This is a service / maintenance or supply contract in Maple Creek, California. Contact the soliciting agency for additional information.

The County of Humboldt ("County"), by and through its Department of Public Works - Environmental Services Division, is issuing this Request for Proposals ("RFP") to retain an experienced and qualified consulting firm to provide specified planning and technical support services ("Services") needed to assist the County with the Humboldt Bay Living Shoreline Planning Project ("Project"). The Successful Proposer must have the ability to provide trained and experienced personnel and staff to perform the Services set forth in this RFP, which include, without limitation, undertaking technical analyses and completing preliminary design for a project to create salt marsh along a segment of the Humboldt Bay shoreline as a sea level rise adaptation measure. It should be noted that this RFP is a non-binding solicitation for such Services and may be canceled by the County at any time. This planning project will develop an advanced feasibility study for salt marsh creation as a sea level rise adaptation measure along the Eureka-Arcata Highway 101 and Humboldt Bay Trail Corridor. The planning area is located along an approximate 1.25-mile section of the eastern shoreline of North Humboldt Bay (also known as Arcata Bay), situated between the Brainard mill site and Bracut Industrial Park. Prior to development, the project area included salt marsh associated with the Fay Slough complex. Construction of levees, railroad, and the state highway in the late 19th and early 20th century severely impacted the margins of the salt marsh plain and the associated tidal channel network. Currently, the shoreline adjacent to the railroad is primarily intertidal mudflat with only small, remnant salt marsh patches. The planning area is situated within one of the most important transportation corridors in Humboldt County and represents one of the areas that is most vulnerable to sea level rise and continued coastal erosion and flooding. The shoreline has received significant erosion associated with wind waves and tidal currents because salt marsh is largely absent and does not provide a natural energy-attenuating buffer. Overtopping of the shoreline in December 2005 closed a portion of Highway 101 for several hours and caused severe erosion of the railroad embankment. The Humboldt Bay Trail South project will repair some of the erosion damage and raise the elevation of the rail prism. These efforts will stabilize the shoreline and buy time but residual flooding risk associated with sea level rise is significant. Interest is high in the Humboldt Bay region for using natural shoreline infrastructure (also known as nature-based solutions or living shorelines) as part of a diversified strategy for adapting to sea level rise. The purpose of this planning project is to undertake technical analyses and complete preliminary design for an innovative, multi-benefit approach of using natural landforms and physical processes to reduce flood risks and enhance a scarce habitat type by creating salt marsh within the project area. The planning project will complete preliminary design (30% engineering design plans) and a CEQA document (assumed to be an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration) for full project implementation. In addition, the planning project will complete intermediate design (65% engineering design plans) and permit applications for implementing Phase I of the full project. The study builds on an initial feasibility study1 and will analyze conceptual designs for both active and passive salt marsh creation approaches to enable comparative evaluation and support decision-making about project implementation. The previous study concluded that the project concept is technically feasible and supported by regulatory agencies and would generate substantial ecosystem services. However, further design and analysis of the two basic options (active or passive salt marsh creation) are needed before a complete project description can be developed for environmental review and a specific project design can be selected for implementation. Hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling, geotechnical evaluation, and sediment sampling are needed to fill data gaps. Issues such as sourcing of materials, material handling and transport, the potential for using dredged sediment, construction phasing, and ensuring effective vegetation management (re-vegetation of native species and control for invasive species) need to be investigated. Phased implementation is assumed to be the preferred approach in order to demonstrate feasibility of the project concept and to account for the likelihood that only partial funding and/or a partial volume of fill material will be available in the short-term. The project design in the initial feasibility study envisioned a series of self-contained "cells" defined by barrier berms which lends itself well to a phased implementation approach. Phase I would include construction of the first set of cells. Project tasks include: o Stakeholder engagement o Technical analyses o Preliminary design o Interim Report o CEQA and supporting studies for full project implementation o Intermediate design and permit applications for Phase I implementation Work products include technical memos, project descriptions, cost estimates, an interim report, engineering design plans at various iterations, a CEQA document, and permit applications. Information received as part of the Proposals submitted in response to this RFP shall be objectively evaluated to identify the Proposer that is best qualified to provide the Services set forth herein. At the conclusion of the review, evaluation, selection, contract negotiation and approval processes set forth in this RFP, a final Professional Services Agreement pertaining to the provision of the Services set forth herein will be awarded to the Successful Proposer. The final Professional Services Agreement resulting from this RFP process will expire on or before December 31, 2025, unless the term thereof is extended through a written amendment to the Professional Services Agreement.