Agency Can't Ignore Obvious Costs In Evaluation

While agencies are given latitude in establishing evaluation criteria, an agency cannot rationally fail to include costs it knows will be involved in the procurement. The Court of Federal Claims in Arch Chemicals, Inc. v. U.S. (Mar. 18, 2005) instructed that the agency unreasonably excluded from the evaluation plant shutdown costs it was obligated to pay the incumbent if it awarded to another company.