RFI Vinyl Paint Spec - LLA Discharge Ring and Cavitation Repair

This is a special notice prepared in accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) PGI 206.302-1(d) “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, is executing a firm-fixed-price contract for the Little Goose Turbine Discharge Ring Upgrade and Blade Cavitation Repair. A critical component of this project is the application of a specialized protective coating at the transition zone between the new stainless-steel overlay and existing mild steel to mitigate galvanic corrosion. Due to the extreme hydrodynamic pressure, impacted-immersion environment, and strict performance validations required by the USACE Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), the Government intends to specify the use of highly specific, proprietary constituent materials (including brand-name Titanium Dioxide, Suspending Agents, Vinyl Resins, and Silanes from manufacturers such as Kronos, Elementis Specialties, Wacker Chemie AG, Momentive Performance Materials, and Dow Corning) as mandated by Department of Defense Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS) 09 97 02, Painting: Hydraulic Structures.

The statutory authority for this brand-name restriction, to be made as a part of the larger construction effort, is 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) as implemented by RFO FAR 6.103-1(b) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, application for brand name descriptions.

The Government intends to solicit the Construction action in November 2026. The NAICS code is 237990 Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction. The associated Small Business Size Standard as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration is $45 million.

THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS OR BIDS. This is a notice of intent to procure brand-name constituent materials within a larger construction contract. The Government is seeking information from responsible sources who can provide alternative constituent materials or coating systems that meet the rigorous impacted-immersion service life and adhesion requirements strictly mandated by UFGS 09 97 02.

Interested parties must provide a statement of capability with clear and convincing evidence (including independent laboratory testing and historical performance data on USACE navigable waterway structures) demonstrating that their proposed alternative materials can match the 20+ year service life of the specified vinyl formulation without causing adhesion failures, blistering, or galvanic corrosion, and without requiring additional Government-funded research and development or batch-level quality control testing.

If no affirmative written responses demonstrating such capability are received by 10:00 AM Local Time on the notice end date, a solicitation will be issued that includes the brand-name constituent material requirements. A determination by the Government not to compete this specific material requirement is solely within the discretion of the Government. Electronic responses shall be submitted via email to chandra.d.crow@usace.army.mil. Oral communications are not acceptable. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is not responsible for any costs incurred by responding to this notice.