Rights of Way Retracement Policy Research

PURPOSE

This announcement is a Request for Information (RFI) only for the purposes of conducting market research and does not obligate the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in any way. This is not a request for proposal and BPA will not pay for any information submitted or for any expenses associated with providing information. Responses are due no later than December 5th, 2008.

Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. Material submitted will be deemed proprietary to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations if so marked by the respondent.

BPA's acquisition practices are not governed by the same rules and regulations of other federal agencies. BPA acquisitions are subject to the policies and procedures outlined in the Bonneville Purchasing Instructions (BPI) which is available for viewing at: http://www.bpa.gov/corporate/business/bpi/.

GOAL

The goal of this contract is to provide BPA with clear guidance on the legal principles and applicable case law with regards to retracement surveys of BPA rights of way. The BPA Survey and Mapping Section will formulate a policy based upon the guidance and research provided by this contract.

BACKGROUND

The BPA Surveying and Mapping Section maintain an ongoing encroachment survey program that is used to support the Realty Services Section in protecting BPA rights of way. With the constant and increased threat of development around and adjacent to BPA right of ways, the need to have a legally sound policy with regards to the retracement surveys of our right of ways is imperative.

When BPA acquired rights of ways from 1937 up until the 1990's, surveyors would tie corners of occupation such as fence corners, road intersections, field lines, etc. When describing the parcel in the deed, they would refer to these occupation corners as section (or quarter) corners and use them as the point of beginning in the deed. Now, some of these locations have been monumented (whether correctly or incorrectly) and some are in different locations than BPA had called in right of way deed(s). Due to this confusion, BPA finds itself in constant disagreement with private land surveyors who have located our rights of way in differing locations due to the ambiguous locations of the point of beginning, leading to conflicts that occasionally move to the court system.

LOCATION

The results of the proposed research should be applicable to the BPA system, which includes all, or parts, of 4 northwestern states. Research will be required for all states that lie within BPA's service territory (Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana).

DELIVERABLES

The contractor will provide a bound report which will contain, but is not limited to, the following:

A detailed analysis of findings; the analysis will include:

Table of contents

A preface, which will include a brief synopsis of the questions/concerns/requests presented to the contractor in the Statement of Work and a synopsis of the contractor's opinion as to the best course of action for BPA's future policy.

The contractor's full opinion as to the best course of action for BPA to approach the policy of retracing BPA rights of way (this may include different solutions for individual states if warranted).

A synopsis of each applicable Local/State/Federal court case that could be used by BPA to develop the new policy, including the contractor's opinion as to how each case could help or hinder BPA's future policy.

Devise a scoring system and score all cases relevant to retracing BPA rights of way and provide a score sheet for each case. The score sheets will be arraigned by jurisdiction (including supporting documentation). Also include the entire ruling for each case (in the appendixes, include any lower court ruling if the case had been appealed).

The full report shall be the property of the Bonneville Power Administration and the BPA will reserve the right to reproduce and use at their discretion. An electronic copy of the entire analysis and supporting documentation will also be delivered on CD or DVD format.

The contractor will also give a detailed briefing to BPA personnel about the findings of the analysis performed. The briefing will be held at BPA's Two Park Place building in Vancouver, Washington. This briefing will conclude with a thorough question and answer session. The briefing and Q & A session should last an entire day.

Requested Information

The Contractor must be a licensed surveyor with a background in property laws. A law degree is preferred.

Interested vendors may submit their capabilities and qualifications and any other pertinent information should they choose. At a minimum, please include the following information for your firm:
• Resume
• Company name
• Address and/or website
• Phone and Fax number
• E-mail address
• Point of contact

Responses can be submitted via email to vtta@bpa.gov