§ 9-1.051-4 Acquisition Letters (AL).

(a) In accordance with the authority in § 9-1.051-1 above, the Senior Procurement Official, Headquarters, or designee, may issue Acquisition Letters from time to time. They will remain in effect until cancelled.

(b) Acquisition Letters will be identified by the prefix letters “AL" followed by the last two digits of the calendar year in which issued and will be numbered consecutively. For example, the control number of the first letter issued in calendar year 1979 will be AL 79-1. When appropriate, the applicable subpart of the DOE-PR will be identified in the subject line.

§9-1.201 Definitions.

Subpart 9-1.2 Definition of Terms

For the purposes of this chapter, and unless otherwise indicated, the following terms have the meaning set forth in this subpart. FPR definitions not implemented herein also apply to this chapter.

§9-1.204 Head of the Agency.

"Head of the Agency" means the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or Under Secretary.

§9-1.205 Procuring activity.

"Procuring activity” means a DOE organizational element which has been delegated authority by the Senior Procurement Official, Headquarters, to award contracts.

§9-1.206 Head of the Procuring Activity (HPA).

"Head of the Procuring Activity" means the senior official within a DOE organizational element who has overall responsibility for the supervision and direction of a procurement activity and who meets the following requirements: first, has been delegated authority to award contracts and appoint Contracting Officers by the Senior Procurement Official, Headquarters; and second, has been designated as an HPA. A partial listing of duties specifically reserved to the HPA or designee includes:

(a) Authority to establish review and approval levels for contract actions within his organization, up to the dollar level delegated to him.

(b) Authority to approve deviations from the FPRs and the DOE-PRs in accordance with §9-1.009-2.

(c) Authority to appoint Contracting Officers.

(d) Authority to ratify unauthorized contract and/or contract modification awards. (e) Authority to make administrative determinations regarding withdrawals of bids before award in mistake in bid cases.

§9-1.250 Senior Program Official.

"Senior Program Official" means the Assistant Secretaries, Administrators of Administrations, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Director, Office of Energy Research, and heads of DOE staff offices, or designees.

§9-1.251 Senior Procurement Official, Headquarters.

"Senior Procurement Official, Headquarters" means the Director of Procurement and Assistance Management, or designee.

Subpart 9-1.3 General Policies

$9-1.302-3 Contracts between the Government and Government employees or business concerns substantially owned or controlled by Government employees.

When the needs of the Government cannot be reasonably supplied by sources other than employees of the Government or sources which are substantially owned or controlled by Government employees, the Contracting Officer shall submit, through the HPA, a request to the Senior Procurement Official, Headquarters, with appropriate justification, for approval of an exception to the prohibitions contained in FPR 1-1.302-3.

89-1.305 Specifications.

$9-1.305-1 Mandatory use of Federal Specifications.

(a) The policies and procedures established by FPR 1-1.305 shall be complied with for all direct procurement except as provided in §9-1.305-3.

(b) The paper specification standards published by the Joint Committee on Printing for the purchase of paper to be used on Government-owned printing, binding, and duplicating equipment shall be used in specifying paper requirements for "Federal Printing" as defined in the Government Printing and Binding Regulation.

§9-1.305-3 Deviations from Federal Specifications.

Subject to the requirements of FPR 1-1.305-3, Heads of Procuring Activities, Senior Program Officials, or designees, may authorize deviations from Federal Specifications in connection with direct procurement.

§9-1.305-5 Use of Federal and Interim Federal Specifications in construction contracts.

When specifications for construction are prepared by private firms, Heads of Procuring Activities, Senior Program Officials, or designees, are responsible for obtaining compliance with the general policies of this subpart to the extent practicable and compatible with meeting program objectives.

§9-1.306-1 Mandatory use and application of Federal Standards.

The policies and procedures established by FPR 1-1.306 for the development and use of Federal Standards shall be complied with to the same extent as provided for Federal Specifications in §9-1.305-1, §9-1.305-3, and §9-1.305-5.

89-1.307 Purchase descriptions.

Specifications should be in such terms as to permit full and free competition among all potential suppliers. However, technical reasons may occasionally exist for using specifications which limit competition by requiring certain types of material or articles, such as replacement parts, auxiliary equipment, and tools required for use with major equipment. Restrictive specifications may be used to meet special requirements, provided (a) DOE needs cannot reasonably be met in any other manner, and (b) a complete written justification for the restriction is included in the contract file.

§9-1.313 Records of contract actions.

(a) The procurement file which shall be maintained by the Head of the Procuring Activity, or designee, shall include copies of all documents that present a historical record of the facts of the transaction. Basic papers of the procurement file shall be arranged and secured in a logical order so as to facilitate review and audit. A complete file shall be maintained and pertinent papers shall not be removed. Bulky material, such as unsuccessful proposals, specifications, drawings, etc., need not be kept in the file, but may be filed elsewhere under the contract num

ber, cross referenced in both files. These records may be disposed of in accordance with approved records disposition schedules, subject to any special circumstances such as lawsuits, investigations, etc., warranting longer retention.

(b) Files of essential documents for all contracts and modifications shall include the information and supporting data in accordance with current Acquisition Policy Letters.

89-1.317 Noncollusive bids and proposals.

When the Contracting Officer suspects the existence of collusive bidding and false certification, the case shall be referred to General Counsel for assistance.

§9-1.318 Disputes clause.

§9-1.318-1 Contracting Officer's decision under the Disputes clause.

(a) In addition to the information specified in FPR 1-1.318-1, a decision concerning a dispute which is or may be subject to the Disputes clause also shall include the Contracting Officer's written findings of fact.

(b) Such decisions shall be expeditiously prepared and transmitted to the contractor, together with a copy of the rules established by the DOE Board of Contract Appeals.

§9-1.350 DOE Specifications and Standards.

§9-1.351 Distribution of Federal Specifications and Standards.

(a) DOE does not maintain a central distribution point for specifications and standards. Index of Federal Specifications, Standards, and Handbooks may be obtained by submission of an order to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 20402. Copies of Federal Specifications and Standards may be obtained in the same manner. Single copies of product specifications required for bidding purposes are available without charge at the Business Service Centers of the General Services Administration Regional Offices. Nongovernment activities should obtain copies of the Index and of Federal Specifications and Standards from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 20402.

(b) Field offices and Headquarters shall maintain current copies of the index and supplements and shall maintain files of current copies of Federal Specifications and Standards covering all items which are purchased on a recurring basis for which specifications or standards are available.

§9-1.352 Department of Defense Index of Specifications and Standards.

This index may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 20402. Copies of specifications and standards are ordered from the cognizant military activity developing each particular specification or standard.

§9-1.353 Prebidding and preproposal conferences.

(a) Wherever considered advantageous, particularly for the more complex, unusual, or large projects, a prebidding or preproposal conference should be held with prospective contractors and their suppliers prior to receipt of bids or proposals in connection with formally advertised or negotiated procurement.

(b) The primary objectives of such conferences are to avoid performance, production and construction problems and contingency items in bids or proposals by:

(1) outlining principal features of the project;

(2) answering questions and identifying any ambiguity or obscurity concerning the proposed work and the plans and specifications;

(3) soliciting prospective contractors' opinions on matters such as feasibility of proposed performance, production or construction techniques and tolerances; and

(4) soliciting prospective contractors' suggested changes in design or in provisions of the proposed contract which could result in more economical production or construction. (c) Changes or clarifications found to be necessary as a result of a prebidding or preproposal conference shall be included in addenda to the invitation for bids or request for proposals.

(d) Such conferences may also be held prior to the issuance of invitations for bids or requests for proposals when the main objective is to obtain the view of prospective contractors on matters such as production or construction techniques.

§9-1.354 Contract close-out.

(a) The Head of the Procuring Activity shall ensure that necessary procedures and milestone schedules are established and resources applied to effect the earliest practicable deobligation of projected excess funds and the timely close-out of all procurements which are physically completed or otherwise eligible for close-out action. The following final milestones after physical completion are to be used in establishing close-out schedules: fixed-price purchase orders-3 months; firm fixed-price contracts and SRCs-6 months; all others—20 months.

(b) Quick close-out procedures for cost reimbursable and flexibly priced type contracts are covered under §9-3.705-50.

§ 9-1.355 Contracts conditioned upon the availability of funds.

(a) There are many day-to-day supplies and services which must be provided on a continuing basis if the Department is to function efficiently. These requirements are generally funded under yearly operation and maintenance appropriations. A disruption in providing these requirements would seriously impact the orderly operation of the Department.

(b) When it is necessary to initiate a procurement properly chargeable to funds of a new fiscal year prior to the availability of such funds, the clause in paragraph (c) of this section shall be included in the contract.

This clause shall be used only for administrative operations and continuing services (such as rentals, utilities, and guard services) which are necessary for normal operation and for which the Congress consistently appropriates funds.

(c) The following clause shall be used as described in paragraph (b) this section:

Availability of Funds-Award

Funds are not presently available for this procurement. The Government's obligation hereunder is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for the contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for payment of any money shall arise unless and until the funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this procurement and notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer, is given to the contractor.

(d) When the clause in paragraph (c) of this section is used, the supplies or services shall not be accepted by the Department until funds are available to the Contracting Officer for the procurement and until the Contracting Officer has given notice to the contractor (to be confirmed in writing) of such availability. Records shall be maintained to insure adequate administrative control of funds.