1. INTRODUCTION
The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership, also known as Estuario, is requesting proposals from experienced organizations/firms with a proven and successful track record to conduct an Environmental Health Impact Assessment (HIA) as the Estuario’s Public Health Service Provider. The HIA will analyze the association between illicit discharges in the San Juan Bay Estuary Watershed and public health in the community.
A scope of work is included to assist interested organizations/firms in the preparation of a proposal for conducting the HIA. The applicant should not be limited by this general scope of work but must address all of the solutions and work products called for in thisRequest for Proposal (RFP). Failure to submit information in accordance with the requirements and procedures established in this document may be cause for disqualification.
2. ABOUT THE ESTUARIO
The Corporation for the Conservation of the San Juan Bay Estuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that operates the San JuanBay Estuary Partnership, or Estuario. Established in 1994, Estuario is the only tropical and non-continental location within the National Estuary Program (NEP) under Section 320 of the Clean Water Act. The Estuario’s mission is to restore and conserve the waters and associated ecosystems of the San Juan Bay Estuary as a sustainable axis of social and economic development. As a National Estuary Program, Estuario’s focuses on implementing the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for the San Juan Bay Estuary.
3. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Since 2016, Estuario has conducted an Illicit Discharge Monitoring and Corrective effort that has successfully identified and corrected critical pollution areas due to the presence of sewage discharges. The Estuario looks to further that project by evaluating public health issues in these areas in order to understand the correlation between water quality monitoring data and the population’s health.Carrying out an HIA will help Estuario evaluate the potential health benefits of investing in resilient water infrastructure.
4. PROJECT LOCATION
The San Juan Bay Estuary watershed or drainage basin extends above a broad, flat coastal plain and consists of 83 square miles (215 km2) of land and 14 square miles (36 km2) of water. The San Juan Bay Estuary ecosystem is compromised by the San Juan Bay and a number of smaller channels and lagoons. Some of these bodies of water include the San Antonio Canal, Condado Lagoon, San Jose Lagoon, Los Corozos Lagoon, Las Cucharillas Marshland, Torrecilla Lagoon, and the Piñones Lagoon as well as the interconnecting Martin Peña, San Antonio and the Suarez canals (See Figure 1). Fresh water flows into the system from the creeks and rivers in the watershed, including the Puerto Nuevo River, Juan Mendez Creek, San Anton Creek, Blasina Creek, and the Malaria Canal. During extreme flood events, freshwater is also received from the Rio Grande de Loiza.
Part of eight municipalities join to form the estuary’s watershed: Bayamón, Carolina, Cataño, Guaynabo, Loíza, San Juan, Toa Bajaand Trujillo Alto. Land use decisions and associated activities in these areas are closely linked to water quality impacts and the degradation of habitat in the estuary. The San Juan Bay estuary watershed houses many of the municipalities with the highestpopulation density and the most heavily urbanized areas related to the metropolitan area of Puerto Rico. Over 70% of its territorial extension is developed and paved over, which represents a constant stressor to this impacted, yet diverse and valuable estuarine ecosystem.
5. PROJECT SCOPE OF WORK AND REQUESTED SERVICES
The Service Provider will design and perform a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) within locations that have been previously identifiedas critical pollution areas due to the presence of sewage discharges. The locations are based on the diagnostic points identified by our Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination team due to significant presence of illicit sewage discharges. This assessment should evaluate the potential association between common illnesses experienced such as gastrointestinal, neurological, respiratory, atopicdermatitis conditions by the inhabitants of the area and the rural or urban environment they are exposed to. The Service Provider should integrate the findings from a Risk Assessment and Stakeholder analysis that the Estuario will carry out to understand this correlation to the population’s health. The results of HIA will be made public to the Estuario and its partners/key stakeholders suchthat it that will help guide actions to implement certain environmental justice programs such as wastewater infrastructure improvement projects. This will be an essential tool for Estuario to inform public policy decisions made by elected officials, municipalities and agencies representatives.
Deliverables
- Develop a strategy to assess the association of common illnesses experienced by the inhabitants of the area and the critical pollution diagnostic points they are exposed to, caused by raw sewage in the rural or urban environment withinthe San Juan Bay Estuary
- Develop a data collection method to evaluate and analyze the association between population health within the critical pollution diagnostic points and the exposure to raw sewage using a multivariate method approach.
- Conduct and present a Health Impact Assessment that will analyze health
- Propose mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of raw sewage discharges on population health and reduce the knowledge gap among the population.
6. APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested entities must attend the required virtual information session on May 31, 2023 at 12 pm, through Zoom. Entities must confirm rsvp with [email protected] on or before May 30, 2023.
Submit the proposal via email to [email protected] on or before June 23, 2023. Please include
“Environmental Public Health Consultant” with the applicant’s name in the subject line.
The proposal must address the following items in a comprehensive and concise manner:
- Applicant Overview
- Methodology/philosophy used to implement the project
- Qualifications and relevant experience/CV
- Team structure, bios with resumes
- Three references, including a summary of work performed (Ideally similar organizations/similar scopes)
- Proposal
-
- Overview
- Detailed methodology identifying all tasks to be completed by the Service Provider, including identifiable stakeholders necessary to complete tasks.
- Timeline with tasks, meetings, milestones, deliverables, and deadlines necessary to complete the deliverables stated in the scope of work.
- Budget with description of all fees and expenses, with sufficient cost data to conduct a cost analysis. This includes identifying the cost category of each fee/expense (such as personnel-with estimated hours and rate, fringe benefits, travel/per diem, subcontracting, indirect costs, supply, material and equipment costs, etc) along with quantities, specifications, and any other relevant details. The proposal must certify that the information reflects complete, current, and accurate data.
- Attachments
- Copy of the Department of State certification to do business in Puerto Rico (if operating from Puerto Rico
- Certificate of Good Standing from relevant agency as proof of certification of compliance with all federal and relevant state laws to conduct business,
Applicants must comply with all deadlines. No exceptions will be granted. Failure to comply with the requirements of this RFP may result in disqualification.
SELECTION PROCESS
An evaluation committee will evaluate each proposal received according to the criteria described below.
The consultant will be selected based solely on responses to this RFP and the required informational meeting. Estuario provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex,sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. Minority, women-owned business enterprises and othercertified minorities and small businesses are encouraged to apply.
Criteria
The evaluation committee will judge proposals based on relevant experience and whether they are:
- Comprehensive: Wide in scope or in
- Concise: Brief in form but comprehensive in scope or
- Clear: Easily understood and without
- Thorough: Extremely attentive to accuracy and
- Quality: Degree of superiority and
OTHER CONDITIONS
Time Extensions
Estuario, in its sole discretion, may change and/or extend the deadlines for the above-mentioned task, and such changes and deadlines will be communicated to all applicants that sent an interest notification.
Reservations
This RFP does not commit Estuario to award a contract, to defray any costs incurred in the preparation of a Proposal pursuant to this RFP, or to procure or contract for work, and request additional information and/or clarifications.
Public Records
All proposals submitted in response to this RFP become the property of Estuario and public records, and as such may be subject to public review.
Right to Cancel
Estuario, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to cancel this RFP for any or no reason, in part or in its entirety, including but notlimited to: the selection schedule, submittal date, and submittal requirements. If Estuario cancels or revises the RFP, all potential consultants will be notified in writing by Estuario.
Public Information
Selection announcements, contract awards, and all data provided by Estuario shall be protected from public disclosure. consultants desiring to release information to the public must receive prior written approval from Estuario. Estuario, at its sole discretion, shall determine the release and disclosure of information related to this RFP and any final work products as a result of this.
Source of funding: State Revolving Fund Grant C-72-250-03
