Henry's Aerial Service, Inc

B-414238.10 Oct 02, 2017 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Evergreen Flying Services, Inc., a small business of Rayville, Louisiana, requests that it be reimbursed the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest of the award of six contracts under request for proposals (RFP) No. D16PS00182, which was issued by the Department of the Interior (DOI), Interior Business Center, for single engine air tanker (SEAT) flight services for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to support fire suppression operations in the contiguous 48 states. Evergreen maintains that reimbursement is warranted because the firm had to file subsequent protests due to the agency's failure to implement corrective action following the firm's initial protest. We deny the request. We deny the request. View Decision 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:  Evergreen Flying Services, Inc.--Costs File:  B-414238.10 Date:  October 2, 2017 David T. Ralston Jr., Esq., Frank S. Murray, Esq., Micah T. Zomer, Esq., and Alexandra Kitson, Esq., Foley & Lardner LLP, for the protester. Amy M. Siadak, Esq., Department of the Interior, for the agency. Noah B. Bleicher, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Request for reimbursement of protest costs is denied where the agency did not unduly delay taking corrective action in the face of a clearly meritorious protest. DECISION Evergreen Flying Services, Inc., a small business of Rayville, Louisiana, requests that it be reimbursed the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest of the award of six contracts under request for proposals (RFP) No. D16PS00182, which was issued by the Department of the Interior (DOI), Interior Business Center, for single engine air tanker (SEAT) flight services for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to support fire suppression operations in the contiguous 48 states.[1]  Evergreen maintains that reimbursement is warranted because the firm had to file subsequent protests due to the agency's failure to implement corrective action following the firm's initial protest. We deny the request. BACKGROUND On September 12, 2016, DOI issued the RFP for the award of multiple indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts for up to 33 SEAT aircraft for a base year, four option years, and an optional 6-month extension.  Agency Report (AR), exh. 5, RFP amend. 2, at 6, 35-36.[2]  The aircraft were to be used to transport fire retardant materials or suppressants or both to wildland fires, and were being procured for the exclusive use of BLM during one of three 100-day periods that covered the 2017 fire season.  RFP at 8, 43; AR, exh. 1, Acquisition Plan, at 1. Pursuant to the RFP, awards were to be made on a best-value basis, considering demonstrated technical/management capability, past performance, and evaluated price.  RFP at 66.  The demonstrated technical/management capability factor was comprised of two subfactors:  aircraft capability (payload) and continuity of operations.  Id.  Of relevance here, under the aircraft capability subfactor, the agency was to evaluate how well each offered aircraft met or exceeded the solicitation's minimum aircraft requirements of payload.  Id. at 67.  In this respect, the RFP identified numerous minimum aircraft requirements, including the requirement that proposed aircraft have a payload minimum capacity of 7,360 pounds, and offerors were instructed to complete an aircraft questionnaire that detailed the aircraft's performance characteristics and provide supporting documentation.  Id. at 6, 64. In October 2016, the agency received timely proposals from 15 firms, including Evergreen.[3]  Contracting Officer's Statement (COS) at 2.  Following its evaluation of proposals, in December 2016, DOI awarded IDIQ contracts to six offerors for 33 aircraft.  Id. at 2-3; see, supra, at 1 n.1.  Evergreen filed a protest and, a few days later, a supplemental protest with our Office challenging the awards (docketed as B-414238 and B-414283.2).[4]  In its initial protest, Evergreen first alleged that the agency's evaluation of its proposal under the demonstrated technical/management capability factor was unreasonable because DOI failed to assign the proposal strengths under the continuity of operations subfactor and "failed entirely" to take the aircraft capability factor into consideration.  Protest, Dec. 26, 2016, at 18-24.  Evergreen also challenged the agency's best-value award determinations.  Id. at 24-28.  In its supplemental protest, Evergreen raised additional objections to the agency's best-value tradeoff analysis and specifically alleged that awardee, Aerial Timber, misrepresented the availability of its proposed aircraft.  Protest, Dec.