ACME Endeavors, Inc.

B-417455 Jun 25, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights ACME Endeavors, Inc., of Missoula, Montana, a small business, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 1204H119Q7000, issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, for commercial vehicle weed washing services and equipment. ACME argues that the RFQ is ambiguous and limits competition by overstating the agency's minimum requirements. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  ACME Endeavors, Inc. File:  B-417455 Date:  June 25, 2019 Austin Nowakowski, Esq., Nowakowski Legal PLLC, and Scott M. Haapala, Esq., Scott M. Haapala PLLC, for the protester. Melissa D. McClellan, Esq., United States Department of Agriculture, for the agency. Joshua Gillerman, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging the terms of the solicitation as being ambiguous and unduly restrictive of competition is denied where the record shows that the terms of the solicitation provide sufficient information to allow vendors to intelligently prepare their quotations on a common basis and are reasonably necessary to meet the agency’s needs. DECISION ACME Endeavors, Inc., of Missoula, Montana, a small business, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 1204H119Q7000, issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, for commercial vehicle weed washing services and equipment.  ACME argues that the RFQ is ambiguous and limits competition by overstating the agency’s minimum requirements.  We deny the protest.  BACKGROUND The RFQ, issued March 11, 2019, sought quotations from service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and participants in the Small Business Administration’s section 8(a) program, and anticipated the establishment of multiple blanket purchase agreements (BPA).  Agency Report (AR), Tab C, RFQ, at 1.[1]  The RFQ seeks commercial vehicle weed washing services and equipment to be provided in Forest Service region 6.  AR, Tab A, Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 1.  Quotations were due by April 5.  RFQ at 1. By way of background, the agency explains that during fire suppression and incident response activities, vehicles and equipment utilized in off-road locations can pick up and transport seeds and spores, leading to the potential disruption or destruction of native ecosystems.  MOL at 1 (citing AR, Tab E, Agency Report on Comparison of Relocatable Commercial Vehicle Washing Systems, at 106 ).  The RFQ seeks weed washing services to remove soil, dirt, vegetative matter, and other debris from vehicles and equipment to reduce the spread of nonnative and invasive species.  Id. The BPAs are to be issued to the vendors whose quotations, conforming to the RFQ, are most advantageous to the agency, considering price and non-price factors.  RFQ at 6.  The non-price factors were:  operational acceptability of the equipment and past performance dependability risks.  Id.  Relevant here, the RFQ set forth several performance based requirements related to weed washing and included certain minimum equipment requirements.  RFQ at 19-20.  The RFQ provided that quotations would be considered operationally acceptable if the offered equipment met the minimum requirements delineated in the solicitation.  Id. On April 3, the agency issued amendment 1 to the RFQ, which included answers to questions received from vendors.  AR, Tab D, Amend. 1, at 1.  The amendment did not modify the April 5 due date for quotations.  On April 5, prior to the time set for receipt of quotations, ACME filed this protest. DISCUSSION ACME raises multiple challenges to the terms of the solicitation.  We note at the outset that the determination of the government’s needs and the best method of accommodating them is primarily the responsibility of the procuring agency.  Columbia Imaging, Inc., B-286772.2, B-287363, Apr. 13, 2001, 2001 CPD ¶ 78 at 2.  Our Office will not sustain a protest challenging any agency’s determination of its needs unless the protester presents clear and convincing evidence that the specifications are in fact impossible to meet or unduly restrict competition.  Second Street Holdings, LLC, B-417006, Jan.