SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- Notice of Intent to Sole Source
- Notice Date
- 2/27/2014
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- Contracting Office
- HPODUS Environmental Protection AgencyAriel Rios Building1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.Mail Code: 3803RWashingtonDC20460USA
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- E-Mail Address
-
Contracting Officer
(shih.benjamin@epa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Notice of Intent to Sole Source Authority: FAR 8.405-6(c) and 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) The U.S. EPA intends to award on a limited sources basis, under the authority cited above, a task order to Satcom Global, Inc. against their GSA schedule 70 contract (GS-35F-0337P). The content of the justfication is provided below. THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTES. A determination by the Government not to compete this acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Interested firms may identify themselves and their capability to fulfill this requirement by 10:00 a.m., EST, March 13, 2014. Responses received after this time and date will not be considered. Responses should be sent by email to shih.benjamin@epa.gov. 1.Identification of the agency and the contracting activity: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Acquisition Management, Headquarters Procurement Operations Division, Administrative Contracts Service Center. 2.Nature and/or description of the action being approved The action being approved is the award of task order against SatCom Global, Inc.?s GSA contract (GS-35F-0337P) on a sole source basis because only one source is capable of providing the supplies and services required at the level of quality required because the supplies and services are highly specialized.. 3.A description of the supplies or services required to meet the Agency?s needs (including the estimated value) This requirement for the National Center for Radiation Field Operations (NCRFO) and is to provide for monthly airtime usage for 40 Iridium Satellite Communication SIM cards for the two RadNet Deployable National Radiological Monitoring Stations (RadNet-DNRMS) located in Montgomery, AL and Las Vegas, NV. The awarded task order will continue the monthly service for the SIM cards and provide for monthly minutes at set rates. The SIM cards are for Motorola?s Model 9522L satellite modems and support the function of 40 deployable air monitors used for satellite data transmission. Satellite service is the primary source of communication in the event of a radiation incident such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011. Placement of air monitoring systems may take place where self containment is the only means available to cover an affected area following an incident. Rapid assembly and data transmission during an incident is critical for decision makers to gather data. The satellite services must provide the required rapid data communication needed for automatic data transmission and retrieval during an emergency or when requested by another organization. The anticipated period of performance will include a base period (4/1/2014 ? 3/31/2015) and two option periods that have a maximum expiration date of 3/31/2017. The total estimated value is $33,431.52 for the base year and $134,651 if all options are exercised. 4.Identification of the justification rationale permitting limited sources justification a.Acquisition Authority This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple-Award Schedule Program and FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B): ?For a proposed order ? with an estimated value exceeding the micro-purchase threshold not placed or established in accordance with the procedures in 8.405-1, 8.405-2, or 8.405-3, the only circumstances that may justify the action are? ? (B) Only one source is capable of providing the supplies and services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized?.? b.Supporting Rationale In order for the satellite communications to properly function, each RadNet-DNRMS must have installed an Iridium Data/Voice SIMs card into the Motorola Model 9522l satellite communication modem. The Iridium Satellite system is comprised of Geo Stationary Satellites which is an integral part of the RadNet Deployable National Radiological Monitoring Systems (DNRMS). There are no current funds available for the NCRFO to transition or accommodate alternative systems for meeting this requirement. 40 Iridium Data/Voice SIMs cards and monthly service are being used in the RadNet-DNRMS. One card is placed in each of the 40 DNRMS Iridium Satellite Motorola 9522L modems for satellite communication to be established. The RadNet-DNRMS is required to download all collected data through the Iridium Satellite telemetry service provider to an EPA-designated Encrypted File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server. Each SIM card has a unique phone number and serial number allowing the service provider to document the frequency and usage of the satellite communications for each unique SIM card. Changing service providers for these services will require changing 40 SIM cards and 40 phone numbers, resulting in unacceptable delays and interruption in services because of the amount of labor involved and the Agency?s limited resources. The change impacts locations in Montgomery, AL and Las Vegas, NV that operate the deployable air monitors. Replacing the SIM cards will also require disassembly of certain components in each deployable air monitor to install the new SIM card. Additionally 40 dataloggers will require software reconfiguration as well as generating back-up files. An operations check will be required of the 40 deployable air monitor at both locations. Unit service readiness and availability is reported weekly to the EPA?s National Incident Response Team. The NCRFO is accountable for the continuity of services must be maintained at an 80% capacity level as mandated by the NCRFO Quality Assurance Manual Section 10.3. Because NCRFO has extremely limited resour ces to carry out these tasks, a transition would result in interruption in services for up to 4 months. In order to provide continuous emergency response, current services cannot be interrupted. Disruption in service will result in an unacceptable diminution in the level of quality required by NCRFO. The unique and highly specialized nature of the technology and labor required to make the transition also limit the Agency?s ability to potentially transition between service providers in an acceptable timeframe. 5.Determination by contracting officer that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d) The contracting officer has determined that the proposed task order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d). The proposed task order award represents the greatest overall benefit to the government, considering price and administrative costs because GSA has already determined that the rates for services under GSA schedule 70 contract GS-35F-0337P (the applicable schedule contract) to be fair and reasonable. 6.Description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results, or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted Extensive market research was previously performed on predecessor orders to identify the top providers of geostationary satellite services for RadNet DNMRS. Some market research has also been conducted to determine costs associated with potentially transitioning to alternative sources, including additional hardware costs and indirect labor costs that will incurred by the Agency in the event of a transition. 7.Any other facts supporting the justification There are no other facts supporting the justification which have not already been set forth in this justification. 8.Statement of the actions, if any, the Agency may take to remove or overcome barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made At this point, no actions are anticipated to remove or overcome barriers that led to the restricted consideration. The current deployable air monitoring systems are being reviewed for replacement. After the completion of a prototype, development, testing and evaluation of the new system, a review of the current order will take place based on satellite data communication requirements.
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