No definite plans have been reached to date. Thereafter, the agency decided to take corrective action by reopening the competition. The FireLiner conversion is scheduled to be completed in May 2021 in time for the next fire season in North America. E: cg@coulsongroup.com at480. Both Coulson and Minden also point to the fact that the sole-source award to Neptune makes it less likely that the Forest Service would execute airtanker options under the competitively-awarded NextGen contract. As detailed below, the Forest Service entered into a settlement agreement with Neptune on the basis that the award of a sole-source, NextGen-type contract was necessary to maintain Neptune as a vital source of large airtankers. T: (250) 724-7600 F: (250) 723-7766. at127-29, the agency decided not to override the stay. All rights reserved. We will question those decisions only if the evidence shows that the agency has abused its discretion. 2. [10] The total estimated cost was based on the 5-year base period for a single aircraft. [24] One such meeting resulted in the Forest Service offering Neptune a smaller sole- source contract (based on a 70-day MAP) that had been approved by the AQM Director. The SPE made a series of requests of the Forest Service for additional information, including Neptunes financial statements and balance sheets, Neptunes Legacy contract, and documents related to the NextGen procurement. Derek Heyes Photo. 001, May 15, 2013, at B-21. Moreover, had the agency used this separate authority as the basis for its noncompetitive contract award, the agency would have been required to request offers from as many potential sources as is practicable under the circumstances. See also Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-3. Servs., Inc., supra. Consequently, the agency argues, the J&A was not grounded on the agencys belief that Neptune would immediately go out of business without a NextGen contract, but was based on its concern with Neptunes continued availability as a large airtanker supplier after 2017 when its Legacy contract expired. The protesters generally do not dispute that the Forest Service requires additional large airtankers to perform its firefighting mission. FI also found that Neptune had based its revenue projections for the same period on the use of seven P2V aircraft, rather than six P2V and one BAe-146 aircraft (and the higher BAe-146 rates) as specified by the terms of the Legacy contract. T: +255 76 898 8640. AR, Tab 69, TEB Report, Apr. AR, Tab 148, Neptune Settlement Contract Offer, Oct. 31, 2013. While the agency argues the fact that other contractors may have airtankers available to perform Neptunes contract to be irrelevant here, AR, Jan. 31, 2014, at 52, we fail to see how the agency can reasonably find Neptune to be a vital source without accurately considering all sources. A noncompetitive contract was awarded to Neptune on December12. Canada V9Y 8E9. [34] AR, Feb. 19, 2014, at 3-7. 9 of the 16 potential [large airtankers] for 2014 are older and riskier to operate than newer NextGen airtankers. . However, FI also expressed its opinion to the SPE that Neptune remained viable (without a sole-source award) through the end of its Legacy contract (2017). Coulson Aviation is the first company in the world to convert Boeing's 737 commercial airliners into FireLiner tankers. at735-36. [17] Id. With contracts for aerial firefighting across the world, the work of the Coulson Aviation team has been featured in the aviation industry and media recently. Id. Ever innovative and creative, Coulson Aviation has established night firefighting operations in Australia and California. He received his BBA from Southern Methodist University in 1989 and holds an OPM from Harvard Business School. The company was formerly known as Pink OTC Markets Inc. and changed its name to OTC Markets Group Inc. in January 2011. [15] The Forest Service had USDAs Rural Utilities Service (RUS) analyze Neptunes continued financial viability based on the information provided by Neptune.[16]. Quite simply, the existence of a settlement agreement does not permit a contracting agency to act in ways not otherwise permitted by applicable statutes and regulations. The agency justified the solesource award under 41 U.S.C. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [26] Neptune Aviation [presently] supplies the Forest Service with 8 of the 9 total Legacy airtankers, which represents 88 percent of the Legacy fleet. AR, Tab 49, Neptune J&A, Dec. 9, 2013, at 1. Agency Post-Hearing Comments, Mar. Fort Worth, TX: 69 : PROFESSIONAL AIRLINE SERVICES: Doral, FL: 42 : SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: Dallas, TX: 41 : UNITED . [4] In resolving this protest, GAO conducted a 2-day hearing to receive testimony from various agency officials involved in this procurement. 18, 2014, at 9-10, 21; see also Tr. [19] The settlement agreement was signed on the Forest Services behalf by its AQM Director, who was the head of the contracting activity. Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc.; 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC., B-406920 et al., Sept. 7, 2012. The company has over 160,000. . Consultants, Inc., B-284943, B-284943.2, June 9, 2000, 2000 CPD 102 at 5. AR, Tab 49, J&A, Dec.9, 2013, at 1. 3301(a)(1). 3304(a), it is required to execute a written J&A with sufficient facts and rationale to support the use of the cited authority. at 45. 3553(d)(3)(A), Neptunes protest triggered a stay of the NextGen contract awards pending our resolution of the protest. As set forth above, agencies are generally required to conduct procurements using procedures designed to obtain full and open competition. In this regard, the protesters claim that the agencys actions have been motivated by the desire to fulfill the terms of a settlement agreement and to avoid a lawsuit by Neptune for allegedly breaching that agreement. Id. Only supported aircraft types that are active with this airline are included in the calculations. [35] To the extent Neptune now represents a vital source, it is because of its Legacy contract. . The Forest Services procurement of NextGen airtanker services has a long and contentious history. [13] The FAM is the Forest Service program office that determines what aviation resources are needed to fulfill the agencys firefighting mission. Have a story idea you would like to suggest? On 6 February 2023, a Boeing 737-300 owned by Coulson Aviation and used as an air tanker crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia while fighting multiple fires. Tr. Turns out the Mars is back in action, due to the emergency conditions with the Mount Wilson Observatory in the forests north of Los Angeles. In accordance with the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), 31U.S.C. Its also the only large airtanker capable of carrying 63 firefighters to a fire without the need to reconfigure the cabin providing support, speed and flexibility to fires. Vertical and Vertical Valor are part of MHM Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved 2020 | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. It offers OTC Link Alternative Trading System, an interdealer quotation and trade messaging system; OTC Dealer, a real-time, front-end application that provides consolidated quotation, trading, and information system to attract and access market liquidity; OTC FIX, which uses the industry standard FIX protocol for quote submission, trading, and routing of execution reports; and OTC Link Electronic Communication Networks (ECN) that acts as the executing party on an agency basis in relation to transactions executed on the ECN's platform. . Elin M. Dugan, Esq., Inga Bumbary-Langston, Esq., Shawn S. McGruder, Esq., Mark G. Garrett, Esq., and Melissa D. McClellan, Esq., Department of Agriculture, for the agency. Id. The record also reflects that, after August 26, there generally was no longer any disagreement among the parties about Neptunes present financial viability. Although the Forest Service had significant concerns about its ability to adequately respond to the 2013 fire season without the protested NextGen large airtankers being available, see Tr. [39] The agency argues that it did not have to include the additional aircraft in the J&As description, inasmuch as these bilateral options would not be included in determining the required justification approval level as set forth in FAR 6.304(d). Coulson Aviation Usa doesn't have any recent trademark applications, indicating Coulson Aviation Usa is focusing on its existing business rather than expanding into new products and markets. The SPE then asked FI to perform a comparison of its conclusions with those of RUS. Minden Protest, Feb.10, 2014, at 2-3. The SPE had several conversations with the ASA in which she recommended that he not approve the J&A as there was not a valid justification for doing so. at 2, 4. at735-36 (the agency plans to conduct additional competitions in the coming years under which Neptune would be eligible to compete and could receive awards). [3] The NextGen solicitation was intended to be the primary, but not the only, means by which the Forest Service met its modernization strategy goal of 18-28 modern large airtankers. By contrast, the second analysis conducted by FI--which did not simply accept Neptunes projections--found that Neptunes revenue projections were inconsistent with the terms of the Legacy contract, that Neptunes expected costs were lower than the company had itself projected, and that Neptune did not require a NextGen contract to remain viable through the term of the Legacy contract. On May 6, the Forest Service announced its intent to make the following awards: AR, Tab 70, NextGen Contract Award Abstract, May 6, 2013. The NRE Undersecretary emphasized the importance of large airtankers for wildland firefighting and the Forest Services need for additional airtankers, particularly with regard to the 2014 fire season. They do not include all outstanding orders as reported by aircraft manufacturers. At the end of the first day of the hearing, the GAO hearing official noted that the testimony thus far appeared to support the protesters arguments that the communications between the agency and various offerors were discussions rather than clarifications, as described by FAR 15.306. With our total integrated approach, we are able to provide our customers with a safe, world-class program, 24 hours a day.. Accordingly, while the agency contends that the J&A did not rely on the FI financial analysis to assess Neptunes long-term viability, neither did the agency rely on any other information when making such an assessment. The company will do the same . Within Tanzania he has a comprehensive corporate/commercial practice covering all aspects of non-contentious transactional . Options offered by the Forest Service to Neptune included: (1) adding two additional BAe-146 aircraft to Neptunes Legacy contract (beyond the eight large airtankers then being provided), AR, Tab 32, Forest Service Letter to Neptune, Aug. 26, 2013, at 2; and (2) offering Neptune a sole-source contract of such size that it could be approved below the level of the SPE (i.e., less than $62.5 million). While it was conducting the NextGen large airtanker procurement, the Forest . AR, Tab 56, Neptune Legacy Contract, at B-2. Winglets installed 2008. Pursuant to the FAR, the head of a contracting activity only has the authority to approve noncompetitive awards of up to $62.5 million. E: michael.strain@bowmanslaw.com. Agency Report (AR), Tab 143, Forest Service Large Airtanker Modernization Strategy, Feb. 10, 2012, at2. Click on the button below to send an email to our team and we will get to it as soon as possible. [18] AR, Tab 18, Neptune Settlement Agreement, June 6, 2013. Shortly thereafter the Forest Service modified Neptunes Legacy contract and added an additional BAe-146 aircraft for the 2013 fire season at a total estimated price of $4,960,200. [27] A settlement agreement promising award of a contract on a sole-source basis in exchange for abandoning ongoing litigation, such as a bid protest, is not a permissible basis for restricting competition and excluding potential offerors. D, 2012 NextGen Contract Award Abstract. 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