Protest Decision-EnviCare, LLC

Phone: 404-656-5514 200 Piedmont Avenue SE Suite 1804 West Tower Atlanta, Georgia 30334-9010 Fax: 404-656-6279 www.doas.ga.gov

Brian P. Kemp Governor

Rebecca N. Sullivan Commissioner

August 16, 2022

VIA E-MAIL

Mr. Jon Lewis, CEO/President EnviCare, LLC jlewis@envicare.net

RE: Protest Regarding RFQ 40500-DPH0000201 “Bio Medical Waste Removal Services”

Dear Mr. Lewis:

This letter is in response to EnviCare, LLC protest of the above referenced bid. For the reasons in this letter, the protest is denied.

On April 22, 2022, the Georgia Department of Public Health (“DPH”) issued RFQ 40500-DPH0000201 entitled “Bio Medical Waste Removal Services”. The solicitation closed on May 16, 2022. On June 16, 2022, DPH posted a Notice of Award (“NOA”) of a contract to Stericycle, Inc. for a contract in an amount of $50,000.

The NOA listed three suppliers as unsuccessful bidders. Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services Georgia and Brooks Environmental Solutions, LLC were listed as “not Low Bid”, as their bids were evaluated and per the Evaluation Summary, the suppliers’ total average bid offering exceeded that of Stericycle, Inc. EnviCare, LLC was deemed nonresponsive, and so EnviCare’s proposed cost was not evaluated. Per Section 5.6.2.1 of the Georgia Procurement Manual, “Responsive” means the supplier, whether a company or an individual, has submitted a timely offer which materially conforms to the requirements and specifications of the solicitation. Although EnviCare submitted a timely bid, EnviCare’s bid did not materially conform to the requirements and specifications of the solicitation. Specifically, EnviCare submitted a protest on August 2, 2022, alleging that the due date and time of the solicitation was extended improperly an hour after the original due date time and challenging DPH’s responsiveness determination.

As an initial matter, EnviCare’s protest is dismissed as untimely. Pursuant to Section 6.5.7 of the Georgia Procurement Manual, protests must be filed within ten (10) calendar days after the protesting party knows or should have known of the occurrence of the action, which was protested, or the protest filing deadline located in Table 6.8, whichever date is earlier. As the NOA was posted to the Georgia Procurement Registry on June 16, 2022, EnviCare was required to submit its protest challenging the nonresponsive determination no later than June 27, 2022.1 Additionally, EnviCare was required to challenge DPH’s extension of the solicitation closing date within ten days of DPH taking action to extend the solicitation. Accordingly, EnviCare’s protest regarding this issue is also dismissed as untimely.

Although EnviCare’s protest has been dismissed, I am going to address your allegations relating to the procurement process, so that you have a better understanding of the State’s procurement process should you elect to participate in future procurements. EnviCare disputed DPH’s NOA indicating that EnviCare was a nonresponsive bidder, asserting that EnviCare did not receive any communications from DPH and that it would have been responsive to any communications had DPH reached out to EnviCare. EnviCare’s understanding of the term “non-responsive” is based upon how the term is utilized conversationally rather than how it is defined and utilized in traditional competitive bidding. In procurement, 1 June 26, 2022, was a Sunday, so the protest was required to be submitted on the following business day.

DocuSign Envelope ID: 3F8FB127-3F8D-4609-9EFB-D0F9A86C3579

Mr. Jon Lewis August 16, 2022

Phone: 404-656-5514 200 Piedmont Avenue SE Suite 1804 West Tower Atlanta, Georgia 30334-9010 Fax: 404-656-6279 www.doas.ga.gov a non-responsive bid is a response to a solicitation that does not confirm to the mandatory or essential requirements contained in the solicitation.2 EnviCare’s bid was rejected as nonresponsive pursuant to Section 5.6.2.1 of the Georgia Procurement Manual because DPH determined that EnviCare failed to provide a bid that materially conformed to the requirements and specifications of the RFQ. Specifically, EnviCare failed to provide the following attachments: 1) Point of Contacts; 2) Facilities Landfills List; 3) Disposal Sites Incineration List; 4) Financial Stability; and 5) Legal Formation.

Additionally, EnviCare asserts that DPH improperly extended the bid after the closing time. Although EnviCare contends that the bid was extended after the closing time, EnviCare does not provide evidence supporting its contentions. The functionality of the state’s electronic bidding system does not permit Issuing Officers to extend a bid after the closing time of the solicitation. The Department of Administrative Services (“DOAS”) maintains an audit trail and other records relating to the State’s electronic bidding system, and those records document that the bid was extended approximately fourteen (14) minutes prior to the closing time of the solicitation due to technical difficulties relating to the operation of the electronic bidding system that were identified by the DOAS technology team responsible for supporting the state’s electronic bidding system. As the solicitation had not closed at the time of the extension of the solicitation, all bids remained sealed and were unable to be accessed by DPH until such time as the RFQ actually closed. EnviCare points to no provision of the solicitation nor the Georgia Procurement Manual that prohibits the state from extending a solicitation prior to the closing time of the solicitation. Accordingly, EnviCare’s protest regarding this issue is without merit.

I have copied Julian Bailey, DOAS Small Business and Supplier Diversity Manager, so that she can provide you with notifications regarding supplier training opportunities so that you will be well-prepared to bid on future opportunities with the State of Georgia.

Accordingly, your protest is denied.

Sincerely, Jim Barnaby Deputy Commissioner State Purchasing Division cc: Marcia Simeon, Issuing Officer, marcia.simeon@dph.ga.gov

Julian Bailey, Small Business and Supplier Diversity Manager, julian.bailey@doas.ga.gov

2 See NIGP Institute for Public Procurement “Dictionary of Procurement Terms” https://www.nigp.org/dictionary-of-terms

DocuSign Envelope ID: 3F8FB127-3F8D-4609-9EFB-D0F9A86C3579 mailto:marcia.simeon@dph.ga.gov mailto:julian.bailey@doas.ga.gov https://www.nigp.org/dictionary-of-terms