Intent to Sole Source - Comanche Nation Construction

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Comanche Nation Construction, Inc. (CNC), under the authority of FAR Part 6.302-1, for a two (2) month bridge contract to provide continued Operations & Maintenance (O&M) support for the EPA's Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC), Center Hill, and Test and Evaluation Facilities in Cincinnati, OH. CNC currently provides O&M support for these EPA facilities, with the current contract expiring on September 30, 2019. The EPA is currently in the process of releasing the solicitation for the new contract as a competitive 8(a) requirement; however, the new contract will not be awarded prior to the existing contract's expiration. The O&M activities performed at the U.S. EPA Cincinnati (EPA-CIN) facilities are critical activities which are necessary in order to keep the EPA-CIN labs operational and the building occupants safe. If a break in service were to occur it would result in the three major EPA-CIN labs having to suspend their research activities and these facilities would, likely, be closed until an O&M contractor is in place to operate these facilities. Halting operations cannot be permitted. The AWBERC, Center Hill, and Test and Evaluation Facilities are all research-based facilities and contain numerous laboratories, as well as office space. Nearly 1,000 federal and contractor employees collectively occupy these three facilities. It is the responsibility of the O&M contractor to keep these facilities running in a safe and consistent manner. Among the many O&M duties required at these facilities, critical activities include: - Maintaining indoor air quality at high standards so that research may be safely conducted and administrative personnel have a safe work environment. - Maintain and run the boilers and chillers as well as other heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment so research may be conducted under consistent environmental parameters as well as keep building occupants comfortable. - Keeping the laboratory exhaust fans in top working condition so potentially harmful vapors will be properly exhausted. Also, ensuring that laboratories are meeting the minimum number of air exchanges required per hour for the safety of the researchers. - Maintaining proper operation and maintenance of life safety systems, such as the fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, and emergency safety showers at each of these facilities. A break in service in any of the life safety items would be considered an unacceptable safety risk. The nature of this acquisition requires the U.S. EPA to use the authority cited because of the complex nature and short time frame of the services required. The services under the current contract are complex and of a critical nature; all of which are geared towards keeping work areas and building occupants safe and ensuring that research is conducted under consistent environmental conditions. A break in these services would have an extremely detrimental effect on the safety of the facilities, their occupants, and the EPA's research activities. In addition, the time required to locate a qualified 8(a) contractor that is capable of handling the requirements in the Performance Work Statement (PWS), solicit, evaluate, negotiate with, make award to, and mobilize would not be cost effective or efficient for the brief two (2) month period covered by this contract. CNC can provide continuity for the complex facility operations under the current PWS without a delay or break in service. CNC is uniquely qualified for providing the O&M activities for EPA-CIN during the two (2) month time period. Their existing management structure from their home office support to the wage employee level will allow for O&M work to continue without interruption. Having the key managment personnel in place as well as a strong management structure will eliminate the possibility of disruptions to building occupants, which may occur if a new contractor were brought in in such a short period of time. CNC is also uniquely qualified for this work because of their in-depth knowledge of the EPA-CIN facilities and what is required, from an O&M perspective, to keep them operating smoothly and safely. This knowledge is critical in order to keep the EPA-CIN laboratories operational and the building occupants safe. It is not feasible to contract with and train a new 8(a) contractor and get them up to speed in the time prior to the current contract's expiration date. The research performed at the three major EPA-CIN labs is mission critical and having a disruption in services, which could potentially close the labs for a period of time, cannot be permitted. This requirement will utilize FAR Parts 12 and 19. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 561210, Facilities Support Services, with a small business size of $41.5M. The anticipated Period of Performance will be a 2-month period. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. Notwithstanding, any firm that believes it is capable of meeting the EPA's requirement may submit a capability statement which must address the outlined requirements above. Such documentation must be submitted to the Contract Specialist within 7 calendar days of this announcement. A determination not to compete the proposed firm-fixed-price contract based upon the responses received to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All questions should be directed to Donald Wentzel at Wentzel.Donald@epa.gov. Responses to this notice must be submitted electronically via email. Telephone responses will not be honored.