66--Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensors IAW Salients FY26 REQ# 15807 SPECIAL ORDER # S26043

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Nevada Water Science Center is procuring Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensors under a total small business set-aside with NAICS code 334519 and a 600-employee size standard, targeting the delivery of one above-ground sensor for soil moisture and neutron radiation monitoring and two underground sensors for Snow Water Equivalent and snow depth measurements. The requirement is branded as “Questa, Sensor B-E1-3 (moderated, standard)” and “Questa, Sensor B-E1-3 (moderated, SWE)” with equal alternatives permitted, specifying a 7” x 7” x 40” size profile, SDI-12 communications, IP67 or IP68 waterproof connectors, and sensitivity ratios of at least 3.1x and 4x respectively compared to a standard detector. All hardware must be free of malicious code including viruses, Trojans, worms, and spyware, and must comply with FISMA, EO 13556, and NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 1 security standards, including annual security training, signed Statements of Responsibility, and compliance with DOI’s System Development Life Cycle and contingency planning requirements. The contract mandates F.O.B. Destination delivery to Carson City, Nevada, with payment handled exclusively through the Treasury’s Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) and Electronic Funds Transfer via SAM, and requires contractors to register in SAM with a Unique Entity Identifier. Technical compliance is evaluated as a pass/fail gate based on whether all salient physical, functional, and performance criteria are met or exceeded, with award made on a lowest-priced, technically acceptable basis where price constitutes 100% of the evaluation weight. Post-award obligations include immediate notification of personnel changes affecting DOI systems, adherence to Buy American provisions, whistleblower protections, prohibitions on inverted domestic corporations and forced internal confidentiality agreements, acceleration of payments to small business subcontractors, and submission of invoices within 90 days after performance expiration or face deobligation of unexpended funds after 120 days. The solicitation closed on June 11, 2026, and the award was issued June 30, 2026, through the Office of Acquisition and Grants in Reston, Virginia.