Attachment 0004 Government Responses to Industry Questions - SDWA Testing Services.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 26 KB Posted
- Attached to
- VIARNG Safe Drinking Water Act Service
- Solicitation number
- W9127P26QA0240
- Issued by
-
Department of the Army National Guard
About this file
This is a Government Responses to Industry Questions document for solicitation W9127P26QA024, a Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) testing services contract for the Virginia Army National Guard (VIARNG). The Q&A log addresses seven industry inquiries regarding the reposted solicitation, which remains open through September 18, 2026. The current incumbent contract (W9127P21C0005) was awarded to Ocean Systems Laboratory on September 30, 2021, for $190,655.12; specific contract rates are not disclosed as source selection sensitive information. The Government confirmed that no incumbent employee information will be released to offerors and that no formal phase-in/phase-out period is planned, though contractor personnel will require initial training and security clearances during the early weeks of performance.
The Government clarified several operational and administrative requirements: a site visit will be conducted on September 16, 2026, at 10:00 AM AST; a tap and entry point inventory for sampling locations will be provided (added as Attachment 0003); Common Access Cards are not required per PWS paragraph 1.4.5.2; and population data for VING water systems is detailed in Technical Exhibit 3, which establishes lead and copper sample count requirements by population bracket, with systems serving 501 to 3,300 people requiring up to 20 samples per period. The Q&A log documents minimal RFQ changes, with only the addition of the tap and entry point inventory attachment representing a substantive modification to the solicitation package.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| W9127P26QA024 0001.pdf | ||
| Attachment 0002 Wage Determination.pdf | ||
| Updated - Attachment 0001 PWS - SDWA Testing Services 11SEP2026.pdf | ||
| Conformed - W9127P26QA024 0001.pdf | ||
| Attachment 0003 - Service Line Inventory.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet |
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W9127P26QA024 Q&A Log
| Question | |||||||
| No. | Document Type | Section No. | Page No. | Contractor Question | Government Response | PWS or RFQ Changes | |
| 1 | General Question | N/A | N/A | If this is a current contract, can you tell us who is the current contract holder? Can you tell us how much the Base has paid out on the contract for each of the last two full contract years or calendar years? Can you share the current contract rates or Contract? | The current contract number is W9127P21C0005, awarded to Ocean Systems Laboratory on 30 September 2021 in the amount of $190,655.12. Specific contract rates are considered source selection sensitive information and are not disclosed to the public. | No | |
| 2 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Will incumbent employee information will be released? | No - the Government does not release incumbent employee information to Offerors. | No | |
| 3 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Will there be a phase in / phase out period for this contract? | There is no formal phase in / phase out period for this requirement due to the estimated date of award. The Government understands that the first few weeks of the PoP will consist of contractor personnel completing training, obtaining required security checks, etc. | No | |
| 4 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Will a site visit be offered? | Yes, a site visit will be offered on 16 September 2026 at 10:00 AM AST. | Site Visit info added to SAM.gov posting | |
| 5 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Will the Government provide a tap and entry point inventory for sampling locations? | Yes. See new Attachment 0003 to the RFQ. | Yes |
RFQ Attachment 0003
| 6 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Please confirm whether Common Access Cards are required. | IAW PWS para. 1.4.5.2, CACs are not required under this service. | No |
| 7 | General Question | N/A | N/A | What is the population served for each VING water system? Technical Exhibit 3 sets lead and copper sample counts by population bracket, where the 501 to 3,300 bracket requires up to 20 samples per period against 5 for the lower brackets, but the figure appears nowhere in the package. | The population for each VING water system is <100 persons. | No |
| 8 | General Question | N/A | N/A | How many entry points to the distribution system does each facility have? Technical Exhibit 4 requires PFAS sampling at every entry point and says a system may have several, so this alone could swing the PFAS sample count by a factor of three or more. | Each facility has one entry point to the distribution system. | No |
| 9 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Could the government provide the exact physical addresses and the number of individual sampling points/taps at each facility across St. Croix and St. Thomas? Additionally, are these facilities accessible on the same days to allow for consolidated sampling trips? | Yes, see RFQ Attachment 0003 for point/tap locations and physical addresses. All facilities are accessible on the same days. | Yes |
RFQ Attachment 0003 10 General Question N/A N/A PWS 1.2 and 1.4.1.2 both say PFAS "monitoring and treatment," while the title, Section 5 and the CLIN structure describe only sampling and analysis, and Technical Exhibit 4 names granular activated carbon, anion exchange, reverse osmosis and nanofiltration as best available technology for compliance by 26 April 2029. Can you confirm if treatment is in scope for this project? Yes, treatment will be required if chemicals detected exceed acceptable levels. The Government has added PWS para. 5.3.1 to clarify how treatment will occur if required. Yes PWS para. 5.3.1 11 General Question N/A N/A How many separate public water systems do the VING facilities comprise, what are the territorial PWSID numbers for each, and what is each system's source water type? This information has been added to PWS para. 1.4.1.1 Yes PWS para. 1.4.1.1
| 12 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Is chlorine residual measurement in scope, in what format does DPNR require submissions, and how will after hours and weekend site access be arranged? | Yes, chlorine residual measurement is in the scope. After hours or weekend follow up testing will not be requrired because, IAW PWS para. 5.1 monthly testing shall take place on the first Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of each month. This allows for follow up testing to be completed on Thursday or Friday. | No |
| 13 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Can you confirm if the VING systems on standard or reduced lead and copper monitoring? | Standard Monitoring | No |
| 14 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Is DoD ELAP accreditation for EPA Method 533 mandatory, preferred, or an evaluation discriminator? May the territorial certification be held by a subcontract laboratory rather than the prime, is mainland analysis acceptable provided hold times are met, and does the Government accept EPA certification in lieu of DPNR approval? | The policy states on pg 5; under Analytical Laboratories, '...however, a DoD Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP)7 accredited laboratory that also meets the requirements of the NPDWR is preferred and should be utilized where available.' | No |
| 15 | General Question | N/A | N/A | For the EPA Method 533 PFAS testing and other specialized analyses, does the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) accept certifications from mainland US national accrediting bodies (e.g., NELAP/NELAC), or must the analyzing laboratory hold a specific local USVI-issued certification? | The PFAS testing is Department of Defense (DOD) requirement not DPNR. The PFAS results are reported directly to VING only, not DPNR. | No |
| 16 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Given the strict holding times and temperature requirements for water samples (especially PFAS and coliform), and the geographic separation of St. Croix and St. Thomas, are there local certified laboratories on both islands, or must the contractor factor in overnight cold-chain shipping logistics to mainland US laboratories? | There is one certified laboratory with operations on both islands; Ocean System Laboratories, Inc. | No |
| 17 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Will the Government furnish DPNR's current list of certified laboratories with the analyte and method scope of each? Certification is a pass or fail eligibility gate, yet no such list is published anywhere, so no offeror can verify its own eligibility. | There is one certified laboratory with operations on both islands; Ocean System Laboratories. | No |
| 18 | General Question | N/A | N/A | Will the government confirm if the Service Contract Act (SCA) applies to this requirement, and if so, provide the applicable Wage Determination for St. Croix and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands? | Yes, Service Contract Labor Standards (formerly the Service Contract Act) apply to this requirement. For WD information, see answer provided at question number 21. | No |
| 19 | RFQ | Block 8 / Section L, para. 1.2 | 1 / 28 | Please confirm the governing quote deadline, since SF 1449 block 8 says 12:00 PM and Section L says 11:00 AM AST. | This was a typo. The Government has extended the due date for quotes and updated both Block 8 and Section L paragraph 1.2. | Yes |
SF 1449 Block 8 and Section L, para. 1.2 20 RFQ CLINs 3-4 Will the Government consider separate unit-priced CLINs for the irregular special testing and the PFAS work? Section B prices everything as twelve months of firm fixed price service with no sub-CLINs, yet PWS 5.2 describes testing on an "as needed" basis and positive-result retests are outside anyone's control. If no additional CLINs will be added, should a specific number of contingency re-tests be built into the FFP base price, or will they be billed bilaterally? To ensure fair and realistic pricing, could the government provide the historical frequency or estimated annual quantities for each of these special tests? No. Irregular special testing should be included in the monthly FFP CLIN. The Government has added PWS para. 5.3.1 to detail PFAS treatment options if they are necessary. Yes PWS para. 5.3.1 21 RFQ CLIN 2001 PoP 10 Can you also confirm the start date for Option Line Item 2001, which Section F gives as both 30 October 2028 and 30 September 2028? The correct PoP is 30 September 2028 - 29 September 2029. This typo has been corrected. Yes CLIN 2001 Delivery Schedule and PoP
| 22 | RFQ | Wage Determination | N/A | Which Wage Determination 2015-5715 classification applies to a drinking water sampler or analyst? None of the listed classifications matches, so a conformance action under SF 1444 may be needed. | Classification must be based on the duties actually performed, rather than the contractor’s internal job title. | ||
| For personnel performing drinking-water field sampling, field monitoring, sample preparation, recording of field data, and associated environmental testing, the applicable listed classification appears to be Environmental Technician (30090). For personnel performing primarily laboratory-based testing and analysis of water samples under prescribed procedures, the applicable listed classification appears to be Laboratory Technician (Laboratory Tester) (30210). Because both classifications are included in the applicable wage determination, the Government does not anticipate that an SF 1444 conformance will be required for routine drinking-water sampling and laboratory analysis. A conformance may be appropriate only if the contractor identifies duties that are not performed by a classification already listed in the wage determination. | No | ||||||
| 23 | PWS | 1.4.1.1 / 1.4.1.2 | 1 | Can you reconcile the differences between the six locations listed in PWS 1.4.1.1 for bacteriological sampling against the ten listed in 1.4.1.2 for PFAS, and confirm which sites carry which requirement. | PWS para. 1.4.1.1 locations are the locations for bacteriological sampling and PWS para. 1.4.1.2. are the locations for PFAS sampling. | No | |
| 24 | PWS | 1.4.1 / 5.1.2 / Technical Exhibit 1 | 1 / 8 / 10 | How is the 24-hour retest requirement satisfied when the acceptable quality level allows no exceptions, but PWS 1.4.1 limits work to 0800 to 1700 Monday through Friday and PWS 1.4.2 prohibits work on federal holidays? | IAW PWS para. 5.1, sampling shall only occur on the first Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of each month. This allows Thursday and Friday for any retesting required. | No | |
| 25 | PWS | 1.4.4 | 2-3 | Can the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan referenced in PWS 1.4.4 be provided before quotes are due, and who is the designated Contracting Officer's Representative? | The QASP is an internal Government document that is not provided to Offerors, however the QASP performance metrics that are evaluated by the Government can be found at Technical Exhibit 1. | No | |
| 26 | PWS / RFQ | 1.4.12 / CLINs | 5 / 3-4 | How is the reimbursable inter-island travel of PWS 1.4.12 to be invoiced, given that Section B contains no travel line item and Section G requires invoice units of measure to match the CLIN structure? Does reimbursement include only the airfare/ferry cost, or may it also include associated lodging, per diem, rental vehicle, taxi, mileage, and other local transportation costs? | The Government did not intend for travel to be reimbursed under this contract. PWS para. 1.4.12 has been marked Reserved. | Yes |
PWS para. 1.4.12
| 27 | PWS | 1.4.12 | 5 | Does the inter-island travel reimbursement provision apply only to SDWA sampling activities, or does it also apply when inter-island travel is required for PFAS sampling or other special testing required under the PWS? | ||
| 28 | PWS | Technical Exhibit 2 | 11 | Deliverable 8. What document type, format and content does the Government want for the PFAS results deliverable? | Electronic submissions. Format and content can be at the discression of the the Contractor. | No |
| 29 | PWS | Technical Exhibit 3 | 12 | Will the Government issue an updated Technical Exhibit 3 schedule covering the base period and each option year, given that the exhibit as released is a calendar year 2026 schedule and only four of its dated events fall inside the base period? | Technical Exhibit 3 is meant to show contractors what the CY26 schedule looks like. A CY27 schedule will be similar, and will be sent to the awardee once the COR has published it. | No |
| 30 | PWS | Technical Exhibit 3 and 4 | 12-20 | What is the required PFAS monitoring frequency? Technical Exhibit 3 says quarterly, while Technical Exhibit 4 makes frequency depend on system size and source water, and the range is two to four events a year. | The Government updated Technical Exhibit 3 to say "Per Technical Exhibit 4". Since this testing is new, the Government does not have an established schedule and it will be determined after initial testing. | Yes |
PWS Technical Exhibit 3 31 PWS Technical Exhibit 3 and 4 12-20 Technical Exhibit 3 gives the PFAS sampling location as "Source" while Technical Exhibit 4 requires sampling at entry points to the distribution system. Can you confirm which governs? The Government has updated this to state "Per Technical Exhibit 4" as Technical Exhibit 4 is what governs the PFAS sampling. Yes PWS Technical Exhibit 3 32 PWS Technical Exhibit 4 13-20 Are any of the Technical Exhibit 4 reporting duties contractor responsibilities, including public webpage posting, Consumer Confidence Reports, Tier 2 and Tier 3 public notifications and ODASD(EMR) reporting? Can you also confirm who prepares the annual water quality report and who files monitoring plans with DPNR? Reporting duties are VING's responsibility. Technical Exhibit 4 is a DOD policy directive and is only reported to VING, not DPNR No
&"Times New Roman,Regular"&16W9127P26RA002 Attachment 0005 Solicitation Question and Answer Log
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