SOW_PR FUDS Scientific Support Aug 20.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE (NOAA FISHERIES) STATEMENT OF WORK

(SOW) FOR SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT AT FORMERLY USED DEFENSE SITES, CULEBRA AND

DESECHEO ISLANDS, PUERTO RICO

1 General

1.1 Background

Two of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) in Puerto Rico that have been investigated and where some remedial investigation has occurred and the site have been found to contain known or suspected munitions items in some underwater areas. These two FUDS are Culebra and Desecheo Islands (Figure 1). Some of the underwater areas also contain Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed corals and other ESA-listed species, including Nassau grouper and sea turtles. The physical and biological factors (PBF) of designated elkhorn and staghorn critical habitat1 are present in reef and hard bottom habitats.

Areas around Culebra Island and its surrounding islands and cays also contain designated critical habitat for green sea turtles (North Atlantic Distinct Population Segment). There is the potential for ESA resources to be adversely affected by underwater investigation and cleanup activities (e.g., removal action) to be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and its contractors. For this reason, the USACE and NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources (OPR), have established a five-year interagency agreement. The agreement promotes collaboration between the two agencies with NOAA Fisheries providing technical assistance, including through this work assignment, to the USACE regarding measures to avoid and minimize potential effects to ESA resources during underwater activities associated with investigation and removal activities in underwater portions of the Culebra and Desecheo FUDS.

The value of USACE collaboration with NOAA was demonstrated during the munitions recovery project completed for Ordnance Reef off Oahu, Hawaii in July 2011. USACE worked with NOAA to identify areas with high value coral and to develop safe and standard operating procedures for munitions recovery with minimal impacts to corals and other benthic habitats. Similar collaboration with NOAA on the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) phases for FUDS in Puerto Rico is already ongoing and an ESA section 7 programmatic coordination is in

1 The feature essential to the conservation of elkhorn and staghorn corals is substrate of suitable quality and availability in water depths from the mean high water line to 30 m in order to support successful larval settlement, recruitment, and reattachment of fragments. “Substrate of suitable quality and availability” means consolidated hard bottom or dead coral skeletons free from fleshy macroalgae or turf algae and sediment cover.

the technical assistance phase for remedial activities that may adversely affect ESA resources.

However, more information is needed regarding the presence of ESA resources in areas where these remedial activities may take place due to the presence of suspected munitions items.

Figure 1. Locations of Culebra and Desecheo Islands in Relation to the Main Island of Puerto Rico

1.2 Scope

The work described in this SOW will be focused on underwater surveys to determine the presence/absence of ESA resources (e.g., ESA-listed coral colonies, elkhorn and staghorn coral critical habitat, and sea turtles) in specific Munitions Response Sites (MRSs) around Culebra and a site off the southwest coast of Desecheo, as funding allows. Note that the underwater surveys are not meant to create benthic habitat maps for the areas as these maps already exist and have been refined by USACE contractors as part of the completed RI/FS work in Culebra and Desecheo.

2 OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this work assignment is to complete underwater surveys in portions of the MRSs in the Culebra FUD and a portion of the Desecheo FUDS in order to document the presence/absence of ESA resources. The results of these surveys will be used to develop avoidance and minimization measures, including seagrass and coral damage assessments and restoration activities in coordination with OPR and the USACE to be protective of these resources as part of the ongoing ESA section 7 programmatic coordination for underwater remedial activities in FUDS.

3 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

Detailed information regarding the FUDS program and the Culebra FUDS in particular can be found at: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Culebra/. The website includes a map of the Culebra https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Culebra/

MRS boundaries and more information on the MRSs. Similar information is not available for the Desecheo FUDS at this time, but a website is in development.

4 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS/TASKS

If it is not be possible to complete the survey of all MRSs around Culebra or the site off the southwest coast of Desecheo in one year due to excusable delays such as weather, modifications to the contract may be necessary to complete the assessment of all the priority sites identified below. The priority order for completion of surveys in MRSs in the Culebra FUDS (Figure 2) and the Desecheo FUDS (Figure 3) is indicated below. Areas within these FUDS/MRSs that do not contain coral habitats will not require underwater surveys. Note that MRSs 10 and 11 may not require surveys, but this cannot yet be determined because the USACE has not yet completed the RI/FS for these two areas. Similarly, three of the cays in MRS 2 may not require underwater surveys depending on the location and depth at which potential munitions items are found in future RI/FS. These are indicated below and should be surveyed later than the other three cays in MRS 2.

• Culebra, MRS 3, Flamenco (coral habitats off coast seaward of public beach to campground)

• Culebra, MRS 12, Carlos Rosario and Luis Peña Channel/Natural Reserve (focused on in-water coral habitats from coast seaward) and Tamarindo Grande (northern area from coast seaward toward Carlos Rosario)

• Culebra, MRS 13, Cayo Luis Peña (off northern coast from beach seaward)

• Culebra, MRS 7, Culebrita (Playa Tortuga northern and southern points at entrance to bay, and between southern point and Cayo Botella) and Cayo Botella (between cay and Culebrita)

• Culebra, MRS 2, Cayos (specifically del Agua – off north and east coasts, Yerba – off coast around island, particularly west, and Alcarraza – off coast around island, particularly west and northeast. Tiburón – off coast around island, Los Gemelos – off west coast of western cay and off southeast of eastern cay, and Lobito – off coast around island, particularly southeast and northwest may also need surveying.)

• Desecheo (southwest coast westward from bay at end of West Valley to reefs/cays focused on the areas visited by divers where dive buoys are installed)

• Culebra, MRS 10 (embayments and along coast south of Sardinas)

• Culebra, MRS 11 (Playa Sardinas into bay)

Fieldwork in areas that may contain unexploded ordnance (UXO) requires that USACE UXO personnel or contractors provide safety briefings to all field personnel. USACE and/or its contractors are willing to provide vessels and other support for underwater surveys and other activities described in this SOW if the timing and location of these activities align with USACE-scheduled investigations and remedial activities in the priority areas. Safety briefings can be conducted remotely but coordination with USACE and/or its contractors will be required to schedule these briefings.

If time and funding allow for surveys of the site off Desecheo, it is important to note that, because the island is a National Wildlife Refuge, no one other than U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) personnel is allowed on the island without USFWS authorization. We anticipate that underwater survey work can be completed in a day trip but if it is determined that the surveys will be a multiday effort, coordination with and permission from the USFWS will be required to stay on the island. If a stay on the island is anticipated, the USFWS typically requires that visitors be accompanied at all times by USFWS staff while on the island.

An OPR biologist may participate in some of the fieldwork activities, particularly when activities commence in the Culebra FUDS.

Mobilization to Culebra is preferred to daily transit to/from Fajardo to allow more time for actual fieldwork activities under each of the tasks described in this SOW.

In order to minimize the potential effects of vessel operations required to access fieldwork sites, compliance with NMFS Vessel Strike Avoidance Measures and Reporting for Mariners (see https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/consultations/regulations-policies-and-guidance) is required. In addition, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), developed by the USACE in collaboration with NMFS, USFWS, and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, must be followed (see attached – with terrestrial-only and other content not relevant to this SOW removed). The SOPs incorporate the vessel strike avoidance and other avoidance and minimization measures to be protective of ESA resources during in-water operations and compliance with them will be required when planning and implementing field operations. Vessel collisions with sea turtles or marine mammals must be reported immediately to the appropriate stranding network. To report stranded sea turtles or marine mammals, the national marine mammal stranding hotline can be reached at 877-942-5343 and the Puerto Rico hotline at 787-538-4684 or 787-645-5595 for both sea turtles and marine mammals. Strandings caused by those performing tasks under this SOW should also be reported within 24 hours to the OPR contact for this work assignment via telephone or email.

Accidental groundings or other incidents that affect coral or seagrass habitats should also be reported to the OPR contact for this work assignment via telephone or email within 24 hours of the incident.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/consultations/regulations-policies-and-guidance

Figure 2. Overview of Culebra MRS Sites

Figure 3. Image of Desecheo Island with West Valley Identified

4.1 TASK ONE. Pre-Remedial Action Underwater Surveys

Underwater surveys to determine whether one or more of the seven ESA-listed Atlantic/Caribbean coral species and/or the PBF essential to the conservation of elkhorn and staghorn coral are present must be completed under this task prior to the USACE and/or its contractors completing intrusive remedial actions in the above-identified priority locations, specifically in areas containing coral habitats. Based on the USACE schedule for completion of remedial actions in MRSs around Culebra, every effort should be made to complete underwater surveys in the first five areas listed above (MRS 03, 12, 13, 07, and 02) within one year of the awarding of a contract. Planning for surveys should maximize the number of surveys that can be completed each day, such as by combining the Culebrita and Cayo Botella surveys because the focus area is between Tortuga Bay off Culebrita and Cayo Botella.

Note that, for security reasons, we are unable to provide detailed location maps of the areas within these FUDS where fieldwork will be concentrated except to the vendor selected to perform the work described in this document. The selected vendor will have access to detailed maps and other information for targeting survey sites in each MRS/FUDS.

4.1.1 Underwater Survey Planning and Scheduling

The vendor should propose an operational plan for the entire project including staffing and supply/equipment requirements, and present this plan to OPR for review and approval. OPR anticipates that the up to four divers, one of which who may also serve as the project coordinator, and a boat captain will be required to complete the survey work. The plan should also include the schedule for implementation of underwater surveys bearing in mind that the months from May to November are the best in terms of weather to access to some of the MRSs, particularly cays around Culebra and Desecheo Island. However, most MRSs can be accessed year-round and there could be weather delays in the event of tropical storms or hurricanes. The need to coordinate with USACE to hold UXO safety briefings and insure UXO safety personnel accompany personnel performing surveys when necessary also needs to be considered when planning fieldwork.

Due to the need to adequately plan the location of underwater transects and UXO safety briefings and potentially UXO safety personnel participation, a virtual kick-off meeting and follow up telephone calls and emails with OPR and USACE and/or its contractors are required. A draft of the operational plan will be shared with OPR, who will also share it with USACE, within two months of receipt of a signed contract to perform the work described in this SOW. OPR will have 15 days to complete the review of the draft operational plan. The plan will be considered final once all questions and comments received from OPR and USACE on the plan have been addressed to the satisfaction of the agencies.

The deliverable for this subtask is the final operational plan complete with information regarding staffing, supply/equipment requirements, travel, vessel rental, and implementation schedule, including weather days. This plan should include sites in the priority order given above such that every effort will be made to complete surveys in at least the first five sites, subject to cost and funding availability. The final plan should be delivered within four months of award.

4.1.2 Underwater Surveys

Transects should be used to document the presence of ESA-listed coral colonies and whether the PBF of elkhorn and staghorn coral critical habitat is present. The number and orientation of transects may vary based on the characteristics of each MRS but at least two 20 to 50 m transects (depending on orientation of transects, extent of coral habitats at site, and anticipated remedial actions) should be completed at each site. Preliminary locations of transects can be plotted using NOAA benthic maps and more refined habitat maps from baseline surveys completed as part of the RI/FS work contracted by the USACE for the FUDS.

The final location of transects will be determined in the field based on site conditions and GPS points will be collected at the start and end of each transect.

Other methods, such as towed divers to perform a broad assessment of presence/absence of ESA-listed corals, may be proposed but transects will be necessary in order to identify ESA-listed coral species and document numbers of colonies, colony size, percent of live versus dead tissue, percent cover of each ESA-listed species, and coral condition (e.g., bleached, diseased).

Transects can also be used to assess the presence/absence of the PBF of elkhorn and staghorn coral critical habitat.

While performing underwater surveys, divers should document opportunistic sightings of Nassau grouper, marine mammals, and/or sea turtles, but surveys to target these species are not required as part of this SOW. If these animals are observed, divers should document the following: species, habitat and depth at which animals were observed, behavior (e.g., resting, feeding, mating), and approximate size if possible to estimate. Similarly, a log should be kept of sea turtle and marine mammal sightings made from the vessel during transit and while stationary. The log should include the following: species observed, number of animals per sighting, approximate size of animals (if possible to estimate), behavior of the animals when sighted, GPS location of the vessel when animals were sighted; and information regarding sea state, weather conditions, visibility, and lighting conditions.

The deliverables for this subtask will be weekly progress reports submitted at the end of each week of fieldwork, as well as the completion of underwater surveys. Note that underwater surveys must be completed by August of the fiscal year. Progress reports will include: the final location of transects and preliminary data regarding the presence/absence of ESA-listed corals and/or the PBF of elkhorn and staghorn coral critical habitat at each site, sightings of Nassau grouper and/or sea turtles by divers, and copies of the sighting logs from personnel onboard the fieldwork vessel or coastal staging location (if access from land is used for some of the Culebra MRSs).

4.2 TASK TWO. Mapping and Documentation

A quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) plan should be developed and implemented to insure that data collected in the field are properly entered into spatial data files and Excel spreadsheets. Outliers will be carefully examined to determine whether a particular data point was recorded incorrectly in a spatial data file or spreadsheet or there was an error in data collection. A draft of the QA/QC plan will be submitted to OPR for review at least 15 days prior to commencement of the first underwater survey in year one. OPR will review and comment on the plan while fieldwork is ongoing so that it can be finalized once fieldwork is complete and data analysis begins. The final QA/QC plan should be completed and a copy submitted to OPR within 30 days of completion of the first underwater survey.

Maps will be prepared of the final transect locations and locations of ESA-listed coral colonies observed along the transects completed at each site. Transect and coral colony locations will be overlain on NOAA benthic habitat maps and/or baseline maps completed by USACE contractors (if shapefiles can be made available) and will be compatible with ArcGIS. The PBF presence/absence data collected along each transect, informed by benthic habitat maps, will be used to estimate the approximate area of elkhorn and staghorn coral critical habitat at each site. Virtual meetings or conference calls with OPR can be held to talk through the decision-making process used to estimate the approximate area of critical habitat prior to finalizing the estimates for a given site or sites.

An Excel spreadsheet will be created to manage data gathered during underwater surveys with a tab for each site containing the following information:

• transect number and location

• for each ESA-listed coral colony along a transect: GPS location, species, colony size, percent of live versus dead tissue, and coral condition (e.g., bleached, diseased)

• a summary section indicating the percent cover and the total number of colonies of each ESA-listed coral species at a site based on transect data

An additional tab in the spreadsheet will contain opportunistic sightings data for each site/transect for any Nassau grouper or sea turtles observed during underwater surveys. The following information will be summarized in this tab:

• site, transect number, and location

• species

• habitat and depth at which animals were observed

• behavior (e.g., resting, feeding, mating, transiting)

• approximate size, if possible to estimate

The products of this task will be a draft and final QA/QC plan for data entry and management, shapefiles and elkhorn and staghorn coral critical habitat area estimates for each site where underwater surveys have been completed, and an Excel spreadsheet containing all data gathered during underwater surveys. The shapefiles, critical habitat area estimates, and Excel spreadsheets will be completed and submitted to OPR within 90 days of the completion of each fieldwork event or within 30 days of the end of the fiscal year, whichever comes first.

5 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

It is the responsibility of the contractor to propose qualified contractor personnel to perform all requirements specified in the SOW. We anticipate that up to four divers will be required to complete Task 4.1. Divers must have demonstrable experience performing underwater surveys, ability to correctly identify ESA-listed Atlantic/Caribbean coral species, ability to identify juvenile and adult Nassau grouper, ability to identify sea turtles species common in waters of Puerto Rico, and ability to perform coral demographic sampling. One of these divers can also serve as the project coordinator, who will be required to lead the development and implementation of the underwater survey plan (Task 4.1), and creation of maps and datasets (Task 4.2). If a separate project coordinator is used, the person must have adequate experience with underwater surveys methods, marine species identification, and creation of maps and scientific datasets to enable the person to effectively coordinate, manage, and perform quality control on all data and reports generated under this SOW. All divers must have appropriate certifications in keeping with NOAA dive policies. A vessel and captain will also be required to perform the work described in this SOW. The vessel and captain must have all inspections and certifications required by the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as safety equipment for dive operations such as an emergency oxygen supply.

6 OTHER APPLICABLE CONDITIONS

This section contains information regarding procedures to be used when completing the tasks described in Section 4, some of which are described in more detail in that section, as well as regarding security, period of performance, place of performance, and travel.

6.1.1 STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR FIELDWORK

See Section 4 for detailed requirements regarding minimization of potential vessel collisions and accidental groundings, prioritization of underwater surveys, UXO coordination, etc. that are required to be protective of ESA-listed resources present in the FUDS. These requirements must be met and no changes to these conditions will be accepted.

6.1.2 SECURITY

Contractor access to classified information will not be required under this SOW, nor will access to government facilities or equipment.

6.1.3 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this contract is a one-year period of performance upon award of contract through September 30, 2021.

6.1.4 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The primary place of performance will be the Culebra and Desecheo FUDS as detailed previously and as funding and time allow in terms of completion of surveys in priority sites. The other place of performance will be the Contractor’s facilities during data analysis and report preparation required under this SOW.

6.1.5 TRAVEL

Contractor travel shall be required to support this requirement. All travel to fieldwork sites will be reimbursed to the Contractor in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations.

7 Government Representatives

7.1 NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE (NOAA FISHERIES)

The government representatives will include a work assignment manager from OPR, the Government Point of Contact (GPOC), and the Contracting Office. The OPR work assignment manager will review all deliverables described in the tasks (Section 4), provide comments and corrections on draft documents and participate in all project meetings or conference calls, and notify the GPOC as to the adequacy of deliverables.

7.2 GOVERNMENT ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

OPR will review deliverables and inform the GPOC regarding their adequacy prior to acceptance in accordance with the timing described in Section 4. The GPOC will provide the contractor with an e-mail that provides documented reasons for non-acceptance, if applicable. If the deliverable is acceptable, the GPOC will send an e-mail to the Contractor notifying it that the deliverable has been accepted.

The GPOC will have the right to reject or require correction of any deficiencies found in the deliverables that are contrary to the information contained in the Contractor’s accepted proposal. In the event of a rejected deliverable, the Contractor will be notified in writing by the GPOC of the specific reasons for rejection. The Contractor may have an opportunity to correct the rejected deliverable and return it per delivery instructions.

The review times and schedules for deliverables are as noted in the tasks (Section 4). The Contractor shall be responsible for timely delivery to Government personnel in the agreed upon review chain, at each stage of the review. The Contractor shall work with personnel reviewing the deliverables to assure that the established schedule is maintained. The GPOC will have 15 business days to review deliverables and make comments based on assessments received from the work assignment manager of the deliverables. The Contractor shall have 30 business days to make corrections and redeliver.

8 DELIVERABLES

The table below details the required deliverables that will be produced for each task in this

SOW.

ITEM

SOW

REFERENCE

DELIVERABLE / EVENT DUE BY

DISTRIBUTION

1 4.1.1 Kick-off Meeting and Associated Coordination

Within two months of award

OPR

2 4.1.1 Draft Underwater Survey Plan

Within three months of award

OPR, GPOC

3 4.1.1 Final Underwater Survey Plan

Within four months of award

OPR, GPOC,

Contracting Officer

4 4.1.2 Underwater Surveys August 2021

OPR, GPOC

ITEM

SOW

REFERENCE

DELIVERABLE / EVENT DUE BY

DISTRIBUTION

5 4.1.2 Progress Reports At end of each week of underwater surveys

OPR,GPOC,

Contracting Officer

6 4.2 Draft QA/QC Plan 15 days prior to first underwater survey

OPR, GPOC

7 4.2 Final QA/QC Plan 30 days after completion of first underwater survey

OPR, GPOC

8 4.2 Maps/Shapefiles

90 days after completion of each fieldwork event or 30 days prior to end of fiscal year, September 30, 2021

OPR, GPOC,

Contracting Officer

9 4.2 Critical Habitat Area Estimates

90 days after completion of each fieldwork event or 30 days prior to end of fiscal year, September 30, 2021

OPR, GPOC,

Contracting Officer

10 4.2 Excel Data Files

90 days after completion of each fieldwork event or 30 days prior to end of fiscal year, September 30, 2021

OPR, GPOC,

Contracting Officer

4.2 TASK TWO. Mapping and Documentation

8 DELIVERABLES