Request for Qualifications for the Design of Stormwater Treatment Practices – Forest Acres Road, New London, NH

Messer Pond Protective Association

Request for Qualifications for Engineering Services

Messer Pond Watershed-based Implementation Plan

Forest Acres Road Culverts and BMPs

New London, NH

Posted date: April 30, 2020                        Due Date: June 5, 2020 by 5:00 pm EST

INTRODUCTION:

 The Messer Pond Protective Association (MPPA) is soliciting Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from interested civil and environmental engineering firms for the design of small-scale stormwater treatment practices in New London, New Hampshire.  The goals of this effort are based on the analysis and recommendations detailed in the Messer Pond Watershed-based Implementation Plan (Plan), developed by Base Flow, LLC, and dated April 4, 2016.  The Plan can be viewed at: Plan and Appendices.  All design work must be completed per the analysis notes outlined in the Plan and be in conformance with the Project Description and Scope of Required Services below.

This project will be funded by a grant from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) with Clean Water Act Section 319 funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Contractor selection will be through a Qualification Based Selection (QBS) process.   The NHDES Grant Proposal can be viewed at: NHDES Watershed Assistance Grant Documentation.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Plan outlines recommendations to mitigate the nonpoint source (NPS) nutrient and sediment loading into Messer Pond.  The focus of this project is the improvement of three stream crossings and the design of stormwater management practices at Site 3 and Site 7, as identified in the Plan.  Specifically, the objective is to replace two undersized culverts on Forest Acres Road, review the placement and possible resetting of a third culvert  and mitigate the amount of road material and up-stream sand from entering these three culvert systems on Forest Acres Road.  The overall effort includes a site survey, a wetland delineation, the development of a construction plan with material list, an initial and on-going maintenance plan and a sampling plan to evaluate the BMP’s performance.

SITE DESCRIPTION:

Forest Acres Road is the only dirt road bordering Messer Pond.  There is evidence of storm water runoff flowing into Messer Pond from sediment, road salts and drainage ditch erosion from both sides of the road.

There are three stream crossings along Forest Acres Road. These culvert systems are only eight to ten feet away from either side of the road. Two of the culvert systems are undersized and do not meet existing design standards.  Based on an inspection, a third culvert system is believed to be mispositioned and inhibiting the flow of the stream at that road crossing.

In addition, at two of the stream crossings, a field survey conducted on 7/17/2019 observed an excessive amount of sand and sediment upstream of these locations. It was noted that the accumulation of material is far enough away from Forest Acres Road that it is believed not to be caused by stormwater runoff from the road.

Photographs of the site are available at: Site Documentation.

RESULTS TO BE ACHIEVED THROUGH PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS:

Develop construction plans and acquire the required permits to replace culverts systems at two stream crossings with appropriately sized pipes.

  • Investigate the placement of a third culvert system and if required develop construction plans and acquire the required permits to reorient the culvert system.
  • Working within the right-of-way along Forest Acres Road, develop BMPs to mitigate the nutrient and sediment loading from the initial flush of any storm event (first one inch), in a way that prevents storm water runoff from directly entering the culvert system at the three stream crossings.
  • Complete a field survey to identify source of upstream sediment loading at Nutter and Haas Brooks.

SCOPE OF REQUIRED SERVICES:

 Preparation of Site Specific Project Plan (SSPP):

  1. Assist the MPPA with the development of an SSPP for implementation of the Messer Pond Watershed Plan – Phase 2 – Forest Acres Road, Browns Brook, Fieldstone Lane and County Road BMPs as described in the full proposal submitted to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services by:
  • Developing the sections of the SSPP that describe/explain the data analysis, modeling and assessment methodology used to select and execute pollutant load reduction models to evaluate the efficiency of all BMPs installed as part of this NHDES Grant Proposal.
  • Updating the SSPP to address all comments from reviews by NHDES and the EPA; such that the final document meets all NHDES and EPA approval requirements.

Development of a design package for the stormwater management practices to achieve the results identified in 1 through 4 above under “RESULTS TO BE ACHIEVED THROUGH PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS” and identified in the NHDES Watershed Assistance Grant Documentation. The design package and associated work shall include:

  1. Construction-ready plans for the stream crossings that ideally can be installed in 5 days and include proposed construction sequences, site preparation/stabilization plans and schedules.
  2. Perform ROW and site features survey to locate existing edge of pavement, centerline, adjacent shoulders and side slopes, wetlands flags, culverts and swales within the limits of work.
  3. Site drawings that identify the specific areas of interest (with dimensions). The drawings need to identify the location of utilities, Right of Ways, zoning setback as recorded by the Town of New London and deed information as recorded in the Merrimack County Registry of Deeds.
  4. Prepare and submit wetland permit for all work
  5. Perform a wetland delineation and provide supporting documentation
  6. Material lists
  7. Initial maintenance plan that will allow for establishment of the BMPs
  8. Development of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) plan to preserve the integrity of the BMPs
  9. Calculate estimated pollutant load reductions for sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen to be achieved by the design in accordance with NHDES approved methods and the SSPP.
  10. Review current water sampling plan and recommend any additions to allow for the performance of the BMPs to be monitored and verified.

OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE:

  1. It is anticipated that items 1 – 8 in the Scope of Required Services will be completed by August 15, 2020 to allow for construction to start on/around September 1, 2020. Construction is anticipated to last 5 days. The remainder of the work specified in the Scope of Required Services must be completed within a month of the end of construction.
  2. Given that the construction of this design will be done by the Town of New London Department of Public Works (DPW,) on town road right of ways, it is expected that a knowledgeable representative of the firm will be available in a timely manner to inspect construction work, answer questions and/or respond to any reasonable request of the MPPA staff or the Town of New London DPW.
  3. Funding for the project detailed in this solicitation is provided in part with Clean Water Act Section 319 funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency obtained through an agreement with NHDES. The contract award will be contingent upon compliance with all applicable rules and regulations of the State of New Hampshire as well as requirements applicable to use of federal grant funds.

[NOTE: Due to the current COVID-19 outbreak; the funding approval processes at the state and federal levels have been delayed.  The contract award will also be contingent on final approval from the EPA, the NHDES and the NH Governor’s Executive Council.]

4. Insurance Requirements: The selected firm must submit proof of liability and workers compensation prior to execution of the contract including comprehensive public liability insurance coverage amounts of not less than $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate.

  1. Hold Harmless: The contractor agrees to indemnify and hold harmless MPPA and Town of New London from any and all liability loss or damage, including but not limited to bodily injury, illness, death, or property damage, which the firm becomes obligated to pay, including reasonable attorney’s fees, investigative and discovery costs, as a result of claims, demands, costs or judgments against the MPPA or the Town of New London arising out of this agreement, caused by or arising out of the negligence, fault, breach of warranty, product liability or strict liability of the firm, the MPPA or the Town of New London, whether such negligence, fault, breach of warranty, products liability, or strict liability is sole, joint, or several.

EVALUATION PROCESS:

Qualifications will be evaluated and ranked according to the following criteria (weighted equally):

  1. Capacity of firm and personnel to perform required scope of services within specified timeframe.
  2. Experience on similar projects, developing designs and construction-ready plans for small scale stormwater treatment practices.
  3. Experience working and interfacing with small, municipal boards, commissions and departments.
  4. Clarity and presentation of qualifications package.
  5. References check.

The MPPA reserves the right to interview, either in person or over the phone, candidates as part of the selection process.

The MPPA and the Town of New London DPW will evaluate all responses.  Determination of qualifications and rank is at the sole discretion of the MPPA following the criteria and procedure detailed in this RFQ. Failure to submit all information called for may be sufficient grounds for disqualification.

SELECTION PROCESS:

Complete submittals will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria set forth under the “Evaluation Process.” A scope and cost proposal will then be requested from the highest ranked qualified firm. Should an agreement not be reached, negotiations will proceed with the second ranked firm and so forth. The contract may be awarded to the firm that most closely satisfies the needs of the MPPA and is deemed to be the most advantageous to the MPPA. The MPPA reserves the right to reject any and all proposals not conforming to the “Scope of Required Services” and “Other Terms and Conditions of Service”. The contract shall be made only with responsible firms who possess the potential ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of the proposed procurement.

This RFQ does not commit the MPPA to award a contract or to pay any costs incurred during the preparation of the applicant’s RFQ response. The MPPA reserves the right to reject any or all responses, or portions thereof, to negotiate separately with any source whatsoever, or to cancel this request at any time for any reason allowable under applicable rules and laws.

REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATION:

  1. Name and address of firm; name, title, phone and email for contact person.
  2. Description of other projects designed by this firm similar to this project.
  3. Contact information for 2 – 3 references.
  4. A brief description of the firm’s approach to planning, designing and implementing the project, including expectations of client.
  5. Principal team members’ roles, availability, qualifications and experience

Note: You are invited to include a maximum of one page of information not covered above, which you feel may be useful.

Electronic copies of your Statement of Qualification should be emailed in PDF format to John Doyle at johndoyle@messerpond.org no later than Friday June 5, 2020.

Questions:

Any questions about this RFQ must be submitted via email to John Doyle at johndoyle@messerpond.org.  Questions will be answered in a summary digest. The summary digest will be provided to firms who contact the MPPA and request to be put on an e-mail list to receive the digest. The cut-off date for questions and requests to be put on the e-mail list to receive the summary of questions and answers is May 25, 2020.  Please e-mail John Doyle at johndoyle@messerpond.org to be put on the e-mail list to receive responses.  

The summary digest will be provided via e-mail on May 27, 2020 to all firms on the response list.

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