40 C.F.R. § 35.4205
How does my group procure a technical advisor or any other contractor?
When procuring contractors your group must also:
(a) Provide opportunity for all qualified contractors to compete for your work (see § 35.4210);
(b) Keep written records of the reasons for all your contracting decisions;
(c) Make sure that all costs are reasonable in a proposed contract;
(d) Inform EPA of any proposed contract over $1,000.00;
(e) Provide EPA the opportunity to review a contract before your group awards or amends it;
(f) Perform a “cost analysis” to evaluate each element of a contractor's cost to determine if it is reasonable, allocable and allowable for all contracts over $25,000; and