B-294974.6, Logan, LLC, December 1, 2006

B-294974.6 Dec 01, 2006 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Logan, LLC (formerly known as Envirosolve, LLC) protests the decision by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Justice, to exclude it from the rotation of purchase orders under blanket purchase agreements (BPA) established with various vendors for hazardous waste cleanup services. Envirosolve argues that the agency's decision to exclude it from receiving further purchase orders under its BPA is improper. We deny the protest. View Decision B-294974.6, Logan, LLC, December 1, 2006 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Logan, LLC File: B-294974.6 Date: December 1, 2006 Carolyn Callaway, Esq., for the protester. James E. Hicks, Esq., Drug Enforcement Administration, for the agency. Louis A. Chiarella, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Statutory requirement to obtain maximum practicable competition in simplified acquisitions is met where agency uses competitive procedures in establishing blanket purchase agreements (BPA) with multiple vendors; under those circumstances, there is no requirement that the agency conduct a further competition among the BPA holders in connection with each individual purchase order subsequently issued under the BPAs. 2. Challenge to agency's decisions made after competitive establishment of BPAs regarding whether and how to place orders with specific BPA holders concerns administration of the BPAs, an issue not for review in a bid protest before the Government Accountability Office. DECISION Logan, LLC (formerly known as Envirosolve, LLC) [1] protests the decision by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Justice, to exclude it from the rotation of purchase orders under blanket purchase agreements (BPA) established with various vendors for hazardous waste cleanup services. Envirosolve argues that the agency's decision to exclude it from receiving further purchase orders under its BPA is improper. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND DEA's mission of enforcing federal narcotics laws routinely results in the seizure of illegal clandestine drug laboratories, and the subsequent destruction of both illegal drugs and the facilities in which they are manufactured. The destruction of clandestine drug laboratories often entails the disposal of environmentally hazardous chemicals. The cost of hazardous waste cleanup for a single clandestine laboratory can range from under $1,000 to over $100,000; the cost for a single hazardous waste cleanup action, however, cannot be predicted or established in advance of the seizure of the individual clandestine drug laboratory. Protest (B-294974), Oct. 12, 2004, at 3. DEA's disposal of clandestine laboratory hazardous waste products is governed by federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations. As the agency operates throughout the United States, DEA's requirement for hazardous waste cleanup services is also a nationwide one. In order to meet its needs and responsibilities, DEA has utilized the services of contractors who are properly qualified in hazardous waste management. DEA has also accomplished the administration of its hazardous waste cleanup requirements by dividing the country into 44 geographic areas, or –contract areas,— and establishing contract vehicles for the required services for one or more contract areas. Agency Dismissal Request, Nov. 12, 2004, at 1. The history of the contractual relationship between DEA and Envirosolve is a long and difficult one (see Envirosolve LLC, B-294974.4, June 8, 2005, 2005 CPD para. 106 for additional details). Relevant to the protest here, in October 2004, the agency was without the required hazardous cleanup services for 18 contract areas and, in order to meet its needs, decided to establish BPAs with various firms for the required services.[2] DEA then established, noncompetitively, BPAs with at least 10 different vendors, but not Envirosolve, for one or more contract areas each. The agency subsequently began issuing purchase orders, noncompetitively, under the BPAs it had established with the selected vendors. While some of the purchase orders did not exceed $2,500, other purchase orders were for amounts above $2,500 and below $100,000. In each instance, DEA procured the cleanup services directly from a BPA holder for the given contract area, and did not consider or solicit quotations from other sources. On October 12, 2004, Envirosolve filed a protest with our Office asserting, among other things, that DEA's use of noncompetitive BPAs as the method for procuring the required hazardous waste cleanup services violated applicable competition requirements.