MODIFICATION
F -- Intent to Award - Acid Precip Monitoring Services, Station LA30
- Notice Date
- 1/28/2016
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 541380
— Testing Laboratories
- Contracting Office
- USGS NATIONAL ACQUISITION BRANCH 205 NATIONAL CENTER 12201 SUNRISE VALLEY DRIVE RESTON VA 20192 US
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- G16PS00196
- Response Due
- 2/2/2016
- Archive Date
- 2/3/2016
- Point of Contact
- Castro, Andres
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The US Geological Survey (USGS) is seeking the acid precipitation monitoring services for monitoring site LA30 in the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, National Trends Network (NADP-NTN) located in Washington Parish County near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The land is owned by the Louisiana State University. This will allow for operation of a NADP-NTN wet atmospheric monitoring station. Operation requires weekly site visits to the site to collect, process, and ship the precipitation sample, collect, process and transmit associated data with the site including the precipitation gage record and perform routine instrument checks, maintenance and repairs as needed. Period of Performance will be Date of award through 1/31/2017 with 4 One year options as follows: Option Year One: 02/01/2017-01/31/2018 Option Year Two: 02/01/2018-01/31/2019 Option Year Three: 02/01/2019-01/31/2020 Option Year Four: 02/01/2020-01/31/2021 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Mission Area, Office of Water Quality requires the operation of these sites in order to support the NADP-NTN. The USGS is the designated lead agency for the monitoring of atmospheric deposition and NADP is the operational organization through which the USGS and other participating organizations accomplish this national-scale monitoring in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. The USGS is aware of no other source that can provide the above. Therefore, it intends to make an award to the Louisiana State University, unless it is contacted by any who believes they have obtained similar technical expertise and can provide the same service. Vendors are invited to contact the Contract Specialist, Andres Castro via email at acastro@usgs.gov no later than 2:00 PM EST, Tuesday, February 2, 2016 with an affirmative answer. SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION STATES THE FOLLOWING PART: The following information is provided to demonstrate the proposed contractor ¿s unique qualifications: The Southeast Research Station is uniquely qualified to continue providing the requirement due to prior involvement in this program. Faculty and staff researchers have the experience, knowledge, and expertise to complete the requirement without training or time spent in learning how to operate the equipment. The land on which the field equipment is located is owned by the University, as is the building containing the analytical equipment and the equipment itself. It is essential that this requirement be accomplished without loss of continuity as well as incurring delays. The Southeast Research Station is the only known source qualified to collect this information on acid precipitation levels in the area. The option year 4 cost does not include the cost of additional training and travel that would be required if an new alternate vendor were selected to operate the site. This additional cost of travel for training is estimated at $1,500. It does also not include the cost of site relocation which would be required if a new vendor was selected for site operation, since only LSU - Southeast Research Station personnel have authorization to work in this research area owned by the University. The cost to relocate an NADP/NTN site is estimated from prior site relocations to be in the range of $6,000 to $12,000 depending on the distance, topography and improvements needed at the new site such as AC power installation. USGS is responsible for the operation of nine atmospheric deposition sites where the land and the site is owned by another organization, agency or individual and are in restricted scientific research areas, LA30 is one of these nine sites. It is a mutually beneficial scientific and technical partnership between this organization that has purview over the site location and desire the information collected from this site. USGS needs information gathered from this site as part of a national network for national-scale measurement of the status and trends in wet deposition. Moving the site would result in a break of the long-term environment monitoring record, i.e., a new site location data would not be comparable to the previous site, which typically has continuous monitoring data back to the early 1980 ¿s. The operating organization will not allow a third-party vendor to operate this site or have access to the land, site or equipment. It is the organizations private land and they will only allow access to a trusted individual who has an existing professional relationship with the organization. Some equipment is owned by the USGS and other equipment essential to operating the site such as platforms, electrical power service, access paths, fences, sample processing field laboratory building and roads at the site is owned by the operating organization, agency, or individual. Supporting this site requires 52 trips per 12-month period to this location, in rural and very remote areas on land and at scientific research areas that are not open to the public or open to weekly visits by individuals from other private organization. In no case does the USGS own the land or have control over site access. The primary reason the USGS is not operating this site is because, despite having offices in every state with multiple field offices in most states, we do not have the means or permission to access this site. It is cost prohibitive to USGS to operate this site therefore, USGS is funding the scientific activity and the sponsoring organization maintains control of the site access. USGS offices do operate a number of other sites where we do have the means and access to site locations, but the list of nine sites where we seek sole source awards are the "partnership" site locations where we do not have the means and permission to access the sites. A competitive action would imply that we could unilaterally remove the land-owning and operating organizations or individuals from this activity and replace them with a private entity. This is not the case, since these multi-decade long research and monitoring sites are not under the ownership and control of the USGS, the USGS is funding the scientific activity. The NADP is a public, nonprofit, unincorporated, interstate association of parties interested in atmospheric deposition and its effects. It is structured as a cooperative program that represents coordinated efforts of many federal, state, academic, and private organizations and individuals to operate monitoring sites, report data, and oversee research activities related to atmospheric deposition. Membership in NADP is open to individuals and institutions interested in participating in any aspect of atmospheric deposition monitoring and/or research stemming from NADP data. This organizational structure is consistent with State Agricultural Experiment Station (SAES) Guidelines for Multi-state Research Activities. The contracts the USGS seeks to award represent partnerships to support sites in the most efficient manner with organizations and individuals that own and control the local site locations. Under the interagency National Acidic Precipitation Assessment Program established in 1981, the USGS is the designated lead agency for the monitoring of atmospheric deposition and NADP is the operational organization through which the USGS and other participating organizations accomplish this national-scale monitoring in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
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