While a team led by Huntington Ingalls Industries offered a slightly lower price to provide support services at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Energy Department awarded the contract to a Leidos-led venture because it submitted a better overall package, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Congress’ auditing agency on Tuesday posted a copy of its April 22 decision rejecting the Huntington Ingalls’ team’s protest against DOE’s December award of the potential 10-year contract.
While Broomfield, Colo.-based Hanford Integrated Infrastructure Services Contractor’s (HIISC) overall cost of $4.82 billion was below the $4.85 billion offer by Richland, Wash.-based winner Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS), the latter offered the better technical approach and key personnel/organization, the GAO said in the written order.
The participating companies in HIISC were not named in the ruling, although Huntington Ingalls has acknowledged it is the lead partner.
Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, a venture comprised of Leidos Integrated Technology, Centerra Group, and Parsons Government Services, was described by DOE as having an “outstanding” technical approach and being “good” on the key people/organization front. By comparison, Hanford Integrated Infrastructure Services Contractor was deemed “good” and “satisfactory” in these two areas.
Ratings are determined by the Energy Department’s Source Evaluation Board and the ultimate decision on the contract award is made by the Source Selection Authority (SSA). The protester argued SSA’s authority was usurped by unidentified Energy Department officials, saying the agency notified Congress of the contract award on Sept. 16, 2019, even as it entered into discussions with HMIS on that date regarding the vendor’s small business subcontracting plan.
The protester suggests this shows DOE was looking to pick Hanford Mission Infrastructure before even it was sure it could satisfy certain standards set in the request for proposals for the contract. The federal agency rescinded the congressional notification after one day, because all pre-contract reviews had not been completed.
But in reviewing the record, the GAO said it is satisfied the HMIS member companies past performance was properly vetted by the time the final award was announced in December – including Parsons’ performance in construction the Salt Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
The vendor will provide DOE and its other Hanford Site contractors with mission essential infrastructure and site integration services to enable environmental remediation to go forward. This landlord-type contract covers services including operating adequate electric, water, and sewer infrastructure; providing upkeep of roads and grounds; and emergency services.
The contract also requires the contract to provide DOE with small business procurement support. This includes identifying “meaningful work” that can be subcontracted to small vendors, the GAO said. It also involves encouraging small business development through outreach and mentor programs.
The deal is structured with a five-year base period, followed by option periods of three years and two years.
The current contractor, Mission Support Alliance, is comprised of Leidos and Centerra. Its $4.6 billion contract started in May 2009 and is scheduled to run through May 25. As of Friday, DOE has yet to issue the new vendor with a notice to proceed with transition.
The protester argued HMIS failed to comply with terms of the September 2018 request for proposals and the agency should have concluded it was ineligible for award, the GAO said in the order. In particular, Hanford Mission Integration Services failed to show that 20% of the value of the contract would go to small businesses, according to the protest.
The Energy Department found a “mistake or clerical error” in initial paperwork from HMIS created the false impression that it missed the 20% small business mark, the GAO said. The mistake was quickly corrected in follow-up communication with Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, establishing that at least 20% of the contract value would go to small businesses.
In addition, Hanford Integrated Infrastructure Services Contractor claimed HMIS has a conflict of interest, which cannot be mitigated, through proposed subcontractor North Wind Solutions.
North Wind’s administrative role in the small business support program for HMIS was not explicitly spelled out in the GAO order. The protester claimed North Wind’s work could put it into a position to gain valuable nonpublic information about its rivals.
The GAO said it could find no basis to sustain the claim. It is too early to say what potential tasks at Hanford will be reserved for small businesses, much less whether North Wind might unfairly try to put its thumb on the scales, according to the agency.
Entities that lose at the GAO can still pursue their challenge before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
A spokeswoman for Huntington Ingalls Industries, Beci Brenton, said Wednesday HIISC is reviewing the GAO order. “We received the redacted copy of the GAO decision on Friday, and we are reviewing it to determine our best course of action going forward, spokeswoman said.
Contract Protesters Usually Lose at GAO
Bid protest cases typically don’t enjoy a high rate of success before the Government Accountability Office.
During fiscal 2019, the government watchdog sustained only 13% of the 2,071 bid protests resolved during the 12-month period, according to a November GAO report to Congress.
In cases in which the challenger prevailed, the most common reasons were unreasonable technical evaluations by the contracting federal agency, inadequate documentation to support the decision, or a flawed selection decision, GAO General Counsel Thomas Armstrong stated in the annual report submitted under the 1984 Competition in Contracting Act.
The Government Accountability Office said it decided all bid protests during its standard 100-day timeline during fiscal 2019, which ended on Sept. 30 of last year. The 13% rate for successful challenges was down slightly from 15% in fiscal 2018.
On April 30, the congressional watchdog rejected a protest filed by a Bechtel-led venture against the December award of the potential 10-year, $10 billion Hanford Central Plateau Cleanup award made to a team comprised of Amentum, Fluor, and Atkins.
