Sole Source Notice to CSSF

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1(a)(2), intends to issue a sole source contract to the Coastal States Stewardship Foundation (CSSF).

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) on behalf of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) needs a study to: (1) Establish and run a program for Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) in the Atlantic OCS, with a specific focus on areas near windfarm development; and (2) Obtain first-order data products from PAM deployments, ensure that the data products are of high scientific quality, are consistent across projects, and are made publicly available through appropriate data portals and archives. These data products will be used in a multivariate analysis to address the overarching question about how offshore wind farm development may affect the distributions of baleen whales.

The service to be acquired is support for the BOEM-portion of the Atlantic Regional PAM Network. This includes coordination of Passive Acoustic Monitoring efforts along the Atlantic OCS, purchasing and deploying instruments, hiring a team to conduct standard data processing, delivering data products, and submitting them for archiving. This is a new contract for a 3-year period of performance. This will be a sole source award to the Coastal State Stewardship Foundation (CSSF).

CSSF with their MOU with The Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative (RWSC), is a unique entity comprising four sectors: federal agencies, state agencies, eNGOs, and the offshore wind industry. Each subcommittee also has representation from top academic experts within a given field. The marine mammal subcommittee provides a forum for the different sector caucuses to coordinate and conduct research, pool resources, and optimize outcomes from marine mammal monitoring. Several stakeholders are already using PAM to document the presence, behavior, and movement of baleen whales and the RWSC has been instrumental in coordinating these efforts. It helped convene two workshops, produced a PAM data best practices guide, and commissioned a statistical power analysis to understand the potential strengths and weaknesses of the proposed PAM design. The RWSC through CSSF has built a tremendous amount of trust among stakeholders and has already played a critical role in establishing the Atlantic Regional PAM network to-date. It is also the only organization with representation from these four caucuses which makes it uniquely positioned to run such a large-scale, long-term, complex research program and perform the work needed here.

The Coastal States Stewardship Foundation (CSSF) is a partner, facilitator, and designated fiscal agent for the RWSC. The organization/institution that the RWSC has funds management partnership with, is by default, the recipient of the funding. Therefore, this acquisition will result in a sole source contract to CSSF in accordance with FAR Part 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

PLEASE NOTE: This notice is not a request for proposal (RFP). However, any firm that believes itself capable of meeting the requirement described herein may submit a capability statement or quotation which may be considered if received by the agency by 5:00pm Eastern Time on 20 August 2024. All submissions in response to this notice must be submitted in writing via email to the Contracting Officer at william.rilee@bsee.gov reference Solicitation DOIMFBO240010 on the subject line. A determination by the Government not to compete the Government's requirements described in this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

A redacted Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition is attached.