Annual Services for REES Centron Monitoring System

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through its Western Acquisition Division in Seattle, intends to award a sole-source, firm-fixed-price purchase order to REES Scientific for annual servicing and support of the proprietary REES Centron environmental monitoring system. This procurement, identified by requisition number 143041-26-0146, is justified under FAR 12.102(a) and 41 U.S.C. 1901 due to the system's proprietary hardware and software, which require vendor-specific expertise to maintain regulatory compliance with the Food and Drug Administration and ensure data integrity. Only REES Scientific can perform calibration, validation, battery replacement, and technical support without voiding warranties or compromising system performance. The work involves servicing 96 wired and wireless probes across two Seattle-based locations—the Montlake Laboratory Campus and a remote site—and includes 12 months of on-site hardware and software support each year. The base contract period runs from September 16, 2026, to September 15, 2027, with four one-year option periods extending through September 15, 2031, allowing for the addition of new services such as probe replacements, software upgrades, and data migrations under authorized change orders. All performance must occur on-site at NOAA facilities, with no remote work permitted; personnel must use Department of Commerce-owned IT equipment and comply with data privacy regulations under 5 U.S.C. § 552a, ensuring that all collected data remains the exclusive property of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service and is not released without written authorization. The contract includes provisions for firm-fixed unit pricing for hardware changes and time-and-materials pricing for authorized software work, with software licenses reimbursed at actual cost without markup. No competitive bidding is planned, and responses to the presolicitation are limited to written substantiating documentation submitted by August 8, 2026, to Grace LaPierre or Charles Kendall. Award is anticipated in August 2026, with no contract value disclosed due to the absence of detailed pricing data. The Contracting Officer Representative role is functionally defined but unnamed, and payment and invoicing procedures, including whether WAWF or another system will be used, are not specified. Special requirements include on-site identification, facility access protocols, and strict adherence to non-personal service rules under FAR Parts 7.5 and 37