Sevenson Environmental Services, Inc. (W912DQ-19-R-3009)

B-419071 Dec 02, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Sevenson Environmental Services, Inc., of Niagara Falls, New York, protests the award of a contract by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, to HGL-APTIM JV, LLC, of Reston, Virginia, pursuant to request for proposals (RFP) No. W912DQ-19-R-3009, to provide environmental remediation services at the Welsbach/General Gas Mantle (GGM) site located in Camden and Gloucester City, New Jersey. Sevenson challenges the agency's technical evaluation and best-value tradeoff determination. We deny the protest. 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:  Sevenson Environmental Services, Inc. File:  B-419071 Date:  December 2, 2020 Michael H. Payne, Esq., Robert G. Ruggieri, Esq., and Casey J. McKinnon, Esq., Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC, for the protester.  Jonathan D. Shaffer, Esq., Armani Vadiee, Esq., and Daniel H. Ramish, Esq., Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC, for HGL-APTIM JV, LLC, the intervenor. Emma E. Altheide, Esq., and Anna F. Kurtz, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Glenn G. Wolcott, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Agency reasonably evaluated the protester’s and awardee’s proposals under the most important evaluation factor, experience. 2.  Agency reasonably considered the relative technical merits of the protester’s and awardee’s proposals and concluded that the technical merits of the awardee’s proposal warranted its higher evaluated cost. DECISION   Sevenson Environmental Services, Inc., of Niagara Falls, New York, protests the award of a contract by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, to HGL-APTIM JV, LLC, of Reston, Virginia,[1] pursuant to request for proposals (RFP) No. W912DQ-19-R-3009, to provide environmental remediation services at the Welsbach/General Gas Mantle (GGM) site located in Camden and Gloucester City, New Jersey.  Sevenson challenges the agency’s technical evaluation and best-value tradeoff determination. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On July 22, 2019, the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, issued the solicitation as a small business set-aside, seeking proposals to perform environmental remediation activities at the Welsbach/GGM site.[2]  AR, Tab 4, RFP at 134.  More specifically, the solicitation provides that the scope of work will include:  site preparation; sampling/analyzing soil, water, air, and building material; excavation of contaminated soil (including dewatering systems); transportation and disposal of waste; backfilling excavations with clean soil; and restoration of properties to pre-excavation conditions.  Id. at 134-35.  The solicitation contemplated the award of a single cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, with a 5-year base performance period and a value of $110 million, and provided for source selection on the basis of a best-value tradeoff considering the following evaluation factors:  company experience; past performance; and cost.[3]  Id. at 10-11.  The solicitation provided that company experience was the most important factor; past performance was next in importance; and the non-cost factors combined were “significantly more important than the cost factor.”  Id.  With regard to evaluation under the most important factor, experience, offerors were required to identify up to five prior projects for evaluation; describe the specific work performed under each project; and “identify whether [the work] was performed as the prime, or subcontractor.”[4]  Id. at 12.  Under RFP section 00 24 00, titled “Evaluation Factors,” the solicitation provided that the offerors’ prior projects would be evaluated with regard to “how well [the prior projects] demonstrate the Offeror’s capability to successfully perform [this solicitation’s requirements].”  Id.