S02 Combined Synopsis Solicitation Omaha.pdf

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Document Type: Combined Synopsis Solicitation

Solicitation Number: 36C78626Q50089

Title: Trash Services for Omaha National Cemetery

Post Date: 03/10/2026

Original Response Date: 03/27/2026 4:00pm EST

Applicable NAICS: 562111 – (Solid Waste Collection)

PSC: S205 – Refuse Waste Collection

Set Aside Type: Unrestricted

Issuing Contracting Office: Department of Veterans Affairs

National Cemetery Administration, Contract Services

18434 Joplin Road

Triangle, VA 22172

Place of Performance: Omaha National Cemetery

14250 Schram Rd, Omaha, NE 68138

Attachments: A - Statement of work

B - Cemetery Operational Standards

C – Dignity Clause

D – SCA Wage Determination 2015-5005

E- Past Performance Questionnaire

F- Pricing Schedule (Excel)

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation will not be issued.

This solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ), solicitation number 36C78626Q50089.

This solicitation incorporates provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC)

2025-06 with an effective date of 10/01/2025.

Contractor is responsible for submitting their package in accordance with the guidance in this solicitation.

Failure to follow the document format or the solicitation guidelines will render the submission non-responsive and ineligible for consideration.

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE:

The NAICS code for this procurement is 562111, business size standard of $47 million dollars.

PRICE SCHEDULE: See Attachment E. The schedule price for each CLIN should be all-inclusive, including all supervision, labor, equipment, materials, and supplies. Pricing shall be FOB Destination and in accordance with the Statement of Work and Terms and Conditions of this Combined

Synopsis/Solicitation.

Quoters shall enter the unit price and total amounts for each CLIN as indicated in the schedule –

Attachment G (Excel). In the event the Quoter did not add the total estimated price correctly, the

Government will utilize the unit price(s) to compute the correct total estimated price.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT: See Statement of Work at Attachment A.

CONTRACT DATES: The period of performance will be one (1) base year and four (4) one-year options period if exercised, from the date of award.

DELIVERY/ACCEPTANCE LOCATION: The delivery and acceptance location will be at the Place of Performance address listed on page 1 of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation.

CONTRACT TYPE: This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach.

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, anticipates the award of a

Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with a base plus four option years, if exercised, for trash services.

PRE-BID SITE VISIT: No site-visits or individual tours will be scheduled. Quoters are able to tour cemetery at their own leisure during operating hours.

All questions should be sent to the Contracting Officer by following the instructions in the “RFQ

QUESTIONS” section of this Combined Synopsis Solicitation. The Contracting Officer will then issue an amendment(s) answering all the questions received by the question due date. Potential Quoters are responsible for checking SAM.gov for issued Amendments to this Combined Synopsis Solicitation.

PAYMENT: All payments by the Government to the Contractor will be made in accordance with:

[X] 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer – System for Award Management (OCT

2018)

INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS: All prospective Quoters must be registered with the System for

Award Management (SAM) website and complete the Online Representations and Certifications at

SAM.gov prior to the solicitation close date, and at time of award. Failure to comply will result in the

Quoter being considered ineligible.

QUOTATION FORMAT AND SUBMITTAL INFORMATION: Quotes must be submitted on company letterhead in either Adobe pdf platforms and submitted by email to the individuals listed in the

Response to Request for Quotation (RFQ) section of this Combined Synopsis Solicitation. Quoters are hereby advised that any Quoter-imposed terms and conditions which deviate from the Government’s terms and conditions may render the Quoter’s quote Unacceptable, and thus ineligible for award.

All quotes shall be submitted in four (4) different documents for each volume listed below. Each title shall include the appropriate Volume. Quoters are strongly encouraged to use any format/ organization provided to ensure the best evaluation of documents. The Volumes are as follows:

https://sam.gov/content/home

Volume A – Administrative

The Quoter shall include the following in Volume A:

• Legal Business/Company Name (as listed in SAM.gov)

• Business Mailing Address

• SAM Unique Entity ID (UEI)

• Point of Contact

• Telephone Number

• Email Address

• Signed and dated copy of each Amendment, if applicable

• Provide completed copies of the following Provisions that are required to be submitted as part of the quote: (If already completed in SAM, provide a copy of SAM) Failure to comply shall result in the Quoter being ineligible for award.

*NOTE – It is the responsibility of the Quoter to ensure they have completed all other annual representations and certification provisions electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through https://sam.gov.

Volume B – Technical Proposal

Quoter shall include the following in Volume B in accordance with the Technical Qualifications criteria listed in the Evaluation Process section of this combined synopsis solicitation:

• Provide management plans in a clear, definitive process for how the contractor intends to complete all the work as outlined in the statement of work

• Provide proof of at least 3 years’ experience in trash collection, of similar Size (size of the cemetery), scope (cemetery work and interments) and complexity.

Volume C – Past Performance

Quoter shall include the following in Volume C:

• Past Performance Questionnaires (Attachment E).

Volume D – Pricing

Quoter shall include the following in Volume D:

• Proposed pricing shall be submitted on the included Price Schedule in Excel format (Attachment

G).

Contractor’s pricing shall include all labor, supervision, equipment, materials and supplies necessary to provide the required services at Springfield National Cemetery.

RFQ QUESTIONS: All questions regarding this solicitation are to be submitted to the Contracting

Officer, via email, no later than March 23, 2026 at 4:00pm EST. No questions will be accepted after this time. Questions pertaining to this announcement shall be sent by email to: April.Graves@va.gov.

Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Amendments will be issued to answer all questions that are submitted.

RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ): Quotes are due to the Contracting Officer no later than March 27, 2026 at 4:00pm EST. Email responses to April.Graves@va.gov. Responses to this announcement will result in an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with a base plus four option years, if exercised. The Government intends to make award without discussions. It is the responsibility of the Quoter to submit their best pricing at the time quotes are due.

All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary and the Government will not pay for information provided nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided for the Government. Quoters are responsible for obtaining any and all amendments or additional information concerning this announcement at SAM.gov. Failure to provide a signed amendment as part of the quotation submission will result in being considered ineligible.

EVALUATION PROCESS: Quotes will be evaluated using FAR Part 12 procedures and in accordance with the Addendum to FAR 52.212-2. The award will be made on a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable

(LPTA) basis. The Government intends to award a contract to the responsible offeror whose proposal conforms to the solicitation requirements and is determined to be technically acceptable, with the lowest evaluated price.

Evaluation Factors

The Government will evaluate offers based on the following factors:

• Factor 1: Price (Lowest Price)

• Factor 2: Technical Acceptability (Pass/Fail)

• Factor 3: Past performance (Acceptable/Not Acceptable)

Determination of Responsibility

Prior to the award, the Government will make an affirmative determination of responsibility for the apparent successful offeror. This determination may include consideration of:

• The offeror’s financial resources.

• The offeror’s ability to comply with required delivery/performance schedules.

• The offeror’s record of satisfactory performance, including past performance on Government contracts.

• The offeror’s integrity, ethics, and business practices.

mailto:April.Graves@va.gov file://///cemfsna.cem.va.gov/nca_home_fldrs4$/Sarah.Poole1/Contract%20Docs/iFAMS/FY%2025/Andrea/Danville/April.Graves@va.gov https://sam.gov/content/home

The Government reserves the right to use any available information, including data from the System for

Award Management (SAM), the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), and other sources, including the Contracting Officers' knowledge, to assess responsibility.

TECHNICAL ACCEPTABILITY EVALUATION FACTORS: To assist the Contracting Officer in determining if the technical acceptability evaluation factors applicable to this procurement are met, Offerors are asked to provide the following information with their offers. Failure to include this information will result in a

Contracting Officer’s determination that an otherwise lowest-priced Offeror is not eligible for contract award.

Proposals that include generic non-specific descriptions of services, management processes, or quality control procedures that are not tailored to this requirement will be considered technically unacceptable.

The Govt will not assume capability from generalized statements or standard company policy descriptions. Encouraged are a location-specific schedule, staffing plan with estimated labor hours, and supervisory plan.

Management Plans:

Sub-Factor 1: In 10 pages or less

• Provide a detailed description of how the operations are to be performed and rationale for each procedure in the plan.

Proof of Experience/Performance: (Acceptable/ Unacceptable)

"Past experience refers to the work history of the offeror or its key personnel, showing they have done similar work before. Resumes should show recent (within the last 10 years) and relevant experience of 3+ years.

“Past performance” refers to how well a company performed on previous contracts. Recent contracts (within the last 5 years) and relevant performance of 3+ years on similar scope and complexity.

CONTRACT MINIMUM/MAXIMUM VALUES: The guaranteed minimum amount for the life of the contract is $1,000. The maximum aggregate value of the contract, inclusive of the five (5), one-year

Ordering periods, if exercised, shall not exceed $35,000. The Government will evaluate proposals for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The

Government may determine that a proposal is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced or if the proposed price for the basic requirement or any option exceeds the amount of funding available for any of those requirements. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

Task Orders may be executed any time during the term of the IDIQ; however, each task order shall not exceed twelve (12) months.

POST AWARD CONFERENCE: A Post-Award conference will be scheduled by the Contract

Specialist to discuss the requirements with the Awardee and all other stakeholders.

CONTRACT CLAUSES AND SOLICITATION PROVISIONS:

Notice Regarding Deviation Feb 2025:

“System updates may lag policy updates. The System for Award Management (SAM) may continue to require entities to complete representations based on provisions that are not included in agency solicitations. Examples include 52.222-25, Affirmative Action Compliance, and paragraph (d) of 52.212-

3, Quoter Representations and Certifications—Commercial Products and Commercial Services.

Contracting officers will not consider these representations when making award decisions or enforce requirements. Entities are not required to, nor are they able to, update their entity registration to remove these representations in SAM.”

52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference.

As prescribed in 52.107(a), insert the following provision:

Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

________ https://www.acquisition.gov/_____________

_____________________________________________ [Insert one or more Internet addresses]

(End of provision)

FAR 52.203-18 Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality

Agreements or Statements-Representation.(JAN 2017)

FAR 52.204-7 System for Award Management.

FAR 52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018)

FAR 52.209-6 Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting With Contractors Debarred, Suspended, Proposed for Debarment, or Voluntarily Excluded. (JAN 2025) (DEVIATION NOV 2025)

FAR 52.209-10 Prohibition on Contracting With Inverted Domestic Corporations. (NOV 2015)

(DEVIATION NOV 2025)

FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services.

FAR 52.219-33 Nonmanufacturer Rule.

FAR 52.222-3 Convict Labor.(JUN 2003)

FAR 52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities. (JUN 2020) (DEVIATION NOV

2025)

FAR 52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards.(AUG 2018)

FAR 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons. (NOV 2021)

FAR 52.222-62 Paid Sick Leave Under Executive Order 13706. (JAN 2022) (DEVIATION NOV 2025)

FAR 52.226-8 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving.(MAY 2024)

FAR 52.229-11 Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements—Notice and Representation.

FAR 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management.

FAR 52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors.

FAR 52.233-3 Protest after Award. (AUG 1996) (DEVIATION NOV 2025)

FAR 52.233-4 Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim. (OCT 2004) (DEVIATION NOV 2025)

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (AUG 2025)

Addendum to FAR 52.212-4 Clauses in corporate by reference in numeric order starting with FAR and followed by VAAR.

The following solicitation clauses apply to this acquisition:

52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by References (FEB 1998). The full text of FAR/VAAR clauses may be accessed electronically at:

https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/

FAR 52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights.(NOV 2023)

FAR 52.203-19 Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements.

(JAN 2017)

FAR 52.237-2 Protection of Government Buildings, Equipment, and Vegetation (Apr 1984)

FAR 52.237-3 Continuity of Services (Jan 1991)

FAR 52.244-6 Subcontracts for Commercial Products and Commercial Services. (JAN 2025)

(DEVIATION OCT 2025)

FAR 52.252-6 Authorized Deviations in Clauses (NOV 2020)

VAAR 852.201-70 Contracting Officer’s Representative (Dec 2022)

VAAR 852.203-70 Commercial Advertising (May 2018)

VAAR 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests (Nov 2018)

VAAR 852.233-70 Protest Content/Alternative Dispute Resolution (OCT 2018)

VAAR 852.233-71 Alternate Protest Procedure (OCT 2018)

VAAR 852.242-71 Administrative Contracting Officer (OCT 2020)

VAAR 852.252-70 Solicitation Provisions or Clauses Incorporated by Reference (JAN 2008)

End of Addendum to 52.212-4

(End of Clause)

52.252-6 Authorized Deviations in Clauses.

As prescribed in 52.107(f), insert the following clause in solicitations and contracts that include any FAR or supplemental clause with an authorized deviation. Whenever any FAR or supplemental clause is used with an authorized deviation, the contracting officer shall identify it by the same number, title, and date assigned to the clause when it is used without deviation, include regulation name for any supplemental clause, except that the contracting officer shall insert "(DEVIATION)" after the date of the clause.

Authorized Deviations in Clauses (Nov 2020)

(a) The use in this solicitation or contract of any Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 1) clause with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of "(DEVIATION)" after the date of the clause.

(b) The use in this solicitation or contract of any VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) and 48 CFR

Chapter 8) clause with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of "(DEVIATION)" after the name of the regulation.

(End of clause)

CL-120 SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

In accordance with FAR 28.307-2 and FAR 52.228-5, the following minimum coverage shall apply to this contract:

(a) Workers' compensation and employers’ liability: Contractors are required to comply with applicable

Federal and State workers' compensation and occupational disease statutes. If occupational diseases are https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/ https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.107#FAR_52_107 not compensable under those statutes, they shall be covered under the employer's liability section of the insurance policy, except when contract operations are so commingled with a Contractor's commercial operations that it would not be practical to require this coverage. Employer's liability coverage of at least

$100,000 is required, except in States with exclusive or monopolistic funds that do not permit workers' compensation to be written by private carriers.

(b) General Liability:

Bodily Injury Liability: $500,000 per occurrence

Property Damage Liability: $100,000 per occurrence

(c) Automobile liability:

Bodily Injury: $200,000 per person/$500,000 per occurrence

Property Damage: $20,000 per occurrence

(d) The successful bidder must present to the Contracting Officer, prior to the award, evidence of general liability insurance without any exclusionary clauses for asbestos that would void the general liability coverage.

(End of Clause)

52.216-1 Type of Contract (APR 1984) (DEVIATION NOV 2025)

As prescribed in 16.105 , complete and insert the following provision:

Type of Contract (Apr 1984)

The Government contemplates award of an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract resulting from this solicitation.

FAR 52.216-18 Ordering (Aug 2020)

(a) Any supplies and services to be furnished under this contract shall be ordered by issuance of delivery orders or task orders by the individuals or activities designated in the Schedule. Such orders may be issued from 4/3/2026 through 4/2/2031.

(b) All delivery orders or task orders are subject to the terms and conditions of this contract. In the event of conflict between a delivery order or task order and this contract, the contract shall control.

(c) A delivery order or task order is considered "issued" when—

(1) If sent by mail (includes transmittal by U.S. mail or private delivery service), the Government deposits the order in the mail;

(2) If sent by fax, the Government transmits the order to the Contractor's fax number; or

(3) If sent electronically, the Government either— https://www.acquisition.gov/far/16.105#FAR_16_105

(i) Posts a copy of the delivery order or task order to a Government document access system, and notice is sent to the Contractor; or

(ii) Distributes the delivery order or task order via email to the Contractor's email address.

(d) Orders may be issued by methods other than those enumerated in this clause only if authorized in the contract.

(End of clause)

FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitations (Oct 1995)

(a) Minimum order. When the Government requires supplies or services covered by this contract in an amount of less than $1,000 the Government is not obligated to purchase, nor is the Contractor obligated to furnish, those supplies or services under the contract.

(b) Maximum order. The Contractor is not obligated to honor-

(1) Any order for a single item in excess of $6,000;

(2) Any order for a combination of items in excess of $6,000; or

(3) A series of orders from the same ordering office within 7 days that together call for quantities exceeding the limitation in paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section.

(c) If this is a requirements contract (i.e., includes the Requirements clause at subsection 52.216-21 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)), the Government is not required to order a part of any one requirement from the Contractor if that requirement exceeds the maximum-order limitations in paragraph

(b) of this section.

(d) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the Contractor shall honor any order exceeding the maximum order limitations in paragraph (b), unless that order (or orders) is returned to the ordering office within 3 days after issuance, with written notice stating the Contractor’s intent not to ship the item (or items) called for and the reasons. Upon receiving this notice, the

Government may acquire the supplies or services from another source.

(End of clause)

FAR 52.216-22 Indefinite Quantity (Oct 1995)

(a) This is an indefinite-quantity contract for the supplies or services specified, and effective for the period stated, in the Schedule. The quantities of supplies and services specified in the Schedule are estimates only and are not purchased by this contract.

(b) Delivery or performance shall be made only as authorized by orders issued in accordance with the

Ordering clause. The Contractor shall furnish to the Government, when and if ordered, the supplies or services specified in the Schedule up to and including the quantity designated in the Schedule as the

"maximum." The Government shall order at least the quantity of supplies or services designated in the

Schedule as the "minimum."

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-52#FAR_52_216_21

(c) Except for any limitations on quantities in the Order Limitations clause or in the Schedule, there is no limit on the number of orders that may be issued. The Government may issue orders requiring delivery to multiple destinations or performance at multiple locations.

(d) Any order issued during the effective period of this contract and not completed within that period shall be completed by the Contractor within the time specified in the order. The contract shall govern the Contractor’s and Government’s rights and obligations with respect to that order to the same extent as if the order were completed during the contract’s effective period; provided, that the

Contractor shall not be required to make any deliveries under this contract after 10/2/2031.

FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days of the expiration date of the current period of performance.

FAR 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 60 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the

Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 5 years, 6 months.

(End of Clause)

VAAR 852.237-75 Key Personnel (OCT 2019)

The key personnel specified in this contract are considered to be essential to work performance. At least

30 days prior to the Contractor voluntarily diverting any of the specified individuals to other programs or contracts the Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer and shall submit a justification for the diversion or replacement and a request to replace the individual. The request must identify the proposed replacement and provide an explanation of how the replacement's skills, experience, and credentials meet or exceed the requirements of the contract. If the employee of the Contractor is terminated for cause or separates from the contractor voluntarily with less than thirty days notice, the Contractor shall provide the maximum notice practicable under the circumstances. The Contractor shall not divert, replace, or announce any such change to key personnel without the written consent of the Contracting Officer. The contract will be modified to add or delete key personnel as necessary to reflect the agreement of the parties.

(End of clause)

FAR 52.201-1 Acquisition 360: Voluntary Survey (SEP 2023)

(a)All actual and potential Quoters are encouraged to provide feedback on the preaward and debriefing processes, as applicable. Feedback may be provided to agencies up to 45 days after award. The feedback is anonymous, unless the participant self-identifies in the survey. Actual and potential Quoters can participate in the survey by selecting the following link: https://www.acquisition.gov/360.

(b)The Contracting Officer will not review the information provided until after contract award and will not consider it in the award decision. The survey is voluntary and does not convey any protections, rights, or grounds for protest. It creates a way for actual and potential Quoters to provide the Government constructive feedback about the preaward and debriefing processes, as applicable, used for a specific acquisition.

The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition:

VAAR 852.222-71 Compliance with Executive Order 13899(DEVIATION)(APR 2025)

FAR 52.233-2 Service of Protest (SEP 2006)

(a) Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office

(GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from NCA Contracting Service.

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

(End of provision)

FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021)

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Quoter whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Price

Technical Qualifications https://www.acquisition.gov/360 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-33#FAR_33_101

Past Performance

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the

Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful

Quoter within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.