RFQ-Richardson Water Treatment Plant- Concentrate Treatment

1 Request for Qualifications Professional Engineering Consulting Services Richardson Water Treatment Plant- Concentrate Treatment Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Wilmington, North Carolina 7/05/2022 General Information Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) requests Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) from consulting engineering firms associated with program management experience and a successful track record with treatment of per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) in groundwater, hydrogeology, familiarity with water distribution main design and NPDES requirements. The Richardson Water Treatment Plant (RWTP) is in Northern New Hanover County and treats groundwater obtained from the Castle Hayne and PeeDee Aquifers to produce about 7 million gallons of drinking water per day (mgd). The plant treats raw water using reverse osmosis (RO) skids. RO concentrate is discharged to the Intracoastal Waterway through a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. The

purpose of this Request for Qualifications is to obtain submittals from qualified engineering firms to evaluate treatment solutions for removal of PFAS in the RO concentrate waste stream. The project will consist of piloting treatment solutions for PFAS removal, developing a preliminary engineering report, engineering design, permitting, and assistance with obtaining construction bids and awarding a contract to construct the project. Construction phase engineering services may be negotiated at a later date. Effective treatment solutions should include, but not limited to, granular activated carbon (GAC), ion exchange resins and/or high-pressure membrane systems treatment technologies. Submission of a Statement of Qualification (SOQ) Consulting engineering firms are invited to submit a Statement of Qualification to the CFPUA to be received no later than 2:00 PM on July 27, 2022. Submittals received after this deadline will not be considered. CFPUA will address questions regarding the RFQ until 2:00 PM on July 19, 2022. Questions submitted after this time will not addressed. Questions concerning this advertisement should be directed to Julia Faircloth, Procurement Manager, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, at bids@cfpua.org. SOQ’s shall be limited to 25-pages or less, excluding cover page, table of contents, tabs, resumes and appendices. mailto:bids@cfpua.org 2 Firms shall submit their statement of qualifications for consideration in .pdf format to bids@cfpua.org. Maximum file size for .pdf submission is 25MB. A reply will be sent to the email address submitting the statement of qualifications to confirm receipt. It is the submitting firms’ responsibility to confirm that CFPUA has received statement of qualifications via email. If email reply is not received from bids@cfpua.org, please call 910-332-6472 or 910-332-6589 before deadline for submission. Submitted information shall comply with N.C.G.S. 143-64.31 through 64.34 (aka Mini Brooks Act). All SOQ’s will be evaluated by a CFPUA selection team. One firm will be selected from this request for qualifications. Description of Services The scope of work is expected to include the services necessary to accomplish the objectives described below. No guarantee is expressed or implied by the CFPUA that all services will be performed or that the selected consultant will perform all services associated with the project. The CFPUA may terminate work or pursue other consultant selections at any phase of the project. Overall objectives of this project are: 1. Make recommendations and assist CFPUA with pilot study. 2. Prepare a predesign memorandum (PER) including evaluating existing infrastructure, alternative evaluation and analyses, phasing, and cost estimates. 3. Obtain all necessary permits. 4. Provide detailed design drawings and technical specifications 5. Assist in the construction bid and award phase, review all bids, provide a letter of recommendation to award the construction contract and providing a certified tabulation of construction bids received for the project. Additional services for construction management support may be negotiated once funding is approved. Schedule The CFPUA selection team will place strong emphasis on a firm’s ability to meet the schedule of deliverables outlined below. The selected consultant will be expected to complete final plans and specification in accordance with the project schedule shown below, or sooner. CFPUA will provide comments on all design submittals generally within 2 weeks from the date received. o Advertise RFQ July 5, 2022 o Consultants submit SOQ July 27, 2022 o Complete SOQ review and award August 10, 2022 o Complete Scope and Contract August 17, 2022 o Notice to proceed September 1, 2022 mailto:bids@cfpua.org 3 o Pilot Study Initiation December 16, 2022 o Predesign Memorandum January 3, 2023 o 100% Designs May 3, 2023 o Permitting July 3, 2023 o Bidding September 6, 2023 Consultant Selection CFPUA will follow a qualifications-based selection process. Consultants must demonstrate their level of competence and qualification, and each sub-consultant's level of competence and qualification, with respect to the listed evaluation factors for the needed services. SOQ’s will be evaluated based on the following four (4) considerations and the level of importance for each consideration. The SOQ shall be formatted consistent with the evaluation consideration. Criteria shown under each of the four (4) considerations are to be addressed in the SOQ. Consultant’s may provide additional information, as necessary. 1. Project understanding and approach (25%) a. Understanding of project drivers and success factors b. Approach for the work and to keep the project on schedule 2. Relevant firm experience with assessment and design of water and sewer infrastructure in similar environmental conditions (30%) a. Projects of similar size and scope b. References and descriptions of similar projects 3. Overall staff experience proposed for this project (30%) a. Staff Workflow Chart (including subconsultants relevant to this project) b. Size of the firm’s professional and technical staff with experience relevant to this project c. Individual team members for each discipline and relevant experience d. Location of each team member to facilitate efficient project execution 4. Record of success by the consultant (15%) a. Managing design and construction costs within project budgets and design estimates b. Record of project success, demonstrated by work previously performed for CFPUA or similar work performed for others A more detailed scope of work and fee schedule will be negotiated with the best qualified firm. If negotiations are not successful with any selected firm, CFPUA will terminate negotiations with that firm and initiate negotiations with the next best qualified firm. When a fair and reasonable fee is established, a contract award recommendation will be made to the CFPUA Board for its consideration. 4 Insurance Requirements The following criteria will be deemed necessary for selection: • The firm must meet the following insurance requirements. Workers Compensation may be waived if firm has no employees. • General Liability $1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate. Authority must be additional insured and endorsement required. • Workers Compensation $500,000/$500,000/$500,000. Waiver of Subrogation against the Authority and endorsement required. • Auto Liability Insurance $1,000,000 per occurrence combined single limits applicable to claims due to bodily injury and/or property damage. Authority must be additional insured and endorsement required. • Professional Liability not less than $2,000,000 per loss. • Any firm wishing to be considered must be properly registered with the Office of the Secretary of State. Notification The selected firms will be notified by telephone and/or email. The CFPUA reserves the right to reject any and all Proposals. CFPUA will address questions regarding the RFQ until 2:00PM on July 19, 2022. Questions submitted after this time will not addressed. Any questions concerning this advertisement should be directed to Julia Faircloth, Procurement Manager, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, at bids@cfpua.org by July 19, 2022, at 2:00pm. mailto:bids@cfpua.org