Project Name: Soil Bank Feasibility Study and Model Code Creation for Certain Regions in Central Washington Impacted by Lead Arsenate Contamination
Release Date: 12/1/2021
Company Name: Washington State Association of Counties
Address: 206 Tenth Avenue SE Olympia, WA 98501
Procurement Contact Person(PCP): Paul Jewell
Telephone Number of PCP: 360.753.1886
Email Address of PCP: pjewell@wsac.org
Created in 1906, the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) is a voluntary, non-profit association serving Washington’s 39 counties. WSAC members include elected county commissioners, council members, and executives.
The Association provides various services to its member counties, including advocacy, training, workshops, and a forum to network and share best practices. The Association also serves as an umbrella for affiliate organizations representing county road engineers, local public health officials, county administrators, county planners, emergency managers, county human service administrators, solid waste managers, clerks of county boards, and others.
Counties have direct responsibility for law enforcement, road maintenance, land use controls, planning and permitting, and other administrative duties for the land areas in the county outside of cities (unincorporated lands). Such lands typically include agriculture, residential, industrial, light commercial, forestry, recreational, or other uses usually found in rural areas. However, unincorporated lands may also have densely zoned and developed properties that are more urban. They may be designated for such growth anticipating future annexation by a city or historically were characterized by such use.
As growth in areas including denser, urban-style uses expands over time, it may encroach on surrounding pre-existing land uses that are not urban. Such pre-existing land uses and corresponding practices may not be compatible with dense urban development and may require remediation before conversion.
Tree fruit orchards have been an important economic and cultural resource in Central Washington communities since the late 1800s. Population growth and increasing demand for housing have resulted in the conversion of historical orchard sites to other nonagricultural uses, including residential developments. Historical application of lead arsenate (LA) pesticides on tree fruit orchards has resulted in the accumulation of lead and arsenic in shallow soil at concentrations above the Washington State cleanup levels. These are levels that may be harmful to human health when properties are used for activities other than agricultural or industrial uses.[1] Most of the impacted areas are in Yakima, Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan, and Benton counties.
Counties work closely with the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) on numerous issues, including the cleanup of contaminated sites. Ecology is charged with implementing the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), the environmental cleanup law for Washington State. Counties are charged with permit issuance authority for most land use, development, and construction activities on properties within their jurisdiction. As growth in Central Washington counties creates conversion of historical orchard lands, compliance with MTCA where LA pesticide contamination may be present is required.
To address this issue, Ecology established the Legacy Pesticide Working Group (LPWG) in December 2019.[2] The LPWG developed a model remedy to address LA pesticide contamination for new residential development, including specific guidance on soil sampling and cleanup methods. Some of the cleanup alternatives included in the model remedy rely upon the availability of clean, replacement soils. One way to ensure clean, replacement soils are available is to create and operate soil banks in the impacted regions.
There are numerous ways to implement the model remedy. However, to implement it effectively in the most efficient manner, it may need to be incorporated into local government permit review processes and development codes. A permit review process that includes the model remedy should be conducted in partnership with Ecology to ensure applicants meet all legal requirements.
Counties and cities are very diverse, even when located within the same region of the state. Their development codes and review processes may vary significantly. However, all counties and cities must meet the same standards for permit review and issuance under state law. Developing a model code for incorporating the model remedy into the development codes and permitting process of a city or county may greatly assist local governments in working with Ecology. It may also assist applicants in meeting legal requirements for addressing LA pesticide contamination while successfully developing new projects.
There are two goals for this project:
The model remedy process encourages property owners not to export contaminated soil, but instead to cap soil with hard surfaces or clean soil. In case there is greater need for clean soil, this project will study and assess the feasibility of a local or regional system of soil banks in Central Washington. This could include conversion of an existing solid waste facility, an additional use at an existing facility, or a new facility. Uses for the soil banks include:
The feasibility study will also research and document the validity, feasibility, and sustainability of future soil bank locations and operation and maintenance by public, private, or public-private partnership entities. It will include the evaluation of options for the potential beneficial reuse of LA contaminated soil consistent with applicable solid waste regulations.
The minimum elements to be included in the feasibility study are:
To facilitate the implementation of the model remedy developed by the LPWG, this project will also create model codes and processes that local government permitting agencies may adopt. These codes and processes are needed to assist local Central Washington cities and counties in creating a uniform, predictable, transparent, and efficient approach to ensure parcels proposed for development that may contain LA contaminants are identified and properly cleaned up or mitigated as part of development or construction.
The model codes and processes creation must include the following:
The selected firm will work collaboratively with WSAC, Ecology, and the Lead Arsenate Model Remedy Implementation Steering Committee (LA Steering Committee) members who will oversee and assist in designing and directing the project. The selected firm will meet with the LA Steering Committee at regular intervals to provide direction and oversight and receive information. The selected firm will also be expected to work with local Central Washington city and county planning offices to identify potential locations for LA contaminated and removed soils and clean replacement soils. The selected firm will also be expected to attend meetings in Central Washington communities to inform and accept comments on the project.
WSAC will finalize a detailed scope of work after Ecology, and the selected firm has an opportunity to consider the project goals, the contractor’s proposal for meeting the goals, and any reasonable limitation that may exist or assumptions that must be made. The final scope of work will be negotiated between WSAC and the selected firm.
The consultant may outline other items deemed necessary to complete the project successfully.
A pre-proposal webinar meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 14 at 2:00 PM, Pacific time. To facilitate a timely response to questions at the pre-proposal conference, prospective contractors are requested to submit any questions in writing no later than Tuesday, December 7. All questions and requests for an invitation to the webinar may be submitted to the following address:
pjewell@wsac.org
Subject Line: Soil Bank Feasibility and Model Code Development Pre-Proposal Meeting
Representatives of WSAC and Ecology will participate in the contractor selection process.
Within ten days of the submittal deadline, WSAC and Ecology will review the proposals and schedule one-hour interviews with each qualified responding firm. After the initial interviews, WSAC may select a firm or may schedule subsequent interviews.
The final selection is anticipated no later than January 14, 2021.
All submissions related to this RFP must be submitted by Tuesday, December 28, 2021, at 3:00 PM.
Submissions must be sent via email in .pdf format to the following email address:
pjewell@wsac.org
Subject Line: Soil Bank Feasibility and Model Code Development Submittal
All submissions must be received no later than the date and time listed above in this section to be considered responsive.
The anticipated completion date for this project is May 30, 2023, or sooner. WSAC and the selected firm will agree to a schedule before the commencement of the work.
All submissions must meet the requirements of this section to be considered. The response to this RFP must be complete. Partial or incomplete responses will not be considered. Responses should be concise, clear, and relevant. Submittals must be on standard letter size paper, and pages must be numbered.
A submission must, at a minimum, include the following elements in the following order:
A table of contents with corresponding tabs should be included to identify each section. WSAC reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or waive technicalities and informalities at the sole discretion of WSAC.
The successful firm should (in no particular order):
This RFP is not in itself an offer of work. It does not commit WSAC to fund any proposals submitted, nor is WSAC liable for any costs incurred in preparing or researching proposals. Submittal of a proposal does not constitute a contract with WSAC. The contract award will not be final until WSAC and the successful proposer have executed a mutually satisfactory contractual agreement. WSAC reserves the right to offer an award to the next highest-rated proposal if a contract cannot be successfully negotiated or renegotiate or reissue an RFP.
Responders to the RFP will be notified via email upon successful selection of a proposal. Any concerns or appeals of the decision must be made in writing within seven days of selection notification to the procurement contact person.
The anticipated budget for this project is not to exceed $262,650.00 (Two-hundred sixty-two thousand, six-hundred fifty dollars, and no cents).
[1] Maul Foster Alongi, 2021, Final Report – Recommended Approach for Managing Lead Arsenate Legacy Pesticide Contamination on Historical Orchards in Central Washington, Chelan County Department of Natural Resources, pg. 1.
[2] Maul Foster Alongi, 2021, Final Report – Recommended Approach for Managing Lead Arsenate Legacy Pesticide Contamination on Historical Orchards in Central Washington, Chelan County Department of Natural Resources, pg. 3.