Westshore Lake Ponchartrain, Bottomland Hardwood, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District

NOTE: THIS IS A SYNOPSIS, NOT A SOLICITATION. 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 a 100% Total Small Business Set Aside procurement. All qualified business concerns may submit proposals.

NAICS: 523910.

MITIGATION BANK CREDITS, Westshore Lake Pontchartrain Project Bottomland Hardwood Coastal Zone, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District

The New Orleans District, US Army Corps of Engineers (CEMVN) described, evaluated and updated its plan to mitigate for unavoidable habitat losses caused by the construction of the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain (WSLP), Louisiana Project within the coastal zone (CZ) in Environmental Assessment #576. CEMVN seeks to purchase Bottomland Hardwood (BLH) mitigation bank credits able to mitigate CZ impacts [Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) approved].

As part of CEMVN’s plan to mitigate for unavoidable impacts to CZ BLH habitat caused by the construction of the WSLP Project, CEMVN will purchase LDNR approved BLH mitigation bank credits to compensate for 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 up to 100% of CEMVN’s need at the time of purchase; however, CEMVN may purchase a lesser quantity of credits than it requires. In order for the CEMVN to acquire the credits needed to satisfy its mitigation obligations, the CEMVN may accept proposals from one or more offerors, resulting in the lowest cost combination that fulfills the mitigation requirements and is the best value to the Government, as determined by the CEMVN. 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 mitigation bank credit purchase.  Award will be made based on the lowest-price, technically acceptable source selection process.

The CEMVN desires to acquire BLH credits in the amount and type specified below:

LDNR approved BLH credits representing 35 average annual habitat units (AAHUs) to mitigate for impacts caused or to be caused by construction of the WSLP Project.

A mitigation bank must meet all of the following qualifications to be eligible to sell credits to satisfy the WSLP 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 1.2 of the Wetland Value Assessment (WVA) BLH 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 Lake Pontchartrain Basin, which is coextensive with Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs); 08090203, 08090202, 08090201, 08070205, 08070204, 08070203, and 08070202; and be physically located within the Louisiana Coastal Zone.

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 1.2 of the WVA BLH 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 1.2 of the WVA on the approved banks in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin with available BLH (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.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued on or about January 19th, 2024, 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 Evan.G.Woitha@usace.army.mil.