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Panoptic Enterprises' FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH

DATE: February 4, 2001

SUBJECT: Environmental Protection Agency Acquisition Regulation (EPAAR); Empower Procurement Officials and Miscellaneous Technical Amendments

SOURCE: Federal Register, February 4, 2002, Vol. 67, No. 23, page 5070

AGENCIES: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

ACTION: Direct Final Rule

SYNOPSIS: EPA is amending the EPAAR to eliminate certain higher level reviews to reduce delays and to empower those qualified individuals most familiar with a contracting action to make decisions relating to that action. In addition, certain technical amendments are being made to the EPAAR to add procedures for class deviations, to revise definitions, and to make clarifications.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The EPA Acquisition Regulation (EPAAR) is Chapter 15 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations. It is available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/oamrfp12/ptod/epaar.pdf.

This rule is being published as a "direct final rule," which EPA reserves for rules it believes are noncontroversial. EPA believes this rule is noncontroversial because it is merely revises internal procedures, so adverse comments are not expected. However, if EPA receives any adverse comments, it will withdraw the rule and publish a notice in the Federal Register that the rule will not take effect.

DATES: The direct final rule will take effect May 6, 2002, without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comments by March 6, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments on the direct final rule to Larry Wyborski, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Acquisition Management, Mail Code 3802R, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Ariel Rios Building, Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Wyborski, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Acquisition Management, Mail Code 3802R, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Ariel Rios Building, Washington, DC 20460; 202-564-4369.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: EPA conducted an internal assessment of its organization and determined that in some situations there were too many levels of review required prior to making contract-related decisions. Consequently, an EPAAR class deviation was issued on May 30, 2001, to eliminate several higher level reviews and empower the individuals most familiar with the contracting action instead. This rule incorporates the EPAAR class deviation as follows:

• EPAAR 1515.303, Responsibilities, is revised to designate the following officials as the Source Selection Authority (SSA): for acquisitions of $25,000,000 or more, the Service Center Manager (SCM) (the SSA had been the Chief of the Contracting Office (CCO)); for acquisitions less than $25,000,000 but greater than $10,000,000: the SCM, who may redelegate the SSA authority to a person in the GS-1102 contract specialist job series with a contracting officer warrant (the CCO used to determine who was to serve as SSA); and for acquisitions of $10,000,000 or less, the contracting officer (this is unchanged).
  
  
• EPAAR 1515.404-474, Waivers, authorizes the SCM to waive the requirements to use EPA's structured approach for determining profit or fee objectives under unusual circumstances (had been the CCO).
  
  
• EPAAR 1517.204, Contracts, authorizes the SCM to approve a contract with a base period and options that exceeds five years (had been the CCO).
  
  
• Paragraph (b) of EPAAR 1536.602-2, Establishment of Evaluation Boards, is amended to permit the SCM to appoint one or two additional voting members to evaluation boards as appropriate for a particular project (had been the CCO).

Also, the following additional changes are made to the EPAAR:

• EPAAR 1501.404, Class Deviations, is added to require that requests for Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and EPAAR class deviations be submitted to the Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA), and that the requests include the same type of information required by EPAAR 1501.403, Individual Deviations.
  
  
• Paragraph (b) of EPAAR 1501.602-3, Ratification of Unauthorized Commitments, is amended by revising paragraph (b) to establish the CCO as the ratifying official, and require the CCO to be in the GS-1102 job series with a contracting officer warrant to approve a ratification. It prohibits a CCO from approving a ratification if he or she acted as a contracting officer in preparing the determination and findings required in paragraph (c)(3), which is prepared for the ratifying official, provides details about the unauthorized commitment, and recommends to the ratifying official a course of action.
  
  
• In EPAAR 1502.100, Definitions, the definition of CCO is revised to state, "For purposes of ratification authority only, CCO is also defined as Regional Contracting Officer Supervisors and Office of Acquisition Management Service Center Managers. (See 1501.602-3(b)(2) for the criteria for this ratification authority)." Also, a definition for "Senior Procurement Executive (SPE)" is added ("SPE means the Director, Office of Acquisition Management").
  
  
• Paragraph (b)(3) of EPAAR 1552.211-79, Compliance with EPA Policies for Information Resources Management, is amended to provide the Internet address for access to the Enterprise Technology Services Division (ETSD) Operational Directives Manual (http://basin.rtpnc.epa.gov/etsd/directives.nsf).
  
  
• In the chart in paragraph (a) of EPAAR 1552.219-73, Small Disadvantaged Business Targets, the category "NAICS [North American Industrial Classification System] major group" is changed to "NAICS industry subsector(s)".
  
  
• Paragraph (b)(2) of EPAAR 1552.232-73, Payments -- Fixed Rate Services Contract, is amended to state, "Reimbursable costs in connection with subcontracts shall be payable to subcontractors consistent with FAR 32.504 [Subcontracts Under Prime Contracts Providing Progress Payments] in the same manner as for services purchased directly for the contract under paragraph (a)(1) of this clause" (previously, paragraph (b)(2) stated that subcontract reimbursable costs "shall be limited to the amounts paid to the subcontractor in the same manner as for items and services purchased directly for the contract under paragraph (1) of this clause; however, this requirement shall not apply to a Contractor that is a small business concern").

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Panoptic Enterprises at 703-451-5953 or by e-mail to Panoptic@FedGovContracts.com.

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