Request for Proposals Qualified Environmental Professional

Transcription

1 Sweetgrass Development st Avenue NW Great Falls, MT Phone: Fax: Request for Proposals Qualified Environmental Professional Date of Issue: September 15, 2015 Deadline: October 16, 2015 Selection Date: October 23, 2015 *Selection Date is Dependent on Board availability and is subject to change. Sweetgrass Development Corporation Brownfields EPA $400,000 Assessment Grant 1

2 Sweetgrass Development Corporation Brownfields FY16-FY18 Assessment Project Request for Proposal 1.0 Introduction Sweetgrass Development is soliciting responses for a Qualified Environmental Professional to conduct Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments and all activities related, including but not limited to, assistance in the revision of a Community Relations Plan, participation in public education activities (includes facilitation of meetings), clean up planning and other tasks as agreed upon, within the five county region. The region is comprised of Cascade, Glacier, Pondera, Teton and Toole counties and the Blackfeet Reservation. This Request for Proposal (RFP) provides the specifications and requirements for submission of complete proposals, including cost estimates. Sweetgrass Development reserves the right to solicit cost proposals for individual projects. The deadline for submittal of responses to this request is October 16, The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected Sweetgrass Development as an EPA Brownfields grant recipient for the assessment of hazardous substance and petroleum contamination per a cooperative agreement. Proposed work will meet federal requirements for work funded by an EPA Brownfields Grant. The documentation must show that all Phase I assessments have been conducted in compliance with the All Appropriate Inquiries Final 40CFR Part 312. (The AAI Final Rule provides that the ASTM E standard is consistent with the requirements of the final rule and may be used to comply with the provisions of the rule.) Contracts with Sweetgrass Development Corporation must comply with 40 C.F.R Proposed work is scheduled to be completed by October 1, 2018, and may be expanded in the future to include additional funding and additional work. 2.0 Site Selection Sweetgrass conducted 21 outreach meetings over 12 months to engage community members in discussion regarding site assessment. As a result, Sweetgrass has established a Brownfields inventory list of 156 sites from which they have contacted numerous landowners and received their commitment to participate in the Brownfields Assessment Program. Sites chosen to be listed on Sweetgrass brownfields site inventory are those whose redevelopment aligns with the organization s goals and objectives. Assessment and cleanup of these sites will assist the region in achieving its defined economic goals, and will be reused in ways that contribute to greener and healthier homes, buildings, and neighborhoods. As a 2014 Promise Zone finalist under a regional application, the Sweetgrass Brownfields Steering Committee will prioritize and select sites for assessment that serve to create jobs, increase economic activity, improve educational opportunities, and reduce violent crime. Sweetgrass s Brownfields program will target those landowners who wish to sell, expand, or redevelop their properties, as these individuals will be motivated to provide access to their properties. In some cases, an assessment is at the request of a lender or a potential buyer, in which case Sweetgrass will ask the party requesting the assessment to approach the landowner to grant access. 2

3 It must be stressed that sites receiving assessments have not yet been determined, nor is the listing finalized. As more property owners are educated about the program, additional sites may be added to the inventory. Site selection will depend on several factors, but a high priority will be given to those sites that are located in areas that lack opportunity and do not have the financial resources to complete projects without Brownfields Assessment funding, such as those located on the Blackfeet Reservation. 3.0 Project Objectives/Scope The overall goal of Sweetgrass Development s brownfields effort is to ensure that contamination does not threaten/continue to threaten public health and the environment during/after redevelopment of the site. The objective of this project is to identify the contaminants that may exist at the selected sites and provide cleanup options. An objective related to petroleum contamination is to ultimately assist the landowner to obtain a No Further Action notification and status for the suspected or confirmed site, where the property is eligible for reimbursement of assessment and even cleanup costs through the Montana Petroleum Release Compensation Board. The highest ranking sites in accordance with the ranking criteria will be selected to have assessments performed. The grant funds will allow for approximately 12 Phase I (6 petroleum and 6 hazardous substances) and 9 Phase II (4 petroleum and 5 hazardous substances) assessments to be performed. The work efforts for this project will fall into five main tasks as follows: Task 1.0: Task 2.0: Task 3.0: Task 4.0: Task 5.0 Task 6.0: Conduct Community Outreach/ Education/Expanded Site Inventory Draft Report, additional sites added. Perform Phase I Environmental Assessments Draft and Final Reports for each assessment site Develop EPA Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) and Phase II Sampling Analysis Plans (SAP). Draft and Final SAP for each sampling event. Develop Phase II Work Plan including Health and Safety Plan Draft and Final Work Plan Phase II Site Investigation Draft and Final Phase II Environmental Assessment Report for each site Develop Site Cleanup Options, Costs and Reuse Plans Draft and Final Plan for each assessment site, including alternatives. See Section 10.0 for a complete list of deliverables under this RFP. 3

4 4.0 Methodology for Environmental Assessment Sweetgrass Development will review all environmental assessment proposals, QAPPs and subsequent work plans to determine if activities will meet the objectives of the Brownfields project before the start of assessment activities. The final scope of services will be negotiated and modified as site conditions warrant. All phases of work will be performed to the most current applicable accepted industry standards Phase I and II assessments are necessary for the purpose of this RFP. The Phase I assessment will document previous, as well as contemporary uses of the site and the potential for contamination due to site uses and/or migration from surrounding properties. Findings from a Phase I assessment typically include observations made on the property, interviews with people familiar with the property, and a review of public documents relevant to the property. Soil, air, or water sampling are not performed in a Phase I assessment. The Phase I assessment will be conducted in accordance with the ASTM Standards on Environmental Site Assessments for Commercial Real Estate (ASTM Designation E ), as well as applicable requirements of the City and State. Phase II assessments evaluate potential concerns identified in the Phase I assessment. Phase II assessments are tailored to meet site-specific needs based on current or future use of the property. At a minimum, this may involve limited sampling and analysis to confirm or rule out potential environmental concerns. The Phase II sampling will follow guidelines, regulations and requirements of the designated lead regulatory agency. Sampling activities must be adequate to determine the presence or absence, magnitude, extent and cleanup options for contaminants that may pose a threat to redevelopment and future land use. Phase II work will also adhere to applicable Federal and State regulatory requirements and should include likely exposure pathways and characterizing risks to establish cleanup goals, evaluate cleanup options and the costs to cleanup. If the Phase II work indicates the need for cleanup, a separate estimate of costs will be prepared based on the expected redevelopment for the site. Analysis of clean-up options will be based on cleanup goals, methods and costs considered acceptable by Sweetgrass Development, the community, the property owner and/or State and Federal regulators. The contractor will provide evaluation criteria and several options based on feedback from the Sweetgrass Development, the community and the property owner. Specific evaluation criteria that contractors will initially consider include the following: risk to public health, safety and the environment (during and after redevelopment); ability to implement cleanup; effectiveness; applicability with Federal, State and local laws/regulations, programs; degree of permanency; time; and cost. 5.0 Quality Assurance The EPA requires that all federally funded environmental monitoring, sampling and measurements efforts participate in a centrally managed quality assurance program. Anyone generating data under this quality assurance program has the responsibility to implement 4

5 procedures to ensure that the precision accuracy and completeness of its data are known and documented. To meet this responsibility, EPA requires that for each Brownfields site, a written SAP be prepared (to which an approved QAPP is attended) and submitted to and approved by EPA prior to the commencement of any sampling. The proposal should describe the measures that will be used to ensure that defensible and quality data are collected and reported for this project. Proposals must describe and provide a rationale for selecting locations, types, quantities, and analyses for proposed samples. Proposals should also include general equipment and methods for proposed sampling and analyses with references to specific Federal, State, and professional practice guidelines. Proposed analysis and measurement methods must be capable of reliably detecting concentrations equal to or below applicable cleanup standards for future land use. The consultant will prepare a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) containing required information for approval by the U.S. EPA Region Health and Safety Requirements The project manager or technical lead for the project must have advanced health and safety training as specified in OSHA, 29 CFR The proposed individual must be present onsite during any on-site work and sampling activities. All individuals working at the site must have appropriate health and safety training, including 40-hour Hazardous Waste Site Operations and 8-Hour Refresher courses. A site-specific health and safety plan must be prepared by a certified safety professional or certified industrial hygienist, and submitted prior to performing on-site work. The proposal should provide an example outline or describe the type of information that will be in the health and safety plan. Such a plan must be submitted as part of the work plan for the final negotiated scope of services and revised, as necessary, for subsequent work plans. 7.0 Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance (TERO) The Contractor is responsible for understanding and complying with any applicable TERO regulations when performing assessments on the Blackfeet Reservation. 8.0 Community Outreach/Education Sweetgrass Development plans to solicit community participation in the assessment, cleanup and redevelopment activities. The consultant and Sweetgrass Development staff will be responsible for the development of a Community Relations Plan that describes the outreach approach and schedule and examples of educational material that will be used to communicate technical aspects of the environmental activities to the community. This proposal should include a presence at any community meetings requiring technical explanations and personnel who will be involved in on-site community educational activities should be identified. Information presented to the community must be in layman s terms and will include summaries of cleanup standards, assessment, sampling plans and results, proposed cleanup options and recommendations as related to project objectives and decisions. 5

6 9.0 Deliverables All deliverables should be submitted to Sweetgrass Development in both electronic and hard copy formats. The proposal should provide a description or outline of the work plan and reports that are part of the deliverables for the project. At a minimum, the following project deliverables are expected: Draft and Final Work Plan for Sampling, Analysis and other Assessments. Consists of a revised proposal document, as negotiated with Sweetgrass Development. It will contain plans for identifying and selecting assessment sites, necessary Phase I assessment and Phase II assessment activities, data quality screening objectives, screening levels, Sampling & Analysis Plan, and Health & Safety Plan. Draft and Final Phase I Environmental Assessment Reports. Written summary of potential environmental concerns, with illustrations, for incorporation into the final EA report. These materials should document a level of effort consistent with the current ASTM Standard. Progress Reports/Invoice Submittals.. Invoicing should occur on at least a monthly basis and break out costs by individual project and category of funding. (Hazardous Substance or Petroleum) Progress reports should occur on at least a monthly basis and contain short summaries of progress for all phases of work, data and findings. Also, information that relates to decisions for subsequent assessment work and redevelopment will be reported in a timely manner, including: Recognition of new, potential environmental concerns (verbally/immediately) Detection of contaminant concentrations or other features that exceed or may exceed levels requiring cleanup for intended land use (verbally/immediately) Preliminary estimates of magnitude, extent, and regulatory implications (or risks, if necessary) of contaminants, in context of redevelopment and intended land use. The contractor will provide levels of confidence for estimated risks (monthly or as appropriate) Quality Assurance/Quality Control shortcomings and corrective actions (verbally/immediately) Deviations from the QAPP/SAP with explanations (verbally/immediately) Health/Safety incidents (immediately) Work Plans for additional investigations (if needed) applicable only if negotiated with Sweetgrass Development. 6

7 Draft and Final Quality Assurance Project Plan Report. The required elements are described in Section 5.0 of the RFP. Draft and Final Phase II Environmental Assessment Report. The report should provide a summary of procedures and results of the Phase I and Phase II assessments, including a definition of the lateral and vertical extent of contamination (and associated exposure pathways and risks, if necessary), which poses a threat to planned reuse. This would include action levels and those samples that exceeded the action levels. The report should also include recommendations for cleanup or other appropriate actions, with cost estimates. Risk and cost figures will be reported within acceptable (negotiated) levels of confidence. The report will also contain a brief summary of Quality Assurance/Quality Control performance. Appendices will include boring logs, raw field and laboratory analytical data, sample chain-of-custody records, photograph logs, documentation of proper management of investigation-derived wastes, and abandonment records for boring and monitoring wells. Cleanup options with preliminary cost estimates and levels of confidence (as appropriate) Compares the site data with cleanup standards. The report will identify cleanup options and costs as well as redevelopment options based on site data and community input. Community Relations Plan. Summarizes the information presented and feedback received relevant to redevelopment objectives and scope of the assessment work. This will include key interactions and feedback from Federal, State, and local agencies and communities Qualifications The proposal will include descriptions of roles for key personnel expected to work on this project, and their resumes, which indicate work location, education/certifications, and experience in the following areas: Managing and performing Phase I and II Environmental Assessments Familiarity with Brownfields or equivalent processes should be described, giving examples of recent projects Performing site remediation and closure feasibility assessments (to include estimating associated risks and costs) Working with federal, tribal and state regulatory agencies Providing community outreach and environmental education Experience on the uses of alternative or innovative technologies 7

8 In addition, the proposal will describe institutional qualifications (including certifications or licenses) for: Boring and monitoring well installations (attach typical log diagram) and abandonment Analytical laboratories, including results of participation in performance evaluation programs use of alternative/innovative technologies/equipment (as applicable) Schedule and Costs The proposal should include anticipated schedule and time/material cost estimates for the activities listed below. Time should be allowed in the schedule to review and revise draft deliverables and for preparation of final documents. Unit rates on which costs are based should be included with the proposal and also a time line and project milestones. Submit cost estimates and unit rates for the following: Final negotiated work plan preparation Preparation of Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) Preparation of Sampling and Analysis Plans (SAP) Surveys, field sampling, and analytical testing (If innovative techniques are proposed, submit a cost comparison to conventional methods.) Preparation of cleanup options with preliminary cost estimates and levels of confidence Assistance in the revision of a Community Relations Plan Participation in public education activities (includes facilitation of meetings) Report writing and project management activities Project Contacts Sarah Converse Executive Director Sweetgrass Development st Avenue NW Great Falls, MT Phone: sweetgrassdevelopment@gmail.com 13.0 Submittal Procedures Written response proposals to this RFP must be received no later than 5:00 P.M. on Friday, October 16, Proposals received after this time/date will not be considered. Please deliver five (5) hard copies and one electronic version of this proposal to: Sweetgrass Development Attn: Sarah Converse 521 1st Avenue NW 8

9 Great Falls, MT Mark the outside: Brownfields Assessment RFP The contract recipient must supply a statement that the consulting firm presently has no interest and shall not have any interest, direct or indirect, which would conflict in any manner with the performance of the services contemplated by the agreement with the project. No person having such interest shall be employed by or associated with consultant during the term of this agreement. The recipient must also state whether they are on the list of contractors that have been debarred from receiving Federal funding. Questions about the project should be directed to Sarah Converse at (406) Selection Process An evaluation committee comprised of Sweetgrass Development staff, Board of Directors, and potentially others will review each proposal. Sweetgrass Development reserves the right to reject all proposals. The cost of preparing responses to this RFP shall be borne by the respondents and shall not be reimbursed by Sweetgrass Development. Criteria for rating firms will include the following: All proposals will be evaluated with the following factors: 1) Quality of Firm and Personnel:...30 pts. A) Related experience on similar projects. B) Qualifications, experience and training of personnel to be assigned to projects. 2) Capacity and Capability of Firm: pts. A) Ability to meet technical requirements and applications. B) Capability of firm to meet project time requirements. C) Capability to respond to project, Sweetgrass Development, DEQ and EPA requirements. D) Capacity to cover the region efficiently. 3) Record of Past Performance:..20pts. A) Previous record with Sweetgrass Development, regional partners, DEQ and EPA. 9

10 B) Firms that have developed approved QAPPs and Health & Safety Plans will receive a minimum of 10 percentage points. Please indicate who the project was for and when the EPA approved. 4) Cost of Services:. 10 pts. Following the review and evaluation of all proposals, the list of firms will be narrowed down to an appropriate short list. Consultants on this list may have an opportunity to interview if warranted. If multiple proposals are solicited, final assignments will be based on equally weighted selection criteria: 1) Cost 2) Availability and previous experience with Sweetgrass Development and regional partners 3) Understanding of the project issues 4) Approach to project and organization of work plan The award will be made to the most qualified applicant whose proposal is deemed most advantageous to the Sweetgrass Development and its regional partners, all factors considered. Firms with unsuccessful submittals will be notified as soon as possible. Consultants will be subject to Federal and Montana laws and regulations including nondiscrimination, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and Fair Employment Practices. The QEP will not discriminate against any employee, contract or application on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, political ideas, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap or national origin. Disadvantaged Business Enterprises are encouraged to apply. 10