NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE - RARE PLANT PROPAGATION

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE The 413th Contracting Support Brigade (CSB), Regional Contracting Office - Hawaii (RCO-HI), located at 742 Santos Dumont Ave Bldg. 108 3rd Floor Wheeler Army Airfield (WAAF), HI 96857 is issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to inform industry contractors of the Government's intent to execute a Sole Source Award under FAR Part 13 - Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP), Specifically FAR Subpart 13.5 - Simplified Procedures of Certain Commercial Items. The intended Contractor is The University of Hawaii Systems, located at 2425 Campus Rd Sinclair Library Rm 1 Honolulu, HI 96822-2247. The U.S. Army Garrison - Hawaii (USAG-HI), Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Environmental requires in vitro propagation of native Hawaiian plants. The Army is required to comply with the Endangered Species Act, specifically Biological Opinions (BOs), legally binding documents prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In these BOs, the Army is required to stabilize 50 endangered plant species. Stabilization requires growing these plants for reintroduction into the wild and requires that plants are represented at off site facilities as a genetic back up. Many of these species do not develop mature fruit or any fruit at all. These situations require specialized techniques for growing them including plant cultivation in test tubes which is also called in vitro propagation. As published in the journal Pacific Science, 68(4):525-536. 2014, Weisenberger and Keir surveyed all possible sources within the State of Hawaii for this service and concur that Lyon Arboretum at the University of Hawaii is the only source within the State for in vitro cultivation of native Hawaiian plants. Additionally, this facility holds the only endangered species permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Hawaii for this specialized propagation of endangered native Hawaiian plants. This procurement is being conducted using commercial item procedures pursuant to FAR Part 12 and FAR Part 13, specifically FAR Subpart13.106-1(b)(1)(i) allowing the Contracting Officer (CO) to solicit from one source. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is, 115112 - Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating. Product of Service Code for this requirement is B509 - endangered species studies - plant and animal. The Small Business Administration (SBA) size standard for this sector is $8 Million. This notice of intent is neither a formal solicitation nor a request for competitive proposals. No solicitation document is available and telephone requests will not be honored. No award will be made on the basis of unsolicited quotations or offers received in response to this notice. Any response to this notice must show clear, compelling and convincing evidence that competition will be advantageous to the Government. The intent of this synopsis is for informational purposes only. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. A determination by the Government not to compete this action based on this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All inquiries and concerns must be addressed in writing via e-mail to Yasmin A. Restrepo at yasmin.a.restrepo.civ@mail.mil with the following information referenced in the subject line, Request for Quote (RFQ) W912CN-20-Q-0025 - Rare Plant Propagation. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed procurement based on the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. All interested parties who are responsible, certified, and capable may identify their interest and may submit an offer or quotation which shall be considered by the agency no later than 10:00 AM Hawaii Standard Time (HST) on May 6, 2019 to Yasmin A. Restrepo at yasmin.a.restrepo.civ@mail.mil. The interested parties bear full responsibility to ensure complete transmission and timely receipt.