Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico, Freshwater Marsh, Coastal Zone, CEMVN

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.

MITIGATION BANK CREDITS, Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Freshwater Marsh Coastal Zone, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District

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

The New Orleans District, US Army Corps of Engineers (CEMVN) seeks to purchase Freshwater Marsh (hereinafter “Fresh Marsh”) Tidal mitigation bank credits approved by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) located in the Deltaic Plain watershed, as specified below, to compensate for unavoidable habitat losses associated with the construction of the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico (MTG), Humble Canal Gate Site Preparation and Initial Levee Preload (Project), Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, within the Louisiana Coastal Zone (CZ).

As part of CEMVN’s plan to mitigate for unavoidable impacts to Fresh Marsh and Wet Pasture habitats caused by the construction of the MTG Project, CEMVN will purchase Fresh Marsh (LDNR approved) Tidal mitigation bank credits able to mitigate CZ impacts in the Deltaic Plain. The Deltaic Plain is coextensive with Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC) 08070203, 08070204, 8070205, 08080101, 08080102, 08080103, 08090100, 08090201, 08090202, 08090203, 08090301, and 08090302.  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. Additionally, the amount of credits purchased under this acquisition is also subject to the CEMVN’s ability to effectively deliver other CEMVN missions. A separate contract shall be executed for each bank credit purchase. Award will be made based on low-price, technically acceptable source selection process.

A mitigation bank must meet all of the following qualifications to be eligible to sell credits to satisfy the MTG 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 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
• provide the habitat type that matches the habitat type being mitigated; and
• have mitigation credits assessed using version 2.0 of the Wetland Value Assessment (WVA) Fresh Marsh Community Model available to compensate for the impacts to the particular habitat to be mitigated; and
• have a duly recorded perpetual conservation servitude/easement; and
• be physically located within the Deltaic Plain, where the Deltaic Plain is coextensive with Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC) 08070203, 08070204, 8070205, 08080101, 08080102, 08080103, 08090100, 08090201, 08090202, 08090203, 08090301, and 08090302.

Models used for Civil Works projects are required to be certified by Headquarters United States Army Corps of Engineers Model Certification Panel and comply with the certification criteria presented in EC 1105-2-412. Version 2.0 of the WVA Fresh Marsh Community Model has been certified and was used to assess impacts. Accordingly, 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 2.0 of the WVA on the approved banks in the Deltaic Plain, as previously defined with available Fresh Marsh (LDNR) credits based on information provided by their respective bank sponsors to CEMVN during the bank approval process and continuing compliance reviews. The Wetland Value Assessment Model results will be included in the solicitation package.

NAICS: 523910. A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued on or about May 2, 2023, 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 the link located at https://www.sam.gov. 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 in SAM.gov.

Prospective Offerors must be registered in the Department of Defense “System for Award Management” (SAM) database prior to submittal of an Offer in response to the Solicitation.  To register, the SAM Internet address is: https://www.sam.gov. The Contracting Officer for this solicitation is Christopher Nuccio, at Christopher.Nuccio@usace.army.mil and the assigned Contract Specialist is Anedra.A.Baldwin@usace.army.mil.