Engineering Services Friendsville Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements

The Board of County Commissioners of Garrett County, Maryland is requesting proposals for engineering services to prepare a Preliminary Engineering Report and Environmental Report for the Friendsville Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements project, with proposals due October 8, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. local time and a mandatory pre-proposal conference on September 28, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. on-site.

The scope requires documentation of existing conditions, evaluation of feasible rehabilitation and replacement alternatives, development of planning-level cost estimates, identification of environmental and permitting considerations, regulatory and permit review, alternatives analysis with opinions of probable cost, preparation of the PER and ER documents, environmental coordination, meetings with county staff, and support for USDA Rural Development and Maryland Department of Environment funding applications. The county will provide record drawings, permit information, and operational records; sampling, laboratory testing, pilot testing, and legal services are excluded. Deliverables must be completed and submitted to USDA Rural Development for comment by March 1, 2027. Project funding will be provided through a USDA-RUS loan and grant combination.

The evaluation criteria are ability and past experience on similar projects including USDA-RUS experience (45 points), demonstration of project understanding (25 points), depth and variety of staff disciplines (15 points), current workload and capacity (10 points), and responsiveness to submittal format instructions (5 points). Proposals are limited to 30 typed pages. Cost proposals must be submitted in a separate sealed envelope and include detailed fees by major task, labor categories and hours, hourly rates, reimbursable expenses, and subconsultant costs. Five copies of the proposal in a clearly marked sealed envelope must be submitted to the Garrett County Purchasing Department.

The selected engineer must maintain professional liability insurance with minimum limits of $1 million per occurrence and $5,000 deductible, general liability insurance of $1 million per occurrence, and workers' compensation insurance meeting Maryland statutory requirements. Anticipated contract award is November 2026, with work to begin at a date to be determined.