Bayou Grande Watershed Management Plan

Escambia County, Florida is requesting proposals from qualified professional firms or multi-disciplinary teams to produce a Bayou Grande Watershed Management Plan, with a non-mandatory pre-solicitation meeting on November 12, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. and electronic proposals due December 7, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. The solicitation identifies no set-asides. The project is funded through Escambia County's RESTORE Direct Component (Pot 1) allocation and a Florida Department of Environmental Protection Resilient Florida Grant, which brings federal contract provisions under 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Appendix II into any award.

The plan covers the 11,000-acre Bayou Grande Watershed in southwestern Escambia County and the Warrington neighborhood of Pensacola, addressing stormwater, water quality, habitat, shoreline erosion, coastal resiliency, public access, and community resilience. Deliverables include data synthesis, public outreach and participatory planning, prioritized implementation projects, conceptual designs, cost estimates, permitting considerations, property needs, implementation timelines, a funding strategy, and monitoring and adaptive management recommendations. The consultant must coordinate with NAS Pensacola on implementation. Required compliance includes E-Verify registration, workers' compensation at statutory limits, general liability of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, and professional errors and omissions coverage of at least $1,000,000 per wrongful act and $2,000,000 aggregate. The federal exhibit lists debarment certification, Byrd Anti-Lobbying certification, and Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act compliance for awards above $150,000, along with Davis-Bacon and Build America, Buy America requirements. The RESTORE award notice states Davis-Bacon and Build America, Buy America do not apply to this planning grant.

The RESTORE award authorizes $550,000 in federal funds and requires $500,000 in non-federal participation, for a total project budget of $1,050,000, and budgets $973,394.33 for contractual services. Its performance period runs October 1, 2025 through August 1, 2028, with a public meeting by month 9, a draft plan by month 27, and a final plan by month 33. The FDEP grant (Agreement No. 25PLN60) provides $500,000 in state funds, with $475,000 for the watershed plan and $25,000 for public outreach. Its deliverables are due March 31, 2027, and late deliverables incur a 5 percent per calendar day reduction in task funding.

Proposals are limited to 30 pages in tabs covering introduction, project approach and work plan, project experience, key personnel qualifications and availability, and pricing. Scoring allocates 25 points to watershed planning approach, 20 to relevant project experience, 15 to availability and workload management, 15 to key personnel qualifications, and 10 to pricing. Phase 1 scores all proposals to form a shortlist, and Phase 2 interviews or oral presentations inform the final scoring. The award is all-or-none to the most responsive and responsible firm, which must execute the contract within five days of the Notice of Award. Questions are due November 30, 2026 at 12:00 p.m.