State AG Files Lawsuit Against MetCom Over Sewage Overflows
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economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office filed a civil complaint Thursday in the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County against the St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission over continued sewage overflows from its sanitary sewer system, reports The Baltimore Sun. This year, there were spills in January, March, July, August, and October, which collectively spewed more than 50,000 gallons of waste into the environment, according to the complaint. “We have charged MetCom with multiple violations of the most fundamental laws that protect public health and the environment,” said Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) in a news release. “Releasing raw sewage could not be more dangerous. We will hold them accountable.”
A survey conducted by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute found that the public trust in the US military remains below 50%, reports The Hill. About 48% of Americans say they have a great deal of trust in the military, slightly up from 45% last year. Americans want the US to lead and be more engaged in the world, according to the November report, which states that some of the findings are “troubling.” “Our national security leaders would do well to listen to the views of the American people and act to rebuild public trust in our military,” reads the report.
The US Senate confirmed Robert Storch’s appointment to serve as the Defense Department inspector general in a 92-3 vote Wednesday, reports Defense News. That was a confirmation nearly seven years in the making. The previous Pentagon watchdog, Jon Rymer, left the post in January 2016. In a letter sent to the Senate majority leader the day before the vote, Geoff Wilson, director of the Project on Government Oversight’s center for defense information, wrote, “We are deeply troubled by the fact that the Department of Defense has operated without a permanent inspector general for almost seven years — the longest gap in Pentagon history.”
US House Republicans voted to keep the practice of using congressional earmarks for pet projects, reports Fox News. GOP lawmakers debated the practice, which lets lawmakers insert funding for home-state initiatives into spending bills, during an internal meeting last week. Some conservatives argued in favor of banning earmarks outright, saying they are synonymous with government corruption.
The Defense Department is standing firm on its policy requiring that troops be vaccinated against the coronavirus even as GOP lawmakers say they will hold up the National Defense Authorization Act unless DoD does away with the COVID-19 mandate, reports NBC News.
The Center Square reports that close to two dozen GOP governors have asked Congress to oppose the armed forces COVID vaccinations. A letter from the governors stated that the mandate had led the National Guard to miss its recruitment target by 10%, and it was “preparing to discharge approximately 14,000 soldiers in the next two years for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.”
A fire aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln last week injured nine sailors, reports Navy Times. All of the injured were treated on the ship, which was operating off the coast of Southern California. The Lincoln is continuing operating at sea, and the investigation is ongoing.
Cleanup is underway at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii after a spill last week of aqueous film forming foam, reports The Associated Press. AFFF, which is used to suppress fires caused by flammable liquids such as fuel and contain PFAS, is a class of chemicals that are slow to degrade in the environment. The Navy said there is no evidence that any drinking water was contaminated.
The US Space Force training is taking shape as the service turns 3, reports Air Force Times. Year 1 saw the force trying to get people to enlist or transfer from elsewhere in the military, and then came the problem of specialized training in the second year. Now Space Force guardians need to get good at their jobs, said Space Training and Readiness Command chief MAJGEN Shawn Bratton.
A Congressional Budget Office report put a $34 billion price tag on what it would cost to renovate and modernize just a portion of the more than half a million structures the Army owns and operates, reports Army Times. The two bases needing the most work are at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and US Army Garrison Hawaii.
The Pentagon is mulling the expansion of Ukraine forces training, reports The Hill. Under the proposal the US would instruct as many as 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers a month at an American base in Germany.
Six women graduated from the Marine Infantry Officer Course in fiscal 2022, reports Marine Corps Times. That’s a record high, according to the service. A total of 12 women have now completed the course out of 39 female Marines who have attempted it.
LTCMDR Amber Cowan is the first woman to serve as the executive officer of a submarine, reports Navy Times. Cowan, who joined the Navy in 2010, reported November 12 for duty to the ballistic missile submarine Kentucky, based out of Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, WA.
US House Democrats named Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY) as their leader last week, reports Maryland Matters. Jeffries, 52, will make history as the first Black lawmaker to lead any party in Congress.
A team of researchers at Tufts University has created a nutrient profiling system that aims to help consumers, food companies, and restaurants to prepare healthier food, reports Nature.com. What’s healthier: An ice cream cone, a bag of corn chips, or a multigrain bagel? The result might just surprise some people.
The public got its first look at the new B-21 Raider on Friday evening. It is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years, reports CBS News. Almost every aspect of the program is classified. “This isn’t just another airplane. It’s not just another acquisition. It is a symbol and a source of the fighting spirit that President Reagan spoke of. It’s the embodiment of America’s determination to defend the republic that we all love,” DefSec Lloyd Austin said at the unveiling at Northrop Grumman’s plant in Palmdale, CA.
Contracts:
American Systems Corp., Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a competitive single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for test, evaluation, and certification services. The face value of this action has a contract ceiling of $1,010,000,000. The minimum guarantee of $10,000 will be satisfied through the issuance of the first task order, which will be funded by fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and evaluation appropriations. The ordering period for the base period is Dec. 2, 2022, to Dec. 1, 2026, with one five-year option period and one one-year option period through Dec. 1, 2032. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC102823D0001).
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $29,673,779 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C6-400 for systems engineering and integration on Navy submarines. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (68%); Waterford, Connecticut (10%); Groton, Connecticut (10%); Middletown, Rhode Island (7%); and Newport, Rhode Island (5%), and is expected to be completed by December 2023. Fiscal 2023 National Sea-Based Deterrence funds in the amount of $3,965,178 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Applied Physical Sciences Corp., Groton, Connecticut, was awarded an $8,037,005 cost-plus-fixed-fee exercised Option 2 to refine communications capabilities and conduct testing for a dynamically reconfigurable undersea architecture that leverages advances in autonomous ocean systems and to demonstrate its utility at sea with advanced prototypes. Work will be performed in Pawcatuck, Connecticut (25%); Groton, Connecticut (20%); Woods Hole, Massachusetts (20%); Arlington, Virginia (10%); Concord, Massachusetts (10%); De Leon Springs, Florida (10%); Reston, Virginia (5%); and at test locations to be determined by the government. The period of performance for Option 2 is Nov. 21, 2022, to Feb. 20, 2024. Funds in the amount of $3,539,887 will be obligated at the time of award. The type of funding to be obligated will be research, development, test and evaluation (Department of Defense). This contract was competitively procured via a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency broad agency announcement solicitation published on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Seven proposals were received and three were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-20-C-4005). (Awarded Nov. 18, 2022)
Copper River Cyber Solutions LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, has been awarded a $10,364,858, firm-fixed-price contract (HS0021-23-C-0006) to provide Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) Background Investigation Enterprise System (BIES) Dashboard Management Reporting System (DMRS) support services. This award is the result of a direct 8(a) Alaskan Native Company acquisition in which one offer was received. Work will be performed in Anchorage, Alaska; or Chantilly, Virginia; or Quantico, Virginia, with an estimated completion of Dec. 2, 2025, with one 12-month base period plus two 12-month option years. Fiscal 2023 DCSA defense working capital funds in the amount of $3,359,974 were obligated at the time of award. This is not a multiyear contract. DCSA Acquisition and Contracting, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Mnemonics Inc., Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $49,953,129 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the execution of specific radio frequency and infrared engineering, analytical, and technical efforts to support evolving timing technology. The contract does not include options. Work will be performed in the Washington, DC, area, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2027. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $100,000 will be obligated at time of award via the first task order and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N0017323D6000).
The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded an $8,719,447 modification (P00002) to a firm-fixed-price order (N0001922F1014) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001921G0006). This modification exercises options to provide continued integrated logistics support and engineering services in support of the Harpoon and Standoff Land-Attack Missile-Expanded Response Missile Systems and Harpoon Launch Systems for the Navy and various Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Missouri (91.89%); St. Louis, Missouri (5.47%); and Yorktown, Virginia (2.64%), and is expected to be completed in February 2024. Fiscal 2023 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,079,886; and FMS funds in the amount of $6,639,561 will be obligated at the time of award, $2,079,886 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $151,000,000 (to be obligated on individual task orders) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity with firm-fixed-price and labor-hour line items contract (HTC711-23-F-D001). The Managed Information Technology Services contract provides strategic, technical, and program management guidance and support services to facilitate the operations and modernization of US Transportation Command’s infrastructure, systems, and applications. It supports both classified and unclassified programs on multiple networks and security domains. Work will be performed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2022, to Nov. 30, 2027. Operation and maintenance; and transportation working capital funds will be obligated at the individual task order level. US Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $151,000,000 (to be obligated on individual task orders) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity with firm-fixed-price and labor-hour line items contract (HTC711-23-F-D001). The Managed Information Technology Services contract provides strategic, technical, and program management guidance and support services to facilitate the operations and modernization of US Transportation Command’s infrastructure, systems, and applications. It supports both classified and unclassified programs on multiple networks and security domains. Work will be performed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2022, to Nov. 30, 2027. Operation and maintenance; and transportation working capital funds will be obligated at the individual task order level. US Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
CORRECTION: The Nov. 30 announcement of a contract (W519TC-23-F-0017) awarded to BAE Systems Ordnance Systems Inc., Radford, Virginia, for a new chemical grind facility to support operations at Radford Army Ammunition Plant incorrectly stated that the estimated completion date was Nov. 30, 2022. The correct estimated date of completion is Nov. 28, 2025.
