East Baton Rouge Parish Watershed Flood Risk Management (EBR) Project, Bottomland Hardwood (BLH) mitigation bank credits

NOTE: THIS IS A SYNOPSIS, NOT A SOLICITATION. SPECIFICATIONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME; THEREFORE, NO QUESTIONS OF A TECHNICAL OR CONTRACTUAL NATURE WILL BE ACCEPTED OR ANSWERED UNTIL THE SOLICITATION IS ISSUED. INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS SYNOPSIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

This will be an UNRESTRICTED procurement. All qualified business concerns may submit proposals.

NAICS: 523910. Total value is estimated to cost between $10,000,000.00 and $25,000,000.00.

The New Orleans District, US Army Corps of Engineers (CEMVN) seeks to purchase Bottomland Hardwood (BLH) mitigation bank credits located in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin watershed, as specified below, to compensate for unavoidable habitat losses associated with the construction of the East Baton Rouge Parish Watershed Flood Risk Management (EBR) Project.

As part of CEMVN’s plan to mitigate for unavoidable impacts to BLH habitat associated with the construction of the EBR Project, CEMVN will purchase BLH mitigation bank credits to compensate for the impacts in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. The bank(s) from which credits will be purchased will be selected through a competitive solicitation/award process. Any mitigation bank meeting the eligibility requirements and having the appropriate resource type of credits may submit a proposal to sell credits. CEMVN may enter into one or more contracts to purchase the amount of credits necessary to meet CEMVN’s need at the time of purchase; however, CEMVN may purchase a lesser quantity of credits than it requires. A separate contract shall be executed for each bank credit purchase. Award will be made based on lowest-price, technically acceptable source selection process.

MITIGATION REQUESTED

Currently, CEMVN has identified project-related impacts and desires to acquire credits in the amount and type specified below:

BLH credits representing 83 average annual habitat units (AAHUs) to mitigate for BLH impacts caused or to be caused by the construction of the EBR Project.

All credit sales MUST be in 1/10th acre increments.

MITIGATION BANK ELIGIBILITY

A mitigation bank must meet all of the following qualifications to be eligible to sell credits to satisfy the EBR Project mitigation requirements. For the proposal to be considered responsive and for the offeror to be considered responsible, the mitigation bank shall:

• be approved by CEMVN and be in full compliance with its Mitigation Banking Instrument (MBI), its other legal instruments (such as its conservation servitude and its financial assurances) and the standards set forth in 33 CFR Part 332; and

• be physically located within the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, which together are coextensive with Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs): 08090203, 08090202, 08090201, 08070205, 08070204, 08070203, and 08070202; and

• provide the habitat type that matches the habitat type being mitigated; and

• have mitigation credits assessed using version 1.2 of the Bottomland Hardwood Forest Wetland Value Assessment (WVA) Community Model available to compensate for the impacts to the particular habitat to be mitigated; and

• have a duly recorded perpetual conservation servitude/easement.

Models used for Civil Works projects are required to be certified by Headquarters USACE Model Certification Panel and comply with the certification criteria presented in EC 1105-2-412. Version 1.2 of the WVA BLH Community Model has been certified and this model will be used to assess compensatory mitigation credit values.

To facilitate the solicitation process, CEMVN, in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has run Version 1.2 of the WVA on the approved banks in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin with BLH credits based on information provided by the bank sponsors to CEMVN during the bank approval process and continuing compliance reviews. The Value Model results will be included in the solicitation package.

NAICS: 523910. A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued on or about 23 Nov 2021, with a proposal due date established. Actual issue date will be shown when the solicitation is issued. The solicitation documents for this procurement will be posted on the www.SAM.gov website and can be accessed from a link located on this www.sam.gov website. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for .pdf files (www.adobe.com) in order to open most files posted by the CEMVN. You are encouraged, for marketing purposes, to register as an Interested Vendor on www.SAM.gov.

A prospective Offeror must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM), including the NAICS code they are bidding under, in order to submit a proposal and receive a Government contract award. To register, the SAM Internet address is: https://SAM.gov. The Contract Specialist for this procurement is Quinton Hamm at 504- 862-2340; or by e- mail at quinton.b.hamm@usace.army.mil.