Notice of Intent to Sole Source - Data Collection for Development of St. Marys Rapids Performance Indicators

This is a Special Notice prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 5.2, Synopsis of Proposed Contract Actions. A Solicitation will not be posted, however any firm who believes it can perform the required services may give written notice to the Contracting Officer within 15 days of publication of this Special Notice. Supporting evidence must be in sufficient detail to demonstrate the ability to comply with the requirement. Responses received will be evaluated; however a determination by the Government to compete the requirement based on the responses to this Special Notice is solely the discretion of the Government. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity (HECSA) intends to award a Sole Source Firm Fixed Price Contract to the Lake Superior State University (LSSU).

LSSU is the only source that can provide the required services within the required schedule of performance at a reasonable cost. Due to the uniqueness of the system and somewhat remote site sampling location, using a locally available expert with extensive background of the unique freshwater system, proximity to the data collection site, laboratory capabilities, and familiarization with challenging and variable onsite conditions is critical and most optimal/efficient to avoid any chance of delays. The unique qualifications of Dr. Moerke, for both site-specific knowledge and understanding of operations impacting both the Canadian and US side of the international border is essential to successful performance of this requirement. Competition would result in unacceptable delays to the Government. Without timely contracting action, the study team faces a significant risk to missing the fall field season window for data collection. Such setback would cost the project a full-year delay (as the data collection would have to wait until next fall), which would result in significant shift in the schedule, as other sequential tasks rely heavily on the findings from this work.