RFQ - 2021-2025 US EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant project

The City of Sandusky (City) invites qualified professional environmental consulting and design firms to submit qualifications to undertake the 2021-2025 US EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant project. The City of Sandusky has entered into a Cooperative Agreement (CA) with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) for the Community-wide Assessment Grant (Project). Per the CA the award will provide funding for to the City to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct cleanup planning and community involvement related activities. The total grant award is $500,000. The City will negotiate and manage a sub-grantee agreement with one or more qualified consultant(s) for the total $495,000 that is allocated for contractual purposes. The City has administered previous Brownfield remediation programs and is excited to continue to build on past successes. All work will be completed under the direction of an Ohio Voluntary Action Program (VAP) Certified Professional. In addition, all work will conform to the standards under the Ohio Voluntary Action Program, unless the Certified Professional determines that an American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) E1527-13 Phase I (or possibly ASTM 1527-21). or ASTM E1903-19 Phase II is only required. The assessment of sites with underground storage tanks present will be conducted using the ASTM industry accepted protocols and will comply with the regulatory standards of the State of Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of the State Fire Marshall, Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR). All sites selected by the City for assessment under the petroleum grant program will be submitted to BUSTR for review and approval before proceeding with the assessment work. As part of this process, City legal staff will assist in preparing site access agreements, reviewing potential liabilities, and aiding with other required legal services under the grants. At a minimum, the selected consultant(s) will be required to take the lead on or assist the City with drafting, designing, coordinating and implementing the following: 1. Inventory and prioritize sites 2. Prepare Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) 3. Community outreach 4. Complete BUSTR Tier I and Tier II Assessments 5. Risk Assessments 6. Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) 7. Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) 8. Remedial Action Plans (RAP) 9. Cost estimates 10. Reporting and documentation - ACRES, quarterly reports, annual reports In addition to these tasks, the selected consultant(s) will be responsible for adhering to the schedule and the Administrative Conditions detailed in the attached Cooperative Agreement and Work Plan. The grant application was prepared and submitted to US EPA by the City of Sandusky, Department of Community Development in 2021. A copy of the application The selected firms will be subject to federal contract requirements, including, but not limited to, Minority Business Enterprise/Womens Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE) program, project certification process and minimum Federal (Davis-Bacon) wage rates, where applicable. Final deliverables will be discussed during the Scope of Services negotiations with the selected firm(s). The selected firm(s) must develop and adhere to a design schedule as proposed by the City of Sandusky but based on the cooperative agreement. The City of Sandusky will form a Selection Committee comprised of officials from various departments within the City to review Qualifications. The Selection Committee will evaluate and select the most qualified consultant(s). Competitive price selection will not be utilized under the selection process. The following criteria will be used in the consultant selection process: Strength of project manager, VAP professional and strength/experience of key team members and proposed subcontracted firms key personnel Past performance and experience with projects of similar scope and size, including experience with facilitating dynamic community engagement and outreach process Demonstrated understanding of historical and future issues facing the City and region Innovative project approach, which includes all listed items in the Scope of Work, including community outreach Location of key staff Based on the qualifications submitted, the Selection Committee may conduct interviews of firms that best demonstrate an understanding of the Citys objectives and that adequately addressed all elements of the RFQ. Whether interviews are performed or not, the City shall enter into contract negotiations with the preferred firm to determine the final scope of services and project budget. If negotiations fail, the City shall enter into negotiations with the second highest ranked firm. This process shall continue until a contract is successfully negotiated or the City determines to issue a second RFQ. The contract must be approved by Sandusky City Commission. All qualifications shall be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, age, mental or physical disabilities, veteran/reserve/national guard or any other similarly protected status. Please email submission to Megan Stookey, Project Coordinator - Dept of Public Works mstookey@ci.sandusky.oh.us. If you have questions, please contact at 419-627-5878 The method of contractor selection has not been determined at this time.

Division 00 -	Procurement and Contracting Requirements.
Division 01 -	General Requirements.
Division 02 -	Existing Conditions.