BOARD MEETING DATE: July 11, 2008
AGENDA NO. 12

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

Authorize the Executive Officer to:

1. Recognize $750,000 from the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility JPA upon receipt, into the General Fund and appropriate the full amount from Undesignated Fund Balance to the Planning, Rule, and Area Sources FY 08-09, Professional & Special Services Account budget.
2. Execute a level of effort contract with Environmental Audit Inc., in an amount not to exceed $150,000 to prepare a Notice of Preparation and Environmental Impact Report for the proposed modernization of the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility.
3. Execute a level of effort contract with Iteris Inc., in an amount not to exceed $150,000 to analyze potential traffic impacts from the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility modernization project.
4. Execute a level of effort contract with Castle Environmental Consulting in an amount not to exceed $150,000 to prepare an emissions inventory and health risk assessment for the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility modernization project.
5. Adjust contract awards, up to an additional amount of $100,000 for each contract, as necessary to meet the fully developed scope of environmental analysis
    

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) was developed in the mid-1980s pursuant to a partnership between the Port of Los Angeles (POLA), Port of Long Beach (POLB) and the Union Pacific Railroad Company. The Union Pacific Railroad ICTF handles container cargo from the Ports, and facilitates rail distribution of cargo throughout the region and the United States. The ICTF Joint Powers Authority (JPA) is a public entity created in 1983 to oversee the development and operation of the ICTF. This entity is administered by a governing board currently composed of two representatives from the Port of Long Beach and two representatives from the Port of Los Angeles.

The Union Pacific Railroad ICTF currently handles an annual average of 725,000 cargo containers. On February 12, 2008, the JPA deemed Union Pacific’s project application complete, to more than double container handling capacity to 1,500,000 containers annually and modernize the ICTF.

On May 9, 2008, the AQMD approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the JPA, to prepare the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents for the proposed modernization of the Union Pacific Railroad ICTF. Under the MOA, the JPA will be the Lead Agency for the proposed project. On June 24, 2008, the JPA and Union Pacific Railroad approved a Reimbursable Work Order (RWO) for preparation of all CEQA documents on the proposed modernization of the Union Pacific Railroad ICTF. The JPA has allocated up to $2.5 million of available funding to the AQMD for preparation of the CEQA documents.

The schedule for completion of the CEQA documents requires the Notice of Preparation (NOP) to be completed by the fall of 2008, Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) by early 2009, and the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) by the fall of 2009. Due to the expedited schedule to prepare the CEQA documents, the AQMD staff will need the assistance of consultants. The MOA includes specific provisions that permit the District to subcontract out portions of the EIR with their concurrence in selecting consultants. AQMD staff will administer the contracts, meet with the JPA to refine the scope of the project, and meet with each subcontractor to provide direction on tasks.
 

Proposal

   1. Sole Source Contract with Environmental Audit, Inc.

AQMD staff recommends that the Board approve a sole source contract with Environmental Audit, Inc. not to exceed $150,000 to prepare a Notice of Preparation (NOP), Initial Study, and portions of the Draft Environmental Impact Report and Final Environmental Impact Report. Environmental Audit is very familiar with AQMD policies for developing CEQA documents. Environmental Audit, Inc. has participated in the AQMD’s competitive bid process on prior contracts as they have prepared the AQMD’s 2003 and 2004 AQMP Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR), and staff has concluded that they met or exceeded AQMD’s expectations.

2. Sole Source Contract with Iteris Inc.

AQMD staff recommends that the Board approve a sole source contract with Iteris Inc., not to exceed $150,000 to evaluate the traffic impacts associated with the proposed ICTF modernization project and alternatives to the proposed ICTF modernization project. Iteris Inc. has extensive experience in performing similar analysis and is very capable of meeting all expectations for completion of the project. Iteris Inc. is the primary consultant that has prepared traffic analysis for port-related projects and has extensive experience in analyzing modal shifts. The JPA has recommended the use of Iteris Inc. for their level of experience in preparing traffic analysis for port-related projects.

3. Sole Source Contract with Castle Environmental Consulting

Staff recommends that the Board approve a sole source contract with Castle Environmental Consulting not to exceed $150,000 to prepare an emissions inventory and health risk assessment (HRA) for the ICTF modernization project. The emissions inventory and HRA are necessary to estimate health impacts from the proposed project, as well as health impacts for alternatives to the project and cumulative impacts. Castle Environmental Consulting has an extensive background in preparing emissions inventories and HRAs for intermodal and mobile sources similar to the sources involved in the ICTF modernization project. Staff has previously reviewed and commented on HRAs prepared by Castle Environmental Consulting and was impressed with their high level of technical proficiency in analyzing very complex projects, such as port terminal expansions, involving a large and diverse number of sources. In addition, Castle Environmental Consulting developed sophisticated database tools to support HRA modeling.

The ICTF JPA has concurred with all contractors recommended. During the time frame of the contracts, it may be necessary to allocate existing funds from one task to another depending on the needs and circumstances of the work required, or allocate additional funds to complete tasks identified during the timeframe of the contracts. Because the scope of environmental analysis is still being developed, it may be necessary to augment these three contracts to adequately analyze potential environmental impacts. As a result, the AQMD staff is also requesting the Board to authorize the Executive Officer the authority to adjust contract awards, in an amount up to $100,000 for each contract as necessary, in order to facilitate the completion of the CEQA documents.

The AQMD staff is anticipating that preparation of the CEQA documents will require the support of additional consultants. At this time, no contractors have been identified for the anticipated work which will include, but is not limited to evaluation of CEQA alternatives, modal shifts between rail traffic and truck traffic due to the proposed project, and the feasibility of increased on-dock rail. At such time as when the consultants have been identified, the staff plans to return to the Board for approval of additional contracts.
 

Sole Source Justification

Section VIII.B.2. of the Procurement Policy and Procedure identifies four major provisions under which a sole source award may be justified. This request for a sole source award is being made under provision B.2.d.: Other circumstances exist which in the determination of the Executive Officer require such waiver in the best interest of the AQMD.

Special circumstances exist that require the AQMD staff to immediately begin the preparation of the CEQA documents for the ICTF modernization project. The timeframes for completion of the work are critical and would be significantly hampered if the contracting process is delayed by soliciting proposals in a lengthy RFP process. Any delay in the preparation and completion of the NOP and DEIR would cause delays in making the documents available for public review and comment, which is a key element in seeking greater public involvement and input into the proposed modernization project. In order to expedite the entire CEQA process, the AQMD is pre-selecting several contractors who are known as having prior experience in conducting similar analyses and preparing documents required for this proposed project.

In addition to the special circumstances above, the AQMD is requesting sole source contracts for one of the three contractors because of their experience and recent participation in the AQMD’s competitive bid process. Environmental Audit, Inc. has been awarded contracts in the competitive bid process with the AQMD and is still under contract. The other two contractors, Iteris, Inc. and Castle Environmental Consulting have been selected, not only because of their expertise in their fields, but due to their working relationship with the Port of Los Angeles. Both have been requested by the Port of Los Angeles staff to assist in their respective analysis and proposed CEQA documents.
 

Resource Impacts

The total cost of the contracts is estimated to be $750,000, which includes the potential increase of up to $100,000 for each contract. No funding will be required by the AQMD. The funding for the preparation of the CEQA documents will come from the JPA. The JPA has estimated that preparation of the CEQA documents could cost up to $2.5 million. The JPA will initially fund the AQMD with $150,000 to jumpstart work on the CEQA documents; the AQMD will continue to bill the JPA monthly for reimbursement of funds required to prepare the CEQA documents. In accordance with the MOA between the AQMD and JPA, the JPA will reimburse the AQMD for expenditures made on a time-and-materials basis for AQMD administrative services and the subconsultant services that are outlined in this board letter.