THIS IS A SPECIAL NOTICE PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) SUBPART 5.2 “SYNOPSES OF PROPOSED CONTRACT ACTIONS”
Response Date: 21 March 2025
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Portland District (NWP) intends to negotiate/award a firm-fixed price (FFP) supply, single source procurement to Rosemount, Inc. for Rosemount temperature monitoring equipment to include:
1. Temperature RTD Sensor/Transmitter Assembly
2. Rosemount 3144P Temperature Transmitter: 3144PD1A1NAP8T1C2HR7XA
REASON FOR SOLE SOURCE ACQUISITION
The statutory authority for this non-competitive acquisition is FAR 13.106-1(b)(i), Soliciting from a single source for purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold.
The purpose of this requirement is to furnish Rosemount RTD sensor and temperature transmitter assemblies for use in monitoring the water temperature at outfall locations of Bonneville Lock and Dam, as required for compliance with the NPDES permits issued by the EPA and the states of Washington and Oregon.
1. A SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE POSTED.
The Government intends to proceed with this sole source action. The NAICS code 334513, Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables.
Background: Portland District project sites on the Columbia River, including Bonneville, use temperature monitoring system equipment to ensure compliance with the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit program. Bonneville requires Rosemount temperature monitoring equipment for its temperature monitoring system. The NPDES permit program addresses water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. The Clean Water Act prohibits discharging pollutants through a point source into waters of the United States unless an NPDES permit is obtained. Remaining in compliance with the conditions of the permit is required for the Corps of Engineers to maintain its authorization to continue to discharge into the Columbia River.
Specified monitoring requirements exist for detecting each type of pollutant. Heat load is a pollutant that is subject to a continuous monitoring requirement. Discharge temperature must be continuously monitored over time and combined with the discharge flow rate. The permit defines continuous monitoring as collecting data once every 30 minutes and further requires that the temperature measurement be performed with a device of high accuracy. For Bonneville, the continuous temperature and flow monitoring requirements apply to the supply and discharge pipes of cooling water for all of the main units, station service unit, and HVAC chiller of powerhouse 1, the discharge pipes of the powerhouse drainage and unwatering pumps and the oil water separator discharge. The resulting monitoring system must provide a sufficiently accurate temperature measurement that is stored, it must calculate the required temperature, flow, and heat load metrics from the stored data, and it must provide the metrics data in the required format at regular intervals as required by the EPA.
Justification: A review of the work specification package identified Rosemount brand equipment is necessary for Bonneville’s temperature monitoring system. The Rosemount equipment is the only authorized vendor that can provide the necessary Rosemount temperature monitoring equipment implementation needed to satisfy this requirement. Rosemount Inc. is the only vendor able to provide OEM warranties and support for the required equipment. Other manufacturers’ products do not meet the technical requirements to ensure successful continuous temperature monitoring and would result in the Corps of Engineer’s being out of compliance with the conditions of the NPDES permit and losing authorization to continue to discharge into the Columbia River.
Impact: Failure to utilize Rosemount temperature monitoring equipment would result in an inability to measure discharge water temperature to the standard required by NPDES leading to penalties and potential litigation for failing to meet NPDES permit requirements and prevent the Corps in Engineers from legally discharging water resulting in lost electrical power generation and significant safety risk.
The Government intends to solicit Rosemount, Inc. directly for these supplies on or around 31 March 2025.
2. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS OR QUOTATIONS. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quote to the contracting officer before the notice end date. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement is solely within the discretion of the Government. Electronic responses and questions shall be submitted via email labeled as “W9127N25QA019 – Rosemount Temperature Monitoring Equipment,” to Mrs. Consuelo Kiser at consuelo.j.kiser@usace.army.mil. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is not responsible for any costs incurred by responding to this notice. If no affirmative written responses are received by the closing of this notice, an award will be made without further notice.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR RESPONSES TO THIS SPECIAL NOTICE
- Business name, Point of Contact name, email address, and phone number.
- CAGE Code and DUNS number.
- Statement of Capabilities
