BOARD MEETING DATE: October 3, 2003
AGENDA NO. 5

Recognize and Appropriate Funds and Execute Contract to Perform Analyses of PAMS Network Data for South Coast Air Basin

SYNOPSIS:

On May 2, 2003, the Board approved the release of an RFP to select consultants capable of performing comprehensive data analyses of the PAMS ozone precursor and meteorological measurements. The contracted effort will produce a detailed characterization of the validated PAMS data, reconciliation of emissions inventories, and source apportionment analyses, and will provide staff with tools for future PAMS data analysis efforts. This action is to: 1) recognize and appropriate $200,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the FY 2003-04 Budget for the PAMS Program, and 2) execute a contract with Sonoma Technology, Inc. to perform the PAMS data analyses in an amount not to exceed $200,000. Funds for this contract are allotted under a U.S. EPA Section 105 Grant for the PAMS Program.

COMMITTEE:

Administrative, September 12, 2003, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

1. Recognize $200,000 in revenue from prior year’s unspent U.S. EPA Section 105 Grant funds (PAMS 10^th Year). Appropriate a total of $200,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the FY 2003-04 Budget, Planning, Rule Development and Area Sources Professional and Special Services Account, for PAMS data analyses.
    
2. Authorize the Chairman to execute a contract with Sonoma Technology, Inc., to perform analyses of the PAMS network data for the South Coast Air Basin, in an amount not to exceed $200,000.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

In accordance with the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, U.S. EPA requires more extensive monitoring of ozone and its precursors in areas with persistently high ozone levels (mostly large metropolitan areas, and including the greater South Coast basin). In these areas, the States have established ambient air monitoring sites called Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) which collect and report detailed data for VOCs, NOx, ozone and meteorological parameters. Analyses of these data help the U.S. EPA, the States, and local air districts to better understand the underlying causes of ozone pollution, to devise effective remedies and to measure environmental improvement.

As part of the PAMS Program, comprehensive measurements of ozone precursors and meteorology have been collected in the South Coast Air Basin since 1994. In 1998, data analyses were performed on the PAMS data collected from the start of monitoring through 1997. On May 2, 2003 an RFP was released to seek qualified consultants to analyze the PAMS photochemical and meteorological data collected since the previous analysis and to analyze trends with the entire database for the South Coast Air Basin, as recommended by the U.S. EPA.

The proposed contracted effort will produce a detailed characterization of the validated PAMS data, reconciliation of ozone precursor emissions inventories, and source apportionment analyses. It will also provide staff with tools for future PAMS data analysis efforts.

Proposal

Staff was unable to award this contract and spend the U.S. EPA Section 105 Grant supplement PAMS funds, as appropriated in the September 13, 2002 Board Letter (Agenda Number 15, Account 67450, PAMS Data Analysis), by June 2003. Thus, it is necessary to recognize and appropriate the PAMS funds from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the FY 2003-04 Budget in order to authorize the execution of this contract for the PAMS program. This carryover of unexpended grant funds was discussed with and accepted by EPA.

Outreach

In accordance with the AQMD’s consulting and contracting policies, a public notice advertising the RFP and inviting bids were published in the following publications:
 

1.	Antelope Valley Press	11.	Inland Valley	22.	Rafu Shimpo
2.	Black Voice News		Daily Bulletin	23.	San Bernardino Sun
3.	California, State of, Contracts	12.	Korea Central Daily	24.	Signal, The
	Register	13	Los Angeles Daily News		(includes Santa Clarita,
4.	Chicano, El	14.	Los Angeles Sentinel		Newhall, and Saugus)
5.	Chinese Daily News	15.	Los Angeles Times	25.	Voz, La, Publications
6.	Desert Sun	16.	Opinion, La	26.	Wave Community
	(Coachella Valley)	17.	Orange County Register		Newspapers
7.	Eastern Group Publications	18.	Philippine News		(includes Southwest Topics
8.	Excelsior, The	19.	Precinct Reporter		Wave, Angeles Mesa Wave,
9.	Informador, El	20.	Prensa Hispana, La		& Central News Wave
10.	Inland Empire	21.	Press Enterprise
	Hispanic News		(Riverside County)

Additionally, potential bidders were notified utilizing the Los Angeles County MTA Directory of Certified Firms, the Inland Area Opportunity Pages Ethnic/Women Business & Professional Directory; and AQMD’s own electronic listing of certified minority vendors. Notice of the RFP were mailed to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses and various minority chambers of commerce and business associations; and placed on the Internet at AQMD’s Web site [http://www.aqmd.gov, "Business and Job Opportunities" icon, or http://www.aqmd.gov/busjob/] and AQMD’s bidder’s 24-hour telephone message line (909) 396-2724.

Bid Evaluation

Forty-five copies of the RFP were mailed out and three bids were received in response to the RFP when final bidding closed at 10:00 a.m. on June 24, 2003. One of the three bids considered only one of the four major tasks outlined in the RFP and was considered incomplete. Of the two responsive bids, none were from disabled veteran owned business enterprises, women-owned business enterprises, or certified minority owned businesses; one was from a small business enterprise and one used a small business subcontractor for at least 25 percent of the work.

Attachment 1 reflects the evaluation of the proposals and the respective costs for the consultants who submitted bids. Using the prescribed evaluation criteria to consider cost, technical qualifications and minority/small business status, the highest overall score of the responsive quotes was for Sonoma Technology, Inc. Staff recommends that the Board award the contract to Sonoma Technology, Inc for the PAMS data analysis effort.

Panel Composition

The panel consisted of two Program Supervisors from Planning, Rule Development and Area Sources, a Principal Air Quality Chemist and a Principal Air Quality Instrument Specialist, both from Science and Technology Advancement, and one Environmental Scientist in the Air Division at U.S. EPA Region 9. Of these five panelists, three are female and two are male; two are Asian/Pacific Islander; three are Caucasian.

Resource Impacts

Funds for this contract have been earmarked from the U.S. EPA Section 105 Grant for the PAMS program. Execution of this contract is subject to the recognition and reallocation of those funds at this Board meeting in a separate item. Since this contract uses PAMS pass-through funds, it will not impact AQMD staff or fiscal resources.

Attachment

Attachment 1 - Evaluation of Respondents to RFP #2003-31

ATTACHMENT 1

Evaluation of Bids from Respondents to RFP #2003-31

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