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ICE tactical communications systems consist of radio site infrastructure, network backbone and connectivity equipment, deployable communications, vehicle-based systems, and handheld radio equipment. The TC Recovery Act Project will expand the ICE tactical communications systems via two subprojects: the Project 25 (P25) Upgrade and the Interoperable Rapid Deployment Systems (IRDS) initiatives. The P25 Upgrade initiative includes: (1) Procurement to acquire equipment and services to deploy secure, interoperable, digital P25 wireless communications and for investigations and detention personnel located in the Boston and Denver regions. The P25 Upgrade initiative will modernize tactical communications site infrastructure and end-user subscriber radios in the ICE Boston and Denver regions. The Boston region consists of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The Denver region consists of the states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. (2) Procurement to acquire equipment and services to perform communications hub upgrades at the ICE central location to modernize and expand its capacity to support the new P25 systems that are coming online. The IRDS initiative will enable ICE to acquire transportable communications systems to support rapid deployment requirements for routine, emergency and disaster response, and special operations. The IRDS initiative includes the following: (1) Procurement to acquire five wireless communications systems/kits for use by ICE during special operations, rapid deployment, emergency responses where existing infrastructure is inadequate; and (2) Procurement to acquire three mobile communications systems to improve coordination during daily field operations that occur outside of existing wireless communications coverage areas.

ICE will track TC Recovery Act Project performance metrics and report on both a monthly and quarterly basis to communicate progress. The TC Recovery Act Project Manager, Atlas Tactical Communications Program, and ICE Chief Information Officer will assess performance results of the project. The Project Manager will continually perform corrective actions to enable the project to remain within the planned scope, schedule, and budget. ICE is currently conducting weekly review meetings to monitor progress during the planning and procurement process phases. The TC Recovery Act Project Manager conducts three weekly meetings to perform procurement planning, review development of procurement documents, and mitigate issues and risks capable of delaying the execution process. ICE developed a procurement strategy and selected contract vehicles to enable ICE to award equipment and service contracts in a prompt, fair, and reasonable manner based on Recovery Act implementation guidance. The TC Recovery Act Project will use a risk register to track risk and issues that have the ability to affect the critical path of the project. The team will develop mitigation approaches to avoid unnecessary delays, cost overruns, and to ensure the TC Recovery Project meets the defined goals and performance metrics.

ICE will monitor, collect, and report program cost and performance information for the TC Recovery Act Project. The information will be complied and disseminated on ICE and DHS websites to enable public access to project performance. ICE will work with the Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board to provide insight to TC Recovery Act spending and to validate the following: (1) Funds are awarded and distributed in a prompt, fair, and reasonable manner; (2) The recipients and uses of all funds are transparent to the public, and the public benefits of these funds are reported clearly, accurately, and in a timely manner; (3) Funds are used for authorized purposes and instances of fraud, waste, error, and abuse are mitigated; (4) The TC Recovery Act Project avoids unnecessary delays and cost overruns; and (5) TC Recovery Act Project goals are achieved. ICE will collect complete, accurate, and reliable performance data to determine progress toward achieving TC Recovery Act Project goals and objectives. The TC Recovery Act Project Manager will be responsible for the reliability of performance measurement information for the project. ICE and DHS will conduct internal assessments of the verification and validation information for all TC Recovery Act performance measures. The TC Recovery Project Manager will review all performance measure data to ensure that they are complete and reliable and will monitor all project activities to determine that funds are obligated and expended in a timely manner. The Project Manager will also ensure that competitiveness is maximized during procurement.

The TC Recovery Act Project will not involve any new construction or major renovations of buildings as defined in Executive Order 13423. ICE will not construct or renovate any building to support tactical communications deployment and, therefore, will not be required to employ integrated design principles, optimize energy efficiency and use renewable energy, protect and conserve water, enhance indoor environmental quality, or reduce environments impacts of materials for the new construction or renovation of buildings. Given the above situation, the potential environmental impacts, as a result of the proposed activity, are likely to be negligible and insignificant. Thus, in the context of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a CATEX—actions that are excluded due to the unlikelihood of affecting the environment adversely—will apply. Also, none of the proposed equipment contains any ionizing radiation to potentially endanger human health and safety. ICE does not anticipate any issues of concern in the context of NEPA, NHPA, DHS/MD 5100.1, and other applicable statues. Our plan to monitor above CATEX categorization for the proposed activity involves: (1) Review of the manufacturer’s specification of the proposed equipment upon procurement; (2) In-house, intermittent follow up with the concerned personnel during equipment’s installation and operation; and (3) Assessing the environmental aspects of the above as well as any equipment changes—type, use, installation location etc.—to gauge the environmental implications vis-à-vis NEPA, and other statutes’ and directives, including DHS MD 5100.1’s applicability. If needed, we will provide appropriate information to DSH/OSEP. Further, the indicated CATEX category is unlikely to change in terms of project’s other milestones and/or as a result of project’s implementation. In the unlikely event, any relevant changes to the proposed activity, if occurring, will be notified to DHS/OSEP, based on appropriate environmental review(s) and documentation.