C--Remedial Acquisition Framework (RAF), Design and Engineering Services (DES)

The contract pertains to the Remedial Acquisition Framework (RAF) for Design and Engineering Services at the Afterthought Mine Superfund Site in Shasta County, California, with a primary focus on mitigating the imminent risk of structural failure at Adit 1 and preventing the uncontrolled discharge of up to three million gallons of contaminated acid mine drainage into Little Cow Creek and the Sacramento River. The work is urgent and must be completed by November 1, 2026, to ensure remedial actions can proceed before the rainy season, and the full period of performance spans twelve months from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027. The contract is a cost reimbursement arrangement valued at $2,300,000, awarded as a sole-source acquisition under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) 16.507(b)(1) due to the exclusive and irreplaceable site-specific knowledge and technical expertise held by CH2M Hill, the incumbent contractor with an established history of performance under prior EPA contracts. The deliverables include a fully developed, biddable design package for water control systems, detailed mine inspection reports, engineering analyses, and associated project documentation—all aligned with EPA quality standards and CERCLA requirements, and priced using previously approved labor rates from Contract No. 68HE0318D0004. Performance occurs on-site at the mine location, with inspections and acceptance also conducted there by the Contracting Officer’s Representative and the government oversight team. Contract administration is managed by the EPA Region 9 Contracting Office in San Francisco, with John Hillenbrand serving as the primary COR and Eric Canteenwala as the alternate TOCOR, while Luke Groenveld is the primary invoice approver and Lisa Ouyang serves as the alternate. No formal FAR clauses, packaging requirements, FOB terms, or line-item pricing details are included in the documentation; instead, the basis for award and contractual obligations is embedded in a justification narrative emphasizing risk mitigation, schedule urgency, and the necessity of continuity with the current contractor. Travel is reimbursed under Federal Travel Regulations, and while the contractor’s unique qualifications are central to the award, there is no indication of socioeconomic certifications, size status representations, or formal evaluation factors with assigned weights. The procurement lacks standard clauses, options, or detailed submission instructions, reflecting a streamlined, emergency-driven acquisition centered entirely on immediate environmental protection.