REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BROCK D. BUCHE, PE, PLS, Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: AHMAD ALKHAYYAT, PE, MBA, Assistant Director
Department of Public Utilities - Solid Waste Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve First Amendment to the consultant services agreement with CDM Smith, Inc., to expand the scope of services, extend the agreement to December 31, 2023, and increase the contract amount by $230,600 for a total contract amount of $660,450, for groundwater investigation and remedial action at the City of Fresno Sanitary Landfill. (Council District 3)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the First Amendment to the consultant services agreement with CDM Smith, Inc., a Massachusetts Corporation (CDM), to expand the scope of services, extend the agreement to December 31, 2023, and increase the original contract amount of $429,850 by $230,600 for the total amount of $660,450, for groundwater investigation and remedial action at the City of Fresno Sanitary Landfill; and authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to sign the First Amendment on behalf of the City of Fresno.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On February 1, 2022, the City awarded a consultant service agreement to CDM for groundwater monitoring, reporting and regrading design of Fresno Sanitary Landfill (FSL) in the amount of $429,850 and due to expire December 31, 2022. Approval of this agreement is necessary at this time as agreement is about to expire and this is the last Council session of the year.
Amending the agreement with CDM will ensure project continuity as this consultant is familiar with the site specific complexities of remediation and reporting required to meet compliance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and will assist in moving the FSL closer to delisting from the National Priorities List.
BACKGROUND
Since 1998 the City has undertaken ongoing cleanup of the FSL as required by its agreement with the USEPA, with the goal of the FSL being removed from the National Priorities List. The cleanup entails operation and maintenance activities at the groundwater extraction and treatment facility, groundwater monitoring and reporting to the USEPA, and allocating adequate funds to finance groundwater remedial actions and maintenance of the FSL during the delisting process.
The end goal for this project is removal of the FSL from the National Priorities List. The City is currently evaluating the final phase (Phase 3) which added additional monitoring and extraction wells to demonstrate enough pollutant removal for delisting of the FSL.
On June 26, 2000, the City began constructing a Landfill Cap and installing extraction and monitoring wells. The construction included a groundwater treatment facility and a landfill gas flare. Since that time, the City has monitored the groundwater plume using the monitoring wells in the area and wells installed on-site.
On September 29, 2011, Council approved an agreement with CDM for monitoring and testing the FSL for groundwater contaminants, specifically, volatile organic compounds; and performance monitoring and reporting to the USEPA of the remediation system treating those contaminants. The agreement with its various extensions ended December 31, 2015.
On March 11, 2016, Council approved a four-year agreement with CDM in the amount of $781,120 with three one-year extension options for monitoring and evaluation of the progress to remove the FSL from the National Priority List. Two of the three one-year extension options were exercised with the agreement expiring on December 31, 2021.
On February 1, 2022, the City awarded a consultant service agreement to CDM based on a uniquely qualified finding determination dated January 27, 2022, based on the consultant’s experience, knowledge of the FSL, and ongoing efforts toward groundwater monitoring, remedial action services and overall regrading and rehabilitation. This agreement allowed CDM to continue groundwater monitoring and remedial action services until December 31, 2022, and to finalize designs for the regrading and rehabilitation for the FSL. The cost for these efforts is $429,850.
The current agreement that will expire on December 31, 2022, (Attachment 2) includes Phase 1 design of the FSL regrading and rehabilitation project. CDM is the engineer-of-record, and their involvement is essential during the construction phase of this project which should commence during the summer months of 2023. CDM will start the design process for Phase 2 of the FSL regrading project in the spring of 2023. The proposed Amendment will also allow the CDM to continue groundwater monitoring and remedial action services until December 31, 2023. The Cost for these efforts is $230,600.
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved as to form this First Amendment to the Agreement. Upon approval by the City Council, the First Amendment to Agreement will be executed by the Director of Public Utilities, or designee.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the approval of this amendment does not qualify as a “project” for the purpose of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference does not apply to this action because this is an amendment to an existing agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
The cost of this amendment to agreement with CDM will be funded equally by the Landfill Enterprise Fund and General Fund. The total cost of $230,600 will be covered in the FY 2023 budget.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - First Amendment
Attachment 2 - Consultant Service Agreement