RFP #2019-01-UCRC

UCRC is no longer accepting submissions for this RFP.

The Upper Colorado River Commission (UCRC) is requesting qualification-based proposals for legal, economic, and engineering-related analyses and services to investigate specific concerns and challenges related to water demand management as a component of the Upper Basin Drought Contingency Plan (DCP).

The Contractor(s) will work with State agency staff members of the Upper Division States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming through the UCRC staff to explore the feasibility of developing and employing temporary, voluntary, and compensated demand management within the Upper Colorado River Basin, in a manner that helps reduce consumptive water use, if and when needed, to ensure ongoing compliance with the 1922 Colorado River Compact. The UCRC may make multiple awards under this solicitation.

Click here for the full RFP

This RFP was published on October 30, 2019 and will be open until December 20, 2019. Other important dates and deadlines for proposal submission are listed here and in the RFP documentation under the “Sequence of Events” section.

Written inquiries should be directed to Sara Larsen, UCRC Procurement Manager, until November 29, 2019, at the following:

Email: slarsen (at) ucrcommission.com
Mail: 355 South 400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

*** Please note: The UCRC updated its “Sequence of Events” schedule on January 31, 2020.***

*** Please note: The UCRC updated its “Sequence of Events” schedule on April 24, 2020.***

The UCRC made awards to select contractors at their Regular Meeting, held on May 19, 2020, and at a Special Telephonic Meeting on June 16, 2020. The following is a list of the successful awardees and their respective segments of the RFP Scope of Work:

• Legal Analyses – Smith Hartvigsen

• Technical Analyses (consumptive use modeling and verification) – Desert Research Institute

• Technical Analyses (storage and shepherded volume routing and modeling) – Hazen & Sawyer

• Technical Analyses (project management) – Hazen & Sawyer

• Economic Analyses – AMP Insights

• Stakeholder Facilitation and Outreach – JUB Engineers

All proposals must be received by 3:00 P.M. Mountain Time, Friday, December 20th, 2019 at the UCRC Office at 355 South 400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, either by certified mail or via email.

ANY PROPOSAL RECEIVED BY THE UCRC AFTER THE TIME AND DATE SPECIFIED SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED. THIS RFP MAY BE CANCELLED AND ANY AND ALL PROPOSALS MAY BE REJECTED IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE UCRC.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT: All qualified offerors (“Offerors”) will receive consideration for contract(s) without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Contractors for this work shall be required to comply with the President’s Executive Order No. 11246, as amended.

Proposals have been received by the following (Offeror and Date Received):

AMP Insights – 12/13/2019
Desert Research Institute – 12/20/2019
Harvey Economics – 12/19/2019
Hazen & Sawyer – 12/19/2019
Hydros Consulting – 12/20/2019
J.U.B. Engineers – 12/20/2019
Jacobs Engineering – 12/19/2019
RTI International – 12/19/2019
Smith-Hartvigsen – 12/20/2019
Squire, Patton, & Boggs – 12/20/2019
Van Ness Feldman – 12/20/2019
WestWater Research – 12/19/2019

CLARIFYING QUESTIONS & ADDENDA

Any inquiries resulting in the need for written addenda to the RFP that have been submitted to UCRC on a timely basis will be posted below, including questions posed during the pre-proposal submission conference call. All questions and addenda will be posted here and emailed to the Point of Contact listed for all Offerors. The last day to submit written questions to UCRC is 11/29/2019.

The UCRC conducted an RFP Pre-Proposal Submission Conference Call/Webinar to answer questions about the RFP. The Powerpoint presentation, which contains some helpful information and reminders, and also has the webinar questions and answers at the end, can be accessed using this link: RFP Webinar Powerpoint – 20191122 – Final Q-A Included.

• Will the Powerpoint be made available? Yes, this Powerpoint will be made available as part of the RFP addenda and distributed to all POCs.
• When you say “other tasks” [as assigned by the DMC in the SOW] that are open, how are we supposed to budget for them? When drawing up the proposed budget, you may include a line item for “other tasks” as assigned by the DMC. The DMC will tailor work orders for the awarded Contractor(s’) budget.
• Do you have a preference for emailed proposals versus hard-copy? Our preference is for email, but feel free to send prior work as a packet of materials if that is easier/preferred.
• Can you discuss who will be on the selection committee? No.
• Do you have a copy of a draft agreement between UCRC and Contractor(s)? The contract will be similar to the General Terms & Conditions in the RFP, but that agreement hasn’t been developed yet.
• Please confirm 1,000 points for each evaluation category. Yes, 1,000 points for each evaluation category. Final scoring will be a percentage based on actual score/potential score.
• Confirm 10 pages total, even if applying for multiple categories. Yes, please stay with the 10-page limit for narrative sections, even if applying for multiple categories.
• Can an entity or individual propose as a part of a team and as a single proposer for one qualification criteria? Yes, you can propose as a team for one or more qualification criteria.
• If the source of funding is a BOR grant, are the contractors allowed to have profit (fees) on the staff rates? Yes, you may have a “billing rate” for staff that includes profit.
• Is it your intent to hire only one contractor for each category, regardless of whether or not they are on a team? No, will probably have multiple categories for some contractors, and that’s okay. We will review where overlap is in the submissions.
• Clarification on question above: Is it okay to propose both as a part of a team and as an individual contractor? It’s okay to propose as both part of a team and individually, but may be difficult to do, as you would be competing with your other proposal.
• We noticed that the RFP states that the UCRC may make multiple awards, and we were hoping you could provide more information on what this might look like. For example, is the UCRC’s goal is to have one contractor oversee the entire process/set of questions and then work with sub-contractors on specifics? UCRC welcomes proposals from firms/entities that may propose to subcontract out portions of the work, if needed. There is a budget line item for “Subrecipient Contracts.” We also anticipate proposals from individual firms/entities, and “team” proposals. Please see Slide #9 of the [Q/A Webinar] Powerpoint for info. on coordination between multiple Contractors.
• If the UCRC is considering working with multiple contractors, is the UCRC is willing to accept applications for only specific portions of the RFP? Yes, however, please see Slide #9 of the [Q/A Webinar] Powerpoint for the four core proficiencies that we would like contractors/entities to apply for (legal, technical, economic, and outreach proficiencies), as opposed to applying for particular SOW tasks.
• Does the UCRC envision demonstration projects fitting in to the RFP? No. The SOW is directed toward legal, technical, economic analyses, and some outreach/stakeholder engagement activities. It is hoped that this work will inform pilots or additional demonstration projects, or a wider demand management program.
• Is this solicitation targeted towards consultants or would other entities be appropriate to respond? The UCRC is committed to a highly competitive, open procurement for this RFP and wishes to solicit proposals from any and all Offerors that have the related knowledge, skills, and experience described in the header and Scope of Work sections in the RFP. As such, we welcome proposals from different types of entities as well as private consultants.
• In addition to water rights related experience, is UCRC seeking a firm with qualifications in federal and state natural resources and environmental laws that may be implicated by development of temporary, voluntary, and compensated demand management within the Upper Colorado River Basin? Yes, in addition to water rights related analyses, firms or entities that have qualifications, experience, and/or knowledge of federal and state-level natural resource and environmental laws that are related to or implicated by demand management are welcome to send in a proposal.