Description
JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITIONSOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATIONRequesting Agency: USFWS-R2, Division of Natural Resources, Branch of Water ResourcesContracting Agency: Division of Contracting and General Services (Region 2)Action to be approved: Sole Source Purchase of Professional Services from COLUMBIA ANALYTICAL SERVICES (DUNS #793379454) Supplies Required: Professional ServicesStatutory Authority: FAR 6.302-1. and Under the Authority of 41 U.S. 253 (c) (1) INDUSTRIAL, MOBILIZATION, ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT IR RESEARCH CAPABILITY OR EXPERT SERVICES (FAR 6.302-3-(3)-(i)) Demonstration of requirement of authority: The work associated with these funds would address a set of critically important management concerns that affect wildlife refuge and fishery resource concerns. Specifically, the two funded investigations will shed light on the factual basis upon which refuge managers decide if a restoration project moves forward or not, and if so, in what manner. This single-source determination is in accordance with criteria # 4 (unique qualifications, under 505 DM2). This contract would economically address long-term management concerns of the Service related to the lower Colorado River (LCR) basin. In fact, the contract's deliverables will not only advance the interests of the four national wildlife refuges (NWR) located on the LCR (i.e., Havasu, Bill Williams River, Cibola and Imperial refuges), but as it will look at issues associated with restoring aquatic habitat on the LCR, it will also address concerns of the Service's other two major programs (Fisheries and Ecological Services). In more detail, the contract has two components, the first of which is a detailed review and assessment of past projects on the LCR related to aquatic restoration. The Services' three programs have long desired a "lessons learned" document that would review the major attempts (largely failures) over the last several decades to restore aquatic habitat for the benefit of the LCR's disappearing native fish fauna. The contract's second component will provide a critically important data-set related to the water quality conditions that exist at the Cibola NWR's Hart Mine Marsh Unit. This water quality assessment will be key in determining how to best ensure that this multi-million dollar restoration is successful and meets government objectives. The Columbia Analytical Services (COMPANY) is uniquely qualified to provide these important products to the Service in a manner that maximizes economy to the Service. While the COMPANY is being recommended at this time for this contract, there has been significant consideration of reaching the uniquely qualified scientist through the State of Arizona's university system. Firstly, regarding cost savings to the government, if these services are provided by contracting with the COMPANY, there will be significant cost savings to the government. This is primarily (but not exclusively) the case because the COMPANY will not include any overheads fees, as opposed to the university overhead rates that are in excess of 25%. Based on the contract amount of $20,000, this represents a savings to the government of approximately $5,000. There is an additional savings to the government as relates to the services being provided by the recommended principal investigator (PI), whose background, experience and intimate knowledge of the project area and the underlying scientific methodologies makes him uniquely qualified. Additionally, while the PI, Dr. David Walker, is a Research Scientist of Aquatic Ecology at the University of Arizona's School of Natural Resources, his qualifications go well beyond his academic credentials. In addition to his university faculty position, Dr. Walker is also an employee of the COMPANY, which provides the government the opportunity to secure his unique services through a private sector contract (vs. through an agreement with the University with the associated overhead rates as described above). Regarding Dr. Walker's qualifications, first and foremost, Dr. Walker has worked extensively for the Service on native fish studies associated with the LCR refuges. He has provided excellent products to the Service, and to our sister agency the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, looking at a range of fish-restoration projects. Further, Dr. Walker has lead responsibilities for a research program at the University, focusing on determining toxic thresholds for fish native to the state of Arizona, and has developed an extensive understanding of the needs of native fish. Further, Dr. Walker has accumulated an academically rigorous understanding of water quality conditions and proper field methods for the acquisition of water chemistry information, often associated with an environmental context. The Service will benefit from the fact that Dr. Walker possesses first hand familiarity with the study locations, related to his extensive work on the LCR. This lay of the ground familiarity is very likely to translate into cost savings to the government, as a vendor with less knowledge would need to acquire such a level of knowledge to perform these tasks satisfactorily. Efforts to ensure offers from as wide a range of suppliers as possible: Minimal efforts in this regard were done, as the professional services being sought for this work are of such a specific and unique nature, and due to the strength of the contractor's work experience with the Service. Market Research: (see above) Other facts supporting use of other than full and open competition: As described above, the author believes that under full competition, it is deemed unlikely that an alternate contractor could perform the services within the available funding. More importantly, the deliverables for this contract are sufficiently unique in nature that it is the opinion of this author that the qualifications possessed by the recommended PI would be matched from an alternate source, especially in the context of costs to the government for services rendered. It is recommended that the Service contract out for this work to be done through a purchase order with the Columbia Analytical Services company. This assessment weighs heavily on the specific points of expertise that the Principal Investigator would bring to the work, including not only a firm grasp of the technical elements of the work, with a unique work history well suited to successfully deliver quality products to the government, but also based on the Principal Investigator's history of quality work on other related Service projects. Further, the COMPANY offers a significantly lower overhead rate than would be the case of working with the university system. These two broad characteristics point to significant benefits to the government, both in terms of project expense and quality of the deliverable, if the COMPANY were to be awarded this contract. It is highly likely that any other vendor would need to use a significant percentage of contract funds to generate the same level of germane knowledge as is possessed by Dr. Walker. Sources that have expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition: N/A Statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome barriers to competition: N/A SIGNATURE BLOCK: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. ____________________________________________Andrew B. HautzingerHydrologistUSFWS-Region 2-NWRS-DNR(signed version available upon request)