B-297889; B-297889.2, AshBritt Inc., March 20, 2006

B-297889; B-297889.2, AshBritt Inc., March 20, 2006 TITLE: B-297889; B-297889.2, AshBritt Inc., March 20, 2006 BNUMBER: B-297889; B-297889.2 DATE: March 20, 2006 *************************************************** B-297889; B-297889.2, AshBritt Inc., March 20, 2006 Decision Matter of: AshBritt Inc. File: B-297889; B-297889.2 Date: March 20, 2006 William J. Spriggs, Esq., Stephen A. Klein, Esq., and Sharon M. Mills, Esq., Spriggs & Hollingsworth, and David J. Taylor, Esq., Tighe Patton Armstrong Teasdale, for the protester. Shannon M. Elliott, Esq., Lanny R. Robinson, Esq., and Henry H. Black, Esq., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for the agency. Ralph O. White, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protester's contention that an agency improperly included a Mississippi set-aside in a solicitation for cleanup efforts in Mississippi associated with damage resulting from Hurricane Katrina is denied where a provision of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act), 42 U.S.C. sect. 5150, requires the agency to provide a preference in debris removal contracts to firms residing, or primarily doing business, in the area affected by a major disaster, and a review of the statute and its legislative history does not show that the use of a set-aside to provide that preference, or the decision to provide the preference only to firms residing, or primarily doing business, in Mississippi--to the exclusion of firms located in other states affected by the same natural disaster--was an abuse of the agency's discretion to implement the statute's scheme. 2. Contention that a Justification and Approval (J&A) does not properly support an agency's decision to limit a competition for debris cleanup under the Stafford Act to firms residing, or primarily doing business, in Mississippi is denied where the agency's J&A reasonably explains and justifies the actions taken, and where the record shows that those actions are within the discretion provided by the Stafford Act, even though the protester correctly points out minor errors in the J&A. DECISION AshBritt Inc. protests the terms of solicitation No. W912EE-06-R-0005, issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for demolition and debris removal from public, commercial, or private residential properties located in the state of Mississippi. The cleanup efforts covered by this solicitation are associated with damage to certain areas in Mississippi resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which were declared a major disaster area by the President on August 29, 2005, under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. sect. 5121 et seq. (the Stafford Act). AshBritt argues that the Corps's decision to limit the competition for this work to Mississippi firms improperly exceeds the authority granted under a provision of the Stafford Act (codified at 42 U.S.C. sect. 5150) to provide a preference to firms residing, or primarily doing business, in the area affected by a major disaster. AshBritt also argues that the solicitation is ambiguous in its guidance about what constitutes a Mississippi firm, anticipates an improper multiple-award contract, and fails to provide an estimate for the amount of demolition that will be required under this contract. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The storm that is now known as Hurricane Katrina--and is widely described as the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history--began as a tropical depression near the Bahamas around August 23, 2005.[1] Two days later, August 25, the storm made its first landfall in the United States, near the border separating the Florida counties of Miami-Dade and Broward. By this point Katrina had become a category 1 hurricane.[2] After crossing the southern end of Florida, Hurricane Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico, where it became a category 5 hurricane by August 28, when it was positioned approximately 250 miles south/southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. On the morning of August 29, Hurricane Katrina made landfall at Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish--a parish that forms a peninsula that juts into the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane made a second landfall later that morning near the border of Louisiana and Mississippi. By the time of its second landfall, Katrina was a category 3 hurricane with winds near 125 miles per hour. Hurricane Katrina caused substantial damage to the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, with damage extending along the Gulf coast of Florida.