Federal officials have quietly signed off on another extension for Veolia Water West Operating Services Inc. at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, approving a short-term, sole-source deal worth about $27.3 million. The bridge award is meant to keep staffing and controls in place through a transition period so treatment, and the plant’s treaty and permit obligations, do not lapse while the agency rewrites a longer-term contract.
The award notice on SAM.gov describes a fixed-price, non-competitive action worth roughly $27.29 million, with performance running from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027, plus an optional extension to May 31, 2027. The listing names Veolia Water West Operating Services Inc. as the awardee and labels the deal a short-duration bridge contract meant to keep operations steady while officials complete corrective work on a longer procurement, according to SAM.gov.
A formal Determination & Findings shows the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission relied on FAR 6.302-1, the provision that allows using only one responsible source, after canceling a previous solicitation over material defects in the Performance Work Statement and an undisclosed organizational conflict of interest. The document says the bridge award is needed to avoid immediate environmental, public-health, regulatory and treaty-compliance impacts if plant operations were interrupted, according to the Determination & Findings included with the award files at GovTribe…