Engineering Services for Watershed Studies-MBE Goal 18%

The Maryland Environmental Service (MES) is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to procure professional engineering services to support the Maryland Department of the Environment's (MDE) watershed studies and flood risk mitigation program. The solicitation seeks comprehensive 2D hydraulic modeling using HEC-RAS software, flood risk assessments, flood management plans, and development of a watershed study framework to address precipitation-based flooding across Maryland. Deliverables include preliminary modeling for 313 Watershed Modeling Units classified by level of detail (Low, Medium, High, and Contributing Area), with pricing structured on a per-square-mile basis for modeling and per-total-watershed-area basis for assessments and management plans. The first anticipated watershed study is Sharmans Branch-Antietam Creek in Washington County, with pilot watershed studies and framework deliverables due by February 28, 2027, to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency grant deadlines. Minimum qualifications require offerors to demonstrate eight years of experience providing Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map products and three years of HEC-RAS rain-on-mesh modeling experience, with proposed key personnel meeting specific licensing, certification, and experience requirements. The evaluation committee will score proposals on technical response to watershed studies requirements (40 points), framework approach (10 points), staff qualifications (10 points), offeror qualifications (10 points), pricing (20 points), and MBE participation (10 points). A pre-proposal conference is scheduled for February 19, 2026, at 12:00 PM via Teams meeting; written questions are due February 27, 2026, by 2:00 PM; and proposals must be submitted through the MES Procurement Portal by March 13, 2026, at 2:00 PM.

This RFP includes a mandatory 18% Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) subcontracting goal with no identified subgoals, and Living Wage requirements apply as the contract exceeds $100,000. The contract will be structured as a fixed-price, indefinite-quantity agreement with an initial term of two years from the Notice to Proceed, followed by three optional two-year renewal periods, with work orders to be issued for identified watershed studies using unit prices submitted on the price form. Federal funding for this project derives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Federal Fiscal Year 2022 Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program (CFDA 97.029). Insurance requirements include Commercial General Liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate), Professional Liability ($1,000,000 per claim), Excess Liability ($1,000,000), and Cyber Liability ($1,000,000). Offerors must submit fully loaded, all-inclusive unit pricing with no contingencies or conditions on the provided Price Form attachment, with all financial submissions requiring signatures from authorized company representatives and inclusion of company identification information, Federal Identification Number (FEIN), eMMA registration number, and Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation vendor number. Specific award values or budget ranges are not disclosed in the solicitation materials; pricing will be determined through competitively awarded work orders based on unit prices and the scope of identified watershed studies.