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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
2007-P-00015
March 29, 2007
Why We Did This Review
The objective of our audit was
to determine whether the
requirements for Contract
EP-R6-06-03, for providing
office space and housing at the
Hurricane Katrina incident
command post, were well-
supported and justifiable, and
whether the contract was
awarded fairly using full and
open competition.
Background
On August 29, 2005,
Hurricane Katrina caused
catastrophic damage in the
Gulf Coast area. In October
2005, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
Region 6 established a
command post in Metairie,
Louisiana, for emergency
response operations. Through
several contracts, EPA
obtained office space and
trailers for housing staff.
After the contracts expired,
EPA competitively awarded a
new contract in March 2006
at an estimated value of
$980,765.
For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional and Public
Liaison at (202) 566-2391.
To view the full report,
click on the following link:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2007/
20070329-2007-P-00015.pdf
Catalyst for Improving the Environment
New Housing Contract for Hurricane Katrina Command
Post Reduced Costs but Limited Competition
What We Found
Contract EP-R6-06-03 contained several improvements over the previous housing
contracts for the Metairie incident command post. The new contract terms were
more flexible, allowing for various options regarding the numbers of trailers to be
leased. It also resulted in a price reduction for each trailer (including some
services) to $95 per day per trailer compared to over $300 under the prior
contracts. We found that both EPA Office of Administration and Resources
Management personnel and Region 6 procurement staff worked together diligently
to attempt to refine the statement of work and make sure that the requirements did
not limit competition. These personnel performed admirably and deserve much of
the credit for reducing costs.
However, the contract's statement of work could have been improved to ensure
that it did not contain unnecessary and ambiguous requirements that limited
competition. Full and open competition is required by Federal Acquisition
Regulations and EPA's Contracts Management Manual. Specifically, EPA:
•	Overstated the need for land
•	Sought unneeded kitchen space, refrigerators, and microwaves
•	Did not consider multi-story office space
•	Unnecessarily required a 6-foot fence
•	Did not clearly indicate whether private rooms per person were needed
The contract requirements made it difficult for hotels and apartment complexes to
compete for EPA's business. EPA largely based its requirements on what it
already had as opposed to future requirements, making it difficult for anyone but
the incumbents to win the contract. Also, contract requirements were often
undocumented and unverifiable. As a result, EPA had limited assurance that it
received the best value for its money because similar or better facilities may have
been available at a lower price.
Because EPA plans to award two national blanket purchasing agreements to
provide emergency technical support and logistical services as a result of one of
our prior reports, no recommendations are being made. We are providing this
report to ensure similar occurrences are avoided in the future. Region 6 did not
agree that its contract requirements limited competition and asked that the report
reflect that contract requirements may have limited competition.

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