Closed

03/18/2022

Buena Vista Rancheria has been awarded a Wetland Program Development Grant from the US EPA. The purpose of this grant is to develop the tribe’s Wetland Inventory, Monitoring, and Assessment Program (WIMA). Monitoring will focus on a 4.4-acre wetland complex within a 6.6-acre wetland preserve located on the reservation. The tribe is seeking a consultant who will assist BVR in developing and implementing a wetland hydrological monitoring program, whereby the consultant and BVR develop a monitoring strategy, install wetland monitoring equipment, and analyze and interpret baseline wetland hydrological data. Monitoring will include the installation of two groundwater monitoring wells, and soil irrometers within the 4.4-acre wetland. The lead on this project is the Environmental Technician (Wetlands/TEK) with support from the Water Program Coordinator; however, additional BVR staff will be involved at various stages including but not limited to the Chief Operations Officer (COO), Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO), and the Tribal Facilities Manager.

The Tribe is requesting proposals from environmental consultants that wish to assist the Tribe in
completing the project.
Please submit a brief proposal describing the following:
-How your organization will accomplish the work based on the description below (see Section III).
-A Timeline and cost estimate for completing the work based on a limited budget.
-Briefly describe your covid-19 precautions
-Describe any special needs or workplace requirements your organization has

APPROACH:

Buena Vista Rancheria would like to approach this project in a way that protects cultural resources including historical artifacts, living plants and animals, and waters that reside on the reservation land and within the project area while also meeting the requirements and needs of the project. The Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) will conduct a site assessment of the area to determine constraints and specifications to the construction of groundwater wells and monitoring equipment. A cultural monitor may be assigned to observe ground disturbing activities if deemed necessary. 

To protect and mitigate environmental resource impacts, BVR may require the use of Best Management Practices or BMPs to reduce potential impacts such as soil erosion or vegetation loss. Because the project site is within a wetland preserve, care must be taken when siting and constructing monitoring equipment/infrastructure to reduce impacts to wetland ecosystems.  BVR project manager(s) and the Consultant will work together to reduce project impacts and determine necessary BMPs for the project.

SCOPE OF WORK:
TASK 1:  ASSIST TRIBE TO DEVELOP WETLAND HYDROLOICAL MONITORING STRATEGY

• Meet with BVR project manager(s) to discuss goals of the project and monitoring design
• Review and provide feedback on BVR developed draft monitoring strategy for wetland hydrological data

TASK 2: INSTALL GROUNDWATER MONITORING EQUIPMENT  

• Work with the BVR project manager(s) to determine best location for two groundwater monitoring wells within the 4.4-acre wetland
• Install two groundwater monitoring wells and piezometers within the 4.4-acre wetland
• Install BVR soil irrometers to track soil moisture in the 4.4-acre wetland

TASK 3: PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO COLLECT. ANALYZE, AND INTERPRET WETLAND HYDROLOGICAL DATA

• Work with BVR project manager(s) to collect groundwater and soil moisture data in the field according to monitoring strategy
• Analyze wetland hydrological data for baseline conditions and trends
• Ensure all data is transferred to the Tribe 
• Complete annual report summarizing monitoring effort monitoring results 

COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS

Buena Vista Rancheria is practicing Covid-19 safety protocols including physical distancing, mask wearing while inside or in close proximity while outdoors, regular hand washing and/or sanitizing. The Tribe wishes to ensure safety of its project managers while working with the Contractor and Crews. The Tribe anticipates the Contractor is practicing its own safety standards and requests that the Contractor adhere to its Covid-19 safety and disinfecting policies while on Tribal land.  

DELIVERABLES

Completion of tasks including the installation of two groundwater monitoring wells, soil irrometers, staff gauges, and data loggers. Technical assistance with analysis and interpretation of obtained hydrological data, and annual report at the end of the project period.

SCHEDULE / TIMELINE

The grant funded project period spans from January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. BVR anticipates project completion and final reports prior to the June 30th deadline. BVR seeks to have a consultant contracted by March 31, 2022, and a kickoff meeting in April 2022 to begin completing this scope of work. The timeline is as follows

• April 2022 Start and Complete task 1
• May 2022 Start and Complete task 2
• June 2022 – May 2023 Start task 3: data collection and preliminary analysis
• June 2023 Complete Task 3 Final annual report of monitoring effort

Consulting

 RFP Document - BVR WIMA_02012022
 BVR Boundary Map
 BVR Wetlands and Water Resources Map
 BVR Northeastern View of the Wetlands Preserve

Question: Why does the tribe want to monitor the wetland? Are there current problems that need to be addressed? (i.e. contaminated water) 

• Answer: The Tribe wants to monitor the wetland in order to gain baseline data that can be used to inform management and that can be used to assess change over time. 

 

Question: What specific wetland hydrologic data is the tribe looking to analyze?

• Answer: Ground water elevation, wetland pond level from staff gauge, soil moisture from irrometers, and precipitation.

 

Question: What type of data is the tribe looking for from the monitoring wells? (i.e. groundwater elevation, groundwater quality)

• Answer: Ground water elevation

 

Question: At what frequency is the tribe looking to collect data? (monthly/bi-monthly/quarterly) 

• Answer: Data collection is subject to sampling frequency outlined in monitoring plan to be developed in consultation with the contractor. Likely monthly depth to water measurement, soil moisture, and staff gauges, quarterly piezometer downloads

 

Question: Are there any permitting requirements to install a well? What are the constraints and specifications of well construction as determined by the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer? 

• Answer: Tribe is operating within the authority of its Wetland Ordinance – no permit anticipated.Constraints for well are that it is hand drilled, and does not impact cultural resources, THPO will conduct pre project survey, and provide monitoring during construction to protect Tribal cultural resources

 

Question: Will the project lead (Environmental Technician) or Water Program Coordinator assist with field data collection? If not, will assistance be available for field data collection? 

•  Answer: The environmental technician (Tribe) will assist with field data collection.

 

Question: The proposal mentions the installation of soil irrometers. How many will be installed? Do these need to be purchased? 

• Answer: Tribe will purchase all equipment. Total number of soil irrometers will be determined after consultation with the contractor.

 

Question: Section 3.4 mentions data loggers. Are data loggers required and what type of data will they collect? Do they need to be purchased? 

• Answer: Data logger is referring to the pizometer which will be installed in the well and will collect groundwater elevation. The Tribe will purchase materials and supplies. 

 

Question: Section 3.4 mentions staff gauges. How many staff gauges does the project require? Do these need to be purchased? 

• Answer: Tribe will purchase staff gauges. A total of 2 staff gauges will be installed by the tribe. 

Question: We do have one question related to the installation of monitoring wells. In response to our question about the well installation constraints, it was indicated that the wells were to be hand drilled. In general, hand drilled wells beyond 15 feet deep are difficult to install and if the groundwater is deeper than 15 feet a hand drilled well might not be feasible.
Is there any information on groundwater levels in the immediate area?

• Answer: There is no information on groundwater levels in the immediate area. The closest well is a USGS well
  approximately 6 miles away with a ground water level reading of 50ft below the surface in 2005 and
  65ft below the surface in 2017. It should be noted that 2012-2016 were drought years which may have
  impacted groundwater levels in 2017. The Tribe is wanting to focus on the surficial water table and its
  influence on the wetland.
• Answer: We have a lot of groundwater information, however we are interested in the upper 15 or so feet to understand the surface to groundwater interactions that affect the wetland hydrology. We are not interested in identifying a water table per say just drilling a wetland monitoring well near the surface to monitor any water within area that may be influencing the wetland hydrology.