BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Agreement with Northgate Environmental Management, Inc. for On-Call Environmental Site Assessment, Remedial Design, and Storm Water Management and Engineering Services for a Not-to-Exceed Fee of $500,000.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve the Agreement with Northgate Environmental Management, Inc. for On-Call Environmental Site Assessment, Remedial Design, and Storm Water Management and Engineering Services for a not-to-exceed fee of $500,000.
Body
SUMMARY:
Prior to acquiring property or a property interest, Hazardous Substance Liability Assessments (HSLAs) are conducted to determine the environmental condition of the property and the actual or potential risk of environmental contamination from such conditions. The necessity for and nature and extent of remedial actions to address the conditions are also ascertained. These steps are necessary so the District will be fully informed of the environmental conditions of any property interest acquired and as to the conditions and possible remedial measures which must be taken to address a hazardous condition relating to its public works projects. The District HSLAs are conducted in accordance with federal government regulations and industry guidelines.
The District has retained consultants to perform HSLA services for the past 23 years; a total of nine (9) consecutive consultant agreements have been awarded. Consultant services have been used for these services for the following reasons:
A. HSLA workload is highly fluctuating and unpredictable. Consultant services are used as the primary resource for completing HSLAs while maintaining the minimum in-house staff to manage the work.
B. Consultants have the specialized equipment, professional staff, and certified operators to complete HSLA services.
C. A consultant provides a third-party independent, professional assessment of the property interest being considered for acquisition. This avoids any perception of a conflict of interest during real estate transactions between the District and the property owner.
HSLAs are completed in two stages (Phase I HSLA and Phase II HSLA). When a Phase I HSLA identifies the potential presence of environmental contaminants on the property, a Phase II HSLA is required. Phase II HSLAs require site investigations (for example, soil borings and groundwater sampling) be conducted to confirm the presence of environmental contaminants on the property. When there is known soil and/or groundwater subsurface contamination, remedial design may be required and may include targeted contaminated soil and groundwater remediation and disposal. Remedial design engineering services are also included in the Consultant’s scope of services described in the recommended Agreement.
Storm water management services described in this Agreement include identification and implementation of applicable requirements of the State of California’s Storm Water Construction General Permit and the Municipal Regional Permit for District projects.
Consultant Selection Process
On July 24, 2017, staff published a Request for Proposals (RFP) for on-call environmental site assessment, remedial design, and storm water management and engineering services. The RFP was distributed to firms on the District’s self-registered list of WQ31 Environmental Site Assessment - Hazmat Investigation. In addition, the RFP was posted on the District’s Contract Administration System internet portal.
During the six-week advertisement period, staff issued two addendums to clarify details in the RFP and to respond to questions received from interested consultants. Nine proposals were received by the proposal submittal deadline of September 6, 2017.
A Consultant Review Board (CRB), consisting of two subject matter experts from the District’s Water Utility Capital Division and one external subject matter expert, evaluated and ranked the nine written proposals and held an oral review board. Based on the combined (written and oral) rating scores, the CRB recommended that staff undertake contract negotiations with Northgate Environmental Management, Inc., the highest-rated firm.
On December 20, 2017 staff initiated agreement negotiations with Northgate Environmental Management, Inc.
Consultant Agreement and Scope of Services
The recommended consultant agreement with Northgate Environmental Management, Inc. includes the required tasks and budget to perform services for Phase I and II HSLAs and related services, and storm water management and engineering services.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The not-to-exceed fee for this Agreement is $500,000 for a term of three years from the date of execution of the Agreement. This is a standing order that will not be encumbered but rather will be funded by budgeted funds from the appropriate operations and capital project when a task order is issued.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have the potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. CEQA requirements for the work performed on particular properties will be address on a project-by-project basis.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Agreement
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Katherine Oven, 408-630-3126