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Grant Garrison

August 11, 2003

U.S. Small Business Administration
Division of Program Certification and Eligibility
455 Market Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, California 94105-2420
Attention: Janice K. Nietes / Teresa A. Tyhurst

Subject: Recommendation

Dear Ms. Nietes and Ms. Tyhurst:

I am a project manager for ICF Consulting, Inc., that serves as a prime contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This letter is to support the application for certification under the Small Business Administration 8(a) Business Development Program of a company that is currently a subcontractor on one of our prime contracts with the DOE. That company is Integrated Environmental Services, Inc. (Integrated) located in Irvine, California.

The US Department of Energy, Office of the Naval Petroleum Reserves (NPR), has been using the services of Integrated on a major project at the NPR-1 and NPR-2 sites in central California. Until Integrated joined our team as a subcontractor to ICF Consulting we had been looking to improve the manner in which our complex, large data management and environmental issues were managed. Since Integrated came on board, there has been groundbreaking and significant progress due to their expert knowledge and solid experience on the subject matters and their dedication to the project. The web-based data collection, storage, analysis, and management system that they designed for NPR project has made age-old challenges easy and became an integral and crucial part of our recent success on the project.

The powerful, user-friendly system Integrated has provided, known as the web Environmental Data Management System (web-EDMS), combines the Geographic Information System (GIS) technology with computer data management, brings the power of the digital age to the fingertips of our project team and this will allow DOE to save millions of dollars in the coming years as a result. We anticipate using this tool in a major fashion in the coming years and the US Government and the DOE will receive a major benefit and a significant cost savings because of it.

We must have Integrated as a partner to help the DOE complete the multiyear task effort at NPR-1 and NPR-2 and having them qualified as an 8(a) contractor is critical. Integrated is a minority owned firm, meets the basic SBA criteria. Due to small business initiatives and technical challenges at DOE there is a compelling need within the DOE that they receive this certification. Using Integrated will be an excellent way for ICF Consulting to achieve its set aside goal for 8(a) business utilization and at the same time acquire vital services from a contractor that we know can perform and that will absolutely save the government a significant amount of money. Certification of Integrated as an 8(a) contractor is a win-win situation for all parties involved in our Naval Petroleum Reserves projects.

ICF Consulting is a leading management, technology, policy, and environmental consulting firm. Since 1969, ICF Consulting has been serving major corporations, government at all levels, and multinational institutions. More than 1,000 employees serve these clients from key business centers in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. More importantly, ICF Consulting has a strong commitment to small business subcontracting and has mentored many small and small-disadvantaged business. I appreciate the opportunity to share with you my perspectives on the services that Integrated provides to DOE and us. It is my pleasure to recommend Integrated to be considered as an 8(a) contractor. Please feel free to contact me at (661) 837-5060 for further discussion of this matter if you so desire. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Grant Garrison
Project Manager
ICF Consulting, Inc.