Three illustrations of the expense of dealing with the disposal of trash was provided by action taken by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors this week.
In the first instance, the board put its imprimatur on the preliminary plans and specifications for what is referred to as the “Unit 2 Phases 3-2 and 4 Groundwater Protection System Composite Liner Construction Project” at the San Timoteo Sanitary Landfill. While the action in and of itself did not require any outlay of money, the approval of the plan as signed and sealed by a registered civil engineer in essence clears the way for the county public works division to advertise the project for bids.
According to a report put together by County Public Works Director Kevin Blakeslee and the division’s deputy director, Harold Zamora, “The project involves the construction of a liner for the Unit 2 Phases 3-2 and 4 landfill cells at the San Timoteo Sanitary Landfill. The project consists of excavation and grading to support the construction of 17 acres of regulatory agency-approved single composite geo-membrane liner, a retention basin on the northwest side of Unit 2, construction of an alternate haul road, as well as supplying electrical power through Southern California Edison to support the leachate pumping system. The San Timoteo Sanitary Landfill is located east of the City of Redlands at 31 Refuse Road and has been accepting municipal solid waste from various cities within the county since operations at the site commenced in 1980. The site occupies approximately 366 acres of which 114 are permitted for refuse disposal. The site consists of two waste management units with the project occupying a portion of the second unit. The current rate of trash disposal at the site necessitates the installation of additional liner to provide the operator with additional capacity. The Unit 2 Phases 3-2 and 4 Liner project consists of approximately 17 acres of single composite geo-membrane liner. The environmental management division of the county public works department has completed a California Environmental Quality Act review of the proposed Project. The currently proposed liner project specifically relating to Phases/Cells No. 3 and 4 is part of the project that has been previously analyzed in existing California Environmental Quality Act documentation and this liner work does not present a substantial change in the project as previously proposed and analyzed. Therefore, additional California Environmental Quality Act analysis is not required. Previous environmental documentation at the San Timoteo Laanitary Landfill has included:
• 1995 – Solid waste facilities permit update (mitigated negative declaration);
• 1997 – Construction of a landfill liner system (mitigated negative declaration);
• 1998 – Drainage improvements to improve on-site/off-site drainage conditions (categorical exemption);
• 1999 – Alternative cover material for county-operated landfills (categorical exemption);
• 2002 – Solid waste facilities permit update (mitigated negative declaration);
•  2012 – San Timoteo Landfill 5-year permit review (mitigated negative declaration).”
A mitigated negative declaration is an assertion by a governing board that all environmental impacts of a project have been adequately mitigated by the terms of approval given to that particular project, thus eliminating the need for a full-blown environmental impact report for the project to be undertaken and certified.
The report by Blakeslee and Zamora continued, “In 1998, a mitigated negative declaration was adopted by the board of supervisors for the specific purpose of reviewing potential environmental impacts resulting from the construction of a liner system at the existing San Timoteo Sanitary Landfill. The 1998 mitigated negative declaration describes that the proposed liner system is a requirement of the 1995 solid waste facilities permit, which imposed new regulatory requirements on sanitary landfills like the San Timoteo Sanitary Landfill. The 1998 project proposed to split Cell No. 3 into two additional phases/cells [creating phases No. 3, 4 and 5] with the phases/cells No. 4 & 5 making up part of the previously identified Cell No. 3 area. Other than these changes, no changes to the physical site are proposed that have not been previously analyzed in existing California Environmental Quality Act documents. In 2005, an addendum to the 1998 mitigated negative declaration was prepared to consider a “minor modification’ to the project description as presented in the initial study prepared for the construction of the liner system in Unit 2. To support the 2005 addendum, a biological site evaluation was prepared by an outside consultant. This biological site evaluation reviewed numerous previous studies of the San Timoteo Sanitary Landfill from 1995 to 2004 and included a site survey. The biological site evaluation concluded that no sensitive or listed plant or wildlife species of habitat will be indirectly or directly affected by the expansion of the landfill at the edges into previously undisturbed and disturbed areas. The 2012 mitigated negative declaration primarily addressed site life and maximum daily vehicle and tonnage solid waste facility permit revisions without discussion of the future Cell No. 5 excavation and liner project. Based upon the San Timoteo Sanitary Landfill California Environmental Quality Act documentation in total, it is concluded that the existing California Environmental Quality Act analyses prepared for the San Timoteo Sanitary Landfill, including adherence to the existing mitigation measures is sufficient and no new California Environmental Quality Act analysis is required. [The] Project will be advertised for bids in accordance with section 22037 of the California Public Contract Code. The solid waste management department anticipates returning to the board for an award of contract in September 2019.”
It is estimated that the project will cost anywhere from $18 million to $33 million to complete.
On Tuesday, the board also approved the expenditure of more than $37.5 million for what is referred to as both “routine” and “non-routine” operations, maintenance and monitoring and treatment systems for various county landfills and disposal facilities.
In dual reports, again put together by Blakeslee and Zamora, recommendations were made to provide a $24,014,939.25 contract with Long Beach-based Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt Consulting Engineers, Inc., doing business as SCS Engineers/SCS Field Services, for routine operations, maintenance and monitoring of the landfill gas extraction and treatment systems located at various county landfills and disposal sites and a separate $13,500,000 contract with Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt Consulting Engineers, Inc., Tetra Tech BAS, Inc. of Diamond Bar and Biogas Engineering of Signal Hill for non-routine operations, maintenance and monitoring of the landfill gas extraction and treatment systems and support services located at various county landfills and disposal sites.
Both those contracts are to run July 9, 2019 to June 30, 2024.
According to Blakeslee and Zamora, the services relate to “the landfill gas extraction and treatment systems for the Barstow, Big Bear, Colton, Hesperia, Landers, Mid-Valley, Milliken, San Timoteo and Victorville Sanitary Landfills and Heaps Peak and Yucaipa disposal sites. Services to be provided include, but are not limited to the operation and monitoring requirements set forth in the California Code of Regulations, Title 27, South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 1150.1 and Rule 431.1, and Mojave Desert Air Quality Management Rule 1126. Review for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act was conducted by the department of public works environmental management division. It was determined that the activities in the contract are not considered a ‘project’ as defined in Section 15378 of California Environmental Quality Act guidelines and no further environmental analysis is necessary.”
With regard to the routine operations, maintenance and monitoring and treatment systems services contract, a request for proposals was sent to 206 firms through the county’s eProcurement system. On April 2, 2019 a mandatory pre-proposal conference was held and attended by four firms. On April 16, 2019, SCS Field Services of Long Beach submitted a $24,075,505 bid and Tetra Tech BAS of Diamond Bar submitted a $36,171,445 proposal. A selection committee comprised of three representatives from the solid waste management division was assembled to evaluate the written proposals and rank the firms in order of desirability based on the professional qualifications and demonstrated competence for the services required in the request for bids. Oral interviews were not conducted due to there being only two written proposals. After reviewing and ranking the proposals, the selection committee found both firms to meet the minimum qualifications as set forth in the request for proposals. According to Blakeslee and Zamora, “Both firms satisfactorily presented their technical approach to the scope of work and experience with projects of similar nature and size. After a thorough review of the proposals, the selection committee elected to have only one firm perform the work. Based on the two written proposals submitted, SCS ranked first in demonstrating competence for the services required. After recommending SCS, the cost envelopes were opened in accordance with the county’s procurement policy, negotiations were conducted to determine a fair and reasonable cost for the scope of work. Solid waste management division staff, as well as representatives from SCS agreed to a total amount of $24,014,939.25 for the contract for a five-year period.”
The non-routine operations, maintenance and monitoring and treatments systems services contract pertained to dealing with unforeseen events or those occurring irregularly in scope and frequency which would interfere with achieving or maintaining in a timely manner compliance with various federal, state and local regulations at the Barstow, Big Bear, Colton, Hesperia, Landers, Mid-Valley, Milliken, San Timoteo and Victorville sanitary landfills and the Heaps Peak and Yucaipa disposal sites, and as needed maintenance and support services for the county’s disposal system.
A request for proposal was sent to the same 206 firms approached with regard to the routine services contract. On April 2, 2019, a mandatory pre-proposal conference was held and attended by four firms. On April 16, 2019, SCS Field Services, Tetra Tech BAS and Biogas Engineering of Signal Hill submitted proposals. A selection committee evaluated the written proposals and ranked the firms in order of desirability based on the professional qualifications and demonstrated competence to perform the non-routine operations, maintenance and monitoring of the landfill gas extraction and treatment systems services. After reviewing and ranking the proposals, the selection committee found all three firms met the minimum qualifications as set forth, and satisfactorily presented their technical capabilities and experience with projects of similar nature and size. After recommending that all three firms be considered for award of a contract, the selection committee evaluated their respective rate sheets and determined the costs presented were fair and reasonable.
-Mark Gutglueck