Notice to Make a two Sole Source Award for the Environmental Technician services located at the Army National Guard in PR

The contract involves a sole source award for the provision of Environmental Technician services at the Puerto Rico Army National Guard (PRANG) located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Due to delays in filling two permanent state Environmental Technician positions caused by factors such as the PR elections hiring moratorium and government reorganization, PRANG requested support from the El Yunque National Forest under an existing cooperative agreement. Consequently, Ms. Veronica Francis Rodriguez and Ms. Rosa I Santos Alicea were contracted to provide environmental compliance field services beginning in February 2013. PRANG prefers to continue with these contractors for an additional year to ensure continuity, as the contractors already possess necessary expertise, security clearances, and familiarity with the training camps, military personnel, and relevant regulations. This continuation allows PRANG the needed time to complete the recruitment and hiring processes for permanent staff. Because of the critical and sensitive nature of the services, and the unique qualifications and experience of the current contractors, it has been determined that competition is not feasible or in the best interest of the government at this time. The contract, designated as a Total Small Business Set-Aside and identified under solicitation number AG-435H-S-14-0001, is managed by the Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest office in Gainesville, Georgia, with performance located in Palmer, Puerto Rico. The contracting officer overseeing the agreement is Lucious Buffington, and technical contact is Luis Rivera. The arrangement supports environmental compliance within PRANG's field program, ensuring continuity and effectiveness during the transition period to hire permanent personnel.