New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 20 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 5 - PETROLEUM STORAGE TANKS
Part 123 - CORRECTIVE ACTION FUND ADMINISTRATION
Section 20.5.123.2307 - PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR SELECTION OF REMEDIATION CONTRACTORS AT RESPONSIBLE PARTY-LEAD SITES
Universal Citation: 20 NM Admin Code 20.5.123.2307
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
A. Within 15 days of written notification from the department that remediation is required, the owner or operator shall provide to the department either a written list with a minimum of five names of consultants from which the department and the owner or operator shall solicit proposals for remediation or a written request that the department solicit proposals for remediation on its website. The department and the owner or operator shall follow the procedures outlined in subsections B through E of this section where site evaluation, remediation selection and justification, and design may be required. The department and the owner or operator shall follow the procedures outlined in subsection F for bids at sites where limited remediation is such that no additional infrastructure is needed, plans and specifications that require a professional engineer signature and stamp are not required, the cost is less than $80,000 (not including NM gross receipt tax), and the proposed activities can be accomplished within two years. Limited remediation includes but is not limited to the injection of contaminant-reducing agents and the use of portable units for soil vapor extraction ("SVE"). The department shall follow the procedures outlined in subsection G for proposals at sites where the owner or operator is the state of New Mexico or a subdivision thereof.
B. Specifications.
(1) The department and the owner or operator
shall develop specifications for remediation, which shall state which sections
of 20.5.119 NMAC or 20.5.120 NMAC the work is intended to fulfill.
(2) The department and the owner or operator
may require that specifications including primary responsibility for operation
or maintenance of remediation systems with electrical or mechanical components
contain the requirement that winning proposals shall include
pay-for-performance criteria as defined in this part.
(3) Proposals shall meet all requirements
outlined in the specifications.
(4)
Costs for all tasks outlined in the specifications shall be submitted by
short-listed firms only and shall be submitted under separate, sealed cover
from the technical portion of the proposal.
C. Solicitation of proposals.
(1) If the owner or operator provides a list
of contractors, the department shall mail the specifications to those
contractors. However, if the owner or operator, within 15 days of receiving
written notification from the department that remediation is required, fails to
provide the department with the names of five contractors, fails to respond to
the department's notice that remediation is required, or chooses to allow the
department to solicit proposals on behalf of the owner or operator, the
department may solicit proposals from and make specifications available to any
interested contractor using the department's webpage.
(2) Any questions concerning the
solicitation, including any requests for clarification of the specifications,
shall be submitted in writing to the department and the owner or operator,
within two weeks prior to the deadline for submission of proposals. Any
response from the department and the owner or operator shall be provided
promptly to all contractors through a posting on the department's
webpage.
(3) Each proposal shall
contain a notarized affidavit signed by the contractor certifying under oath
that the contractor has participated and will continue to participate in the
competitive contractor selection process as described in this section and
Section 74-6B-7C NMSA 1978 without misrepresentation and without collusion with
other contractors during the entire solicitation, evaluation and selection
process.
D. Evaluation of proposals and contractor selection.
(1) Once
the department and the owner or operator have received a proposal, they shall
not discuss the solicitation or any proposal received in response to the
solicitation with anyone other than department staff or the owner or
operator.
(2) If fewer than three
responsive proposals are obtained by the deadline in the solicitation, the
department shall consult with the owner or operator and solicit additional
proposals pursuant to subsection A of this section or paragraph (1) of
subsection C of this section.
(3)
If fewer than three responsive proposals are obtained after two attempts, the
department and the owner or operator may select a proposal following the
procedures in this section, provided the technical merit is acceptable for the
proposed work.
(4) The department
shall, and the owner or operator may, evaluate proposals based on technical
merit as defined in this part. The technical merit score shall be based on an
understanding of site-specific conditions and the appropriateness of proposed
remediation technology.
(a) A team approved
by the department shall evaluate the proposals in a timely manner. The owner or
operator or their representative is encouraged to participate as a part of the
evaluation team. Each team member shall independently evaluate each proposal
for technical merit. After discussion, the team shall determine the preliminary
technical merit score for each proposal.
(b) The team shall prepare a short list of
proposals for further consideration. The short list shall consist of the names
of the firms that have submitted proposals with the highest preliminary
technical merit scores.
(c) The
team shall present the short list of firms to a department task force for a
discussion of proposals to ensure consistency among team evaluation and
scoring. The department task force shall consist of senior department technical
staff. After discussion with the department task force, the team shall assign
the technical merit scores.
(5) The department and the owner or operator
may request all firms selected for the short list to conduct an oral
presentation outlining their proposals for the department task force, the team
and the owner or operator. The owner or operator's attendance during the oral
presentations is encouraged, but not required. During the oral presentations,
members of the department task force, the team and the owner or operator may
ask questions. Only the team shall assign the scores to each proposal on the
short list.
(a) Any firm that is requested by
the department and the owner or operator to conduct an oral presentation and
chooses not to do so, shall be eliminated from the short list.
(b) All short-listed firms shall submit a
sealed cost proposal to the department and the owner or operator no later than
two days prior to the oral presentations. The team shall open and review the
sealed cost information submitted for each proposal on the short
list.
(c) Prior to or during the
oral presentations, contractors on the short list may withdraw the original
cost submission and substitute a best and final offer for the cost portion of
the proposal.
(6)
Following the oral presentations, the team may adjust the technical merit
score, based on demonstrated general expertise, site-specific knowledge and
application, or information clarified or provided.
(7) At any point in the evaluation process,
when, in the team's opinion, a proposal does not substantially meet the
technical merit or cost effectiveness standards set forth in the solicitation,
the team may reject the proposal.
(8) The team shall assign a final score for
each proposal on the short list, which shall be the cost effectiveness score
plus the technical merit score.
(a) The
technical merit score, with a maximum of 700 points, shall be assigned pursuant
to the procedure described in this subsection.
(b) The cost effectiveness score is the
technical weight factor times the cost weight factor times 300, where the
technical weight factor is the proposal's technical merit score divided by the
highest technical merit score of proposals on the short list; the cost weight
factor is the lowest cost of proposals on the short list divided by the
proposal's cost; 300 is the maximum cost effectiveness score.
(9) The department shall notify
the owner or operator and all submitting firms of the highest scoring proposal.
The owner or operator shall enter into a contract with the selected firm not
less than 10 days or more than 30 days after the notification. If, for any
reason, the selected firm cannot complete the project, the department and the
owner or operator shall either select the firm with the second highest scoring
proposal, provided the technical merit is acceptable for the proposed work, or
repeat the contractor selection process in accordance with this section. In
order for the work to qualify for payment from the fund, the owner or operator
shall use the firm selected in accordance with this part.
(10) After the department has notified the
owner or operator of the highest scoring proposal, the department and the owner
or operator shall make available to the contractors and the public all
proposals submitted and the evaluation team's scores.
(11) An owner or operator aggrieved by the
department's selection may request administrative review pursuant to
20.5.123.2320 NMAC within 15 days of the post mark on the
notification.
(12) An offeror
aggrieved by the department's selection may request administrative review
pursuant to 20.5.123.2320 NMAC within 10 days of the post mark date on the
notification.
(13) For purposes of
owner and operator participation in the process set forth in this subsection,
the owner or operator may appoint a representative who is not affiliated with
any individual who submitted a proposal. Any owner or operator representative
may not later work for the contractor, the owner, or the operator on any work
generated by the proposal.
E. When proposals are received from nonresident businesses and resident businesses, and the proposal with the highest evaluation is from a nonresident business, the contract shall be awarded to the resident business whose technical merit is comparable and whose cost is nearest to the cost of the high-scoring nonresident business proposal if the cost of the resident proposal is made lower than the cost of the nonresident business when multiplied by a factor of 0.95.
F. The department and the owner or operator shall follow the procedures outlined in this section at sites where limited remediation is such that no additional infrastructure is needed, plans and specifications that require a professional engineer signature and stamp are not required, the cost is less than $80,000 (not including NM gross receipt tax), and the proposed activities can be accomplished within two years.
(1) Specifications.
(a) The department and the owner or operator
shall develop specifications for limited remediation, which shall state which
sections of 20.5.119 NMAC or 20.5.120 NMAC the work is intended to
fulfill.
(b) Bids shall meet all
requirements and include costs for all tasks outlined in the
specifications.
(2)
Request for bids.
(a) The owner or operator
shall provide to the department either a written list with a minimum of three
names of consultants from which the department shall request bids for the
limited remediation or a written request that the department request bids on
its website.
(b) Any questions
concerning the request for bids, including any requests for clarification of
the specifications, shall be submitted in writing to the department and the
owner or operator within one week prior to the deadline for submission of bids.
Any response from the department and the owner or operator shall be provided
promptly to all contractors identified by the owner or operator or by posting
the responses on the department's webpage consistent with the method that the
bids were requested.
(3)
Bid content and specifications. The request for bids shall include but not be
limited to:
(a) the scope of work including a
list of tasks,
(b) a request for
costs associated with each task and a total project cost;
(c) a request for a description of the
technical approach; and
(d) the
schedule for implementing the limited remedial strategy.
(4) Evaluation of the bids and contractor
selection.
(a) Once the department and the
owner or operator have received a bid, they shall not discuss the request for
bids or any responses to the request for bids received with anyone other than
department staff and the owner or operator.
(b) Only one responsive bid is required for
evaluation, provided the technical merit is acceptable for the proposed
work.
(c) The department shall, and
the owner or operator may, evaluate the bids based on technical responsiveness
to the limited remediation strategy and cost. The responsive bids shall be
evaluated by a team approved by the department, and owner or operator if
requested. The team shall make a recommendation to a department task force for
approval.
(d) The department shall
notify the owner or operator and all submitting firms of the selected bid. The
owner or operator shall enter into a contract with the selected firm not less
than 10 days or more than 30 days after the notification.
(e) After the department has notified the
owner or operator of the selected bid, the department and the owner or operator
shall make available to the contractors and the public all bids submitted and
the evaluation team's scores.
(f)
An owner or operator aggrieved by the department's selection may request
administrative review pursuant to 20.5.123.2320 NMAC within 15 days of the post
mark on the notification.
(g) An
offeror aggrieved by the department's selection may request administrative
review pursuant to 20.5.123.2320 NMAC within 10 days of the post mark date on
the notification.
(h) For purposes
of owner and operator participation in the process set forth in this
subsection, the owner or operator may appoint a representative who is not
affiliated with any individual who submitted a bid. Any owner or operator
representative may not later work for the contractor, the owner, or the
operator on any work generated by the bid.
G. For responsible party-lead sites where the owner or operator is the state of New Mexico or any subdivision thereof, including but not limited to municipalities, counties, school districts, or other political subdivisions and their agencies, the department shall accept the use of the state procurement code, provided the department is involved in the development of the specifications and the evaluation of the submitted proposals.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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