AWARD
R -- Development and Testing of High-Level and Low Activity Waste Glass Compositions.
- Notice Date
- 8/17/2012
- Notice Type
- Award Notice
- NAICS
- 541330
— Engineering Services
- Contracting Office
- Office of River ProtectionU.S. Department of EnergyOffice of River ProtectionP.O. Box 450RichlandWA99352US
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- DE-EM0002103
- Archive Date
- 8/31/2012
- Point of Contact
- Garcia, David R 509-376-0370, david_garcia@orp.doe.gov ; Gallegos, David A 509-376-1929, david_a_gallegos@rl.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Garcia, David R
(david_garcia@orp.doe.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Award Number
- DE-EM0002103
- Award Date
- 8/16/2012
- Awardee
- ENERGYSOLUTIONS FEDERAL EPC, INC.2345 STEVENS DR, SUITE 240RICHLANDWA993541878USA
- Award Amount
- $2005000
- Description
- Sole Source Procurement 1. Identification of the agency, program office, contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a justification for other than full and open competition.: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of River Protection (ORP) plans to contract by means other than full and open competition. This document provides the justification and approval of the use of one of the exceptions to full and open competition allowed under the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.3 ? Other Than Full and Open Competition, 6.302-1-Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. 2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved, i.e., sole source, limited competition, establishment of a new source, etc.: This is a sole source acquisition to conduct research and technology testing activities to develop high-level waste (HLW) & Low-Activity Waste (LAW) glass compositions for the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). This work involves the formulation and testing of prototypic HLW & LAW glass compositions to establish acceptable glass composition ranges. This work will include formulating glasses in small scale crucible melts (nominally 20-40 gram of glass) and continuous melter testing at a rate of 200-400 kg/day. This work is needed to support projections of HLW & LAW glass production in the WTP to support finalization of the WTP HLW Vitrification facility design. During the last few months, the WTP reported the projection of a need to incorporate the flexibility of feeding the LAW and HLW Facilities directly from t he Tank Farms. This flexibility creates a need to augment the glass formulation algorithms. This proposed partitioning to the flow sheet is directly tied to the prior strategy of commissioning HLW after PT, and bringing the entire WTP to operational readiness in a shorter timeframe in the future. DOE has completed recent assessments to establish the adequacy of the WTP design and flowsheet. These assessments indicate that the projected mass of HLW & LAW glasses to be produced from the treatment of the Hanford tank waste may be significantly greater than originally projected. Current projections by the WTP contractor suggest that up to 12,513 canisters of HLW will be produced. This compares to previous estimates indicating 11,100 canisters will be produced. Each canister contains 3,200 kg of glass. A better estimate of the canister production and a reduction in the canister production requirement is needed to support finalization/confirmation of the WTP and supplement al treatment design capacity. Preliminary work to obtain an estimate of the canister production was conducted through a contract established between ORP and Energy Solutions (ES). That contract is set to expire on 31 August 2012. This sole-source acquisition is proposed to build on the ES work by commissioning additional HLW & LAW glass loading studies to support operation of the WTP. The present contract is focused on obtaining initial information to allow DOE to assess the capability of the WTP. Operation of the WTP will be completed as part of a Hanford acquisition strategy which envisions establishing a long-term contract for operations. 3. The description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs.: DOE requires uninterrupted HLW & LAW glass technology testing studies through March 2013 to support WTP design capability assessments. The estimated value of the maximum work scope is $2M. The services to be acquired for this period involve glass formulation development and melter testing to identify HLW & LAW glass compositions that can accommodate higher waste loadings, especially for key waste loading limiting components. The work scope is divided into three parts: (1) Crucible tests; (2) DM100 melter tests; and (3) DM1200 (pilot-scale) melter tests. ES, through its exclusive subcontract agreement with CUA, is the only source capable of performing the work because CUA is the only source with DM100 melter tests and DM 1200 (pilot scale) melter tests. 4. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.: 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) allows other than full and open competition when the property or services needed by the executive agency are available from only one responsible source and no other type of property or services will satisfy the needs of the executive agency. 5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority.: ES has been the primary technology and engineering service providers for HLW glass technology to the WTP. The work completed by the ES contractor team, has included: Glass development and testing of the WTP HLW & LAW glasses compositions, Design of the WTP HLW & LAW melters, and Development of the operating concepts for the HLW & LAW melters. This position has enabled ES to become very familiar with the WTP design, design limitations, Hanford tank waste compositions and the technical challenges that face DOE as owner/operator of the of the WTP. As such, this contractor team is the only source capable of dealing with the technical issues and challenges facing the DOE within the required time. Based on its work on the contract with ORP, ES (initially Duratek) is the only provider that currently has the necessary testing capabili ty in terms of glass development and testing laboratories to continue these services without disruption to the Hanford mission. ES has an efficient and effective project management and controls system in place to manage the work. In addition, ES has unique testing capabilities that have been established for the WTP project. These capabilities include glass formulation, testing and characterization laboratories, and prototypic continuous glass melters for process testing. The glass melters range in scale from 10 kg glass per day to 1200 kg glass per day. The larger melter system is supported by a melter feed and melter off-gas treatment system that was designed to emulate the WTP design. Replacement of these testing capabilities by another contractor would be cost prohibitive. 6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers were solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable. Include whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.: It has been determined that placement of a contract with ES is the only effective means of meeting the Government?s requirement for the short term. Placement of a contract with ES would avoid transition and mobilization expenses and the disruption that would occur if a new contractor were brought in for the time required to solicit and award a new contract. Therefore, no effort will be made to solicit potential sources for the extension period. The proposed sole source notice was publicized June 13, 2012 to June 28,2012 as required in FAR Subpart 5.2. 7. The anticipated dollar value of the proposed acquisition, including options if applicable and a determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.: DOE will obtain a proposal and Certified Cost or Pricing Data for this new contract award. Price reasonableness will be established through cost and technical analysis of the Contractor?s proposal as required by FAR Subpart 15.4. It is anticipated that the contract type will be fixed price with an estimated dollar value of $2 million. 8. A description of the market research conducted and the results.: Transition to a different contractor would disrupt activities needed to obtain scientific information on the HLW & LAW glass waste loading estimates within the required time frames. The proposed sole source contractor, ES, has operational glass testing and melter testing laboratories to complete the required work. This includes laboratories equipped to formulate glass compositions, and analyze and characterize the glasses for chemical composition, glass phases present, electrical conductivity and viscosity. The melter testing laboratories have continuous melters that were used in establishing the design basis for the WTP Melters. These melters have glass production rates ranging up to 400 kg glass per day. These melters are needed to assess the processing behavior of these glasses and verify the glass compositions. Establishment of the glass laboratory and melter testing laboratories was completed over several decades through the support of DOE and Industry sponsored glass testing programs. Re-establishment of this capability for the proposed work is impractical in terms of cost and schedule. Therefore market research was not conducted for a contractor to complete this work. 9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.: ES has been the contractor team that has provided all of the HLW technology to the WTP project. This included: development of the initial HLW & LAW glass formulations, design of the HLW & LAW melters and supporting equipment, and confirmation of the WTP HLW & LAW melter design thru non radioactive testing and analysis. No other technology and engineering team has the unique qualifications necessary to understand and complete this work within the required time frame. 10. A listing of any sources that expressed a written interest in the acquisition.: No expressions of interest were received. 11. A statement of any actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition, if subsequent acquisition is anticipated.: Based on the information above, there are no plans to compete this requirement due to the unique nature of this requirement. Program Official Certification: Pursuant to FAR 6.303-2(c), I certify that the information provided herein is evidence that the supporting data which forms the basis for this justification is complete and accurate. Signature on file. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Signature on file. Legal Review: Signature on file. Competition Advocate Approval: This action is approved as the only one responsible source, and no other sources will meet the agency?s needs. Signature on file.
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