Notice of intent to award to a sole source

The National Park Service (NPS), specifically Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) in Ashford, Washington, has published a Notice of Intent to Award a sole source contract to Lewis County Public Utilities District (PUD) #1. This is not a competitive solicitation but rather a notification of the agency's intent to award a firm fixed price contract without competitive bidding. The contract concerns the installation of fiber optic cable interconnects at PUD facilities located within the Washington State Department of Transportation right-of-way. The estimated contract value is $16,000, which falls below the simplified acquisition threshold of $350,000 and will be procured using Simplified Acquisition Procedures under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13.106-1(b). The Department of the Interior is the parent federal agency overseeing this procurement through its Pacific West Region office.

The primary objective of this procurement is to connect existing PUD-owned fiber infrastructure to existing NPS-owned fiber at two designated meet points at the park boundary. Interested parties have ten calendar days from the publication date of March 5, 2026, to submit evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government; all responses must be received by March 15, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Only Lewis County PUD #1 is considered capable of performing this work, as it is the sole entity that owns, operates, and maintains the fiber infrastructure at the required locations, and all construction and splicing work on PUD-owned facilities must be performed by PUD personnel or its authorized contractors. To participate, potential competitors must demonstrate clear and convincing evidence that they can legally and technically perform the required work, though the Government retains sole discretion in deciding whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Inquiries should be directed to Hal Hoversten at hal_hoversten@ios.doi.gov, with all correspondence referencing the Notice of Intent number.