QATS_COI_CLAUSES.pdf

SOL-HQ-14-00018 – QATS Conflict Of Interest Clauses Page 1

QATS COI SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES

A. Solicitation Stage

To mitigate significant potential for COI the following provisions will appear in the QATS solicitation.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST NOTIFICATION (EPAAR 1552.209-

70) (APR 1984)

(a) The prospective Contractor certifies, to the best of its knowledge and belief, that it is not aware of any information bearing on the existence of any potential organizational conflict of interest.

If the prospective Contractor cannot so certify, it shall provide a disclosure statement in its proposal which describes all relevant information concerning any past, present, or planned interests bearing on whether it (including its chief executives and directors, or any proposed consultant or subcontractor) may have a potential organizational conflict of interest.

(b) Prospective Contractors should refer to FAR Subpart 9.5 and EPAAR Part 1509 for policies and procedures for avoiding, neutralizing, or mitigating organizational conflicts of interest.

(c) If the Contracting Officer determines that a potential conflict exists, the prospective Contractor shall not receive an award unless the conflict can be avoided or otherwise resolved through the inclusion of a special contract clause or other appropriate means. The terms of any special clause are subject to negotiation.

(End of provision)

ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST CERTIFICATION (EPAAR 1552.209-

72) (APR 1984)

The offeror [ ] is [ ] is not aware of any information bearing on the existence of any potential organizational conflict of interest. If the offeror is aware of information bearing on whether a potential conflict may exist, the offeror shall provide a disclosure statement describing this information. (See Section L of the solicitation for further information.)

SUBMISSION OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST PLAN (EPA-L-09-

101)

As part of their cost proposal, offerors shall submit an Organizational Conflict of Interest Plan which outlines the procedures in place to detect and report conflicts of interest (COI), whether actual or potential, throughout the period of contract performance. The plan shall address step by step, the checks and balances in place to detect and report potential or actual COI at the organizational level and at the personal level that could result from activities associated with the

Statement of Work. Offerors should refer to the L provision entitled, "Minimum Standards for

EPA Contractors' Conflict of Interest Plans," which sets forth the criteria which offerors' COI plans must meet in order to be considered acceptable by the Agency.

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The plan will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria set forth in the Section M provision entitled "Evaluation of Conflict of Interest Plan."

DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF

INTEREST (EPA-L-09-102)

(a) The proposed contract requires that the contractor provide technical and quality assurance quality control (QA/QC) support. Each offeror shall specifically disclose whether it is directly engaged in or if it has a business, financial, or competitive relationship(s) with firms who provide technical and quality assurance quality control (QA/QC) support.

(b) The Section K provision entitled, ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

CERTIFICATION (EPAAR 1552.209-72), requires the offeror to certify that it is not aware of any potential organizational conflicts of interest. If the offeror cannot so certify, then the

Section L provision entitled, ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

NOTIFICATION (EPAAR 1552.209-70), requires the offeror to provide a disclosure statement with its proposal describing all relevant information concerning any past, present, or planned interests bearing on whether it (including its chief executives and any directors, or any proposed consultant or subcontractors) may have a potential organizational conflict of interest.

(c) The Agency has determined that firms directly engaged in the business or which have a business or financial relationship(s) with firms involved in the activities described in paragraph (a) above (further referred to as "these activities") may have significant potential organizational conflict of interest in relation to the requirements of this solicitation. In addition, a potential organizational conflict of interest may exist with firms that provide consulting and/or technical services related to these activities.

(d) Firms responding to this solicitation are required to disclose any such business relationships.

The disclosure statement must address actual and potential organizational conflicts of interest within the offeror's entire corporate umbrella, including parent company, sister companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, and other interests held by an offeror. In addition to identifying actual and potential organizational conflicts of interest, the disclosure statement shall describe how any such conflict can be avoided, neutralized, or mitigated. The EPA Contracting Officer will determine an offeror's eligibility for award based on the information provided in the disclosure statement.

(e) The purpose of requiring the information covered by paragraphs (b) and (d) above is to provide the Agency with an opportunity to assess its vulnerabilities relative to organizational conflicts of interest of individual offerors prior to award. The Agency recognizes that there exists a need for firms to gain the requisite technical experience necessary to fulfill the requirements of the proposed contract and that such experience is often gained through provision of consulting or related technical services to firms who are involved in these activities.

Accordingly, the fact that a firm has, or plans to work for a company who is involved in these activities will not necessarily disqualify the firm for consideration for award on the basis of actual or potential conflicts of interest. The more dependent a firm is on commercial work that relates to these activities, the greater the risk to the Agency that there will arise during contract performance a significant number of conflict of interest situations which would preclude the

Agency from using the contractor's support. There is no set formula for determining how much

SOL-HQ-14-00018 – QATS Conflict Of Interest Clauses Page 3 corporate business involving these activities would result in a determination by the Contracting

Officer that award to a particular offeror would not be in the best interest of the Government due to organizational conflicts of interest concerns; each offeror will be evaluated individually on the basis of the information disclosed pursuant to the requirements of this provision and upon the adequacy of the offeror's plan for avoiding, neutralizing, or mitigating such conflicts.

In summary, the Agency is seeking a technically qualified firm which can demonstrate that its corporate base of activities will not impact its ability to provide unbiased work products to the

Agency under the proposed contract.

MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR EPA CONTRACTOR'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST

PLANS (EPA-L-09-103)

1. PURPOSE

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified a need to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate actual and potential contractor conflicts of interest (COI). To accomplish this, contractors are required to have a COI Plan for identifying and reporting actual and potential COI. The purpose of this document is to set forth the minimum standards for a contractor’s COI Plan.

2. COI PLAN

The contractor’s COI Plan is a document which describes the procedures a company used to identify and report COI. Generally, a contractor’s corporate COI Plan will describe how a company, in its entirety, addresses conflicts, and will not be contract or program specific. The plan may also describe the options a company will consider proposing to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate a COI whenever a conflict is identified. The plan will be evaluated and approved by the applicable EPA Contracting Officer (CO) if the COI Plan meets the EPA’s minimum requirements for detecting and reporting conflicts of interest. Contractor’s COI Plans should be identified by a version number and date, and applicable CO for any previously approved COI plan.

3. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR CONTRACTORS' COI PLANS

A. Corporate Structure

The COI Plan shall describe any parent relationship and list all affiliates subsidiaries, and sister companies, etc. Generally, this need not exceed three corporate tiers, unless a relationship exists beyond three tiers that would potentially create a conflict. In such a case, relationships beyond three tiers should also be included in the COI Plan. Contractors should report changes in its corporate structure to the Agency throughout contract performance.

Contractors are invited to include under this section a company profile. The profile should discuss all pertinent information relevant to COI including a summary of a contractor’s primary and/or environmental business functions and activities. This background information will be very useful to Contracting Officers when evaluation whether or not a contractor has a COI.

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B. Searching and Identifying COI

The COI Plan shall include a requirement describing when a COI search must be performed by company personnel and clearly identify the procedures to be followed. The searching requirement shall encompass all work related to all clients for whom work was performed over the past three years, all current work, all sites (if applicable), and any future work reflected in marketing proposals. Contractors must search their records over the past 36 months or through all available records for a new company until 36 months of records are accumulated, from the time of receipt of the work from EPA. However, contractors are encouraged to search back as far as the company’s records cover.

C. Data Base

The COI Plan shall require a data base that includes all necessary information for a contractor to review its past work (at a minimum over the past 36 months or through all available records for a new company until 36 months of records are accumulated), work in progress, and work the company may be pursuing under any marketing proposals. This requirement does not establish any particular type or kind of retrieval system, however, the database shall contain, at a minimum, the following information and capabilities:

(1) a list of the company’s past and present clients;

(2) a description of the type(s) of work that was performed;

(3) a list of the past sites (when applicable) on which the contractor has worked;

(4) a list of past sites (when applicable) related to any work performed;

(5) the ability to search and retrieve the information in the data base; and

(6) dollar value of the work performed.

If applicable, the COI Plan shall include provisions for supplemental searches of parent, affiliate, subsidiary, or sister company records. The COI Plan shall also describe any crosschecks used by the company when searching COI issues.

D. Personal Certification

At a minimum, the COI Plan shall require ALL employees of the company performing work under an EPA Superfund and/or Non-Superfund contract, including work on a site, work relating to a site, work pertaining to a CERCLA/RCRA action, to sign a personal certification.

EPA recommends a policy whereby all company employees are required to sign such a certification rather than only those employees working under an EPA contract. The certification shall require at a minimum that the individual agrees to report to the proper company authority any personal COI and that the individual has read and understands the company’s COI Plan and procedures. Employees’ certifications shall be retained by the company.

E. Work Assign Assignment (WA), Technical Direction Document (TDD), or Delivery Order (DO)

Notification and Certification

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If the contract contains the requirement for WAs, TDDs, or DOs, the COI Plan shall describe the company's process for meeting the Agency's notification requirement prior to beginning work and for submission of the company's WA/TDD/DO certification within 20 days of receipt of the

EPA work.

NOTE: WA/TDD/DO certifications are NOT required if the contract contains an annual certification requirement. Nevertheless, the contractor's COI Plan shall address the procedures to be followed for WA/TDD/DO certifications.

F. Annual Certification

The COI Plan shall describe the process the company requires for submission of its annual certifications.

G. Notification and Documentation

The COI Plan shall clearly delineate the official within the company responsible for making

COI determinations. Generally, this would be someone at middle to upper level of management. The responsible official shall be free of any personal conflicts for making COI determinations (e.g., a program manager who receives bonuses based on the total amount of sales may not be free of conflicts).

The plan shall clearly identify the process that is required when notifying the EPA of any actual or potential COI and the actions that the company has taken or will take to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate the conflict. In addition, the contractor shall document all COI searches related to

EPA work, whether or not an actual or potential COI has been identified.

H. Training

The COI Plan shall require all employees of the company to receive basic COI training and that each employee shall receive COI awareness training at least annually. The company’s

COI Plan shall be available for all employees to review. Annual awareness training shall include, at a minimum, a review of the certification language and any changes that may have occurred in the company’s COI Plan. In addition, companies are encouraged to routinely disseminate to their employees current COI information.

I. Subcontractor’s COI Plans

The COI Plan shall describe the process and mechanism by which the company will monitor its subcontractors to ensure all subcontractors are complying with the COI provisions in their contracts. It is important that subcontractors identify and report COI as well as submit Limitation of Future Contracting (LOFC) requests for approval.

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EVALUATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST PLAN (EPA-M-09-101)

The plan described in the Section L provision entitled, "Submission of Organizational Conflict of

Interest Plan" will be evaluated as acceptable or not acceptable. Notwithstanding the evaluation of an offer with respect to the technical evaluation criteria or the evaluation of an offeror's cost, an offeror who submits a plan that ultimately is unacceptable at time of award will not be eligible for a contract award.

EVALUATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE

STATEMENT (EPA-M-09-102)

The disclosure statement described in the Section L provision entitled, "Disclosure Requirements for Organizational Conflict of Interest" will be evaluated as acceptable or not acceptable.

Notwithstanding the evaluation of an offer with respect to the technical evaluation criteria or the evaluation of an offeror's cost, an offeror who submits a disclosure statement that ultimately is unacceptable at time of award will not be eligible for a contract award.

B. Contract Management

The contract will require the contractor to certify annually that no conflicts or potential conflicts of interest exist, or that they have been disclosed or mitigated. In addition, the contractor must certify that all personnel who are to perform work under a task order have been informed of their obligation to report any personal or organizational COI, and that the contractor understands its continuing obligation to search for and to report any COI. The solicitation and resultant contract will also contain the following COI contract clauses.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (EPAAR 1552.209-71) (MAY 1994)

(a) The Contractor warrants that, to the best of the Contractor’s knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which could give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5, or that the Contractor has disclosed all such relevant information.

(b) Prior to commencement of any work, the Contractor agrees to notify the Contracting Officer immediately that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, no actual or potential conflict of interest exists or to identify to the Contracting Officer any actual or potential conflict of interest the firm may have. In emergency situations, however, work may begin but notification shall be made within five (5) working days.

(c) The Contractor agrees that if an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest is identified during performance, the Contractor will immediately make a full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer. This disclosure shall include a description of actions which the

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Contractor has taken or proposes to take, after consultation with the Contracting Officer, to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict of interest. The Contractor shall continue performance until notified by the Contracting Officer of any contrary action to be taken.

(d) Remedies – The EPA may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid an organizational conflict of interest. If the Contractor was aware of a potential organizational conflict of interest prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not disclose it or misrepresented relevant information to the Contracting Officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, debar the

Contractor from Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract.

(e) The Contractor agrees to insert in each subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder, except for subcontracts or consultant agreements for well drilling, fence erecting, plumbing, utility hookups, security guard services, or electrical services, provisions which shall conform substantially to the language of this clause, including this paragraph (e), unless otherwise authorized by the Contracting Officer.

(End of clause)

NOTIFICATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST REGARDING PERSONNEL (EPAAR

1552.209-73) (MAY 1994)

(a) In addition to the requirements of the contract clause entitled "Organizational Conflicts of

Interest," the following provisions with regard to employee personnel performing under this contract shall apply until the earlier of the following two dates: the termination date of the affected employee(s) or the expiration date of the contract.

(b) The Contractor agrees to notify immediately the EPA Project Officer and the Contracting

Officer of (1) any actual or potential personal conflict of interest with regard to any of its employees working on or having access to information regarding this contract, or (2) any such conflicts concerning subcontractor employees or consultants working on or having access to information regarding this contract, when such conflicts have been reported to the Contractor. A personal conflict of interest is defined as a relationship of an employee, subcontractor employee, or consultant with an entity that may impair the objectivity of the employee, subcontractor employee, or consultant in performing the contract work.

(c) The Contractor agrees to notify each Project Officer and Contracting Officer prior to incurring costs for that employee's work when an employee may have a personal conflict of interest. In the event that the personal conflict of interest does not become known until after performance on the contract begins, the Contractor shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer of the personal conflict of interest. The Contractor shall continue performance of this contract until notified by the Contracting Officer of the appropriate action to be taken.

(d) The Contractor agrees to insert in any subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder, except for subcontracts or consultant agreements for well drilling, fence erecting, plumbing, utility hookups, security guard services, or electrical services, provisions which shall conform

SOL-HQ-14-00018 – QATS Conflict Of Interest Clauses Page 8 substantially to the language of this clause, including this paragraph (d), unless otherwise

LIMITATION OF FUTURE CONTRACTING ALTERNATE V (Headquarters Support)

(EPAAR 1552.209-74) (APR 2004)

(a) The parties to this contract agree that the Contractor will be restricted in its future contracting in the manner described below. Except as specifically provided in this clause, the Contractor shall be free to compete for contracts on an equal basis with other companies.

(b) If the Contractor, under the terms of this contract, or through the performance of work pursuant to this contract, is required to develop specifications or statements of work and such specifications or statements of work are incorporated into an EPA solicitation, the Contractor shall be ineligible to perform the work described in that solicitation as a prime Contractor or subcontractor under an ensuing EPA contract.

(c) The Contractor, during the life of this contract, will be ineligible to hold a contract under the following EPA programs: the High Resolution Superfund Methods (HRSM), the Combined

Analytical Services Contracts (CASC), and the Environmental Services Assistance Team

(ESAT), unless otherwise authorized by the Contracting Officer.

(d) The Contractor agrees in advance that if any bids/proposals are submitted for any work that would require written approval of the Contracting Officer prior to entering into a contract subject to the restrictions of this clause, then the bids/proposals are submitted at the Contractor's own risk. Therefore, no claim shall be made against the Government to recover bid/proposal costs as a direct cost whether the request for authorization to enter into the contract is denied or approved.

(e) To the extent that the work under this contract requires access to proprietary or confidential business or financial data of other companies, and as long as such data remains proprietary or confidential, the Contractor shall protect such data from unauthorized use and disclosure.

(f) The Contractor agrees to insert in each subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder, except for subcontracts or consultant agreements for nondiscretionary technical or engineering services, including treatability studies, well drilling, fence erecting, plumbing, utility hookups, security guard services, or electrical services, provisions which shall conform substantially to the language of this clause, including this paragraph (f) unless otherwise authorized by the

Contracting Officer. The Contractor may request in writing that the Contracting Officer exempt from this clause a particular subcontract or consultant agreement for nondiscretionary technical or engineering services not specifically listed above, including laboratory analysis. The

Contracting Officer will review and evaluate each request on a case-by-case basis before approving or disapproving the request.

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(g) If the Contractor seeks an expedited decision regarding its initial future contracting request, the Contractor may submit its request to both the Contracting Officer and the next administrative level within the Contracting Officer's organization.

(h) A review process available to the Contractor when an adverse determination is received shall consist of a request for reconsideration to the Contracting Officer or a request for review submitted to the next administrative level within the Contracting Officer's organization. An adverse determination resulting from a request for reconsideration by the Contracting Officer will not preclude the Contractor from requesting a review by the next administrative level. Either a request for review or a request for reconsideration must be submitted to the appropriate level within 30 calendar days after receipt of the initial adverse determination.

ANNUAL CERTIFICATION (EPAAR 1552.209-75) (MAY 1994)

The Contractor shall submit an annual conflict of interest certification to the Contracting Officer.

In this certification, the Contractor shall certify annually that, to the best of the Contractor's knowledge and belief, all actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest have been reported to EPA. In addition, in this annual certification, the Contractor shall certify that it has informed its personnel who perform work under EPA contracts or relating to EPA contracts of their obligation to report personal and organizational conflicts of interest to the Contractor. Such certification must be signed by a senior executive of the company and submitted in accordance with instructions provided by the Contracting Officer. The initial certification shall cover the one-year period from the date of contract award, and all subsequent certifications shall cover successive annual periods thereafter, until expiration or termination of the contract. The certification must be received by the Contracting Officer no later than 45 days after the close of the certification period covered.

PROJECT EMPLOYEE CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT (EPAAR 1552.227-76)

(MAY 1994)

(a) The Contractor recognizes that Contractor employees in performing this contract may have access to data, either provided by the Government or first generated during contract performance, of a sensitive nature which should not be released to the public without Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) approval. Therefore, the Contractor agrees to obtain confidentiality agreements from all of its employees working on requirements under this contract.

(b) Such agreements shall contain provisions which stipulate that each employee agrees that the employee will not disclose, either in whole or in part, to any entity external to EPA, the Department of Justice, or the Contractor, any information or data (as defined in FAR Section 27.401) provided by the Government or first generated by the Contractor under this contract, any site-specific cost information, or any enforcement strategy without first obtaining the written permission of the EPA

Contracting Officer. If a contractor, through an employee or otherwise, is subpoenaed to testify or produce documents, which could result in such disclosure, the Contractor must provide

SOL-HQ-14-00018 – QATS Conflict Of Interest Clauses Page 10 immediate advance notification to the EPA so that the EPA can authorize such disclosure or have the opportunity to take action to prevent such disclosure. Such agreements shall be effective for the life of the contract and for a period of five (5) years after completion of the contract.

(c) The EPA may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information to outside entities. If such a disclosure occurs without the written permission of the EPA Contracting Officer, the

Government may terminate the contract, for default or convenience, or pursue other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract.

(d) The Contractor further agrees to insert in any subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder, except for subcontracts or consultant agreements for well drilling, fence erecting, plumbing, utility hookups, security guard services, or electrical services, provisions which shall conform substantially to the language of this clause, including this paragraph, unless otherwise

CONTRACTOR DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

(EPA-H-09-101)

In submitting notices of potential corporate, affiliate or personal conflicts of interest, the

Contractor shall answer each of the following questions as thoroughly as possible. If necessary, the Contracting Officer may request additional information. If a particular question does not apply to the particular situation, the Contractor shall reply by writing "Not Applicable" rather than by making no response.

The Contractor shall forward a copy of the company’s answers to both the Contracting Officer and the Project Officer. Subcontractors must submit their answers to the EPA through the Prime contractor. This information, however, may be marked confidential and sent in a sealed and numbered envelope which is to be opened only by the Contracting Officer. All EPA decisions regarding the notifications will be sent to the prime contractor in writing. The prime contractor shall be responsible for forwarding the Contracting Officer’s decision to the subcontractor.

1. During the past three (3) calendar years, has the company or any employees that will be working at this site performed work at this site/facility? If the answer is “yes”, describe, in detail, the nature of work the company or employee(s) performed and provide the names of the employee(s); the dates the work took place and identify the client(s) for whom the work was performed. Note: For reporting purposes, all clients including Commercial, Federal, State or local entities other than the

EPA should be included in the check for potential conflict of interest.

2. For any work identified in question 1 that was performed by the company, provide the approximate dollar value of work performed for each client as well as the company’s annual sales by fiscal year.

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3. With whom has this potential conflict of interest been discussed (include EPA personnel, legal advisors, etc.)?

4. Provide, if relevant, information regarding how the company’s organizational structure and/or management system affects its knowledge of possible conflicts or interest relating to other divisions or sections of the organization and how that structure or system could prevent or mitigate/neutralize potential conflicts of interest.

5. Provide an update of any significant change in control or ownership of the company since the submission of information for responsibility determination.

6. Provide any additional information which may be pertinent to this request.

When submitting responses to these questions, the Contractor shall provide the name and telephone number of someone in the company who is knowledgeable with regard to this notice of potential conflict of interest.

TECHNICAL DIRECTION DOCUMENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST NOTIFICATION

(EPA-H-09-105)

Within 20 days of receipt of the Technical Direction Document (TDD), the Contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer (CO) with a conflict of interest (COI) certification. Where TDDs are issued for work on or directly related to a site, the Contractor is only required to provide a COI certification for the first TDD issued for that site. For all subsequent work on the site, the

Contractor has a continued obligation to search and report any actual or potential conflicts of interest, but no additional COI certifications are required.

Before submitting the COI certification, the Contractor shall search its records accumulated, at a minimum, over the past three (3) years immediately prior to the receipt of the TDD. In the COI certification, the Contractor must certify, to the best of the Contractor's knowledge and belief, that all actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest have been reported to the CO or that, to the best of the Contractor's knowledge and belief, no actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest exist. In addition, the Contractor must certify that its personnel who perform work under this TDD or relating to this TDD, have been informed of their obligation to report personal and organizational conflicts of interest to the Contractor. The certification shall also include a statement that the Contractor recognizes its continuing obligation to identify and report any actual or potential conflicts of interest arising during performance of this TDD or other work relating to this site.