S06 RFQ Amendment 36C25725Q0724 0004.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 9

0004 09-04-2025

549-26-1-5554-0003

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

X 1

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1. Provide answers to questions.

2. Provide a copy of the North Texas Veterans Healthcare System TCEQ authorization.

3. Provide a copy of the revised Statement of Work.

NTX Medical Waste Removal Services

RFQ 36C25725Q0724 Amendment 0004

Questions and Answers

Q1. Can you please provide the number of 96-gallon containers at Plano, Grand Prairie, and Garland?

A1. The chart below shows the size and number of containers for each site. In Dallas, we put the chemo and path waste in 64-gallons containers.

Container Location Estimated # Containers (Med.

Waste)

# OF Sharp Containers Frequency Direction

Dallas VAMC 4 x 64 gallons Weekly Contractor Facility

FT. Worth Outpatient Clinic

15 x 95-gallon containers

25 sharp containers Twice per Month

To Dallas Campus

Sam Rayburn (Bonham)

8-10 x 64 Gallons 20 sharp containers Twice per Month

Contractor Facility

Polk Street Annex

PACT

2 x 64 Gallons 6-8 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Tyler CBOC 3 x 64 Gallons 8-12 sharp containers Once per Month

Contractor Facility

Plano CBOC 2 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Grand Prairie CBOC 4 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Garland VAMC 4 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Q2. Can you please provide the current volume of special waste (chemo and pathological waste) to be picked up for destruction from all facilities?

A2. Chemo and Path waste is from Dallas as noted in the chart above.

Q3. Dallas VA Processing Authority & TCEQ Requirements In responses to Questions 11 and 14, the VA indicates that infectious medical waste from Tyler (103 miles) and Bonham (81 miles) will be transported to the Dallas VA for processing by VA personnel using the San-I-Pak unit. Texas Administrative Code (30 TAC 326.3(29) and related sections) generally limits transport distances and requires a TCEQ processing permit and/or transfer station registration to receive and treat untreated medical waste from off-site locations. The responses do not confirm whether:

• The Dallas VA holds, or is exempt from, a TCEQ medical waste processing permit.

• The Dallas VA holds, or is exempt from, a TCEQ transfer station registration for receiving waste from these locations.

• There is any formal federal exemption from TCEQ permitting that applies in this case.

We request confirmation of the VA’s authority to receive and process this waste under Texas regulations, and whether any documentation or approvals will be provided to the awarded contractor to demonstrate compliance. This could potentially put the transporters out of compliance and the VA if the facility is not properly authorized, and we just would like confirmation.

A3. The North Texas Veterans Healthcare System has the authorization to process waste for the Dallas VAMC and affiliate locations. See the attached TCEQ letter. However, due to the TCEQ transportation restrictions, waste from Tyler and Bonham will be picked up and processed by the vendor. The Scope of Work has been revised.

Q4. Operational Safety & OSHA Compliance – Waste Handling In responses to Questions 12 and 13, VA clarifies that contractors will not open bags and may use their own containers for chemo and pathological waste. However, the original questions raised concern about exposure risks from handling loose bags from carts.

To ensure compliance with OSHA standards for handling regulated waste, we request confirmation that:

• The contractor will not be required to manually sort, open, or repackage any waste collected from VA facilities.

• All chemo and pathological waste will be presented in fully closed, compliant containers that can be safely transported without additional handling.

A4. No manual sorting of waste is required. The contractor, however, has the option to provide the VA the right container the contractor would like to utilize for the Pathological and Chemo related waste to be picked up in Dallas. The VA employee will drop the bag of such waste in the container for the contractor to pick up.

Q5. Can the VA provide a container count of the shipments from each of the locations for the last 12 months for each pickup?

A5. The chart below depicts the average number of containers for each of the locations.

Waste)

# OF Sharp Containers Frequency Direction

Dallas VAMC 4 x 64 gallons Weekly Contractor Facility

FT. Worth Outpatient Clinic

15 x 95-gallon containers

25 sharp containers Twice per Month

To Dallas Campus

Sam Rayburn (Bonham)

8-10 x 64 Gallons 20 sharp containers Twice per Month

Contractor Facility

Polk Street Annex

PACT

2 x 64 Gallons 6-8 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Tyler CBOC 3 x 64 Gallons 8-12 sharp containers Once per Month

Contractor Facility

Plano CBOC 2 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Grand Prairie CBOC 4 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Garland VAMC 4 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

Q6. Estimated amount of Pathological and Chemotherapy waste generated at the Dallas VA Medical Center.

A6. We produce an estimate of 4 (64 gallons) weekly = 208 (64gallons) yearly. VA employees put the waste in 64-gallon bins, the contractor may pick up the 64 gallons bin or provide the VA their own choice of containers.

Q7. We would like to know whether each facility also needs sharps containers. Biohazard tubs are different from sharps containers - we automatically provide the large red biohazard tub, but if a facility wants us to supply the small sharps containers, I’ll need to know the sizes and quantities in order to provide an accurate quote.

A7. No, the VA provides the sharp containers to the facilities. The contractor only picks up the full sharp containers.

Q8. We won’t transfer the waste from the other facilities to the Dallas VA, but we have worked with similar VA situations before, and we just treated the waste as the other facilities ourselves.

Since the other facilities have a low volume, normally that is okay with the customer. Is this something you’d be able to do?

A8. The waste from Tyler and Bonham will be picked up by the contractor and process as stated.

However, the waste from other facilities must be picked up and shipped to the Dallas facility in accordance with the Statement of Work.

Q9. The Statement of Work specifies that the contractor shall provide four (4) 18x15x20 boxes and four

(4) bio-hazard bags for each pickup at the Fort Worth Outpatient Clinic. Could you please confirm if these quantities are accurate for all locations under this solicitation? If not, could you provide the accurate number of boxes and the waste streams generated per pickup for each location listed in the solicitation?

A9. The Statement of work has been revised to remove this requirement. The government is open and willing to accommodate the contractor’s choice of containers if the containers meet OSHA safety requirements. The contractor must provide the containers for each of the locations.

Q10. Please provide the following information for the biomedical waste, identified in the RFQ, to be picked up: 1. Total annual pounds for the pathological waste? 2. Total annual pounds for the chemotherapy waste? 3. Total annual pounds for the sharps? 4. Total annual pounds other biological/infectious waste (if applicable)?

A10. See the chart below for average volume. We do not measure the weight of the Pathological waste picked up by the contractor. In Dallas, we put the chemo and path waste in 64-gallons containers. No other facility will produce waste that cannot be processed at the Dallas VAMC.

Waste)

# OF Sharp Containers Frequency Direction

Dallas VAMC 4 x 64 gallons Weekly Contractor Facility

FT. Worth Outpatient Clinic

15 x 95-gallon containers

25 sharp containers Twice per Month

To Dallas Campus

Sam Rayburn (Bonham)

8-10 x 64 Gallons 20 sharp containers Twice per Month

Contractor Facility

Polk Street Annex

PACT

2 x 64 Gallons 6-8 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Tyler CBOC 3 x 64 Gallons 8-12 sharp containers Once per Month

Contractor Facility

Plano CBOC 2 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Grand Prairie CBOC 4 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Garland VAMC 4 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

Q11. In reference to the following: "4. SCOPE OF WORK: The contractor shall provide four 18x15x20 boxes and four (4) each bio-hazard bags to the FT. Worth Clinic during pick-up times." Does the box have to match this size (18 x15 x 20) exactly, or is similarly sized/industry standard acceptable?

A11. The Statement of Work has been revised to remove this requirement. The government is open and willing to accommodate the contractor’s choice of container if the container meets OSHA safety requirement. The contractor provides the container for each of these locations.

(End of Questions and Answers)

Statement of Work

1. SUMMARY: Contractor shall provide Biomedical Waste pickup from various designated facility locations in the VA North Texas Health Care System; including the Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), Garland VA Medical Center, Tyler VA Clinic, Ft. Worth Clinic, Sam Rayburn Memorial Center, Polk Street Annex, Plano CBOC and Grand Prairie CBOC.

2. PERFORMANCE PERIOD: 1-year base period with four additional 1-year optional renewal periods, beginning November 1, 2025.

3. GENERAL.

Part A: The contractor will provide Biomedical Waste pickup from various locations within the North Texas Healthcare System and transported to the Dallas VA Medical Center, Sani-I-Pak waste processing center located at the back dock building 2. The waste will be processed by VA personnel. However, waste picked up from the Tyler and Bonham locations will be processed by the contractor.

Part B: The contractor will pick up and dispose special waste such as Chemo, pathological and any other waste designated for incineration from the Dallas VA Medical Center.

The contractor shall provide all labor, materials, supplies, carts, equipment and transportation needed to package and transport waste from designated location to the Dallas VA Medical center campus in accordance with the statement of work, locations listed below, and the terms and conditions listed herein for the period of the contract award.

4. LOCATIONS:

• 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; (Pick up and Dispose)

• Polk Annex PACT, 4243 S. Polk Street Dallas, TX. 75224;

• Tyler CBOC, 3414 Golden Rd. Tyler, TX. 75701 (Pick up and Dispose)

• 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

5. SCOPE OF WORK:

• Contractor shall furnish all labor, materials and expertise for the pick-up, removal, transportation and disposal of regulated medical waste.

• The contractor shall provide carts for the storage and pick up of the bio-hazard bags and sharps in the location stated above.

• At minimum contractor shall meet all Federal, State and local laws and codes in the transportation and disposal of infectious medical waste. Contractor shall comply with all applicable agencies licensing and vehicle requirements pertaining to transportation of medical waste. Contractor shall be TCEQ licensed.

• The contractor shall always ensure that his/her vehicle meets all Federal, State, local and Department of Transportation licensing and vehicle requirements for transporting infectious medical waste.

• Contractor’s staff shall meet all training requirements for handling and disposing of medical waste as required by OSHA, EPA, DOT and JCAHO standards.

• Contractor shall comply with all HIPAA requirements and regulations.

• The contractor shall provide documentation of required training at the request of the Contracting Officer or the COR.

• 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.

• 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. Each manifest shall be signed by both the transporter and generator of the waste listed on the manifest.

• Contractor shall clean and disinfect each cart used by each facility for the collection of infectious medical waste.

• 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.

• Contractor shall provide to the COR or designee certificates of destruction, for all facilities, no later than five (5) business days after having processed and disposed of infectious medical waste.

• Contractor shall conduct performance testing, as stipulated in 30 TAC Part 1 Chapter 330 Sub-Chapter Y, at no charge to each facility of samples of end products of the process. The contractor shall make available, results of said cultures, to each facility upon request.

• Contractor shall provide continuing education to all contracted staff and, upon request, to VA employees regarding proper handling and segregation of infectious medical waste.

• Contractor shall provide each facility with a computer print-out which indicates the time and date the contractor was at the facility, the name of the operator of the processor, the number of pounds of medical waste processed in each batch located into the processor and verification that disinfectant was added to the materials processed if required by the processing method.

• The North Texas Healthcare System operates an in-house medical waste sterilization/treatment unit (Sani-1-Pak Machine) at the Dallas Medical Center location ONLY. This unit treats and converts majority of Biomedical waste into a regular Solid Waste disposable at the Landfill. However, the contractor must pick up any available special waste (Chemo and pathological waste) present on Tuesday and Thursday each week).

6. SCHEDULE OF SERVICES

The Schedule for Pick Up at each facility is listed below. If a pick-up date falls on a holiday, the contractor will come on the day after the holiday.

Container Location Estimated # Containers (Med.

Waste)

# OF Sharp Containers Frequency Direction

Dallas VAMC 4 x 64 gallons Weekly Contractor Facility

FT. Worth Outpatient Clinic

15 x 95-gallon containers

25 sharp containers Twice per Month

To Dallas Campus

Sam Rayburn (Bonham)

8-10 x 64 Gallons 20 sharp containers Twice per Month

Contractor Facility

Polk Street Annex

PACT

2 x 64 Gallons 6-8 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Tyler CBOC 3 x 64 Gallons 8-12 sharp containers Once per Month

Contractor Facility

Plano CBOC 2 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Grand Prairie CBOC 4 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

To Dallas Campus

Garland VAMC 4 x 64 Gallons 8 – 10 Sharp containers Once per Month

7. PERSONNEL

7.1. CONTRACT MANAGER. The contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and alternate (s) who shall act for the contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the Contracting Officer.

7.2. AUTHORITY. The contract manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract.

7.3. AVAILABILITY. The contract manager or alternate shall be available within 3 hours to meet on the installation with government personnel designated by the Contracting Officer to discuss problem areas any time the work is performed at the designated locations.

7.4. EMPLOYEES. Contractor personnel will present a neat appearance and be easily recognized. This may be accomplished by wearing distinctive clothing bearing the name of the company or by wearing appropriate badges which contain the company name and employee name. All employees and representatives of the Contractor must be fluent enough in the English language to read and understand chemical labels/signs and to converse intelligibly with the COR.

7.5. ACCESS LIMITATION. Only authorized Contractor employees are allowed inside the VA complexes. Contractor employees are not to be accompanied in the work area by acquaintances, family members, assistants, or any other person unless said person is an authorized Contractor employee.

8. QUALITY CONTROL

8.1. ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN. The contractor shall establish and maintain a complete

Quality Control Plan to ensure the requirements of the contract are provided as specified. One copy of the contractor's Quality Control Plan shall be provided to the Contracting Officer with the contractor's proposal. An updated copy shall be provided to the Contracting Officer as changes occur.

8.2. CONTENT. The plan shall include the following:

8.2.1. INSPECTION SYSTEM. An inspection system covering all the services specified in this PWS; must specify the areas to be inspected on a scheduled or unscheduled basis, how often inspection will be accomplished, and the title of the individual (s) who will perform the inspections.

8.2.2. IDENTIFICATION AND PREVENTION. The methods for identifying and preventing defects in the quality of service performed before performance becomes unacceptable.

8.3. RECORDS. On-site records of all inspections conducted by the contractor and necessary corrective action taken. This documentation shall be made available to the government during the term of the contract.

8.4. GOVERNMENT REVIEW. The government will review the Contractor Quality Control Plan (QCP) to determine if it is adequate. If the plan is adequate, the government will accept the plan. If the plan is not adequate as submitted, the deficiencies will be identified to the contractor in writing. The contractor shall correct all identified deficiencies and submit a corrected Contractor Quality Control Plan within ten working days or contract start date, whichever is sooner. The government will also periodically review the manner in which the contractor is conducting the quality control program by either reviewing the contractor's records, observing actual performance or both.

9. QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA).

9.1. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR), PROJECT INSPECTOR

(PI).

Government personnel, with titles such as shown above shall be appointed to monitor contractor performance and to inspect and accept or reject the services as required by the contract. The name and telephone number of each such person under the contract will be furnished to the contractor in writing by the Contracting Officer.

9.2. GOVERNMENT EVALUATION. The government will evaluate the contractor's performance under this contract using the method of surveillance deemed appropriate. If the government QA reveals that any contract provision has not been met, a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR) shall be prepared. The contractor shall respond to CDRs by completing the appropriate blocks explaining: (1) why performance was unacceptable, (2) how performance will be returned to acceptable levels, and (3) how recurrence of the problem will be prevented in the future.

9.3. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION MEETINGS. The contract manager may be required to meet periodically with the COR and the Contracting Officer during the contract. Meetings shall be as often as necessary as determined by the Contracting Officer. However, if the contractor requests, a meeting will be held whenever a Contract Discrepancy Report is issued. The meetings shall focus on performance and actual or potential problems. A mutual good faith effort shall be made by all parties to resolve all issues. The written minutes of these meeting shall be signed by the contract manager, Contracting Officer, and COR. If the contractor does not concur with the minutes, notice of non-concurrence shall be provided to the Contracting Officer. This notice shall be in writing and provided within seven work days of receipt of the minutes.

10. HOURS OF OPERATION

10.1. DAILY WORK HOURS. All required pickups shall be accomplished on Mondays, Through Friday during normal government working hours. Services are expected to be performed between the hours of 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM, except Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar Government directed facility closings. In the event the scheduled pick-up falls on a holiday the contractor coordinates with the COR to designate pickup for the next business day. All pickups must be coordinated with the COR to include emergency pickups or unforeseen emergencies on the part of the contractor.

10.2. RECOGNIZED HOLIDAYS. The contractor is not required to provide service on the following Federal observed holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's birthday, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is observed as a legal holiday by U.S. Government agencies. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is observed as a holiday by U.S. Government agencies.

11. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS. There are no specific security requirements for this contract.

11.1. PHYSICAL SECURITY. The Contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all Government equipment, information and property provided for Contractor use. At the close of each work period, Government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be secured

(End of Statement of Work)

See attached document: TCEQ Waste Processing Authorization Tracking No. 29499613.