Thalle Construction Company, Inc. (W912EP-22-R-0005)

B-421345,B-421345.2,B-421345.3 Mar 27, 2023 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Thalle Construction Company, Inc., of Hillsborough, North Carolina, protests the award of a contract to Forgen-Odin JV (FO JV), of Rocklin, California, under request for proposals (RFP) No. W912EP-22-R-0005, issued by the Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for work related to the foundation and cutoff wall of the central Everglades planning project Everglades agricultural area (CEPP EAA) reservoir located in Palm Beach County, Florida. The protester challenges the agency's evaluation of proposals under the RFP's non-price factors and the best-value tradeoff decision. 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: Thalle Construction Company, Inc. File: B-421345; B-421345.2; B-421345.3 Date: March 27, 2023 Jacob W. Scott, Esq., Lochlin B. Samples, Esq., and Alexander Gorelik, Esq., Smith, Currie & Hancock, LLP, for the protester. Casey McKinnon, Esq., and Michael Payne, Esq., Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC, for Forgen-Odin JV, the intervenor. Michael T. Geiselhart, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Michelle E. Litteken, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest of agency’s technical evaluation is denied where the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation, and to the extent any errors occurred, the protester has not demonstrated competitive prejudice. 2. Challenge to agency’s past performance evaluation is denied where the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation, and to the extent any errors occurred, the protester has not demonstrated competitive prejudice. 3. Challenge to agency’s evaluation of the awardee’s proposal under the small business participation factor is denied where the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation. 4. Protest of agency’s best-value tradeoff decision is denied where the protester has not established that the underlying evaluation was unreasonable. DECISION Thalle Construction Company, Inc., of Hillsborough, North Carolina, protests the award of a contract to Forgen-Odin JV[1] (FO JV), of Rocklin, California, under request for proposals (RFP) No. W912EP-22-R-0005, issued by the Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for work related to the foundation and cutoff wall of the central Everglades planning project Everglades agricultural area (CEPP EAA) reservoir located in Palm Beach County, Florida. The protester challenges the agency’s evaluation of proposals under the RFP’s non-price factors and the best-value tradeoff decision. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND As part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan,[2] the Corps intends to change how excess water levels on Lake Okeechobee are managed through a series of projects. Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 4. One of those projects is the CEPP EAA phase reservoir. Id. The above-ground reservoir will store excess water from Lake Okeechobee, and the excess water will be directed south, to the Everglades, as opposed to the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, where excess water is currently discharged. Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) ¶ 9. The reservoir is being constructed in two phases, and the Corps is procuring the work for the first phase under this solicitation. MOL at 5. The Corps issued the solicitation on June 10, 2022.[3] Agency Report (AR), Tab 3, RFP at 1. The solicitation sought a contractor to install a below-ground cutoff wall and perform foundation work for the reservoir.[4] MOL at 5. The scope of work included clearing, grubbing, de-mucking, blasting, foundation preparation, installation of a seepage cutoff wall, canal backfilling, and all incidental work to prepare approximately 15.3 miles of foundation for a 17.3-mile embankment dam. COS ¶ 8. The contractor would complete demonstration sections for phases of the work, during which the Corps would verify the means and methods used before the contractor would transition to production. AR, Tab 4, Summary of Work at 3; COS ¶ 71. The solicitation established that award would be made to a responsible offeror on a best-value tradeoff basis, considering the following four factors, listed in descending order of importance: (1) technical merit, (2) past performance, (3) small business participation, and (4) price. RFP at 14-15. The non-price factors, when combined, were stated to be significantly more important than price. Id. at 14.