically does not know of any other source with both the expertise with the subject matter (application of observational data to drought and other natural resource applications), familiarity with the projects at hand, and access to project PIS and stakeholders in the region. Working with another provider on the project would require an extension of timeline to gain adequate familiarity with report content, particularly when considering the need to address hiring appropriate team members and developing adequate expertise. Such an approach would entail a significant delay and could jeopardize the ability to meet the Congressional mandate for a report to Congress documenting the value of soil moisture data from within the Upper Missouri River Basin.
Period of Performance: date of award to October 31, 2026.
***This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation package is available. However, firms that believe they can fully meet the government's requirements may submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact within 15 days after publication of this synopsis. Such documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice.
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