Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Septic Toilet Pumping for Chippewa National Forest
Department of Agriculture · Forest Service
More open Forest Service contracts
AI summaryThe U.S. Forest Service (Department of Agriculture), for the Chippewa National Forest Walker Ranger District in Minnesota, wants a business to pump out vault toilets, holding tanks and septic tanks at recreation sites. It is set aside for small businesses, runs as an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ, the Forest orders work as needed) contract from January 1, 2027 to September 30, 2031, and the response due date is November 4, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern. Award is best value, with technical and past performance together about equal to price. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
The U.S. Forest Service (Department of Agriculture), for the Chippewa National Forest Walker Ranger District in Minnesota, wants a business to pump out vault toilets, holding tanks and septic tanks at recreation sites. It is set aside for small businesses, runs as an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ, the Forest orders work as needed) contract from January 1, 2027 to September 30, 2031, and the response due date is November 4, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern. Award is best value, with technical and past performance together about equal to price.
Who can bid (4)
- Small business under NAICS 562991 (size standard $9.0 Million); this is a total small business set-aside
- Have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) to submit an offer
- Provide proof of licensed or certified documentation; the documents do not say which licenses
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- Use a state licensed treatment facility to dispose of liquid and solid waste
How to submit: Email to Reuben Ntreh at reuben.ntreh@usda.gov, delivered by the response due date; large attachments may take longer to arrive. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (10)
From the version posted Oct 20, 2026.
- Serious: Small business only; every item must be priced. Only small businesses can bid, and a quote that leaves out any item or year is not considered responsive.
- Serious: Proof of licenses or certifications required. The schedule requires proof of licensed or certified documentation but does not name the licenses, so ask the contracting officer what counts.
- Worth checking: Number of pumpings varies each year. Prices are per pumping, but the Forest picks which tanks to pump each year and the visits can change, so your total revenue is uncertain.
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- Worth checking: Seasonal windows and many sites across three counties. Most pumping must fit between the day after Labor Day and October 31, with separate spring and summer windows for some tanks and some sites needing a smaller truck.
- Worth checking: Questions were due Oct 27, 2026. Check the amendments for the agency's answers.
- Worth checking: Prices cover five years and must be balanced. Quotes are priced for each year 2027 to 2031, and the Government may reject an offer whose option prices are significantly unbalanced.
- Worth checking: Service Contract Act wage rules apply. Two Department of Labor wage determinations are attached: 2015-4959 for Itasca County and 2015-4955 for Beltrami and Cass Counties; the documents do not mention Davis-Bacon wages.
- Minor: Site visit highly encouraged, not required. The notice says visiting the work sites before quoting is highly encouraged; no visit date is given.
- Minor: Invoices go through the Treasury Invoice Processing Platform. After award you must register with the Treasury's online Invoice Processing Platform to be paid; invoices are paid in arrears.
- Minor: Solicitation text mentions snowplowing. The description line refers to the requirements for snowplowing, which looks like a leftover from another solicitation; ask the contracting officer if it matters.
Read from the notice and 6 attachments. Show which files.
- Sol_12444527Q0003.pdf (read)
- Attachment B Statement Of Work.pdf (read)
- Attachment D Map.pdf (read)
- Attachment A Schedule of Items.pdf (read)
- Attachment C - Wage Determination SCA Itasca 2015-4959.pdf (read)
- Attachment C - Wage Determination SCA Beltrami- Cass 2015-4955.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Pump out vault toilets, holding tanks and septic tanks at Forest Service recreation sites in Beltrami, Cass and Itasca Counties; each quote price is for each time a vault is emptied
- Do most pumping between the day after Labor Day and October 31 each year; the Forest sends a written list of tanks to pump each spring, and starred sites are pumped about every other year
- Pump the Bimjiwan (Knutson Dam) host holding tank once a year between the Monday of the last week of April and the Friday of the first week of May
- Pump some tanks several times between Memorial Day and Labor Day, such as monthly for host tanks and every other week for the Stony Point RV dump station tank
- Empty each tank completely, including trash; rinse vault toilets and add at least 100 gallons of clean water; clean up spills immediately; take trash off Forest Service land
- Dispose of liquid and solid waste at a state licensed treatment facility
- Send the COR a written pumping schedule 2 weeks before starting work
- Provide all labor, supervision, fuel, equipment, personnel, material and supplies
- Contract type
- IDIQ (a base period plus four options); a firm-fixed-price contract is anticipated
- Period of performance
- Base year January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2027, plus four options: Option 1 January 1, 2028 to December 31, 2028; Option 2 January 1, 2029 to December 31, 2029; Option 3 January 1, 2030 to December 31, 2030; Option 4 January 1, 2031 to September 30, 2031
- Place of performance
- Chippewa National Forest recreation sites in Beltrami, Cass and Itasca Counties, Minnesota; Walker Ranger District, 201 Minnesota Ave E, Walker, MN 56484 (SAM.gov: Walker, MN)
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Best value to the Government; one award; technical and past performance together are approximately equal to price
- Offers due
- November 4, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email to Reuben Ntreh at reuben.ntreh@usda.gov, delivered by the response due date; large attachments may take longer to arrive
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical: a description of how the statement of work will be met, covering certifications, licensure, staffing, training and methods; ability to meet the schedule; a detailed explanation of any requirement the bidder cannot meet
- Past Performance/Experience: summaries of up to three relevant projects from the last three years, plus references, past USDA orders and the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS, the government's contractor rating database)
- Cost/Price: firm-fixed-price quote checked for reasonableness by competition and against the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE); total of option prices added to the base
What to include when you submit
- Price every item on Attachment A, the Schedule of Items, for each year 2027 to 2031; the quote amount is for each time a vault is emptied
- Fill in the vendor name, Unique Entity ID (UEI), date, signature, email and phone on Attachment A
- Include a firm-fixed-price quote valid for no less than 90 days, and contractor representations and certifications
- Include a technical description of how you will meet the statement of work, covering any certifications, licensure, staffing, training and methods
- Include proof of licensed or certified documentation
- State whether you can meet the schedule, and explain in detail any requirement you cannot meet
- Past performance: send summaries of up to three relevant projects from the last three years, with some part of the work completed in that time
- For each past project give the project name and contract or task order number, dollar value, period of performance, customer contact (name, work number, cell number, email), description of work, roles and responsibilities, results, and how it is similar in scope and complexity
- Customers for past projects may be Federal, State or Local Government, corporate, university or association customers
After award, you must have
- Personal identity verification of contractor personnel applies to the contract From Sol_12444527Q0003.pdf:
52.204-9 Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel Jan 2011…
Not in the notice text
- Total number of pumpings per year and the minimum the Forest must order are not stated
- The Government's cost estimate is not given
- Which licenses or certifications count as the required proof is not stated
- No site visit date is given
- How the Forest will order work (task or delivery orders) and when the first orders start in 2027 is not stated
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 562991
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to Reuben Ntreh at reuben.ntreh@usda.gov, delivered by the response due date; large attachments may take longer to arrive. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 20, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- USDA-FS, CSA East 6, Atlanta, GA
- Product/service code
- S222 · Housekeeping – Waste Treatment/Storage
- Business type
- Environmental & natural resources (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 562991)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The Chippewa National Forest has a need for septic toilet pumping services. The Contractor shall provide all labor, supervision, fuel, and equipment necessary to perform the services in accordance with the requirements for this service. Prospective contractors are highly encouraged to visit the work site(s) prior to submitting a price quote.
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