RFQ Amendment 36C25725Q0724 0001.pdf

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 5

0001 08-13-2025

549-25-3-5554-0203

36C257

Department Of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 17

5441 Babcock Road Ste. 302 San Antonio TX 78240

36C257

Department Of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 17

5441 Babcock Road Ste. 302 San Antonio TX 78240

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C25725Q0724

07-28-2025

X

X X

** HOUR & DATE for Receipt of Offers is EXTENDED to: 08-19-2025 12pm CDT

X 1

The purpose of this amendment is to provide answers to questions received during the Technical Questions submittal period. The RFQ response due date is extended. See block 11. above for new date/time.

NTX Medical Waste Removal Services

RFQ 36C25725Q0724 Amendment 0001

Questions and Answers

Q1. Who is the incumbent and what is the current obligation.

A1. The incumbent is Hamilton Alliance. The contract number is 36C25720P0944.

Q2. Can the VA provide the historical disposal spreadsheets for volumes at each location for the last 12 months.

A2. The VA does not have this data to provide.

Q3. Section 4 bullet point 4 of the SOW states ” The contractor shall provide four 18x15x20 boxes and four (4) each bio-hazard bags to the FT. Worth Clinic during pick-up times.” Will the facility consider reusable containers?

A3. Yes, reusable containers will be considered.

Q4. Section 5 of the SOW (Estimated containers) shows For all locations except Dallas, Sharps containers, are these contractor provided or VA provided since Section 4 Bullet point one states “ Contractor shall furnish all labor, materials and expertise for the pick-up, removal, transportation and disposal of infectious medical waste” A4. The containers are to be provided by the contractor.

Q5. Is there a clause or pricing that needs to be provided for when the San-I-Pak unit is inoperable at the Dallas location?

A5. The VA has a plan in place for when the San-I-Pak unit is inoperable. All waste comes to DALLAS regardless of the status of San-I-Pak machine.

Q6. What is the current contract number?

A6. The current contract number is 36C25720P0944.

Q7. What is the average container count per site?

A7. All locations have 96-gallon containers. Grand Prairie, Tyler, and Polk locations have three containers per site. The Ft. Worth location has eight containers, and the Bonham location has ten containers.

Q8. Typical weights or volumes per pickup?

A8. Weights are unknown. All locations have 96-gallon containers. Grand Prairie, Tyler, and Polk locations have three containers per site. The Ft. Worth location has eight containers, and the Bonham location has ten containers. Volume and weight will vary from pick-up to pick-up.

Q9. Is the solicitation a new requirement set by the government or is this a contract currently being performed that the government is renewing. If this is a renewal, do you have the contract number associated with the old contract?

A9. The VA is soliciting a replacement contract. The current contract number is 36C25720P0944.

Q10. The SOW states in Section 4 bullet point 9 “Contractor shall pick up, transport, ensure destruction of and process the infectious medical waste rendering it non-hazardous and placing it in an approved landfill. The contractor shall furnish all labor, personnel, carts, equipment, materials, supplies and transportation to transport infectious medical waste to the destruction site.”

a. However during the site visit the escort stated that there is no disposal associated with the contract. This is transportation only from multiple locations listed on the solicitation to the central Dallas VA location for treatment at the facility San-i-pak unit). Please clarify that there is zero disposal Other than Special Waste from the Dallas VA and other locations (Chemo and pathological waste) as stated at he end of section 3 of the SOW “Note: The contractor will pick up waste from the locations listed above and transport them to Dallas VA Medical center. However, the contractor will pick up and dispose special waste such as: Chemo, pathological waste etc. from Dallas Medical Center.”

A10. The contractor will pick up the medical waste from outside locations to Dallas campus to be processed by the VA employees using the SaniPak machine. Also, the vendor will pick up special waste (for incineration- Chemo and pathological waste) from Dallas and dispose of those waste. The only waste that the contractor will dispose (process) is the Chemo and Pathological waste NOT all infectious medical waste.

Q11. The locations listed in the solicitation SOW below are the locations that the Site visit escort stated that the waste contractor would pick up, transport to Dallas Location, offload, and then depart from for the Dallas VA personnel to treat.

a. VA North Texas Health Care System, 4500 S. Lancaster Road, Dallas, TX 75216; (pick up and dispose special waste only) • Ft. Worth Outpatient Clinic, 2201 SE Loop 820, FT. Worth, TX 76119; • Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center, 1201 E. Ninth Bonham, TX 75418; • Polk Annex PACT, 4243 S. Polk Street Dallas, TX. 75224; • Tyler CBOC, 3414 Golden Rd. Tyler, TX. 75701 • Plano CBOC, 3804 W. 15TH Street, Plano. TX. 75075 • Grand Prairie CBOC, 2737 Sherman Street, Grand Prairie, TX 75051 • Garland VA Hospital, 2300 Marie Curie, Garland TX. 75042

b. The Sam Rayburn location is 81 miles form the Dallas VA location.

c. The Tyler location is 103 miles from the Dallas VA Location.

i. These locations violate 30 TAC 326.3(29) These locations cannot be transported to the

Dallas VA due to distance. How is the contractor supposed to adhere legally to the contract SOW and requirements while violating the TCEQ regulation on Medical waste under 30

TAC 326.3 (29)

ii. Can the VA please provide TCEQ approval to transport and transfer medical waste exceeding the TAC?

iii. The Tyler and Bonham locations would need to have their waste disposed of by a qualified processor and transported by a qualified transporter to a permitted facility. The Dallas VA facility is not a permitted facility for treatment so this waste would need to be treated separately from the contract. All other locations can be transported to the Dallas VA location as long as the Dallas VA obtains a permit with the TCEQ.

A11. It is the responsibility of the contractor to meet the regulatory requirement for transporting medical waste.

Q12. During the site visit it was stated by the escort that the facility removes Pathological and chemotherapy waste and places the bags of waste into a transfer cart that is in the waste storage room. The cart is a 1.5 cubic yard utility cart with dimensions of 81 L x 43 W x 50 H" How is the contractor to safely remove without exposure to chemotherapy and pathological waste in a container that is this large. The risk of exposure of such that the digging in a cart to remove bags of loose waste then placing them into shipping containers for removal is very great and seems like extraneous employee exposure and chance for needle stick. Can the VA please explain why bags of waste cannot not go into disposal containers initially when removed form the hospital treatment areas?

A12. The contractor can provide VA a container of their choice for the Chemo and pathological waste storage. The container will be kept in the room at the back dock for pick up.

Q13. During the site visit it was stated by the escort that the CBOC location and were to have containers for medical and sharps containers positioned at the facilities then when the contractor picks up at the locations the bags are removed and handled by the contractor employees, placed into a disposal container then taken to the Dallas VA for treatment, they are then transferred again into Dallas VA disposal carts by the contractor.

a. This seems like it would violate 29 CFR 1910.1030 on prevention of exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Handling a bag of loose RMW and other items in a bag multiple times by employees by hand. Can the VA explain why this is the standard practice? Same as the previous question on exposure to chemotherapy and pathological waste.

A13. No, that is not correct. I did not say that to the vendor. I informed the vendor that the clean sharp containers are provided to the clinic by our logistic department. The contractor’s responsibility is only to transport the full sharp containers from the storage location and bring them to Dallas. The “small size” sharp container will be placed in the red bag with medical waste by VA employees. Under no conditions is the contractor to open the waste bag. The transporter may not know which of the container contains medical waste or ‘small size” sharp container because the transporter cannot open the bag.

Q14. During the site visit it was stated that the contractor picks up at multiple locations and transfer the waste form those locations on a manifest to the main Dallas location for treatment.

a. This violates the TCEQ for the transfer of medical waste under 30 TAC 326.3 (29) for distance and also 30 TAC 326.3 (40) and (56) for processing and transfer station. The Dallas VA does not have an active TCEQ transfer station registration or an active TCEQ processing permit. So it cannot have transfer untreated medical waste and does not have an active TCEQ processing permit so cannot receive untreated medical waste.

i. How is the VA excluded form the TCEQ requirements in 30 TAC.

A14. The contractor who was present at the site visit did not ask any question about TCEQ certification or treatment certification. I do not know where he got the information above.

Q15. Will the VA require contractors to adhere to vehicle standards outlined in 30 TAC 326.53 (b)

(6) “As required by 326.53(b)(6)(A), the cargo compartment must have a floor and sides made of an impervious, nonporous material in order to allow disinfection of the surfaces of the cargo area should containers leak or if the unit will be used to transport other items as specified in 30 TAC 326.53(b)(7)” This is not mentioned in this SOW.

A15. It is the responsibility of the contractor to meet the regulatory requirement for transporting medical waste.

Q16. During the site visit it was stated that the VA will not package the waste chemotherapy waste into containers, and the VA expects the contractor to remove bags of untreated medical waste and special waste from non-shipping containers and then place them into containers. This violates the TAC and OSHA standards for employee protection.

a. How is the VA exempted form 30 TAC 326.53 (15) “(15) Transporters shall not accept untreated medical waste unless the generator has packaged the waste in accordance with the provisions of §§326.17, 326.19, and 326.21 of this title (relating to Identification; Packaging;

and Labeling Containers Excluding Sharps, respectively). Transporters shall not accept containers of waste that are leaking or damaged unless or until the shipment has been repackaged. All transporters described in this subsection must obtain any additional transportation authorizations to comply with local, state and federal rules.”

A16. The contractor can provide VA a container of their choice for the Chemo and pathological waste storage. The container will be kept in the room at the back dock for pick up. Our current practice did not violate OSHA or TAC practices.

Q17. Can the VA provide a container count of the shipments form each of the locations for the last 12 months for each pick up?

A17. That information is not readily available.

Q18. SOW section 4 bullet point 10 states contractor shall “ Contractor shall weigh all waste, itemize on the manifests all waste picked up and forward a copy of each manifest to the GEMS Coordinator or designee. Each manifest shall indicate the number, weight and size of the containers that were picked up.”

a. During the site visit the escort stated that the containers did not need to be weighted since they were bring transferred from other facilities, that a container count and estimated weight would suffice.

A18. There is no weighing of the waste by the contractor involved. The VA employee weighs the waste before placing them into the SaniPak chambers.

Q19. SOW section 4 bullet point 12 states “Contractor shall comply with all federal and state regulations regarding processing of infectious medical waste, and where written verifications can be obtained, he/she shall obtain a written statement from the necessary regulatory agencies, including land-fill sites.”

a. How can the contractor be in compliance when the VA is requiring the contractor to violate this by the SOW items? Of transportation, transfer of waste in containers, transfer of waste at facilities not registered with the TCEQ, treatment of waste at non TCEQ permitted facilities, and other aspects of OSHA?

b. How can the contractor be in compliance with this requirement if the Dallas VA does not have a permitted treatment processing unit per TCEQ. The Dallas VA location (4500 S. Lancaster Dallas Texas RN111032041) has a medical waste transporter registration #50229 which is affiliated with Hamiliton Alliance (CN605775212) for medical waste transportation only not transfer or processing. Can the VA please explain how this will be exempted form compliance with the SOW requirement?

A19. Not sure am understanding what the contractor is referring to here. The contractor is not required to touch or transfer the waste. The contractor’s responsibility is to transport the container that contains the waste. The VA employees pick up the waste and place them in the container in all locations. When the contractor brings the container to Dallas, VA employee removes the waste and place them in a heat-resistant bag for processing.

(End of Q&A)