Salinas Rail Project Package 2: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment RFP

1. APPROVE Request for Proposals for a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment in preparation for property acquisition for Package 2 of the Salinas Rail Extension Kick-Start project, subject to counsel approval;
2. AUTHORIZE staff to publish the RFP, and return to the Board of Directors with a recommendation for approval of a consultant; and
3. APPROVE the use of funds from the approved project budget for this contract in an amount not-to-exceed $50,000.

This request for proposals will seek bids from qualified consultants to assist the Agency with the Environmental Site Assessment of the Package 2 parcels, for the proposed train layover facility and associated improvements.

The Salinas Rail Extension Kick Start project budget includes secured funding for property acquisition. The total project budget is estimated at $81 million. The not-to-exceed amount for this proposed contract for hazardous materials testing services for Package 2 properties is $50,000.

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County, as the local lead agency, grantee agency and owner of the Salinas Rail Extension project, proposes to extend passenger rail service from Santa Clara County south to Salinas. The service will start with two daily round trips, expanding to up to six round trips as demand warrants. The project provides an alternative to the highly congested US 101 corridor to access to jobs, education, and health care, and improves interregional transportation and air quality.

The Salinas Rail Extension Kick-Start Project final design is well underway and other activities are being pursued simultaneously. The project has been divided into three packages as follows:

1. Package 1: Lincoln Avenue Extension, circulation improvements and parking at the Salinas train station;
2. Package 2: Salinas layover facility and track improvements; and
3. Package 3: Santa Clara County station and track improvements (primarily at Gilroy).

Package 2 of the Salinas Rail Extension project includes a layover facility for up to six trains. The properties to be acquired for this layover facility include one full acquisition and five partial acquisitions abutting the UPRR rail line. TAMC hired a ROW acquisition team (AR/WS) on May 23, 2018, but did not include in that contract a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (Phase II ESA) for these acquisitions. This Request for Proposals will allow staff to select a qualified firm to assist with the Phase II Environmental Site Assessment of the Package 2 parcels for the train layover facility and associated improvements.

A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, which entails a historic record search without on-site investigations, completed in September 2015 by HDR Engineering for Packages 1 and 2 revealed three recognized environmental conditions and one controlled recognized environmental condition:

1. Contaminated soil and groundwater, a result from UPRR refueling and fertilizer storage by PureGro.
2. Volatile organic chemicals in the subsurface.
3. Historic use of herbicides along the railroad tracks and idling locomotives may have contaminated shallow soil with arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
4. Long history of industrial use suggests contaminated soil or groundwater.

A site investigation done for the purposes of the construction contract (dated January 19, 2017) for Packages 1 and 2, analyzing soil samples from one foot below ground surface at eight locations on five parcels, found only arsenic exceeding the screening levels. All other chemicals and metals tested did not meet the criteria to qualify as hazardous waste. The Phase II ESA requires much deeper borings (to sample groundwater as well as soil), more sampling, and more analysis. The cost estimate for the Phase II ESA work is $50,000.

The proposed schedule for the Request for Proposals is as follows:

Due to this very aggressive schedule, staff will be sending out an advance Notice of Intent to go out with this RFP to the consultants in the database who do this type of work. 

Attached is the draft scope of work for this RFP.