[Protest of Sole-Source Contract Award by FEMA]

A firm protested a sole-source contract award by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for an evaluation study of the National Flood Insurance Program. The firm claimed that it and others had the qualifications to perform the study and, therefore, there was no valid basis for the agency's determination that the awardee was uniquely qualified. GAO stated that, although it was not clear whether the agency considered the protester's objections as a formal protest, the agency did inform the protester that it did not intend to disturb the award as a result of the objections. The protester advised FEMA that it was protesting to GAO, but it did not actually do so for several months. GAO Bid Protest Procedures require that protests be filed within 10 working days of knowledge of the basis for the protest. Since the protest was filed almost 3 months after that date, it did not meet the 10-day criteria. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed as untimely.