COUNTY OF MONTEREY CONTRACTS/PURCHASING DIVISION 1488 SCHILLING PLACE SALINAS, CA 93901 (831) 755-4990 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS #10646 Consultant for Long-Term Salinas River Management Plan; Multi-Element (Inter- Lake Tunnel and Spillway Modification) Habitat Conservation Plan Phase. For The County of Monterey Resource Management Agency Proposals are due by 3:00 pm PST February 1, 2018 Page 1 of 48 (THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK) Page 2 of 48 TABLE OF CONTENTS: SOLICITATION DETAILS SECTION.................................................................................... 4 1.0 INTENT .............................................................................................................................. 5 2.0 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................. 5 3.0 CALENDAR OF EVENTS ................................................................................................. 8 4.0 COUNTY POINTS OF CONTACT ................................................................................... 9 5.0 SCOPE OF WORK ............................................................................................................. 9 6.0 CONTRACT TERM ......................................................................................................... 12 7.0 LICENSING/INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS .......................................................... 12 8.0 PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................... 13 9.0 SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS & CONDITIONS ........................................................ 17 10.0 SELECTION CRITERIA ................................................................................................ 18 11.0 PRICING ......................................................................................................................... 19 12.0 PREFERENCE FOR LOCAL CONTRACTORS .......................................................... 19 13.0 CONTRACT AWARDS ................................................................................................. 20 14.0 PREVAILING WAGE .................................................................................................... 20 15.0 SEQUENTIAL CONTRACT NEGOTIATION ............................................................. 20 16.0 AGREEMENT TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS ........................................................ 21 17.0 COLLUSION .................................................................................................................. 21 18.0 RIGHTS TO PERTINENT MATERIALS ..................................................................... 21 ATTACHMENTS/EXHIBITS AND SIGNATURE PAGE ................................................... 23 SIGNATURE PAGE ............................................................................................................... 24 ATTACHMENT A – PRICING ............................................................................................. 25 ATTACHMENT B ~ LOCAL BUSINESS DECLARATION FORM .................................. 26 Page 3 of 48 SOLICITATION DETAILS SECTION Page 4 of 48 1.0 INTENT 1.1 The Monterey County Water Resources Agency (“MCWRA”), acting through its ex-officio Contract Purchasing Officer (the Monterey County Contracts and Purchasing Office), sometimes referred to herein as (“County”), is soliciting proposals for a qualified consultant for the initiation of a phased project that will result in the creation of a Long-Term Salinas River Management Plan, hereinafter referred to as (“Plan”). The first phase of this work will include the development of the draft Plan. Then, utilizing this Plan as a foundation, the subsequent phases will include the development and implementation of a multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan (“HCP”). It is anticipated that both United States (US) Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service covered species will be addressed in the HCP. Phase I funding for the development of the draft Plan is in place and additional phases will be authorized as funding is secured. The County is requesting bids from qualified agencies for all phases of the project at this time. The Agency contemplates that it may utilize the successful proposer, without further procurement processes, to prepare the Plan HCP. In addition, Agency may engage the same successful proposer to provide the same or similar services to add or include the Agency’s contemplated Inter-Lake Tunnel and Spillway Modification Project (“ILT”) in the HCP. 1.1.1 References in this RFP to “County” shall also mean “Agency,” except where the context otherwise requires. 1.2 If the Agency determines to add the ILT in the HCP for the Plan, and if the Agency determines to engage the successful proposer to prepare the ILT HCP, then Agency and consulting entity will negotiate the scope and terms of that ILT engagement. It is the intent of the Agency to preserve the option of contracting with the successful proposer for future HCP services for the ILT by either amendment of this agreement or subsequent agreement, and without a further procurement process. The Agency in its sole discretion will decide whether to whether to proceed with the HCP for either the Plan or ILT, or both. If the Agency decides to proceed with the HCP, the Agency in its sole discretion will decide whether to engage the successful proposer under this Request to provide those HCP services. 1.3 This solicitation is not intended to create an exclusive service AGREEMENT. 2.0 BACKGROUND 2.1 The Agency was formed under Chapter 699 of the California Statues of 1947 as the Monterey County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (“District”). In 1990, the District was renamed the Monterey County Water Resources Agency and Page 5 of 48 the mandate includes control of flood and storm waters, conservation of such waters through percolation and storage, monitoring of groundwater extraction, reclamation of water, and the construction and operation of hydroelectric facilities. The Agency owns and operates Nacimiento and San Antonio dams and reservoirs. The reservoirs are managed for the combined goals of flood protection, water conservation, Salinas Valley Water Project (“SVWP”) operation, and recreation. These reservoirs are located in the Salinas River Basin, northwest of Paso Robles, California. The Nacimiento and San Antonio watersheds are situated along the boundaries of Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties. In 2007, the Agency was issued a United States Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE” or “Corps”) permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) for the SVWP. The USACE permit (No. 24976S) was for authorization to discharge “approximately 1.2 acres of fill to construct a seasonal diversion dam in the Salinas River” (i.e. the Salinas River Diversion Facility (“SRDF”) (USACE, 2007)). Both the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFW”) issued Biological Opinions (“BO”) for the SVWP in 2007. The NMFS BO incorporated the “Salinas Valley Water Project Prescription for Steelhead Trout (Flow Prescription) in 2005 (MCWRA, 2005). The Flow Prescription defines flow requirements and operational targets for managing South- Central California Coast steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss or O. Mykiss) in the Salinas River. Among the general conditions included in the USACE permit was an expiration date of January 1, 2017. Therefore, “take” of the species addressed in the associated BOs could assume to expire with the terms of the USACE permit, on January 1, 2017. In a letter to NMFS, dated August 5, 2016, the USACE, San Francisco District, Regulatory Division reinitiated ESA consultation for the SVWP, stating: “This letter serves to reinitiate section 7 consultation pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. §§ 1531- 1544) (33 C.F.R § 325.2(b)(5)), regarding construction activities associated with the Department of the Army Clean Water Act section 404 Permit No. 24976S for the Monterey County Water Resources Agency's Salinas Valley Water Project.” With this letter, the Corps is reinitiating formal consultation in accordance with 50 C.F.R. § 402.14(e) and 50 C.F.R. § 600.905(b).” (It should be noted that there has been no re-initiation of consultation with USFWS.) Any new or revised BO that may be issued under this process will have a very short permit term (i.e. three years). Many of the Agency’s activities have no direct Page 6 of 48 federal nexus thereby creating the need for a HCP to ensure compliance with the ESA for selected Agency operations after any new BO expires. In 2013, the Agency conducted a series of public meetings in the Salinas Valley to gather ideas and feedback for the development of a Long-term Salinas River Management Plan. The information gathered in those meetings confirmed the need for a long-term plan that could be developed with local stakeholder input and participation. The Agency has received grant funding from the California Coastal Conservancy for the development of a Long-term Salinas River Management Plan (Phase 1). It is anticipated that this Plan will address several re-occurring issues in the Salinas River Watershed including, but not limited to: 1. Salinas River Stream Maintenance Program1 (after current program permits expire) 2. Salinas River Lagoon suitability as rearing habitat for O. Mykiss 3. Salinas River Lagoon flooding and sandbar management 4. Old Salinas River suitability as