Response to Offeror Questions document.pdf
PDF 46 KB Posted
- Attached to
- GOED Broadband Office, NEPA Consult
- Solicitation number
- 26RFP18911
- Issued by
- Minnehaha County, South Dakota
About this file
This is a Response to Offeror Questions document for a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) consulting services contract issued by the State of South Dakota's Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED). GOED is seeking a qualified contractor to administer NEPA compliance requirements for the federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant program. The contractor will review environmental documentation prepared by BEAD grant recipients, including Environmental Assessments, Environmental Impact Statements, and Categorical Exclusions, to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Key responsibilities include reviewing project plans and designs for environmental and cultural resource impacts, developing environmental management plans, coordinating with broadband stakeholders and government officials, monitoring permit applications and approvals, and facilitating public involvement through meetings and outreach. The RFP requires a Letter of Intent to Respond by January 12, 2026, with proposal submissions due by January 26, 2026. The award decision is scheduled for February 2, 2026, with the contract commencing upon award and continuing through December 31, 2029. The State intends to make a single award. Proposal submissions may be made by email with a 10MB attachment size limit, and electronic signatures are not acceptable; proposals must include handwritten physical signatures. There is no page limit for proposals, and offerors must provide point-by-point responses to each RFP section.
Compensation is structured as a fixed hourly rate for actual hours worked, with an annual contract amount to be negotiated after vendor selection. The $12,000 annual amount referenced in the RFP is a placeholder only and does not represent the estimated contract value; the State declined to disclose its anticipated annual or total spend estimate. All associated costs, including travel, accommodations, and meals, must be incorporated into the proposed hourly rate or submitted as separate expense reimbursements, with travel expected to be at the contractor's expense and most work performed remotely. The contract is fully funded through NTIA BEAD grant funds. Contractors must maintain commercial general liability, professional liability, and business automobile liability insurance of $1,000,000 each, along with workers' compensation insurance as required by South Dakota law. Contractors must certify non-debarment status, demonstrate non-discrimination practices, and confirm that ownership or control is not held by entities from prohibited countries including China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. The contract may be terminated by either party with thirty days' written notice, or immediately by the State in cases of breach.
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| File | Type | Posted |
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| RFP Document.pdf | ||
| RFP Document.pdf |
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Text version
NEPA RFP QUESTIONS
Q. Section 2.5 Contract Amount and Payment states, “The state will make payment upon satisfactory completion of the Services provided herein in the sum of $12,000.00 annually”.
Is this example contract language, or is the total maximum annual contract amount for this project $12,000?
A. The $12,000.00 amount set out in section 2.5 of the contract terms and conditions is a placeholder only; the total maximum of the annual contract will be set out after a vendor is chosen and the contract amount is established.
Q. Section 5.2.3.2 of the RFP states, “A specific point-by-point response, in the order listed, to each requirement in the RFP. The response should identify each requirement being addressed as enumerated in the RFP”. Please clarify which RFP line items require a point-by-point response in order, i.e., Section 4.0 Proposal Requirements (4.3-4.4), Section 5.0 Proposal Response Format (5.2), or Section 6.0 Proposal Evaluation (6.1.1-6.1.7).
A. A specific point-by-point response is required for each section.
Q. Is it the State’s intent to make only one award or multiple?
A. It is the State’s intent to make one award.
Q. Is there a size limit on attachments for email submission of the proposal?
A. The size limit on attachments for emails is 10MB. If necessary, you may break the submission up into multiple email attachments; if you do so, please specify the total number of emails being sent (e.g., “Email 1 of 5”, “Email 2 of 5”, etc.)
Q. Assume electronic signature is acceptable instead of “ink signature” as stated in RFP for email submission?
A. If the proposal is submitted by email, the PDF of the proposal must include the handwritten physical signature of the person authorized to submit the proposal.
Q. What is the State's anticipated annual or total spend estimate on this contract? Assume the $12,000 per year stated in Section 2.5 is a general reference and not specific to this contract.
A. The State’s estimated annual or total spend will not be disclosed. The $12,000.00 amount set out in section 2.5 of the contract terms and conditions is a placeholder only; the total maximum of the annual contract will be set out after a vendor is chosen and the contract amount is established.
Q. Can the State estimate the percentage of time they desire the Contractor to work in office at the State vs remote vs in the field?
A. Some travel may be required, which will be at the contractor’s expense. Most work should be able to be done remotely. The State cannot provide estimates of percentages.
Q. If we work for any of the sub-awardees in other states than SD, does SD GOED see this as a conflict of interest?
A. Whether work for sub-awardees in other states constitutes a conflict of interest will depend in large part on the scope of work for the sub-awardees in other states.
Include a description of that scope of work as a part of your proposal.
Q. Is there a page limit for the proposal?
A. There is no page limit for the proposal.
Q. Could you please provide clarification on whether the contractor would be reviewing completed EA, EIS, or CE documents submitted by grant recipients, or if the contractor would also be drafting these documents on behalf of grant recipients (or both)?
A. Contractor would not be required to prepare these documents for the grantee.
Rather they will be reviewing documents prepared by the grantee.
Q. Could you please clarify whether the contractor would provide assistance on behalf of grant recipients with landowner access, right of way, and utility coordination as part of the scope of services?
A. Landowner access, right of way and utility coordination is considered outside the proposed scope of work.
Q. What is the anticipated number of individual projects that GOED expects in a typical year?
A. At current, the expectation is that there will be four (4) individual subgrantees performing deployment activities to connect the remaining approximate seven thousand (7,000) locations across the state.
Q. The RFP discusses monitoring for compliance with the environmental and historic preservation (EHP) laws and regulations. Could you provide more discussion on the scope of this compliance monitoring? Does GOED need a contractor to document that permits and approvals have been obtained? Or are you looking for a contractor that can do onsite compliance monitoring, such as a cultural compliance monitor or a stormwater inspector?
A. Yes. We are looking for the contractor to monitor the existence of permit applications. Whether this requires the contractor to go into the field to confirm compliance is subject to the needs of the required permits for the work being performed by the sub-grantee.
Q. The RFP states that GOED needs a contractor to work closely with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as other stakeholders. Could you provide more details on the stakeholder coordination? Would the contractor be conducting public information meetings about the project? Will the contractor be responsible for the initial agency scoping for the environmental reviews, or would the responsibility lie in coordination of permitting with approval agencies as the project begins moving forward?
A. The consultant is expected to actively facilitate public involvement, ensuring early, continuous, and broad outreach through methods like public meetings, online portals, and targeted notifications as well as coordination of permitting with respective approval authorities.
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