A -- Investigations in Distribution of Ballast Water Tracers in Coastal Waters

The United States Coast Guard Research & Development Center intends to negotiate and award a sole-source fixed price contract to the Smithsonian Institute (SI), Washington, DC to investigate the performance of chemical tracers (colored dissolved organic matter, salinity, and trace elements (barium, phosphorus, manganese, uranium molybdenum, and vanadium)) to discriminate between open-ocean and coastal waters. The study must establish spatial and temporal variation in tracer concentrations, including the change in concentration as a function of distance from shore. In addition, variations of plankton densities along offshore transects must be determined to establish the merits of exchanging ballast water at different distances from shore. Shipside samples must be taken in key ports of Southeast Asia and along transects within 70 nautical miles of the western U.S. coast. The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), a branch of SI, will conduct the work. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541710. Interested parties may identify their interest and capabilities in response to this requirement to the above address. The determination by the Government not to compete the proposed contract based upon response to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct future competitive procurement(s). To be eligible for award, offerors must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR): www.ccr.gov. For information concerning the acquisition, contact the contracting official listed above. See notes 22 and 26.