50-66700-25-27764_50-66700-25-27764 RSP Q&A.pdf.PDF

RFP #50-66700-25-27764 – River Stewardship Program FY2026 Agency Response to Offerors Questions

QUESTION

NUMBER ORIGINAL QUESTION RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL QUESTION

RFP REFERENCING

INFORMATION

RFP Section RFP Page Number

What are any significant challenges the State has had with similar projects in the past.

No significant challenges to report. General N/A

Will NMED use the Watershed Restoration statewide price agreement for River Stewardship Program contracts?

No, the River Stewardship Program FY2026 RFP is a separate procurement. General N/A

Can you confirm whether the Bonito River or any part of its watershed is considered an impaired stream segment or part of a priority watershed under current state watershed-based plans?

Information about specific watersheds can be found on NMED’s website:

https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/303d-305b/

General N/A

Is there a venue/mechanism where communities/ municipalities/ local governments with projects in mind can connect with vendors/ contractors that have the SAM.gov and other requirements to execute the work?

SAM.gov has a search feature to look up organizations that are registered. General N/A

How much funding is available for projects?

At the time of the Q&A posting, the funding amount is approximately $6.5 million. General N/A

Available funding as known at this point in time?

https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/303d-305b/ https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/303d-305b/

NUMBER ORIGINAL QUESTION RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL QUESTION

RFP REFERENCING

INFORMATION

RFP Section RFP Page Number

Are there any preferred vendors or suppliers that we should consider?

No. General N/A

Subcontractors do not have to be named in the proposal do they?

Isn't there a process for approving a subcontractor after the award?

If subcontractors have not yet been identified at the time of proposal submission or if a new subcontractor is needed, NMED does have a process for approving new subcontractors after award. Note: NMED strongly recommends selecting subcontractors prior to proposal submission to ensure the costs you submit in your proposal are accurate.

General N/A

Are there currently any prospective projects that NMED or other agencies have in their planning processes that can be shared? Projects that would be considered by this RFP?

No, this procurement is open to projects for the purpose of designing and constructing projects that improve surface water quality, riparian habitat, or aquatic habitat statewide.

I.A 5

Is the funding eligible for a reach of ephemeral arroyo that harbors a short Section of surface water that is fed by a small spring? The adjacent floodplains within this reach harbor riparian vegetation such as cottonwood and salt cedar. Upstream and downstream of this reach, however, are typical ephemeral arroyo with no riparian vegetation. The surface water does not connect to any other navigable water, except during

Projects must improve surface water quality, riparian habitat, or aquatic habitat. It is up to the Offeror to clearly explain how its proposed project meets the stated requirements in the RFP.

I.A 5

NUMBER ORIGINAL QUESTION RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL QUESTION

RFP REFERENCING

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RFP Section RFP Page Number high volume monsoon events that could potentially connect the project area to a TNW.

Are treatments on uplands eligible (e.g. erosion control or planting native vegetation)? Is there a nexus to water quality and habitat that would allow upland treatments to be implemented?

Upland treatments may be considered if they contribute to the improvement of surface water quality, riparian habitat, or aquatic habitat. It is up to the Offeror to clearly explain how its proposed project meets the stated requirements in the RFP.

I.A 5

My question is whether or not the River Stewardship funding can be used to cover land lease costs for the term of the grant or if that is an unacceptable use of funds?

No. Funding through this program is intended to plan, design, and construct projects and must have an on the ground deliverable at the end of the project.

I.A 5

13 Is this pre-proposal mandatory for offers? No. See Section II.B.3 II.B.3 13

Can we propose multiple sites with the same scope of work in one proposal?

Yes. If the projects will have the same scope of work within the same watershed and can be accomplished within the contract term. Note: The Agency reserves the right to fund all or a portion of submitted projects.

II.B.8 15

Is there any preference given for 8a or small disadvantage businesses or minorities in the award or evaluation process?

No. Preference only applies to New Mexico/ Native American Residents. See Section II.C.32 and Amendment One (Sections IV.C.5, V.A, and V.B.12).

II.C.32

Amendment One

2-3

Are sub-contractors required to have an active SAM account in effect by the date of submitting the proposal? For instance, would them not having active

Yes, see Section II.C.33.

II.C.33 24

NUMBER ORIGINAL QUESTION RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL QUESTION

RFP REFERENCING

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RFP Section RFP Page Number

SAM account at proposal submittal phase cause the proposal to be rejected? Or would it be acceptable for them to have an active SAM account in effect by the time a contract is signed? We are considering local area residents as sub-contractors and I anticipate that very few if any will have created SAM accounts or have done contracting with the US federal government. So some flexibility to allow subs to have active SAM accounts at a later phase would be very helpful.

Do I understand correctly from Susan's comments that if the sub contactor has applied for SAM account, but has not already activated their SAM account be sufficient at the proposal phase?

No. See Section II.C.33 II.C.33 24

Are you accepting more than one project per proposal or should each project be submitted as separate proposals?

Per Section III.A, Offerors are permitted to submit more than one proposal for relevant projects.

See also Question #14

III.A 25

Are Offerors permitted or encouraged to include supporting media (photos, maps, Please see Section III.C. and IV.B for information on page limits and proposal organization and content. See also Section III.B for electronic submission requirements.

III.C

IV.B

III.B

25-27

NUMBER ORIGINAL QUESTION RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL QUESTION

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RFP Section RFP Page Number diagrams) in their technical proposals or appendices? If so, are there any file format or size restrictions we should be aware of?

Regarding eligible activities under the scope of work: Is education and outreach to adjacent landowners an eligible project activity?

Education and outreach can be a component of the project, but the program is intended to plan, design, and construct projects and must have an on the ground deliverable at the end of the project.

IV.A 29-32

Is planning included in eligible activities or is it just project implementation?

Project planning can be a component, but the procurement of services is to design and construct projects that improve surface water quality, riparian habitat, or aquatic habitat statewide. See Section IV.A.11.d (Amendment Two).

IV.A.11.d Amendment Two

Can restoration projects located entirely on U.S. Forest Service land be eligible for funding under this RFP? If so, are there any specific documents or letters of support required from the Forest Service?

The RFP is applicable to projects statewide.

Proposal submission requirements are found in Sections IV.B and IV.C

IV.B

IV.C

32-37 37-39

If a project is on public land that is not easily accessible to the general public but improves a municipal water supply (e.g., the Bonito River upstream of Bonito Lake, which serves Alamogordo), would that be considered a

See Section IV.B.3. IV.B.3 34

NUMBER ORIGINAL QUESTION RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL QUESTION

RFP REFERENCING

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RFP Section RFP Page Number sufficient public benefit under the program criteria?

The RFP states to include an excerpt of a planning document that supports the project. There isn't one for this area. How do we navigate that within our proposal, and would this disqualify our proposal?

Any deficiency in a stated requirement may affect an Offeror’s score, which may affect the Offeror’s eligibility for award. See Section IV.B.4. A serious deficiency in any one factor may be grounds for elimination. See Section V.C.3.

IV.B.4

V.B.5 V.C.3

41-42

Will there be limitations on billable expenses such as travel, software licensing, or subcontracting?

See Section IV.C.4. and V.B.11for details on cost and how points will be awarded for Cost.

IV.C.4

V.B.11

Could you please clarify the total funding amount available under this RFP, and whether there is a recommended or preferred scale (e.g., funding range or stream length) for individual project proposals?

Available funding is answered in Questions 6 and 7.

See Section IV.C.4. and V.B.11 for details on cost and how points will be awarded for Cost.

IV.C.4

V.B.11.

Will any value engineering or added value or innovation be weighed in the RFP?

Proposals will be scored based on the Evaluation Factors in V.B. V.B 40

I missed the deadline for the Acknowledgement of Receipt Form. Can I still submit a proposal?

Yes. Late Acknowledgement Forms cannot be accepted, which means you will not be placed on the distribution list for the RFP; although, it does not prevent a potential Offeror from submitting a response to the RFP. It would be the Offeror’s sole responsibility to obtain the posted Q&A, any

II.B.2

Appendix A

I.G

12-13

NUMBER ORIGINAL QUESTION RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL QUESTION

RFP REFERENCING

INFORMATION

RFP Section RFP Page Number amendments to the RFP, and any RFP-related documents or changes. The electronic version of the RFP and any RFP-related documents are posted on the website provided in Section I.G. It is strongly recommended that you monitor that website to ensure you obtain the most up-to-date posted documents.

What dates are included in the two past years? All of 2024 and 2023 from Jan 1 to December 31st or some other time period like State fiscal year?

In the first paragraph of Appendix B on page 47, it states, “two years prior to the date on which a proposal is submitted.” That date would correspond to the Submission of Proposals deadline in Section II.A.6 of the RFP. Should the RFP be amended to extend the Submission of Proposals deadline, it would be two years from that extended date.

Appendix B 47

The contributions form is only for State officials, or does it include Federal level officials?

The agency has already identified the applicable public officials on the form as Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and/or Lt. Governor Howie Morales. No additional public officials need to be included.

Appendix B 48 31

If just State, is it just at the Governor level or is it all State officials like Senators and House of Representatives, judges?

Does reporting include individuals that ran for State office and were not elected or is it just elected officials?

Is there a bid security required or a P and P Bond required for a awarded projects?

Appendices C and D provide the contractual agreements that may be used in this procurement. Contracts/ agreements do not require bonds.

Appendix C and D 50-86

Are you saying one should cut and paste the cost table from the Word document into an Excel file and the formulas will be there?

See Amendment One for embedded Excel files.

These Excel Cost forms must be used when submitting the cost proposal.

Appendix E- Amendment One

88-89

NUMBER ORIGINAL QUESTION RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL QUESTION

RFP REFERENCING

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RFP Section RFP Page Number

I see the two tables however there is an error when double clicking on the tables

36 Where can we find the Excel files?

I see in the draft landowner agreement a requirement that "Landowner agrees not to allow any agricultural use of the Project areas of the Property." I am assuming that this means agricultural use IS allowed on portions of the Property that are NOT in the Project Areas (specific areas on the Property). Is that correct? Or are they not allowed to conduct any agricultural activities on their entire property?

As stated in the quotation provided in the question, any restriction on agricultural use applies only to “the Project areas of the Property” (i.e., the “portions of the Property that are NOT in the Project Areas).

Appendix G 92