What "federal facility decommissioning" actually means

Decommissioning of federal government facilities at multiple scales: GSA-managed federal office buildings (the bulk of federal civilian facility footprint), DoD installations (non-classified portions of bases, training facilities, reserve centers), VA medical centers and outpatient clinics, federal courthouses, agency-specific facilities (USDA, EPA, Interior Department field offices, similar). Plus decommissioning of leased federal space when GSA is exiting a lease.

For our role: we handle the ordinary decommissioning scope — administrative furniture, fixtures and casework being demolished, ordinary contents from offices and break rooms, packaging waste, and IT equipment cleared for disposal under NIST 800-88 protocols. Classified material, weapons, ammunition, controlled substances, hazardous chemicals, and any other regulated streams are NOT in our scope. Those are handled by specialty contractors with appropriate clearances.

For the GSA disposition pipeline specifically: federal property requires multi-step disposition before disposal can happen. Items first get offered to other federal agencies (intra-agency or inter-agency transfer), then to state and local government agencies under federal donation programs, then to qualifying nonprofits, then to public surplus auction (typically through GSA Auctions or comparable platforms), and only items that fail to find a taker route to disposal. Our role is at the disposal end of that pipeline.

  • Administrative furniture from offices, conference rooms, break rooms
  • Fixtures and casework being demolished during renovations
  • IT equipment cleared by IT security for disposal (NIST 800-88 destruction)
  • Ordinary contents from non-classified spaces
  • Demolition debris from non-regulated areas
  • Packaging waste from new equipment deliveries
  • Records cleared for destruction (with NAID AAA shredding routing)
  • Recycling-eligible materials handled appropriately

For DoD facilities specifically, classified portions of installations are off-limits to non-cleared contractors. Our scope on DoD facilities is restricted to non-classified buildings or non-classified portions of mixed-use buildings. Security clearances for crew accessing controlled areas (where required) are handled at contract execution.

SAM registration and federal contracting basics

For federal contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $250,000), SAM (System for Award Management) registration is required. NAICS codes 562910 (Remediation Services) and 562998 (All Other Miscellaneous Waste Management Services) typically apply for our scope of work. Plus 561740 (Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services) and 561720 (Janitorial Services) where the project includes that work.

For federal contracts under the SAT, simplified procurement may apply — including GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) ordering, BPAs (Blanket Purchase Agreements), or simplified acquisition procedures. Procurement structure varies by agency.

Set-aside contracting: federal procurement often includes set-aside requirements (small business, woman-owned small business, veteran-owned, HUBZone, 8(a)). For agencies with set-aside requirements that apply to our scope, we work through the agency's contract structure rather than competing against set-aside-qualified vendors.

Davis-Bacon prevailing wage and certified payrolls

Davis-Bacon Act applies prevailing wage to federal contracts above the $2,000 threshold for construction-adjacent work. Most decommissioning work above the threshold falls under Davis-Bacon coverage. Wage determinations are issued by Department of Labor for the specific locality and apply to the project.

Our compliance: certified payrolls submitted weekly during active project work, fringe benefits handled per the wage determination, prevailing wage rates paid to all crew on-site. Compliance documentation is included in project invoicing and goes into the agency's contract file for any DoL audit support.

For state and federal facilities subject to state-equivalent prevailing wage laws (some states layer their own prevailing wage on top of Davis-Bacon for state-funded portions of work), we comply with whichever law sets the higher standard.

NIST 800-88 destruction for federal IT

NIST Special Publication 800-88 specifies media sanitization standards for federal IT equipment. Three sanitization levels: Clear (overwrite, suitable for non-sensitive data), Purge (degaussing or block erase, suitable for moderate sensitivity), and Destroy (physical destruction, required for high-sensitivity data including most regulated federal data — FOUO, CUI, classified-equivalent).

For our role: we provide NIST 800-88 compliant destruction documentation when handling federal IT equipment. Default standard is physical destruction (Destroy level) for any equipment that has handled federal data. Witnessed destruction is available for high-sensitivity environments. Destruction certificates with serial-number records go to the agency's IT security team and contracting officer.

For mixed inventory (some equipment redeployed, some sold via federal asset disposition, some destroyed), we coordinate with the agency's IT team and asset disposition contractor on routing each category correctly. We don't handle resale or redeployment; we handle disposal and destruction.

Security clearance and facility access

For non-classified federal facilities, standard contractor access procedures apply — typically background checks for crew members working on-site, photo ID verification, escort by federal personnel where required by the facility's security plan. Most GSA-managed buildings, VA facilities, and federal courthouses fall in this category.

For DoD installations or federal facilities with controlled-access portions, security clearances may be required for crew accessing those areas. Our standard scope is non-classified portions of mixed facilities; for fully-cleared work, we either coordinate with cleared subcontractors or limit our scope to clearance-not-required portions of the project. Clearance requirements are addressed at contract execution rather than discovered during the work.

Pricing and procurement pattern

Federal facility decommissioning is priced as a fixed scope-of-work for the project after the on-site walkthrough has identified scope, compliance overlay (Davis-Bacon, NIST 800-88, security clearance), and any access constraints. Pricing reflects the actual fulfillment overhead for federal compliance — we don't pretend federal work is the same cost as commercial.

For GSA contracting specifically, MAS (Multiple Award Schedule) ordering may apply — we can be ordered against existing GSA schedules where our NAICS codes match. For agency-specific BPAs (Blanket Purchase Agreements), we can be set up under existing BPAs or new BPAs negotiated for ongoing federal facility work.

For multi-facility federal programs (agency consolidations, GSA portfolio decommissioning, DoD base realignment), master service agreement structure with tiered per-facility pricing applies. Compliance overhead is consistent across the program rather than per-project.

Frequently asked

Federal facility questions we hear from agency operations teams.

Are you SAM-registered for federal contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold?

Yes. For federal contracts above the SAT (currently $250,000), SAM registration is required. NAICS codes 562910 (Remediation Services) and 562998 (All Other Miscellaneous Waste Management Services) typically apply for our scope. For contracts under the SAT, simplified acquisition procedures or existing schedule contracts may apply.

How do you handle Davis-Bacon prevailing wage compliance?

Certified payrolls submitted weekly during active project work, fringe benefits handled per the wage determination, prevailing wage rates paid to all crew on-site. Compliance documentation is included in project invoicing and goes into the agency contract file for any DoL audit support. For state-equivalent prevailing wage laws layered on top, we comply with whichever law sets the higher standard.

Can you handle classified material or DoD-restricted areas?

No. Classified material, weapons, ammunition, controlled substances, and any restricted-area work require specialty contractors with appropriate security clearances. Our scope on DoD facilities is restricted to non-classified buildings or non-classified portions of mixed-use buildings. Clearance requirements are addressed at contract execution rather than discovered during work.

How does NIST 800-88 destruction actually work for federal IT?

Default standard is physical destruction (Destroy level) for any equipment that has handled federal data. Hard drives and SSDs are physically destroyed under NIST 800-88 Destroy standards. Destruction certificates with serial-number records go to the agency IT security team and contracting officer. Witnessed destruction is available for high-sensitivity environments where the agency security team observes the destruction process directly.

Do you support set-aside contracting requirements?

For agencies with set-aside requirements (small business, woman-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone, 8(a)) that apply to our scope, we work through the agency's contract structure rather than competing against set-aside-qualified vendors. For mixed contracts where set-aside applies to a portion of work, we partner with set-aside-qualified subcontractors. Set-aside structure is determined at contract execution.

What about GSA disposition pipeline coordination?

We work at the disposal end of the pipeline — items that have completed the GSA disposition process (intra-agency transfer offers, inter-agency offers, qualifying nonprofit donation, GSA Auctions or comparable public auction) without finding a taker. We don't circumvent the pipeline; we execute disposal on items the agency has already cleared for disposition.

Tell us about the federal facility project.

Agency, facility type, project scope, and any compliance overlay (Davis-Bacon, NIST 800-88, security clearance, set-aside structure). Our government accounts team handles federal work directly and gets back to you within one business day.

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