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Contract Opportunity

Synopsis: Notice of Intent to Award a Sole-Source Contract

Announcement Number: NA-01234

Project Title: Sea Lion Oil Spill Analysis

The Department of Commerce (DOC), NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Eastern Acquisition Division and NOAA Office of Response & Restoration, Assessment and Restoration Division intends to negotiate on a sole source basis, under the statutory authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i), with NewFields Environmental Forensics Practice, LLC for analytical and forensics chemistry support from a laboratory facility and team of scientists. The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) for this acquisition is 541715, Biology research and development laboratories or services (except biotechnology and nanotechnology research and development).

Sole Source Justification

NewFields Environmental Forensics Practice, LLC (hereafter “NewFields”) has experience on the largest and most detailed oil spill injury assessment ever, Deepwater Horizon, as well as on other smaller oil spill assessments NOAA has led in recent years. The number of scientists working with oil forensics and analytical methods development and marine mammal tissues worldwide is very, very low (i.e., we don’t know of anybody else) and the NewFields team is unique in the analytical laboratory and instrumentation capabilities they provide along with their expertise in environmental contaminant forensics. They can provide access to world-class instrumentation for mass spectrometry to improve chemical sensitivity during analysis of Refugio samples. Their team is uniquely positioned to advise NOAA on the methods and defensible study design for conducting the sea lion work, can successfully complete a variety of advanced chemical laboratory analyses on oil and oil metabolite chemistry, polychlorinated biphenyls, and other persistent organic pollutants, and also simultaneously and cost-effectively interpret complex chemical results across multiple sea lion tissue types. NewFields has a demonstrated specialty in environmental forensics, which is the process of evaluating chemical source and chemical fate and transport with the understanding of chemical degradation, isotopic signatures, and naturally occurring contaminants. They have experience working with the entire NOAA team on the project that is a joint collaboration between National Ocean Service and National Marine Fisheries Service/Protected Resources and the NOAA Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP).

If the proposed work was done by another firm that may have either basic analytical capabilities with a generic mass spectrometer or basic forensics expertise with a contaminant class like oil and animal tissue, for example, our knowledge of the market suggests a firm would not be able to provide the required analytical and forensics expertise for all potential contaminants involved in this study, they would not have experience with preparing and working with marine mammal tissues, and another firm would not have the required background and experience gained from a decade of work with NOAA on the topic of marine mammal injury during Natural Resource Damage Assessments.

Special Notice

This special notice is not a solicitation for competitive quotes, nor will one be posted on Contract Opportunities. However, if an interested party believes that it is capable of meeting the requirements and be in compliance with the above justification, they may submit substantiating documentation in writing within the open period of this notice. Responses can be sent via e-mail to renae.tanner@noaa.gov. Documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon response to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice.

All responsible sources may submit a Capability Statement in accordance with the solicitation, which shall be considered by the agency if received on or before 11:00 AM EDT on November 15,2023. The Capability Statement must contain material in sufficient detail to allow NOAA to determine if the party can meet all of the requirements.

All electronic correspondence shall have the subject line read:

Announcement Number: NA-01234

Project Title: Sea Lion Oil Spill Analysis

It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure that any submission transmitted to the specified Government representative(s) is received prior to the due date specified herein.

Offerors are highly encouraged to contact the Government representative(s) specified above prior to the solicitation’s stated time and date for receipt of offers to ensure the Government has received the submission. Offers received after the date and time specified in this solicitation may be excluded from consideration.

DOC/NOAA Eastern Acquisition Division requires that all contractors doing business with this office be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). No award can be made to a company not registered in SAM. For additional information and to register in SAM, please access the following web site: www.sam.gov. To register, all contractors must have a Unique Entity Identifier. A Unique Entity Identifier may be acquired free of charge by contacting SAM.gov.

The notice will remain open from 10/31/2023 to 11/15/2023.

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