C05-1. J37_Q&A_127EAS26R0003, v3, 20260721.pdf

Forest Service - Industry Q&A Regional Vault & Septic Pumping Services IDIQ – 127EAS26R0003

Amendment 1

Last Updated: 07/21/2026

The U.S. Forest Service issued the official solicitation 127EAS26R0003 – Regional Vault & Septic Pumping Services (Multiple Award IDIQ) on July 13, 2026.

This Q&A document is issued as Amendment 1 to the solicitation and provides clarifications based on questions received from industry after release of the RFP.

All responses in this Q&A are official clarifications of the solicitation terms, Performance Work Statement (Attachment J2), Schedule of Items (Attachment J3), maps and location data (Attachments J4 & J5), and all other solicitation sections.

These clarifications are now part of the solicitation and must be considered when preparing proposals.

Nothing in this Q&A revises the solicitation unless expressly noted; where a response references specific sections (e.g., Section B, Section H, or SOI Notes), those references clarify existing requirements.

The Government appreciates industry engagement and encourages offerors to review all solicitation sections and amendments to ensure complete understanding prior to proposal submission. Any additional questions must be submitted by the deadline stated in Section L of the solicitation.

Item No. Question Government Response

1. “I only see a Presolicitation on SAM.gov and all documents are marked DRAFT.

Where can I find the actual solicitation, checklist, and the email for submitting our proposal?”

Government Response Updated 07/21/2026.

The official solicitation 127EAS26R0003 – Regional Vault & Septic Pumping Services (Multiple Award IDIQ) was posted on SAM.gov on July 13, 2026.

All applicable solicitation documents—including the SF1449, Section B–M terms, Performance Work Statement (Attachment J2), Schedule of Items (Attachment J3), Geographic Locations and Maps (Attachments J4–J5), and all other attachments—are available within the solicitation posting.

Offerors may access these documents by signing into SAM.gov, navigating to the solicitation page, and downloading the files.

Proposal submission instructions, required forms, task-order seed packages, and the official submission email address are provided in Section L of the solicitation.

Any updates or clarifications issued after July 13, including this Q&A, are provided through formal solicitation amendments.

2. “The A10+J3 SOI Excel spreadsheet doesn’t match in columns C and D between the base year and option years.

Is this intentional?”

The base year and option year worksheets reflect formatting updates that were made as the Schedule of Items evolved during draft development. The underlying pricing structure, required entries, and quantity groupings remain the same across all years. The final solicitation will include fully aligned formats for all tabs/years.

2a. 2a. “What unit of measure do you want for Travel? Hourly? Per minute? Per mile?

It’s unclear.”

Travel is compensated using the tiered roundtrip time structure described in the PWS Section Travel and reflected in Attachment J.3 SOI. The unit of measure is “Per Each (EA)” per travel time tier, not per hour or mile. Offerors will price each tiered bracket as a fixed rate per task order.

2b. 2b. “When it says ‘1 unit at site,’ does that mean one truck or one toilet?”

“1 unit” refers to one facility (vault toilet, septic tank, or USFS owned portable toilet), not the number of trucks. The SOI quantities represent individual serviced sites, as defined in Attachment J.4 (Geographic Locations) and PWS Section Scope of Work. Truck and staffing requirements are determined by the contractor.

3. I missed the virtual pre-proposal conference on 3/18/2026. Was it recorded? Can I watch it?”

The 03/18/2026 virtual industry session was not recorded, consistent with agency practice. However, content from the session has been incorporated into the updated PWS (Attachment J.2) and SOI (Attachment J.3). All offerors will have full and equal access to those materials when the final solicitation is posted.

3a. “Are previous contracts or awarded prices publicly available?”

Yes — previous USFS contracts, task orders, and award prices are publicly available through USASpending.gov or FOIA request.

No single prior contract represents the scope of this new consolidated Regional IDIQ, as many forests previously procured these services independently or via BPAs.

4. “Is this a brand new contract? If not, who is the incumbent?”

Yes—this is a new regional contracting opportunity. In the past, individual Forests procured these services through their own stand-alone contracts, purchase orders, or through the now-expired regional BPAs. Because these previous actions were awarded and administered independently, there is no single incumbent for this requirement. The upcoming IDIQ will be an additional optional tool available for Forest units when it best meets their operational needs.

5. When we get tasked with pumping a vault toilet, do we use the appropriate travel tier rate and then add the vault pumping rate separately (e.g., would a 1–2 hour trip plus pumping a 1000gallon vault be billed as two separate charges)?

Invoicing should match the Schedule of Items (SOI) to align proposed costs with actual.

6 Do you have a sample of what the bid should look like?

No. The Government does not provide samples. The template documents provided need to be completed and submitted as outlined in Section L.2 of the solicitation by the deadline posted in the solicitation.

7 Are we supposed to provide both the J3 Schedule of Items document and any/all seed projects we wish to work in?

Yes- To be considered offers must complete the Parent IDIQ submittals and any Seed Task Orders within the geographic area they would like to be considered for award.

8 If both seeds and J3 pricing are required, what happens if the blanket J3 pricing differs from a seed project’s pricing?

For clarification reference amendment 1 of the J1, solicitation terms in sections: B.1.5, H.1.1 and additional note in J3 SOI.

Parent IDIQ SOI entries are ceiling rates only and do not restrict contractors from offering discounts or lowered rates when competing for individual TOs.

9 Are we expected to provide and use deodorizer agents in portable or vault toilets (e.g., PortaPak, PORT, Royal Flush), and do you have a list of acceptable products?

Yes- This is considered an industry standard and common practice. Reference J2 PWS: “Contractor shall furnish all equipment, supplies, water, chemicals, incidentals…” The Government does not provide a list of acceptable products.

10 Where is Attachment D mentioned in J2? Solicitation updated to include Attachment D: USFS California Regional Vault and Septic Pumping Services IDIQ: BASIC INSPECTIONS FORM in J2 PWS v5.1.

11 Is it going to be required to wash down the vault, pump out the wash down and fill 100 gallons of water?

Yes. Please reference J2_PWS v5.1: Pumping and Cleaning Procedures.

12 I been trying to open this file but it won’t open can you check it.

Offerors are advised to log into SAM.gov; and click on the sign-in button on the upper right corner. Once signed in, click on the solicitation link to open the files. If you have issues signing in, you can instead download the files by clicking "Download All".

Solicitation Link:

https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/c21c6d37fc694acbba 39f4406ee1e4fa/view

If you're having issues downloading the documents, please try a different browser. Safari/iPad sometimes cannot handle PDF downloads properly. Make sure your browser is updated.

Here's another way to access the files instead of using the link.

1) Go to WWW.SAM.GOV

2) Click on Sign in - this will take you to https://secure.login.gov/ 3)Sign in using your account information. If you don’t have an account, you need to create one.

4) Under "Search Contract Opportunities", please enter the solicitation number: 127EAS26R0003. Make sure not to click on the one that is inactive.

5) Click on the title: USFS California State Regional Vault Toilet and Septic Pumping IDIQ

6) Scroll down to the documents. Either download all or download and save each document individually.

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13 Where can the corresponding PWS/SOI documents for the Angeles National Forest be found?

No Task Order for the Angeles National Forest are included in the initial solicitation. The Angeles National Forest falls within the Southern East geographic area - see J5 4 Geographic Locations and J5 Maps. The San Bernardino is the only Task Order included for the Southern East Geographic Area. Offerors interested in that geographic area, will need to complete: All relevant parent IDIQ submittals (Reference J1-J12) and Task Orders within the geographical area; in this case, the San Bernardino National Forest J33 TOPR BDF and J34 SOI BDF.

Contractors awarded within a geographic zone must be fully capable of servicing any site and any Task Order within that zone (Reference attachment J1, Sections B and H under amendment 1 to the solicitation). Contractors may only decline a Task Order when submitting a formal “No Response” under Section H.1.1 with a valid explanation (e.g., safety, equipment failure, regulatory restrictions). Task Orders may not be declined due to business preferences, routing, or distance. This is an IDIQ;

quantities are unknown until task orders are issued.

14 Will the government accept a past performance questionnaire template from a prior government client in lieu of the past performance questionnaire format specified in the solicitation?

No. The government will not accept documentation from other solicitations. Offers must follow the format provided.

15 For the travel time tiers, are you looking for a flat rate price, an hourly price, or a per minute price?

Travel is compensated using a flat, tiered rate structure – not a per minute or per mile rate. Per attachment J1, solicitation terms section B.2 and J2 PWS (Travel) and Attachment J.3 SOI. Pricing is based on the tiered roundtrip time brackets defined in the PWS. Offerors must price each tier as a fixed rate per task order, using the “Per Each (E)” as the unit of measure.