BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:Title
Approve Amendment No.7 to Agreement No. A3716G with HDR Engineering, Inc. for the Fish and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE)/Three Creeks (Guadalupe, Coyote, Stevens) Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Project, Project No. 92041014, CAS File No. 4444, Increasing the Fee by $999,986 for a Revised Total Fee of $5,016,143 and Extending the Term of the Agreement to September 30, 2023.
End
RECOMMENDATION:Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 7 to Agreement No. A3716G with HDR Engineering, Inc. for the Fish and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE)/Three Creeks (Guadalupe, Coyote, Stevens) Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Project, Project No. 92041014, increasing the fee by $999,986 for a revised total fee of $5,016,143, and extending the term of the Agreement to September 30, 2023.
Body
SUMMARY:
The Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) retained HDR Engineering, Inc. to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and a fish habitat restoration plan for Coyote Creek, Guadalupe River and Stevens Creek watersheds (Three Creeks). This work supports implementation of the settlement agreement for the Fish and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort.
As part of the work required to support CEQA documentation and the EIR, Valley Water has been developing a new analytical approach to assess the potential benefits and impacts to aquatic habitat. The new approach combines three modeling elements: water supply distribution, flow characteristics (hydraulics), and aquatic habitat availability; and simulates daily flow release from 21 years of historical data for the Guadalupe River, Coyote Creek, and Stevens Creek, and tributaries. With 37 million results per model run, error-checking and validating the complicated model has required more time and resources than expected. The additional funds are requested to support the response to comments on the Draft EIR and for completion of the final EIR.
The recommended Amendment No. 7 to Agreement A3716G (Agreement) with HDR Engineering, Inc. will extend the term of the Agreement and increase the Agreement amount by $999,986 for a new not-to-exceed total amount of $5,016,143.
Background
In 1996, the Guadalupe-Coyote Resource Conservation District filed a complaint with the State Water Resources Control Board alleging Valley Water’s use of its water rights licenses on the Coyote Creek, Guadalupe River and Stevens Creek degraded fish, wildlife, water quality and other beneficial uses. The ensuing negotiations resulted in a settlement agreement that stipulated actions to resolve the complaint.
The settlement agreement focuses on habitat improvements specifically for Steelhead and Chinook salmon and is intended to comprehensively address and resolve all issues in the water rights complaint and any related issues arising under State and Federal laws that concern the impacts of the Valley Water’s facilities and operation on beneficial uses.
Valley Water retained HDR Engineering, Inc. to develop the fish habitat restoration plan specified in the settlement agreement and to prepare the associated environmental review document.
Previous Board Actions
On December 10, 2013, the Board approved Agreement No. A3716G with HDR Engineering, Inc. for environmental consulting services to prepare an Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement to assess environmental impacts of Three Creeks Habitat Conservation Plan and the settlement agreement for $599,334 for a term ending on September 30, 2017.
On September 9, 2016, the Board approved Amendment No, 1 to Agreement No. A3716G in the amount of $1,058,897 to allow the Consultant to complete a modeling study workplan and revise the Program Environmental Impact Report.
On January 6, 2017, the Board approved Amendment No. 2 to Agreement No. A3716G in the amount of $1,112,274 and extend the term to June 30, 2019 to accommodate a more detailed analysis of the biological resources in the Environmental Impact Report, specifically the fisheries impacts associated with implementing the reservoir operations rule curves.
On July 17, 2017, the CEO approved Amendment No. 3 to Agreement A3716G to extend the term to June 30, 2019 to modify consultant and sub-consultant’s key staff assigned to the project, to add insurance requirements for new sub-consultant, Robertson Bryan, Inc. to perform fisheries advisory services for continuity in the Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings.
On September 25, 2018, the Board Approved Amendment No. 4 to Agreement A3716G in the amount of $1,844,986 and extend the term to June 30, 2020 to enable the evaluation of two CEQA baselines (pre-and post-seismic retrofit), multiple alternatives, and an assessment of cumulative impacts; refine the biological model and enable analysis of additional scenarios; provide for technical analysis and documentation in support of the water right change petitions; allow additional project management; and Technical Working Group, Initialing Parties, and stakeholders’ coordination and support.
On June 26, 2020, the CEO approved Amendment No. 5 to Agreement A3716G to extend the term to September 30, 2021.
On September 1, 2021, the Procurement DAO approved Amendment No. 6 to Agreement A3716G to extend the term to March 31, 2022.
Consultant Work Performed to Date
To date, the Consultant has performed the following work:
A. Organized and facilitated over 50 Technical Working Group, Initialing Parties, and stakeholder meetings to define a wide range of biological and flow modeling criteria necessary to develop the analytical models for the EIR.
B. Assisted in the development and performance analysis of the modeling tools.
C. Completed scoping and initial studies reports for the EIR and conducted a public scoping meeting.
D. Began development of the fish habitat restoration plan as specified in the settlement agreement.
E. Began complex analysis required to support two CEQA baselines required due to the interim seismic restrictions.
F. Completed public draft EIR on June 30, 2021 and public meeting on July 21, 2021
Staff has been monitoring and managing the Consultant’s performance to meet the goals and terms of the Agreement. Regular progress check-in calls are scheduled and additional meetings are conducted if necessary. Valley Water staff also performs QA/QC reviews of all deliverables received from the Consultant.
Recommended Amendment No. 7 to Agreement No. A3716G
Staff recommends approval of the Amendment No. 7, which will extend the term of the Agreement and increase the Agreement amount enabling sufficient time and funding for the following additional scope and services:
Approval of this proposed Amendment No. 7 would increase the overall agreement by an additional $999,986, resulting in a total not-to-exceed fee from $4,016,157 to
$5,016,143 and extend the term to September 30, 2023. A summary of the tasks and prior budget and the recommended Amendment is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Summary of Consultant Agreement and Amendment No. 7
AMENDMENT NO. 7
|
Task No. |
Description |
Amendment No. 1 Amount |
Amendment No. 2 Amount |
Amendment No. 4 Reallocation |
Amendment No. 4 Amount |
Amendment No. 7 Amount |
Not-To-Exceed Amount |
|
1. |
Project Management |
$228,322 |
$165,893 |
$14,202 |
$182,545 |
$26,342 |
$617,304 |
|
2. |
Scoping |
$25,526 |
$23,262 |
- |
$0 |
$0 |
$48,788 |
|
3. |
Environmental Analysis |
$284,592 |
$564,073 |
$112,283 |
$366,343 |
$0 |
$1,327,291 |
|
4. |
Administrative Draft EIR |
$444,229 |
$155,963 |
$44,375 |
$450,222 |
$9 |
$1,094,798 |
|
5. |
Public Review Draft Environmental Documents |
$7,988 |
$29,285 |
($37,273) |
$77,712 |
$0 |
$77,712 |
|
6. |
Public Meetings |
$4,738 |
$9,464 |
($14,202) |
$82,967 |
$0 |
$82,967 |
|
7. |
Prepare Final EIR*** |
$52,442 |
$59,841 |
($112,283) |
$116,698 |
$361,858 |
$478,556 |
|
|
Stillwater*** |
|
|
|
|
$150,000 |
|
|
8. |
Final EIR for Agency Approval*** |
$11,060 |
$33,315 |
($44,375) |
$62,372 |
$100,716 |
$163,088 |
|
|
Stillwater*** |
|
|
|
|
$15,000 |
|
|
9. |
Supplemental Services*** |
$0 |
$71,178 |
$37,273 |
$506,127 |
$511,061 |
$1,125,639 |
|
|
Stillwater*** |
|
|
|
|
$170,000 |
|
|
TOTAL - Not-to-Exceed Amount |
$1,058,897 |
$1,112,274 |
$0 |
$1,844,986 |
$999,986 |
$5,016,143 |
Note: Amendment No. 3, Amendment No. 5, and Amendment No. 6 did not change the cost breakdown.
*This budget was reallocated under Amendment 4, Service Order 3.
**This is the remaining budget in Task 9 after other funding reallocated under Amendment 4, Service Order 3.
***Stillwater portions of tasks are specified. The task totals include the Stillwater portion.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT UNKNOWN
Further analysis is necessary to determine the Environmental Justice impacts associated with this item and will be included in future FAHCE updates to the CEO and Board.
The FAHCE program is intended to improve conditions for fisheries in the Coyote Creek, Guadalupe River, and Stevens Creek watersheds through a combination of reservoir operation rule curves and instream habitat improvements. As part of the CEQA process, Valley Water completed scoping, prepared initial study reports for the EIR, conducted a public scoping meeting, and conducted a public meeting on the Draft EIR during the public comment period. Outreach for the public meetings was conducted via mailers, Facebook, Nextdoor, and email.
The EIR for the project analyzes the proposed reservoir operations at a project level. The analysis has demonstrated that conditions for fish below the reservoir are improved due to cooler water temperatures during summer months, increased passage for salmonids migrating in and out of the watersheds and providing additional rearing and spawning habitat within the project area. The reservoir operations rule curves continue to provide sustainable groundwater recharge throughout Valley Water’s service area and do not increase potential flooding in downstream communities.
Additionally, the program includes other measures such as improving fish passage at identified barriers, enhancement of habitat through gravel augmentation and increasing habitat complexity. These measures are not fully defined at this time and therefore they are analyzed programmatically in the EIR. FAHCE Adaptive Management Team consisting of representatives from regulatory agencies, local governmental agencies, and local environmental stakeholders will work together to develop these projects. Once the location, scope, and similar project details are developed, an analysis of potential Environmental Justice impacts will be conducted as well as outreach to potentially affected communities.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Amendment No. 7 to Agreement A3716G with HDR Engineering, Inc. for environmental consulting services will increase the agreement by an additional $999,986, resulting in a total not-to-exceed fee from $4,016,157 to $5,016,143. The approved FY2021-22 FAHCE/Three Creeks HCP Project (Project No. 92041014) budget has adequate funds at this time. Staff will request for budget adjustment if additional funding becomes necessary.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it does not have a potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Once project development is complete, a CEQA environmental analysis will be provided for the Board to consider as part of its Project approval process.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Amendment No. 7
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:Manager
John Bourgeois, 408-630-2990