Phoenix Environmental Design, Inc.

B-412503 Mar 07, 2016 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Phoenix Environmental Design, Inc., of Newman Lake, Washington, protests the issuance of a purchase order to Walking Point Farms, LLC, of Tigard, Oregon, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. L16PS00024, issued by the Department of the Interior (DOI) for the provision of herbicide chemicals for use on public lands in the field offices of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) West Desert District office. Phoenix alleges that it was prevented from competing for this award because the agency did not provide adequate notice of the solicitation. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Phoenix Environmental Design, Inc. File:  B-412503 Date:  March 7, 2016 Colin Chad Gill for the protester. Craig T.Donavan, Esq., and Sherry Kinland Kaswell, Esq., Department of the Interior, for the agency. Gary R. Allen, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that an agency did not provide proper notice of a solicitation for a purchase order is denied where the purchase order was expected to be valued lower than the $25,000 threshold requiring use of the government-wide portal of entry, FedBizOpps, for such notice, and the agency displayed notice of the solicitation on the agency’s publicly accessible procurement website. DECISION Phoenix Environmental Design, Inc., of Newman Lake, Washington, protests the issuance of a purchase order to Walking Point Farms, LLC, of Tigard, Oregon, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. L16PS00024, issued by the Department of the Interior (DOI) for the provision of herbicide chemicals for use on public lands in the field offices of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) West Desert District office.  Phoenix alleges that it was prevented from competing for this award because the agency did not provide adequate notice of the solicitation. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On July 29, 2015, the agency issued a prior solicitation, RFQ No. 1012918 (FSS RFQ), under the General Services Administration (GSA) e-Buy program to Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract holders under schedules 51V and 71V.[1]  Agency Report (AR), Tab 3, GSA eBuy Summary.  On August 20, the agency issued a purchase order (FSS purchase order) to Walking Point in the amount of $22,634.  Id.; AR, Tab 4, GSA e-Buy FSS Purchase Order to Walking Point.  On August 21, the agency modified the FSS purchase order, adding open-market clauses and notations.  Memorandum of Law at 2. Also on August 21, Phoenix contacted the agency, questioning the issuance of the FSS Purchase Order and raising the possibility of filing a protest.  Phoenix and the agency exchanged multiple e-mails concerning the FSS purchase order.  Contracting Officer’s (CO) Statement at 1.  Phoenix requested that the agency keep Phoenix apprised of the status of the award.  Protest at 3. On November 2, Walking Point notified the agency that it could not proceed with the FSS purchase order because more than 20 percent of the order was for open-market items, and DOI cancelled the FSS purchase order.  CO Statement at 2.  On November 5, the agency issued a new RFQ, No. L16PS00024, as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business set aside, for the same requirements.  The notice listed the value of the purchase order as $33,380, which is the same amount as was listed for the prior RFQ.  The agency published notice of the new RFQ only on FedConnect.net, DOI’s publicly-accessible procurement website.[2]  AR, Tab 9, Screenshot of 2nd RFQ on FedConnect.net, at 2.  Although the FedConnect posting listed Phoenix as a vendor that should receive an invitation to provide a quotation, Phoenix is not registered with FedConnect.net, and therefore did not receive an individual invitation.  Id.