C--ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE EVALUATION FOR A250

The U.S. Department of the Interior, through its office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, awarded a sole-source contract to Blue Ridge Research and Consulting LLC for an environmental noise evaluation in support of the 250th Anniversary fireworks display on the National Mall. The contract, identified by solicitation number 140P1326Q0027 and NAICS code 541330, was justified under FAR 6.302-1 and 6.302-2 due to the unique technical capabilities of the contractor, specifically its proprietary noise modeling software, and the urgent and compelling nature of the timeline to support the July 4, 2026 event. No competitive process was conducted, and no formal evaluation factors, price reasonableness scoring, or trade-off analysis were applied. The primary deliverable is a noise exposure assessment report that must be completed within one week of award and validated by the National Park Service no later than May 29, 2026, to inform NEPA compliance documentation. All analytical work is to be performed from the contractor’s facility in Santa Fe, NM, despite the event’s location in Washington, DC. The contract does not specify a monetary value, payment office, invoicing method, or accounting codes, and no funding details are provided. There is no designated Contracting Officer’s Representative or technical representative, and no formal packaging, preservation, or labeling requirements are defined, consistent with the non-tangible nature of the deliverables. The contractor’s Unique Entity ID, size status, or socioeconomic certifications are not disclosed, and while NEPA and related federal acoustic guidelines govern the technical approach, no other formal standards such as ANSI or MIL-STDs are referenced. Access to the contractor’s proprietary software and its proven past performance are central to the award’s legitimacy, with no competitive alternatives available to meet the technical and scheduling demands.