DATE: April 12, 2022
SUBJECT:
Title
RESOLUTION SELECTING AND AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT WITH WOOD ENVIRONMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS INC. FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,525,000 FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE (5) YEARS, FROM JULY 1, 2022, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2027, TO IMPLEMENT THE REGIONAL HARBOR MONITORING PROGRAM AND EVALUATE THE STATUS AND TRENDS OF WATER, SEDIMENTS, AND AQUATIC LIFE IN THE REGION’S HARBORS IN COMPLIANCE WITH § 13225 OF THE CALIFORNIA WATER CODE. ALL FUNDS REQUIRED FOR FUTURE FISCAL YEARS WILL BE BUDGETED IN THE APPROPRIATE FISCAL YEAR, SUBJECT TO BOARD APPROVAL UPON ADOPTION OF EACH FISCAL YEAR’S BUDGET
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In 2003, under § 13225 of the California Water Code, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) issued a requirement to the District, Cities of San Diego and Oceanside (Cities), and the County of Orange (County) to coordinate and develop a Regional Harbor Monitoring Program (RHMP) to assess conditions and trends in the quality of water, sediments, and aquatic life in San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Oceanside Harbor, and Dana Point Harbor. Upon the Board of Port Commissioner’s approval, the District entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Cities and County in 2005 to perform a pilot project, and again in both 2008, 2013 and 2018 to create and continue a cost effective and consistent monitoring program with the District acting as the lead agency. The current MOU is valid through June 30, 2023.
Technical services and scientific expertise are needed to effectively plan and implement the RHMP. To date, the RHMP has provided valuable data to evaluate the status and trends in water and sediments in each harbor via measurements in chemistry, toxicity, benthic community analyses, and biodiversity. The District, Cities, and County are seeking a qualified service provider to conduct monitoring, analyses, reporting, and provide scientific counsel for the RHMP. The first year of the agreement will be focused on evaluating and refining the study design, while the following four years will include implementation, reporting, and special studies based on monitoring findings, as applicable.
Pursuant to BPC Policy No. 110, in November 2021, District staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking qualified firms to provide RHMP services. Three firms submitted proposals, of which all proposals were deemed acceptable and all firms were interviewed by a selection panel consisting of representatives from each RHMP agency. Inclusion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles as discussed at recent Board meetings were incorporated into the solicitation process. Based on interviews, written proposals, and a decision analysis process using the criteria stated in the RFP, staff is recommending the Board select Wood Environment and Infrastructure Solutions Inc. (Wood). Upon Board approval, Agreement #27-2022JR between the District and Wood would be executed for a period of five years, starting July 1, 2022, and continuing through June 30, 2027, for a total amount not to exceed $1,525,000.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution authorizing an agreement with Wood Environment and Infrastructure Solutions Inc. for an amount not to exceed $1,525,000 for a period of five years, from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2027, to implement the Regional Harbor Monitoring Program and evaluate the status and trends of water, sediments, and aquatic life in the region’s harbors pursuant to § 13225 of the California Water Code. All funds required for future fiscal years will be budgeted in the appropriate fiscal year, subject to Board approval upon adoption of each fiscal year’s budget.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost for the RHMP is anticipated to be $1,525,000 over the five-year duration of this agreement. Approximately $125,000 of this expenditure will occur in FY 22/23 (Phase 1), which will include planning meetings, reviewing and refining the study design, and producing planning documents. Funds for the first year of this expenditure are budgeted for in the proposed FY 22/23 Environmental Protection Professional Services Account (#620100). Funds required for future fiscal year(s) (Phase 2) will be budgeted for in the appropriate fiscal year and cost account subject to Board approval upon adoption of each fiscal year’s budget.
The MOU represents the legal authority for all RHMP agencies to participate in cost sharing for RHMP implementation. Funding will be required for the consultant services to implement the RHMP. Based on the cost share split agreed upon in the MOU, District costs account for approximately 56- percent of the total RHMP costs (Table 1). Per provisions in the MOU, the Cities and County will reimburse the District for their share of costs. In addition, a five-percent administrative cost will be divided evenly among the Cities and County based on annual expenditures, and provided to the District for overall project management and the administration of the consultant contract (Table 2). The 2018 MOU was made effective on July 1, 2018, and is due to expire on June 30, 2023. Year 1 (Phase 1; FY 22/23) of the proposed services agreement will be covered under this 2018 MOU. The future fiscal year(s) funds will be covered under a revised MOU that will be brought before the Board prior to June 30, 2023. The District estimates that an approximate 44-percent reimbursement will be billed for and received over the next five fiscal years (FY 23-27). No work for future fiscal years will commence without an authorized MOU in place.
Compass Strategic Goals:
This agenda item supports the District’s mission of promoting a comprehensive vision of water uses and environmental stewardship integrated with regional plans by partnering with the Cities of San Diego and Oceanside and the County of Orange in forming and continuing an MOU to implement the RHMP. The MOU allows the District and participating agencies to assess the conditions and long-term trends of the quality of water, sediment, and aquatic life of San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Oceanside Harbor, and Dana Point Harbor in a coordinated and cost effective manner.
This agenda item supports the following Strategic Goal(s).
• A Port with a healthy and sustainable bay and its environment.
• A Port with a comprehensive vision for Port land and water uses integrated to regional plans.
• A Port that is a safe place to visit, work and play.
DISCUSSION:
BACKGROUND
In 2003, the Regional Board, under §13225 of the California Water Code, issued a requirement for the District, Cities and County coordinate and develop a Regional Harbor Monitoring Program (RHMP) (Attachment A). The RHMP is a comprehensive effort to assess ambient conditions and trends in the quality of water, sediments, and aquatic life in San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Oceanside Harbor, and Dana Point Harbor. Following receipt of the Regional Board’s 2003 directive, the District, Cities, and County began the development of the RHMP framework. A technical report outlining the monitoring program’s objectives, approach, and sample design was completed and submitted to the Regional Board in February 2004. Monitoring questions to guide the program are as follows:
1. What are the contributions and spatial distributions of inputs of pollutants to the harbors in the San Diego region and do these inputs vary over time?
2. Are the waters in harbors safe for body contact activities?
3. Are fish in harbors safe to eat?
4. Do the waters and sediments in the harbors sustain healthy biota?
5. What are the long-term trends in water quality for each harbor?
The RHMP is an effective long-term program that provides a valuable dataset to assess the status and trends in water quality, sediment quality, and biodiversity in the harbors over time. The dataset also helps inform the RHMP agencies of progress towards goals in various environmental programs being managed in the harbors. The most recent dataset was collected in 20181.
To perform the RHMP, the District, Cities, and County rely upon qualified technical and scientific services to refine study design documents, perform monitoring, conduct analyses and reporting, and provide scientific counsel for the five-year period from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2027. The RHMP core monitoring effort is planned to correspond with the Bight Program, a large multi- agency regional monitoring effort extending from Ventura to the California/Mexico border which will take place in the summer of 2023.
The District, Cities, and County entered into an MOU in July of 2005 and again for subsequent 5-year cycles in June 2008, June 2013, and June 2018 (Attachment B). The MOU outlines the responsibilities of all parties and provides a mechanism to share the costs between the parties. The District serves as lead agency, with responsibilities that include leading meetings, acting as a liaison with the Regional Board, and administering the consultant contract to perform RHMP-related services. According to the cost share formula, the District’s share of costs amount to approximately 56-percent of the total cost, because the District efforts for San Diego Bay represent the largest harbor area. Approximately 44-percent of costs are designated to be reimbursed annually to the District from the Cities and County. Pursuant to the MOUs, the Cities and County also are required to provide the District with a 5-percent fee based on annual total costs of the service provider contract to account for administrative responsibilities, coordination efforts, and management of the service provider agreement.
The 2018 MOU will cover the first year of this new 5-year RHMP effort; it went into effect on July 1, 2018, and expires on June 30, 2023. It will support the planning and design components of this agreement. The remaining years will operate under an MOU currently being revised to reflect cost sharing requirements for FY 23/24 through FY 26/27. Once negotiations are complete, the revised MOU will be brought to the Board for authorization prior to the start of FY 23/24. No work for FY 23/24 will be initiated prior to Board approval of the MOU covering cost sharing for FY 23/24 through FY 26/27.
DEI and Procurement Process
Pursuant to BPC Policy No. 110, District staff issued an RFP seeking qualified firms to perform RHMP-related services for a not-to-exceed cost of $1,525,000 over a five-year period. The DEI principles that have been recently discussed at Board meetings have been incorporated into the solicitation process.
The RFP was advertised through Planet Bids to nine categories related to a variety of environmental services (Table 3), and were received by a total of 1,001 companies. The solicitation period was advertised for a month starting November 9, 2021, and proposals were due by December 9, 2021. DEI information for each firm was also required to be included as part of their proposal submittal packet. An information exchange meeting was held on November 17, 2021, which three firms and one analytical laboratory representative attended. Three proposals were received, and all were deemed acceptable. Table 4 identifies the firms that submitted proposals and the Project Manager hourly rates.
Per the RHMP MOU, the consultant selection required participation from all of the RHMP agencies. As such, the selection panel was comprised of one District staff member from Environmental Protection and one representative from each of the RHMP Cities and County, for a total of four panel members. The District’s DEI and Procurement Departments also participated and supported the RFP advertisement and selection process by reviewing their relevant sections and administratively supporting the RFP. The selection panel reviewed the proposals and selected all three firms for interviews.
Interviews were conducted on February 15, 2022, by the selection panel and the District’s Procurement Department. The selection panel reviewed and considered firms based on best-value to the District, given the specialty nature and complexity of this type of scientific work to meet a regulatory directive. A decision analysis was completed by the selection panel where each firm was evaluated and ranked based on the information gathered through interviews and written proposals using the following criteria: experience of proposed staff, approach to the project, capability to perform, fair and reasonable cost, and firm’s relevant experience. DEI bonus points were also included as part of the evaluation. The evaluation matrix from the Decision Analysis is included as Table 5.
Additional details about the firms interviewed are provided below.
Wood Environment and Infrastructure Solutions Inc.
Wood Environment and Infrastructure Solutions Inc. (Wood) has corporate headquarters based in Georgia and has been providing local consulting expertise related to aquatic services in Southern California since the early 1980s. Wood’s local office is located in San Diego, California. Wood’s experience related to this scope of work includes successful design and implementation of regional and long-term monitoring programs, water and sediment quality monitoring, marine resources monitoring including benthic infaunal analysis, conformance with state quality assurance protocols, Bight Program development and monitoring, and an excellent reputation with local regulators and resource agencies. Wood also has experience working with other ports, such as the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles. Wood has worked with the District for over 25 years and is currently under contract with the District to perform the following projects: 2017-2022 Regional Harbor Monitoring Program, Annual TMDL Monitoring at Shelter Island Yacht Basin, Shelter Island Yacht Basin In-Water Hull Cleaning Pause Water Project, and As-Needed Environmental Investigations. Similar clients located in Southern California include the City of San Diego, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the US Navy, the University of California at San Diego, and the San Diego Port Tenant’s Association.
Wood’s proposed team is led by Barry Snyder, as Principal-in-Charge and, and Chris Stransky, as Project Manager. Together, they bring 64 years of experience related to aquatic sciences and management of environmental projects for a diversity of clients. Both have experience working with the District performing water, sediment and biota monitoring, compliance reporting and providing scientific counsel. Both have also served in the same roles for the successful completion of both the 2013-2018 and 2018-2022 RHMP. Also included as team leads will be John Rudolph as the Program Quality Assurance Officer and Rolf Schottle for Chemistry Quality Assurance/Quality Control, as well as David Vilas (benthic data) and Pei Geng (analytical data) as two, independent Third-party reviewers.
Due to the large data sets and scope of monitoring performed, Quality Assurance and Quality Control are crucial to the success of this program. Wood presented a robust Quality Assurance/Quality Control program which the selection panel determined would be an asset to the continued success of this program and overall data quality.
Wood included subconsultants on their proposal. The subconsultant firms and their specialty related to Wood’s proposal are described below:
• MBC Aquatic Sciences- Third-party review of Benthic Data
• Laboratory Data Consultants: Third-party review of Laboratory Data
• Merkel & Associates Inc.: Field support and benthic analyses
• Sea Ventures, Inc.: Vessel support and fish trawling
Wood indicated that analytical laboratories will be added to their proposed subcontractor list once they have received Bight-accreditation, a process that is anticipated to occur this summer (2022). This is a critical aspect to project approach, as the RHMP data is required by the Regional Board to be shared with the Bight Program. As a result, all samples must be analyzed by Bight-accredited laboratories in order to be accepted by the Bight Program.
Overall, Wood demonstrated the best value to the District and to the other RHMP agencies. Their proposal and interview included an extremely well-defined approach to the project with a clear and concise list of tasks for each year of the agreement, a robust list of project-specific in-house capabilities and a well-constructed, clearly defined project team. DEI principals were incorporated into Wood’s project team, such as involving subconsultants that met the following DEI status: small business enterprise, woman owned, minority owned and disabled veteran owned. Additionally, all team leads were present for the interview and available for questions. Wood reflected on lessons learned from the 2013 and 2018 RHMP and explained how they intend to use their gained experience to successfully plan and prepare for the 2023 RHMP, including suggested changes to reporting to streamline the process. This demonstrates their ability to strive for improvement to adequately meet District and RHMP Agency needs. The Wood team has well-established relationships with regulatory agencies such as the Regional Board, which will aid in ensuring coordinated efforts with the Regional Board’s San Diego Bay Strategy moving forward.
Weston Solutions, Inc.
Weston Solutions, Inc. (Weston) has corporate headquarters based in Pennsylvania and has been providing local consulting services regarding marine science and water quality services in Southern California for 47 years. Weston’s local office is located in Carlsbad, California. Weston’s experience related to this scope of work includes water quality monitoring, fish surveys, sediment chemistry characterization, benthic community analysis, and monitoring program design. Weston has experience working with other ports, such as the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Weston has worked with the District for over 20 years on a variety of projects, including the development and implementation of the RHMP for both the Pilot Project in 2005, and again for the 2008 RHMP. Weston is currently under contract with the District to perform As-Needed Environmental Analytical Services. Similar clients located in Southern California include the City of San Diego, the County of Orange, the City of Oceanside, the County of San Diego, the City of Newport Beach and the Orange County Sanitation District.
The proposal submitted by Weston identified Andrea Crumpacker as Principal-in-Charge, and Shelia Holt as Project Manager, however, during the solicitation and interview process, the District’s communication with Weston resulted in an auto-generated message indicating that the proposed Principal-in-Charge had left the company. The submitted proposal identified the Principal-In-Charge role as having dedicated approximately 750 hours to this project. At the time of the interview, a replacement for the key role had not been identified.
Sheila Holt, the Project Manager offers 26 years of relevant experience including monitoring and reporting experience, developing and managing large and small scale multi-disciplinary marine and watershed monitoring programs for regulatory compliance, regional monitoring programs and grand-funded projects. Also included on the team is Daniel McCoy as Assistant Project Manager with 23 years of relevant experience. Additionally, Gretchen Fodor is proposed as the Quality Assurance Manager and has over 18 years of relevant experience. Pei Geng and Stella Cuenco from Laboratory Data Consultants, Inc. were both identified as analytical chemistry Third-party reviewers
Weston included subconsultants to their proposal. The firms and their specialty related to the proposal are described below:
• Laboratory Data Consultants, Inc.: Third-party quality assurance reviewer
• MBC Applied Environmental Sciences: Field sampling support
• Six Scientific: Field sampling support
• Sea Ventures: Vessel support
Overall, Weston presented a team of staff and subconsultants with industry experience and demonstrated capabilities to perform the RHMP work by showcasing representative projects, including involvement in previous Bight and RHMP programs. Weston also noted that analytical laboratories must receive Bight- accreditation, and would be added once accreditations were received. DEI principals were incorporated into Weston’s project team, such as involving subconsultants that met the following DEI status: small business enterprise, minority owned and disabled veteran owned. Weston’s proposal demonstrated past experience in developing and implementing the RHMP as well as highlighted significant experience with the Bight Program and other large scale monitoring efforts.
During the interview, Weston’s team focused primarily on the field aspect of the program and provided limited details on their proposed approach to reporting. Weston’s ability to perform the field work and data management of the project was clearly demonstrated, however their specific approach to other project components (such as the identifying tasks to complete each year of the program) was unclear. The selection panel was also concerned that Weston did not provide any information regarding a replacement for the Principal-In-Charge, a key position that was identified in their proposal to have high utilization on the project. As such, the selection panel was not able to discern how this staffing adjustment would affect the capability to execute the project.
Miller Marine Science and Consulting
Miller Marine Science and Consulting (MMSC) is a California Corporation with offices and headquarters in Aliso Viejo, CA. MMSC has been providing local marine science consulting services since 2018. MMSC’s experience related to this scope of work includes water quality measurements, benthic sampling, sediment chemistry, biological infauna community sampling and trawl sampling. MMSC did not indicate if their firm has experience working with other Ports, however their subcontractors have previous experience. MMSC has not previously worked with the District and is not currently under contract. Current MMSC clients located in Southern California include three power plant clients AES Redondo Beach LLC, AES Alamitos LLC, and AES Huntington Beach LLC, the Carlsbad Desalination Plant and Navfac Southwest.
The proposal submitted by MMSC identified Eric Miller as the Project Manager and Michael Mengel as the Overall Quality Control Officer. Together, they bring 44 years of experience related to aquatic sciences and management of environmental projects for a diversity of clients. MMSC also have three Ph.D. scientists on their team, Dr. Carlos Neira, Dr. Larry Allen and Dr. Linda Rasmussen. All three are leading experts in their respective fields of benthic ecology, fish ecology and physical oceanography.
MMSC included subconsultants to their proposal. The subconsulting firms and their specialty related to the proposal are described below:
• Anchor QEA- Data quality control and management
• Six Scientific Services and Seaventures- Field and sample collection support
• Eurofins Calscience- Analytical laboratory for water and sediment samples
• Physis- Analytical laboratory for water and sediment samples
• Dancing Coyote Environmental- Marine infaunal taxonomy support
• Enthalpy- Aquatic toxicology analytical laboratory
MMSC identified analytical laboratories they intend to use, despite the fact that the Bight-accreditation process has not started. If their proposed analytical labs are not Bight-accredited, the selection panel noted that this could lead to issues with RHMP data being accepted into the Bight Program, a program requirement.
Additionally, MMSC has proposed that the subconsultant Anchor QEA will be responsible for all aspects of the RHMP dataset and database management. This includes overseeing sample collection on the vessel, interacting with analytical laboratories and internal review of the analytical data. MMSC also identified Anchor QEA as the Third-party reviewer of the data. Specifically, the proposal identifies Ms. Cindy Fields as both the Chemistry Data Quality Control lead, and as the Third-party Quality Control lead. It was noted during the selection panel review, that the lack of an independent Third-party reviewer has the potential to compromise a critical component to the RHMP Quality Assurance/Quality Control Program.
Overall, MMSC presented a team of staff and subconsultants with industry experience and demonstrated capabilities to perform the RHMP work by showcasing representative projects, including involvement in previous Bight programs. DEI principals were incorporated into MMSC’s project team, such as involving subconsultants that met the following DEI status: small business enterprise and disabled veteran owned. In evaluating both the submitted proposal and during the interview, it was noted that although capabilities were demonstrated in all areas of the RHMP program, a majority of MMSC’s specialties appeared to be focused on fish collections and academic papers, with most of the sediment expertise coming from subconsultants. The selection panel also noted there was no clear detailed approach to the RHMP project presented. Additionally, the project personnel approach lacked clarity. For example, the MMSC Ph.D. experts were identified as consulting scientists, but the proposal did not clearly convey how and where they would be utilized on the project. This was noted as a concern because those billing rates were significantly higher than other project staff and this program is governed by an MOU that establishes firm not-to-exceed annual and program budgets.
Feedback
After the April 2022 Board of Port Commissioners Meeting, feedback will be provided to all respondents when requested.
Recommendation
Wood demonstrated the best value to the District and other RHMP agencies for the proposed scope of services. Wood clearly identified all project staff, how they would be involved, estimated number of hours each staff would be contributing and associated fully burdened hourly rates. Wood’s proposal and interview indicated a clear understanding of the needs, challenges, and strategic goals of the District and RHMP agencies and provided a detailed year by year approach to the project. Wood’s internal and Third-party Quality Assurance/Quality Control Program, a vital component to the RHMP, was thoroughly detailed. Therefore, Staff recommends that the Board authorize an agreement with Wood to provide Regional Harbor Monitoring Program Services for an amount not to exceed $1,525,000 for a period of five years, from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2027 (Attachment C).
General Counsel’s Comments:
The Office of the General Counsel reviewed this agenda and approved the proposed agreement as to form and legality.
Environmental Review:
The proposed Board action to select and authorize an agreement to implement the Regional Harbor Monitoring Program is Categorically Exempt pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15306 (Information Collection) because the project proposes to assess conditions and trends in the quality of water, sediments, and aquatic life in San Diego Bay and would not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource. No further action under CEQA is required.
In addition, the selection and authorization of an agreement to implement the Regional Harbor Monitoring Program pursuant to § 13225 of the California Water Code allows for the District to administrate its obligations under the Port Act and/or other laws. The Port Act was enacted by the California Legislature and is consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine. Consequently, the proposed presentation is consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine.
Finally, the proposed Board action is considered an “excluded development” pursuant to Section 8.f. (Information Collection) of the District’s Coastal Development Permit (CDP) Regulations; therefore, issuance of a CDP is not required.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program:
A 20% SBE goal was established for this opportunity. Of the three respondents one is an SBE. All the respondents identified subs. The recommended firm Wood Environment and Infrastructure Solutions Inc., identified four SBEs for 30% SBE participation.
PREPARED BY:
Kelly Tait
Program Manager, Environmental Protection
Attachment(s):
Attachment A: San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board 2003 Directive
Attachment B: 2018-2023 RHMP MOU
Attachment C: Agreement Between San Diego Unified Port District and Wood Environment and Infrastructure Solutions, Inc. for Regional Harbor Monitoring Program Agreement No. 27-2022JR
The 2018 San Diego Regional Harbor Monitoring Program Final Report can be accessed here: <https://pantheonstorage.blob.core.windows.net/environment/San-Diego-Regional-Harbor-Monitoring-Program-2018-FINAL-REPORT-REVISED.pdf>