The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory’s (ERDC-CERL’s) Harmful Algal Bloom Interception, Treatment, and Transformation System (HABITATS) program requires services to modify and upgrade the Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) barge portion of the Mobile Floating Contaminant Separation System (MFCSS) that was procured during FY20 so that it is more deployable, collects floated algae with greater efficacy, and accommodates other functional modifications.

ERDC-CERL intends to sole source this acquisition in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) to Elastec. Market research has indicated that Elastec is the only source capable of meeting the Government’s requirements for this commercial item because of the following reasons.  In 2020, Elastec Inc. designed, assembled, and delivered the customized MFCSS.  A key portion of this unit was a pontoon barge that could be readily equipped with DAF technology to remove cyanobacteria (algae) from waterbodies.  The system was received in August 2020, and it was subjected to preliminary testing by the government in FY20. During testing, several opportunities for improving performance through physical modification of the DAF barge were identified.  Since Elastec Inc has the original design plans, and proprietary knowledge of the system, they are the only source capable of providing the necessary modifications. They have extensive experience in skimming technologies, aluminum fabrication, as well as vinyl bladder construction. 

In the market research for the original procurement Elastec was the only vendor found that could provide a product designed to intercept and concentrate algae from large natural water bodies that was a floating shipboard system (not a land-based design) AND capable of removing microalgae and small particulate contaminants.

This is not a request for proposal and in no way obligates the Government to award any contract.

The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 336611 which has a size standard of 1,250 Employees. This is not a small business set aside. Any interested party that believes they can fulfill this requirement should submit a capability statement to be reviewed. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will in any way alter the Government’s acquisition strategy.

Please provide responses to this notice no later than April 30, 2021 at 12:00pm, Central Standard Time (CST), to:

[email protected]

Telephone responses will not be accepted.

Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offerors list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation. A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.