Castro & Company, LLC (unknown)

B-419366 Jan 25, 2021 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Castro & Company, LLC, of Alexandria, Virginia, protests the decision by the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to establish a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Kearney & Company, P.C., also of Alexandria, Virginia, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 2032H320Q00044, issued for compliance support services. Castro protests the agency's limited-sources justification and establishment of the BPA, made as a logical follow-on to a previously established BPA. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Castro & Company, LLC File:  B-419366 Date:  January 25, 2021 Wayne Ference for the protester. Jason A. Carey, Esq., J. Hunter Bennett, Esq., Andrew Guy, Esq., and Darby Rourick, Esq., Covington & Burling, LLP, for Kearney & Company, P.C., the intervenor. Justin M. Wakefield, Esq., Kelly Zeng, Esq., and Richard L. Hatfield, Esq., Department of Treasury, for the agency. John Sorrenti, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Agency’s establishment of a noncompetitive logical follow-on blanket purchase agreement for compliance support services was reasonable pursuant to the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) section 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C). 2.  Where record shows that agency reasonably established a noncompetitive blanket purchase agreement under FAR section 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C), protester is not an interested party to further challenge the establishment of that agreement. DECISION   Castro & Company, LLC, of Alexandria, Virginia, protests the decision by the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to establish a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Kearney & Company, P.C., also of Alexandria, Virginia, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 2032H320Q00044, issued for compliance support services.  Castro protests the agency’s limited-sources justification and establishment of the BPA, made as a logical follow-on to a previously established BPA. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. BACKGROUND In 2010, Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and spilled oil into tens of thousands of square miles of ocean.  Agency Report (AR), Tab D.1, Acquisition Plan at 1.  In response to the oil spill, in 2012 the Gulf RESTORE Act was enacted to restore and protect the environment and economy in five Gulf Coast states.  Id.; 33 U.S.C. § 1321(t).  The Act created the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, into which 80 percent of the administrative and civil penalties paid in connection with the oil spill are deposited.  See id.  Expenditures from the trust fund are made through grants that the Department of Treasury administers.  AR, Tab D.1, Acquisition Plan at 2.  A unit within the Department of Treasury, Treasury RESTORE Act Compliance (TRAC), is responsible for monitoring grant recipients’ compliance with the requirements of the RESTORE Act and other applicable laws and regulations.  Id.  Accordingly, the agency has obtained services from a contractor “to provide program compliance support services, specifically in the areas of developing, implementing and executing a robust compliance-management regime in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, legal agreements, and business documents.”  AR, Tab G.3, 2017 BPA Performance Work Statement (PWS) at 3.  In March 2017, pursuant to competitive procedures, the agency established a BPA with Kearney for these compliance support services.[1]  COS at 2.  The scope of work for the 2017 BPA required Kearney to perform three tasks:  compliance reviews, annual due diligence reviews, and special projects.  AR, Tab G.3, 2017 BPA PWS at 3.  For the compliance reviews, estimated to be 75 percent of the effort, Kearney had to coordinate with the agency to “plan, prepare, conduct and report on desk and onsite compliance reviews of performance, internal controls, financial management, and compliance with applicable laws, regulations and grant terms and conditions for identified grant recipients.”  Id.  For the annual due diligence reviews, estimated to be 20 percent of the effort, Kearney coordinated with the agency to “plan, prepare and conduct and report annual due diligence of eligible applicants.”  Id.  For special projects, estimated to be 5 percent of the effort, Kearney executed a variety of special projects, including preparation of new procedures and guidelines; planning, preparing, and reporting or conducting training; and performing research and analysis on emerging issues.  Id. In May 2020, the agency conducted market research to determine how to procure these same compliance support services after Kearney’s BPA ended in September 2020.  See AR, Tab D.2, Market Research at 1, 3.  As part of its research, the agency reviewed the prior acquisition h...