ESBD_460771_1762523241712_576SB001 Addenda 2.pdf

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS DIVISION

ADDENDUM No. 2

DATE: 11/07/2025

SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR STATEWIDE BIOLOGICAL SERVICES

SOLICITATION: 601CT0000005605

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

IN THE SUBMISSION OF THIS RESPONSE, RESPONDENT MUST ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF THIS

ADDENDUM; OTHERWISE, THIS RESPONSE MAY NOT BE GIVEN CONSIDERATION. RESPONDENT

MUST ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT BY ATTACHING THIS DOCUMENT VIA PDF TO YOUR PROPOSAL

COVER PAGE WHEN COMPLETING THE SUBMISSION FOR ATTACHMENT 1 IN BONFIRE.

SIGNED:

COMPANY AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

COMPANY NAME

Questions/Response Question 1: For consultation specialist, it is possible that two separate proposers might submit the same project for consideration if both individuals worked as a "consultation specialist" on the project while employed by the same firm. Will that be an issue?

Response 1: It's possible and expected for many projects. I would not be an issue if each individual's role/responsibility is clearly explained how their work is unique and tied back to the consultation specialist role/responsibilities (see position description in Attachment B Appendix-1).

Question 2: Would TxDOT consider uploading word files or editable pdf’s for each of the project pages requested for this submission?

Response 2: Per page 5 of 27 of the RFP (Adobe page 9 of 65) PART III PROPOSAL OUTLINE. MS Word formats of these attachments are available for download from Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD). https://www.txsmartbuy.gov/esbd/601CT0000005605 Proposers must use the downloadable files and upload in Bonfire as Adobe pdf.

Question 3: The RFP requests résumé forms for the Project Manager, Senior Consultation Specialist, Ichthyologist, and Malacologist (Attachments 3–6). However, Appendix 1 in Attachment B lists additional positions with minimum qualifications (e.g., Mammalogist, Ornithologist, Botanist, etc.). Please confirm whether proposers are required to include qualified personnel for all positions listed in Appendix 1 as part of our proposed team, or only for the four positions for which résumé forms are provided.

Response 3: Proposers are only required to include qualified personnel resumes for the four scoring positions Project Manager, Senior Consultation Specialist, Ichthyologist, and Malacologist.

Question 4: For the Senior Consultation Specialist, can one project be listed twice if it required multiple consultations (NMFS & USFWS)?

Response 4: Yes. If each consultation clearly resulted in the completion of consultation (BO, CO, or concurrence from both agencies, then the project may be used and counted twice. Please make every effort to explain and document how the assessment and consultation documentation was different for each resource agency in the project description.

Question 5: For the Senior Consultation Specialist, does the use of a Programmatic Agreement count as informal consultation?

Response 5: No. Use of a Programmatic Agreement does not result in concurrence or a BO as consultation, as required for this position. Consultation for Programmatic Agreements is complete/agreed to with the Services before they are used.

https://www.txsmartbuy.gov/esbd/601CT0000005605

Question 6: For the Project Manager Qualifications, does every project need to require consultation or conference under one of the listed laws? Or can projects that required a habitat assessment but No Effect to any species or resources be used?

Response 6: For the project manager, projects do not require consultation or conference under one of the listed laws; however, as stated for the PM in Attachment 3 instructions, the projects must, "demonstrate a thorough understanding of managing work required for complex biological and natural resource analyses, and documentation, in compliance with applicable, with NEPA, ESA, EFH, MMPA, and other federal, state, and local regulations that apply to biological resources and protected and imperiled species". A habitat assessment by itself is unlikely to be considered a complex biological analysis, unless there are unique circumstances that can be clearly explained.

Question 7: We have an active federal 10(a)(1)(A) permit with a renewal application currently under review.

Though the expiration date on the permit has passed, USFWS has confirmed that activities are still covered under the permit because the renewal package is in the system. Will TxDOT honor the permit status in their review?

Response 7: Please provide the expired permit, documentation that a renewal application was submitted and response from USFWS noted above. If all of those can be provided, yes, TxDOT will honor the permit as active/in review with USFWS.

Question 8: For non-PM roles, can there be project/role overlap with other firms submitting? E.g., if more than one person worked on a project as consultation specialist, can both use that project on their qualifications form?

Response 8: Yes; however, as noted in a response to a similar question, each individual's role/responsibility must be clearly explained, especially how their work is unique and tied back to the roles/responsibilities for the position where they are being proposed (see position descriptions in Attachment B Appendix-1).

Question 9: For the requirement for Senior Consultation Specialist stating "At least two of the six consultation documents must address species endemic to Texas," does this only include species with ranges limited to Texas (e.g., Houston Toad; Central TX karst fauna) or can it include species that are mostly in Texas but have ranges that extend outside of the state (e.g., Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, Golden-cheeked Warbler)?

Response 9: Endemic may also be read as native, so yes, it can include species with ranges beyond Texas such as the Golden-cheeked Warbler and Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, Tricolored bat, Monarch butterfly, etc.

Question 10: Can we use a project that is ongoing, but has a phase of work or our portion of the work that has been finalized?

Response 10: Per Part V, Instructions for Attachments 3-6, "All project examples must include completed deliverables that were accepted and/or approved by the client and/or a regulatory agency within the past ten years from the issue date of this RFP. No projects with ongoing work that is not part of a complete and accepted deliverable or incomplete/ongoing consultations at the issue date of this RFP will be counted. If required for a position, note that the client deliverable acceptance date is rarely the same as the regulatory agency approval/concurrence/BO date. At a minimum, all dates must include Month and Year." To restate, there must be a completed deliverable such as a habitat assessment, presence/absence survey, BA/BO that has been finalized and accepted by a client and/or acted on by an agency in order for a project and its applicable work to be counted complete for the purposes of this RFP.

Questions/Response