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GAO And SBA Disagree on Effect of Noncompliance With Subcontracting Limitation

Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.10.07

In TYBRIN Corp. (Mar. 13, 2007, http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/2983646.pdf), GAO sustained a protest of the Air Force's reinstatement of a contract award despite the Air Force's reliance on and compliance with the SBA's responsibility determination in favor of the awardee (which was based on the SBA's finding that the awardee, despite having not committed to do so in its proposal, would in fact comply with the RFP's limitation on the extent of subcontracting to large businesses). Despite the SBA's conclusion to the contrary, and the Air Force's reliance on that conclusion, GAO held that where an offeror's proposal fails to comply with a material terms of the solicitation (in this case, the limitation on subcontracting clause as set forth in FAR 52.219-14), the matter is one of the proposal's acceptability or responsiveness (which is reviewable by GAO) rather than the offeror's responsibility (which is solely within the purview of the SBA, if it involves a small business).

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Client Alert | 5 min read | 08.26.26

D.C. Circuit Upholds Designation of PFOA and PFOS as CERCLA Hazardous Substances

In a significant and unanimous ruling, the D.C. Circuit upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”) as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), denying the petitions of seven industry groups seeking to overturn that designation.[1] CERCLA, also known as the “Superfund Statute,” allows EPA to require potentially responsible parties to fund cleanup of hazardous substances....