The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) has issued a formal request for proposals (RFP) seeking environmental consulting services, as a result of a federal grant the organization recently received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

LVEDC was awarded a $500,000 Hazardous Assessment Grant earlier this year. The funds will be used by the Lehigh Valley Land Recycling Initiative (LVLRI) to assist redevelopment projects with Phase I environmental site assessments, Phase II environmental site assessments, and site clean-up plans.

LVEDC is seeking environmental consulting services in order to accomplish the workplan for this new EPA grant, as well as LVEDC’s redevelopment goals as defined in the organization’s strategic plan.

The RFP was issued Sept. 23 and responses are due Oct. 23. The full RFP can be found here: can be found here.

UPDATE: An addendum to the RFP was issued by LVEDC on Nov. 12. It can be found at this link.

All inquiries will be fielded by Andrew Kleiner, Director of Redevelopment and External Affairs. He can be reached at 610-266-7619 or via email.

All questions related to the RFP are due by Oct. 16th at 5 p.m. All questions and answers will be posted publicly on this site, which will be updated as questions arrive. The questions and answers submitted so far can be found below:

Question: How do we address the Required Qualifications (on page 4 item 5.) Competitive Pricing and provide estimated costs for Phase I ESAs, Phase II ESAs, and site cleanup plans without a Scope of Work?

Answer: Please provide your firms generic estimate for a Phase I. The issued addendum provides a detailed Phase II scenario for you to provide a specific cost estimate.

Question: I’m wondering if there were any questions submitted regarding this proposal. I didn’t see anything posted online. Im wondering if the 30 page limit INCLUDES the examples requested or can those be included as an appendix?

Answer: The page limit includes the examples requested. The examples may be submitted as an appendix but the entire proposal, appendices included, may not exceed 30 pages.

Question: We understand that LVEDC has a contract with the USEPA for completing work referenced in the RFP; will the selected consultant be required to comply with the terms and conditions of the contract between LVEDC and USEPA?  If so will a copy of that contract be made available to the bidders?

Answer: The contract between LVEDC and USEPA can be made available to the successful bidders. The details of that contract are included as the Scope of Work in the issued RFP.

Question: Is the response limited to 30 pages of paper that are double sided (total 60 pages), or 30 pages in a PDF, which would be printed double sided to become 15 sheets of paper?

Answer: 30 pages in a PDF. A total of 30 total single sides of paper are the limit for this RFP.

Question: Does non direct experience with EPA’s Brownfield Program disqualify an application?

Answer: Providing the application demonstrates an understanding of the EPA brownfields program – you are not disqualified from the application.

Question: Do you know the location of the properties that will be investigated under this grant, if so, can you provide a map or addresses?

Answer: We do not know what properties we will be working on during the grant period. Our project load is entirely dependent on what work comes to you so we cannot predict what projects may or may not be addressed in the future.

Question: Page 5, Section IV.g – Please clarify what is meant by “Additional Services”.  Example, would this include field sampling equipment, health and safety equipment, or costs associated with developing brochures or even power point presentations?  Also, could “additional services” include tasks such as support at public meetings, additional meetings, or program management support to LVEDC?  Please clarify.

Answer: Additional services are defined here as any anticipated costs beyond the scope of work in the RFP as determined by your firm. Any public meeting support and/or program management can be estimated by your firm as a fee on the additional services list as your firm determines is appropriate for your submission.

Question: Regarding the issuance of task orders by the LVEDC.  Will task orders be managed as firm fixed price projects, or cost plus fixed fee?

Answer: When a new project begins, a site consideration request form will be made available to the contracted consultant. Following the consultant’s review an estimated cost and assignment request will be requested from the consultant. A review of those estimated costs will occur with LVEDC staff and a signed copy of the assignment request will indicate an acceptance of the estimated costs and a go-ahead to begin the work.

Question:  Is it necessary to have an office located in the Lehigh Valley to qualify and be selected for this work?”

Answer: A Lehigh Valley located office is preferred for this RFP. However, if a given firm has a demonstrated and dedicated Lehigh Valley presence – their application will absolutely be considered.

Questions regarding the ash cooling pad:

1. The task states that hot ash was dumped on the cooling pad however it doesn’t state what type of facility the ash came from.  It also states that there are documented chemical concentrations however the chemicals are not given.  In order to give an accurate estimate we would need to know what chemicals to assume?

Answer: Please consider the chemicals unknown as part of the REC. The ash was taken from a boiler room furnace used between 1900 and 1950.

2. The task says “if any cracks or breaches are observed…”  This statement is a bit vague, can you give a more concrete assumption regarding cracks or breaches?

Answer:  Please provide an estimated cost for any investigation that would be needed under the cooling pad if a crack in the pad is found during a subsequent site visit.

Questions regarding the UST:

1. This task states that there are multiple tanks however it doesn’t state how many will be investigated.  Can you clarify a general number or area of site that will be investigated?  This will enable us to give a better estimate regarding time required to be onsite for the investigation.

Answer: Please operate under the assumption that the given area is 4 acres.

2. Can you provide any information regarding the UTSs noted in the addendum.  How many, what size and contents or should we make assumptions.

Answer: Please make assumptions for the given scenario.

In order to assure fair comparisons for Phase II environmental site assessment cost estimates, please prepare a Phase II cost estimate for the generic recognized environmental conditions (RECs) below. Assume that these 3 RECs were found on the same site:

1. Ash Cooling Pad
A concrete pad was observed behind a storage shed. Historical documentation of company activities indicate that this site was used to dump hot ash onto for cooling. Based on documented chemical concentration in the ash materials of former samples, a surface soil investigation around the concrete pad should be conducted. If any cracks or breaches are observed on the pad, samples of underlying soil should also be collected.

2. Drain
Inside a maintenance shed on the corner of the property, a drain was found underneath a shelving unit that was used to store unknown cleaning chemicals and solvents. The drain must be analyzed for potential chemical release into surrounding soil.

3. Underground Storage Tank
Further investigation must be conducted on the property to determine whether or not the USTs identified in historical documentation have been removed or remain present on site. There is no documentation regarding their removal or continued presence despite assurances from the owner that the tanks were removed in the 1970s.