Procurement Protest Procedure
A. Vendors and/or taxpayers wishing to protest the legitimacy of any type of procurement action must submit their pre-award Notice of Protest in writing no less than eight (8) working days before the proposal opening date. Such protesters wishing to protest a Contract award must submit their Notice of Protest in writing no more than seven (7) calendar days after the Award of Contract.
B. The Notice of Protest process:
a) The Notice of Protest shall state in detail all issues and facts applicable to the protest. Issues and facts not stated in the Notice of Protest will not be considered.
b) A meeting(s) will be called within three (3) working days of receipt of the protest and will include representatives from BFT and the protesting party to discuss the issue related to the protest. The protest meeting may be held in person, or by teleconference.
c) A final determination will be made by the BFT General Manager within three (3) working days of the final meeting and the protestor shall be notified of the decision in writing by the Authority by regular mail.
d) The General Manager may, at his sole discretion, extend the limits of the timeline outlined above.
e) The decision of the General Manager shall be final. Any appeal of the Manager’s decision will begoverned by FTA, if applicable.
f) Failure of the protestor to specify their objections in writing and in accordance with the specified time deadlines shall constitute a waiver of all right to protest.
C. This protest procedure shall be made known to all prospective contractors, and is included or referenced in the requirement section of all solicitation documents.
D. All communications with the parties involved, including BFT staff or board members concerning protest, shall be in writing, and will be open for public inspection. BFT shall be responsible for compiling and maintaining the written protest record.
E. FTA may entertain a protest that alleges that BFT has failed to have or to follow written protest procedures. Such protest must be filed with FTA no later than five (5) days after the Manager has rendered his final decision or five (5) days after the protester knows or has reason to know that the Manager has failed to render his final decision. Such protest to FTA must be filed in accordance with FTA Circular 4220.1F, as periodically updated.
F. When a protest has been timely filed with BFT before award, BFT shall not make an award prior to five (5) days after the resolution of the protest, or if a protest has been filed with FTA, during the pending of that protest, unless BFT determines that:
a) The items to be procured are urgently required:
b) Delivery or performance will be unduly delayed by failure to make the award promptly; or
c) Failure to make prompt award will otherwise cause undue harm to BFT or the Federal Government.
In the event that BFT determines that the award is to be made during the five (5) day period following the local protest decision or the pending of protest, BFT shall notify FTA prior to making such award. FTA will not review the sufficiency of BFT’s determination to award during the pending of protest prior to FTA’s proposal protest decision. FTA reserves the right not to participate in the funding of any contract awarded during the pending of protest.
For additional information, contact:
Mailing Address: 1000 Columbia Park Trail, Richland, WA 99352
Procurement Fax #: (509) 735-9880