Inactive Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14)

Page 1 of Page 1 of SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE SOLID WASTE COLLECTION (NON-HAZARDOUS) SERVICE RFI NO.: 36C24824Q1613 09/06/2024 1. NOTIFICATION: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT. THIS IS A SOURCES S... Page 1 of Page 1 of SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE SOLID WASTE COLLECTION (NON-HAZARDOUS) SERVICE RFI NO.: 36C24824Q1613 09/06/2024 1. NOTIFICATION: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT. THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY This is neither a solicitation notice nor a request for proposal or quotes and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) toward a contract award. This Sources Sought Notice is intended for information and planning purposes only at this time. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. No solicitation exists. Therefore, do not request a copy of a solicitation. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VISN 8, Network Contracting Office 8 (NCO 8), is seeking information and potential qualified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) sources capable of meeting the following requirements: SOLID WASTE COLLECTION (NON-HAZARDOUS) SERVICE for the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa, FL. The purpose of this notice is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their business size classifications listed below relative to the below listed North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code. This notice will help the VA in determining available potential sources only. Responses to this notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. Do not contact VA Medical Center staff regarding this requirement, as they are not authorized to discuss this matter related to this procurement action. After review of the responses to this Sources Sought Notice, a solicitation announcement may be published in the SAM.gov website, also known as Contract Opportunities. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice are NOT considered adequate responses to the solicitation announcement. All interested responders will have to submit a proposal to any resulting solicitation announcement to be considered for evaluation for any future contract award. 2. SCOPE OF WORK BACKGROUND: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Network Contracting Office 8 (NCO 8), is seeking sources to provide Solid Waste Collection (Non-Hazardous) Services. The Contractor shall perform to the standards in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS), dated 09/06/2024. This PWS requires the work to be performed by qualified Contract Professionals, and they will hereafter be referred to as Contractors. The Contractor shall provide written assurance of the competency of their personnel and a list of credentials of approved service personnel performing the Solid Waste Collection (Non-Hazardous) Services at the James A Haley Veterans Hospital to the Contracting Officer and/or the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) with any solicitation requirements. The Contracting Officer and COR reserves the right to request authentication of certificates or credentials from the Contractor at any time for any personnel who are providing services at the James A Haley Veterans Hospital. The contractor will not require access to VA sensitive information, therefore the Certification and Accreditation (C&A) requirement in accordance with (IAW) VA Handbook 6500.6 Contract Security does not apply. PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS): The Contractor shall furnish all labor, equipment, parts, vehicles, supervision, management, quality, certification, and travel to provide Solid Waste Collection (Non-Hazardous) Services for the James A Haley Veterans Hospital in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS), dated 09/06/2024. (See PWS attachment below). 3. LOCATION: James A Haley Veterans Hospital Facilities listed in the PWS, dated 09/06/2024. 4. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Period of Performance shall start from the date of award/effective date for a Base Year plus Four (4) Option Years. 5. CONTRACTING OFFICER - POINT OF CONTACT: All responses and questions will be addressed by the Contracting Officer and must be received via e-mail to kim.tucker1@va.gov. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Kim C. Tucker Contracting Officer Kim.Tucker1@va.gov Network Contracting Activity 8 (NCO 8) 8875 Hidden River Pkwy, SUITE 560 Tampa, FL 33637 6. RESPONSE DUE DATE: Please provide the requested information by e-mail to Kim.Tucker1@va.gov no later than (NLT) the date and time provided below: Tuesday, 17 SEP 2024, no later than 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. 7. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE: NAICS CODE: 562111 NAICS DESCRIPTION: Solid Waste Collection Service NAICS BUSINESS SIZE: $47.0 MILLION 8. BUSINESS INFORMATION: If you are interested and can provide the required services, please provide the below requested information on your written response to this Sources Sought Notice: Business Name: ________ Business Address: Street: _________________, City, State, Zip Code: _____________, County: ____________, Business Website: _____________ Point of Contact: Name: _________________, Telephone: _____________, E-mail Address: _________, UNIQUE ENTITY ID (UEI) from SAM.gov.: _________ 9. BUSINESS SIZE: If you are interested and can provide the required services, pursuant to the above NAICS Code 562111, and Business Size Standard $47.0 M, please provide the following business size information such as, but not limited, on your written response to this Sources Sought Notice: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) (Certified)? Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB)? Women Owned Small Business (WOSB)? Small Business (Disadvantaged)? Small Business (Emerging)? Non-profit organization? Hubzone Business? Large Business? Other: _____________ 10. SUBCONTRACTS: If a solicitation is issued for this requirement and if you intend to subcontract any work on any resulting this contract, what portion of the total cost will be self-performed performed by your business? Please provide an estimated detailed percentage breakdowns related to sub-contracted work and completion of the service requested. 11. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS: CONTRACT INFORMATION: Does your business have any Government Contracts with any of the below listed Government Agencies? If so, please provide the Agency, Contract Number and the Contracting Officer Point of Contact Information Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract with the GSA? Veterans Administration: National Acquisition Center (NAC)? Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)? Tactical Acquisition Center (TAC)? Other Government Agencies? CONTRACT AVAILABILITY: If you are a Government Contract holder, are the items/services you are providing information for available on your schedule/contract? If so, please provide a copy of your contract and applicable pricing schedule. 12. GENERAL PRICING: General estimated pricing of your service/products/solution is encouraged. Estimated pricing will be used for the purpose of market research only and to help determine price reasonableness. Pricing will not be used to evaluate for any type of contract award. 13. CAPABILITY STATEMENT: If your business can provide the required service, please provide a summary of your company s technical capabilities and ability to provide the required item/service in accordance with the attached PWS, dated 09/06/2024. 14. PWS FEEDBACK: Please review the applicable PWS and provide any feedback or any suggestions. If none, please reply as Not Applicable. 15. DISCLAIMER This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. This Notice does not commit the government to contract for any supplies or services. All information received in response to this Notice that are marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Notice. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement. The Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Sources Sought Notice. Any further information submitted by respondents to this notice is strictly voluntary. Requests for solicitation will not receive a response as a solicitation is not currently available. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice is not a request to be added to a prospective bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is issued, it will be announced at a later date and information will be posted on the Sam.gov Contracting Opportunities web site. All qualified interested parties must respond to that Request For Quote/Proposal Solicitation Notice separately from the response to this Sources Sought Notice to be considered for award. ATTACHMENTS: 1. PWS, dated 09/06/2024 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) SOLID WASTE COLLECTION (Non-Hazardous) 09/06/2024 TABLE OF CONTENTS A. PROJECT TITLE: B. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: C. COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS AND SCHEDULE: D. PERMITS AND LICENSING: E. INVOICING AND REPORTS: F. TITLE: G. MAINTAINING CONTAINERS AND COLLECTION AREA. H. OFF-SITE DISPOSAL: I. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS: J. DEFINITIONS: K. FEDERAL HOLIDAYS. L. CHANGES TO STATEMENT OF WORK: M. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY MATRIX N. CONTAINER LOCATIONS: O. CONTAINER LIST: P. ACCESSABILITY AND SECURITY: Q. CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES: R. ESCORT AND JAMES A. HALEY SECURITY POLICE CHECK-IN: S. PARKING: T. SMOKING: U. NOISE AND DISRUPTION: V. CELLULAR PHONES: W. SECURITY AND CHECK-IN REQUIREMENTS: X. QUALITY CONTROL/ASSURANCE: Y. CONTRACT AWARD MEETING: Records Management Language for Contracts PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) SOLID WASTE COLLECTION (Non-Hazardous) 09/06/2024 A. PROJECT TITLE: Solid Waste Collection (Non-Hazardous) for the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital located at 13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd; Tampa FL 33612 B. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: The contractor shall furnish all labor, materials, tools, equipment and supervision necessary to provide collection, storage, removal, transportation and disposal of non-hazardous solid waste (processable and non-processable) that is generated at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. Biomedical waste, sharps, hazardous materials are not included. Specific Task: 1. Container shall provide the following containers for this requirement. The map at the end of this document is a map labeled Container Locations for approximate locations of each container. one (1) 30 cubic yard waste compactor two (2) 30 yard open top furniture dumpsters one (1) 30 yard open top trash dumpster one (1) 30 yard open top yard waste dumpster one (1) 8 cubic yard front end loading containers with cover for yard waste three (3) 8 cubic yard front end loading containers with lids for recycling two (2) additional 30 cubic yard open top containers shall be provided on an emergency basis or as required due to project needs. 2. Compactor unit shall be a 30 cubic yard self contained unit, not less than industrial heavy gauge steel (10 gauge). All seals shall be industrial high pressure; shall have full door seal and heavy duty ram piston. Hydraulic lines shall be ¾ inch. The compactor unit shall be equipped with continuous input air ionizing system to prevent bacterial growth and offensive odor. All installation and maintenance during the rental period shall be covered by the contractor. The contractor will need to make sure that the compactor to be provided fits and operate properly in the current enclosure (size, electrical connection, etc.). 3. Currently, there is a 30 cubic yard waste compactor unit in place located within an enclosed bay. JAHVAMC does not anticipate any major changes or renovations to the current enclosure if the compactor is to be replaced by a similar commercial type of container. Nevertheless, the contractor will need to ensure that the compactor to be provided fits and operates properly in the current enclosure (size, electrical connections, etc.). a. In addition, this unit will require occasional washing and cleaning to remove process able waste building up and foul odor and to return the unit to a clean, sanitary, and serviceable condition. This will be coordinated through the COR via call-in requests to be completed no later than the next service day. 4. Contractor shall provide, as needed, a backup 30 cubic yard container, this backup container shall be provided within 4 hours of notification, whenever needed (24 hours/day, 7 days/week). There is a 30 cubic yard compactor currently in place. 5. A 24 hour, 7 days per week toll free number and one (1) additional cell phone number shall be provided for emergencies and repair calls. Emergency/repair calls shall be addressed and a solution provided within 3 hours of the call. 6. The contractor shall comply with all current county or municipal, state, and federal laws, regulations and guidelines when collecting, storing, removing, transporting, disposing of and/or recycling all wastes under the scope of this contract. Includes Hillsborough County Ordinance 96-34. 7. The contractor must be authorized (franchised) to perform these services by the Hillsborough County Solid Waste Management Department by time of award and throughout the effective period of this contract. C. COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS AND SCHEDULE: 1. Contractor shall pick up the 30 cubic yard waste compactor, located at the receiving dock, Building #1, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday between the hours of 5:00am to 7:00am local time. The average load per pull during the last year was between 4 and 6 tons. 2. Contractor shall pick up the 8 cubic yard trash container every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 3. Contractor shall pick up the (2) 30 cubic yard furniture containers every Monday and Wednesday or as required by the facility. The average load per pull during last year was between 1 and 3 tons. 4. Collection shall be done on the specific required days and/or as needed. If a collection date falls on a Federal Holiday or any other day that the Hillsborough county facilities are closed, collection shall be done the following scheduled day. D. PERMITS AND LICENSING: 1. Contractor shall submit as part of its quote copies of all applicable permits and licenses such as a disposal facility permit, waste, transportation licenses, incinerator permits, or recycling facility permits. In addition, a fully detailed written description and procedural manual of the methodology that will be used to transport, treat and dispose of the waste shall be furnished. 2. As requested, the contractor shall provide proof of regulatory compliance such as inspection reports, policies and procedures, staff training records and emergency plans. E. INVOICING AND REPORTS: 1. When invoicing, the contractor shall provide the following: A. CONTRACT LINE ITEM NUMBER (LIN). B. NET WEIGHT (not applicable to the 8 cubic yard containers) C. TYPE OF WASTE (not applicable to the 8 cubic yard containers) D. UNIT PRICE E. TOTAL AMOUNT 2. Contractor shall provide, as requested by the government, methods of disposal, weight tickets and the address of the disposal site. 3. Mixed Load Surcharges, if any, shall be invoiced separately, contractor shall provide with this invoice the weight ticket, method of disposal and address of the disposal site. F. TITLE: The contractor shall take title of all solid waste once the waste is fully loaded into contractor furnished vehicles. G. MAINTAINING CONTAINERS AND COLLECTION AREA. The contractor shall: Maintain all containers in good, workable condition and ensure they must remain accessible to the customers Perform all cleaning, repair and other maintenance tasks off-VA property Return the containers to their original location after servicing, in an upright position with the lids securely in place (closed) Immediately clean up any spills, debris, etc., which may occur during servicing of containers Remove all refuse on the ground within ten feet of the container, whether spilled by the contractor or placed there by VA personnel, shall be picked up by the contractor during collection Collect debris placed at collection areas; for example, tree branches, sacks, cartons, boxes, cans, tied bundles, or other containers VA personnel regularly monitor the garbage container area and if additional containers are needed, necessary coordination to address any issues will be made at that time. H. OFF-SITE DISPOSAL: The contractor shall transport and dispose of all solid waste at a licensed off-site Hillsborough County disposal site selected by the contractor. Disposal shall be in accordance with existing local, state and federal regulations. The contractor shall be responsible for any permit or fees associated with the use of off-site disposal locations. I. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS: The contractor shall: Develop and maintain a written safety plan that will be undertaken to protect the staff of the VA Medical Center and contractor including the surrounding community. Safety plan shall be submitted to the government as requested. In the performance of this contract, the contractor shall take such safety precautions as the contracting officer or his designee may determine to be reasonably necessary to protect the lives and health of the occupants of the building. The contracting officer or his designee will notify the contractor of any noncompliance with the foregoing provisions and the action to be taken. The contractor shall, after receipt of such notice, immediately correct the conditions to which attention has been directed. Such notice, when served on the contractor or his representative at the work site, shall be deemed sufficient for the purpose aforesaid. If the contractor fails or refuses to comply promptly, the contracting officer may issue an order stopping all or any part of the work and may ultimately terminate the contract for default. J. DEFINITIONS: Per Hillsborough County Ordinance 96-34, as amended: 1. Solid Waste. Shall mean garbage, refuse, yard waste and other discarded solid materials generated by residential units and commercial establishments, including Solid Waste materials resulting from industrial, commercial or agricultural operations, governmental operations and from community activities; it does not include solids or dissolved materials in domestic sewage or other significant pollutants in water resources such as silt, dissolved materials in irrigation return flows. Other common water pollutants, or any by-products, the sale or reuse of which is intended by the persons form whose process they resulted. 2. Non-Processable (waste); Shall mean furniture such as couches, chairs, tables; bedding such as mattresses and box springs and other similar items; white goods such as refrigerators, ovens, water heaters, window air conditioning units and other similar appliances; non-combustible construction material and demolition debris such as steel, concrete, brick, glass, asphalt roofing material and other similar materials; motor vehicles and major vehicle parts; tires; machinery, equipment or other metals. 3. Processable (waste); Shall mean any combustible solid waste, including, but not limited to, putrescible solid waste, cardboard, paper products, plastics and food containers. K. FEDERAL HOLIDAYS. New Year Day January 1 Martin Luther King s Birthday 3rd Monday in January Presidents Day 3rd Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Juneteenth Day June 19th Independence Day July 4th Labor Day 1st Monday in September Columbus Day 2nd Monday in October Veterans Day November 11 Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in November Christmas Day December 25 Note: Any of the above holidays falling on Saturday will be observed on the preceding Friday; holidays falling on Sunday will be observed on the following Monday. Contractor s days to perform are reflected in the Performance Work Statement/ Statement of Work. L. CHANGES TO STATEMENT OF WORK: Any changes to this SOW shall be authorized and approved only through written correspondence from the CO. A copy of each change will be kept in a project folder along with all other products of the project. Costs incurred by the contractor through the actions of parties other than the CO shall be borne by the contractor. M. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY MATRIX N. CONTAINER LOCATIONS: All final containers locations shall be provided on the final PWS issued with the forthcoming solicitation. The picture below is for reference only and are located at 13000 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL 33612. O. CONTAINER LIST: The final container list shall be provided on the final PWS issued with the forthcoming solicitation. The list below is for reference only and are located at 13000 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL 33612. P. ACCESSABILITY AND SECURITY: Contractor shall keep in mind and, to the extent applicable, follow practices that ensure the security and safety of JAH Veterans Hospital facilities, equipment and personnel. To this end, accessibility to all work areas will be provided by the COR. No keys will be issued to Contractor employees. Q. CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES: Contractor personnel shall present a neat appearance and be easily recognized as contractor employees. Example: wearing of distinctive clothing such as uniform, badges, patches, etc. R. ESCORT AND JAMES A. HALEY SECURITY POLICE CHECK-IN: Contractor personnel shall check in and out with VA Police dispatch located in the front entrance of the Main Hospital. Access to work areas and performance monitoring will be provided by the COR. S. PARKING: It is the responsibility of contractor personnel to park only in designated parking areas. Parking information is available from the VA police and COR. The VA will not invalidate or provide reimbursement for parking violations of the contractor s personnel under any circumstances. T. SMOKING: Smoking is not permitted within or around VA Healthcare System facilities, except within designated areas. U. NOISE AND DISRUPTION: The contractor is required to continuously consider the impact to the medical center in completing the required work. Any operation causing excessive noise or vibration shall be coordinated in advance with the COR. Also, movement of equipment, supplies, and waste through occupied areas, corridors, and elevators must be planned and scheduled with the COR to minimize disruption to hospital operations. V. CELLULAR PHONES: Cellular phones are acceptable inside the building, except for posted critical care areas. W. SECURITY AND CHECK-IN REQUIREMENTS: All work shall be scheduled through the Electrical shop or maintenance supervisor. The contractor shall check in with the VA police dispatch upon arrival at the facility to obtain proper identification prior to initiating work. The contractor shall contact the electrical shop or maintenance supervisor at the provided phone numbers to notify them they are on-station, and also prior to leaving the station the contractor shall contact them to report observations on the equipment and product quality. In order to be easily recognizable, all contractor personnel shall wear distinctive identification, such as, nametag, badge, uniform, patch, etc. X. QUALITY CONTROL/ASSURANCE: 1. The contractor shall develop and maintain a quality program to ensure refuse services are performed in accordance with commonly accepted commercial practices. As a minimum, the contractor shall develop quality control procedures addressing the areas identified in paragraph L. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY MATRIX . The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. 2. The VA will appoint a Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) to monitor performance to ensure services are received. The COR will periodically evaluate contractor s performance through intermittent on-site inspections of the contractor s quality control program and receipt of any complaints from VA personnel. Y. CONTRACT AWARD MEETING: The contractor shall commence work only when the Contracting Officer (CO) has conducted a kick-off meeting or has elected to waive the meeting. This meeting is very beneficial to the success of the project. Various aspects of work details can be discussed so there is a consistent understanding among all parties. Roles and responsibilities of the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) are issued by the CO at the meeting. The nature of some small projects may not require a kick-off meeting with the CO. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the CO. Records Management Language for Contracts When Federal agencies acquire goods or services, they need to determine what Federal records management requirements should be included in the contract. Federal contractors often create, send, or receive Federal records. Federal contracts should provide clear legal obligations describing how the contract employees must handle Federal records. Agency records officers, procurement counsel, and acquisitions officers must discuss how to integrate records management obligations into their existing procurement processes. NARA has developed the following language to be included as an agency-specific term and condition in Federal contracts for a variety of services and products. The majority of contracts should include language on records management obligations, but each contract should be evaluated individually. For example, the data-rights paragraph (Paragraph 10 below) may not be appropriate for all contracts. Instead, agencies may be better served by one of the established data-rights clauses in the Federal Acquisition Regulations. This language should not replace specific records management requirements included within Federal information system contracts. RECORDS MANAGEMENT OBLIGATIONS A. Applicability This clause applies to all Contractors whose employees create, work with, or otherwise handle Federal records, as defined in Section B, regardless of the medium in which the record exists.  B. Definitions Federal record as defined in 44 U.S.C. § 3301, includes all recorded information, regardless of form or characteristics, made or received by a Federal agency under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the United States Government or because of the informational value of data in them. The term Federal record: includes [Agency] records. does not include personal materials. applies to records created, received, or maintained by Contractors pursuant to their [Agency] contract. may include deliverables and documentation associated with deliverables. C. Requirements Contractor shall comply with all applicable records management laws and regulations, as well as National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) records policies, including but not limited to the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. chs. 21, 29, 31, 33), NARA regulations at 36 CFR Chapter XII Subchapter B, and those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a). These policies include the preservation of all records, regardless of form or characteristics, mode of transmission, or state of completion. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, all data created for Government use and delivered to, or falling under the legal control of, the Government are Federal records subject to the provisions of 44 U.S.C. chapters 21, 29, 31, and 33, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended, and the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended and must be managed and scheduled for disposition only as permitted by statute or regulation. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, Contractor shall maintain all records created for Government use or created in the course of performing the contract and/or delivered to, or under the legal control of the Government and must be managed in accordance with Federal law. Electronic records and associated metadata must be accompanied by sufficient technical documentation to permit understanding and use of the records and data. [Agency] and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of [Agency] or destroyed except for in accordance with the provisions of the agency records schedules and with the written concurrence of the Head of the Contracting Activity. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. In the event of  any unlawful or accidental removal, defacing, alteration, or destruction of records, Contractor must report to [Agency]. The agency must report promptly to NARA in accordance with 36 CFR 1230. The Contractor shall immediately notify the appropriate Contracting Officer upon discovery of any inadvertent or unauthorized disclosures of information, data, documentary materials, records or equipment. Disclosure of non-public information is limited to authorized personnel with a need-to-know as described in the [contract vehicle]. The Contractor shall ensure that the appropriate personnel, administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are established to ensure the security and confidentiality of this information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is properly protected. The Contractor shall not remove material from Government facilities or systems, or facilities or systems operated or maintained on the Government s behalf, without the express written permission of the Head of the Contracting Activity. When information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is no longer required, it shall be returned to [Agency] control or the Contractor must hold it until otherwise directed. Items returned to the Government shall be hand carried, mailed, emailed, or securely electronically transmitted to the Contracting Officer or address prescribed in the [contract vehicle]. Destruction of records is EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED unless in accordance with Paragraph (4). The Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under, or relating to, contracts. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and [Agency] guidance for protecting sensitive, proprietary information, classified, and controlled unclassified information. The Contractor shall only use Government IT equipment for purposes specifically tied to or authorized by the contract and in accordance with [Agency] policy. The Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any non-public [Agency] information that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract. The Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected from public disclosure by an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act. The [Agency] owns the rights to all data and records produced as part of this contract. All deliverables under the contract are the property of the U.S. Government for which [Agency] shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest. Any Contractor rights in the data or deliverables must be identified as required by FAR 52.227-11 through FAR 52.227-20. Training.  All Contractor employees assigned to this contract who create, work with, or otherwise handle records are require...