RFP 27-18-3150 Environmental Monitoring and Watershed Support Services

Forsyth County Procurement Department
2435 Freedom Parkway, Suite 3100
Cumming, GA 30041 | Phone 770.888.8872
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
RFP NO. 27-18-3150
Environmental Monitoring and Watershed
Support Services
Forsyth County Board of Commissioners
Cumming, GA
Closing Date and Time:
September 24, 2026 / 2:00 p.m.

FORSYTH COUNTY, GEORGIA
Request for Proposal No. 27-18-3150
Environmental Monitoring and Watershed Support Services
1. PURPOSE OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Forsyth County, a political subdivision of the State of Georgia ("County") is soliciting
Proposals from qualified firms to provide Environmental Monitoring and Watershed
Support Services for the Forsyth County Department of Engineering.
All interested qualified firms are invited to submit a formal proposal with pricing
information to accomplish the Scope of Work described herein, in conformance with the
prescribed format. The proposal is to be signed by a principal in the firm.
It is the County's intent that this Request for Proposal ("RFP") permit competition. It shall
be the offeror's responsibility to advise the Procurement Agent in writing, if any language,
specification, etc., or any combination thereof, inadvertently restricts or limits the
requirements stated in this RFP to a single source. Such notification must be received by
the Procurement Agent not later than ten (10) days prior to the date set for acceptance of
the proposal.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of
information in the RFP, we recognize that the information may not be complete in every
detail and that all work may not be expressly mentioned in these specifications. It is the
responsibility of the proposing firm to include in their proposal all pertinent information
in accordance with the objectives of the County.
2. GENERAL INFORMATION
Proposals MUST be submitted in the format prescribed herein. Failure to comply with the
directions listed in this RFP, or omission of requested information could result in
disqualification of your firm's proposal.
Forsyth County uses a procurement portal powered by EUNA Procurement formerly
Bonfire Interactive ("Bonfire") for accepting and evaluating bids, statements of
qualification, and proposals digitally, found by using the link:
https://www.forsythco.com/Departments-Offices/Procurement/Bids-Results
Proposals shall only be accepted online through the EUNA Portal.
Proposals are due 2:00 p.m., (EST) Thursday, September 24, 2026. Names of submitting
firms will then be read aloud at 2:30 p.m. (EST), Thursday, September 24, 2026. All
interested parties and the general public are invited.
ALL QUESTIONS are to be asked via EUNA under Opportunity Q&A. Responses to
substantive questions will be provided as written Addenda and will be posted under
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Public Files in EUNA. The deadline for questions is Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 12:00
p.m. (EST).
Proposals and Pricing Information received will become the property of Forsyth County
and shall be used as the County sees fit. All information contained in the Proposals and
Pricing Information will remain confidential until after the awarding and signing of the
contract.
3. COST OF PROPOSAL
Forsyth County assumes no responsibility or liability for the costs incurred by the
submitting firm to prepare and/or submit a proposal. The entire cost of preparing and
submitting Proposals and Pricing Information, or any work in connection therewith will
be borne by the submitting firm or team of firms.
4. RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPOSER
Proposals must be signed by an authorized official to bind the offeror, and it shall contain
a statement to the effect that the Proposal is firm for a period of at least ninety (90) days
from the closing date for submission.
5. CONNECTIVITY
The County shall not be responsible for errors of any kind or nature occurring in the
transmission or downloading/uploading of any documents from the website. The County
does not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted, or secure access to this or other related
websites. Operation of this website may be affected from time to time by numerous factors
outside of our control. Site problems, user problems, internet problems, power outages, or
routine maintenance may interrupt or prevent access to information, documents, and/or
submission capabilities.
6. PROHIBITION OF GRATUITIES
Firms shall not offer any gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value to any official,
employee, or agent of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners for the purpose of
influencing consideration of this proposal.
7. CONTACT
To ensure all prospective respondents have the same level of knowledge relative to the
project, as well as ensuring any additional data is made available to all proposers, no
vendor shall contact or discuss any aspect of this RFP with any County employee, elected
official, evaluation/selection committee member, or project team member, during the
RFP process up until award has been made. If contact is made, that vendor may be
disqualified from the process. All questions in regard to this RFP are to be submitted via
EUNA under Opportunity Q&A as detailed in the General Information section of this
document. Any information obtained about this solicitation through any means other
than the solicitation itself or the addendums thereunto is not valid and should not be
considered in any response to this solicitation.
8. OWNERSHIP OF MATERIAL
Ownership of all data, material, and documentation originated and prepared for the
County pursuant to the Contract shall belong exclusively to the County.
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9. TERM
The Term of this Contract shall begin on January 1, 2027 and will end on December 31,
2031.
10. AGREEMENT
Attached to this RFP is a draft form of a General Services Agreement which contains
terms and conditions of the contractual arrangement for the services. Such form of
agreement will be modified as appropriate, in the County's discretion, to include any
additional specific terms related to the services being provided. Any questions regarding
the form of the General Services Agreement must be submitted in writing by the deadline
for questions specified in this RFP.
11. CHANGES
No change will be made to this RFP except by written modification by the County
Procurement Department. Requests for interpretation or changes must be in writing and
received at least seven (7) calendar days prior to the time set for opening of the proposals.
12. WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSAL
Proposals may be withdrawn by written request only, if the request is received prior to
the time and date set for the opening of proposals. Negligence on the part of the Proposer
in preparing its proposal confers no right of withdrawal or modification of its proposal
after proposal has been opened. No proposal may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60)
days after time has been called on the date of opening.
13. SUBSTITUTIONS
When references are made in these documents to trade names or to the brand names of
manufacturers, such references are made solely to designate and identify the quality of
materials or equipment to be furnished and are not intended to restrict proposals. If
comparable materials or equipment of trade names or of manufacturers' names which
are different from those mentioned in the RFP specifications are offered, the burden of
proving equality of a proposed substitution rest on the submitting firm and must be
provided with the proposal.
14. EXCEPTIONS TO SPECIFICATIONS
Any award resulting from this RFP shall bind the Proposer to all terms, conditions and
specifications set forth in this RFP. Proposers whose proposals do not conform should so
note on separate page if necessary. While the County reserves the right to make an award
to a nonconforming proposer when in the best interest of the County, such awards will
not be readily made, and proposers are urged to conform to the greatest extent possible.
No exceptions will be considered to have been taken by a Proposer unless it is properly
set out as provided above. No exception will be deemed to have been taken by the County
unless incorporated in an award resulting from this RFP and so stated.
15. RESERVATION OF REJECTION OR CANCELLATION
The County reserves the right to cancel the RFP or to reject any and all proposals
submitted in response to any solicitation, to reject any portion thereof, or to waive any
minor irregularity or administrative requirement, if it determines, in its sole discretion,
that such cancellation, rejection, or waiver is in the best interests of the County.
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16. AFFIDAVIT
The Proposer will be required to execute an Affidavit of Non-Collusion and submit it with
the RFP Documents.
17. INSPECTION OF RECORDS
The records of the Procurement Department are open and accessible to the public in
accordance with the provisions of the Georgia Open Records Act. Requests for inspection
of records must be in writing, must be reasonable, must contain sufficient information to
facilitate retrieval, and must not interfere with the orderly operation of the Procurement
Department.
Proposers are cautioned that any documentation submitted with or in support of a bid or
proposal will become subject to public inspection under the Georgia Open Records Act.
Labeling such information "Confidential," "Proprietary," or in any other manner will not
protect this material from public inspection upon request.
18. TRADE SECRETS
Careful consideration should be given before submitting confidential information to the
County. The County's disclosure of records and documentation is governed by the
Georgia's Open Records Act, which permits public scrutiny of most materials collected as
part of this process. If Proposer submits information that contains trade secret
information and if Proposer wishes to keep such information confidential, Proposer must
submit and attach to such information an affidavit affirmatively declaring that specific
information constitutes trade secrets pursuant to the Georgia Trade Secrets Act of 1990,
O.C.G.A. 10-1-760 et seq., and the Proposer and County will follow the requirements of
O.C.G.A. 50-18-72(a)(34) related thereto.
19. REGULATORY AGENCIES
Successful Proposer will be responsible for all required permits or license required by any
regulatory agency of the city, county, state or federal governments. Further, successful
proposer will be responsible for meeting all requirements of any regulation(s) or
guideline(s) of any of the said governments or any independent agency recognized by
said governments as publisher of any such regulation(s) or guideline(s).
20. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
The Proposer represents to Forsyth County that it is fully experienced and properly
qualified to perform the functions provided for herein and that it is properly equipped,
organized and financed to perform such functions. The Proposer shall finance its own
operations hereunder, shall operate as an independent contractor and not as the agent
of Forsyth County and nothing contained in this RFP or a contract resulting from same
shall be construed to constitute the Proposer or any of its employees, servants, or agents
or subcontractors as a partner, employee, servant or agent of the County nor shall either
party have any authority to bind the other in any respect, it being intended that each shall
remain an independent contractor.
21. REQUIRED FORMS
All Proposing firms will be required to complete, execute, and submit with its proposal
the following:
* Affidavit of Non-Collusion
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* Contractor Affidavit and Agreement
* Subcontractor Affidavit (if applicable)
* Addendum Acknowledgement
22. EVALUATION METHOD AND CRITERIA
The County will evaluate all responsive proposals to determine which proposals best
meet the needs of the County based on the evaluation criteria. Proposals deemed
responsive advance; non-responsive proposal are disqualified. The County shall be the
sole judge of its own best interest, the proposals, and the resulting agreement. Evaluation
will be made by an evaluation committee established for this purpose. Award will be
based on a review of all information submitted. Proposing firms may be asked to appear
before the evaluation committee. Pricing information will be opened to all firms and the
general public after the RFP submission deadline has passed.
The proposal is limited to twenty (25) page, formatted on 8 12" x 11" paper, with a minimum
11 pt font size. The page count does not include mandatory requirements. Proposer must
demonstrate their ability to satisfy all qualifications and requirements to perform the
services detailed in this RFP.
Proposals determined to be Responsive and Responsible will be evaluated on the
following criteria:
Cover/Transmittal Letter and Required Forms Pass/Fail
Firm Qualifications 40 points
Firm Approach 30 points
Resumes for Key Personnel 30 points
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SCOPE OF SERVICES
Background
Forsyth County complies with the requirements included in:
(1) the Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) associated with a Phase I Medium Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit and
(2) a County-wide Watershed Protection Plan (WPP) associated with wastewater discharge
permits.
The scope of services includes four main tasks: Environmental Monitoring: Regulatory
Compliance: Watershed Technical Support Services: and Keep Forsyth County Beautiful
(KFCB) Support as described below.
All averages and quantities listed are estimates and provided for solicitation evaluation
purposes only. Actual totals may vary.
1. Environmental Monitoring
Water quality and biological monitoring shall be conducted according to Forsyth County's
2026 Watershed Protection Plan (WPP). All sampling and analysis work will comply with
current EPA/GAEPD guidelines and procedures, and only certified laboratories (accredited in
compliance with the Georgia Rules for Commercial Environmental Laboratory Accreditation
[O.C.G.A.12-2-9] for non-potable water) shall be used for analytical work. Biological
monitoring will be required in the calendar years 2027, 2029 and 2031.
In addition to water quality and biological monitoring, the selected firm should assume an
average of 1,100 dry-weather outfall screenings are needed each year. The County will provide
a tablet for data entry into the County's asset management system.
The successful proposer will provide a mid-year technical memorandum to explain results
and trends in the water quality and biological data compared to previously gathered data. The
memorandum should include recommendations, maintenance issues, long-term trend
analysis, etc. organized in a usable/accessible data set. Water quality data will also be entered
into the latest GAEPD water quality database. This information summarized in the mid-year
technical memorandum will be incorporated into the annual compliance reports.
2. Regulatory Compliance
The County has been actively managing its water resources in compliance with federal, state,
and local agencies.
a) Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) Update
The selected firm will need to revise the Forsyth County SWMP to comply with updated
requirements in the new MS4 permit that will be issued in Spring 2027. The report will
be prepared utilizing the latest template provided by GAEPD.
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A draft of the SWMP will be prepared for review by County staff, and a meeting with the
selected firm will be held to review initial comments. Adequate time for review by the
County prior to submittal to GAEPD is required.
Four (4) total printed and electronic copies of the final documents will be prepared and
submitted to the County and to GAEPD.
b) Annual Reporting
GAEPD requires the County to submit annual reports to document the County's
compliance with the WPP (associated with the NPDES discharge permit for
wastewater), the Phase 1 MS4 stormwater permit, and the requirements of the
Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. The successful firm will assist the
County in the collection and management of the information and will facilitate the
development of the two separate annual reports.
i. Watershed Protection Plan Annual Report
The current NPDES wastewater discharge permit held by the County requires
submittal of an annual report to GAEPD by June 30th of each year to demonstrate
compliance with the recommendations in the WPP. The annual report will include
summaries of environmental monitoring efforts as well as implementation of
BMPs listed in the WPP.
A draft of the annual report will be prepared for review by County staff, and a
meeting with the selected firm will be held to review initial comments. Adequate
time for review by the County prior to submittal to GAEPD is required.
Four (4) total printed and electronic copies of the final documents will be prepared
and submitted to the County and to GAEPD. The firm will be responsible for
responding to one round of comments from GAEPD and for providing a copy of the
revised report to GAEPD and the County.
ii. MS4 Stormwater Management Annual Report
The selected firm will summarize information regarding the implementation of
the SWMP for submitting the annual report to GAEPD by May 15th of each year.
Information on water quality trend monitoring, wet and dry weather screening
data, and information regarding the status of implementation of related
stormwater management activities will be incorporated in the annual report. The
report will be prepared utilizing the latest template provided by GAEPD.
A draft of the annual report will be prepared for review by County staff, and a
meeting with the selected firm will be held to review initial comments. Adequate
time for review by the County prior to submittal to GAEPD is required.
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Four (4) total printed and electronic copies of the final documents will be prepared
and submitted to the County and to GAEPD. The firm will be responsible for
responding to one round of comments from GAEPD and for providing a copy of the
revised report to GAEPD and the County.
c) BMP Retrofit Assessment
The County's SWMP requires that each of the County's detention ponds be analyzed for
retrofit potential during the five-year MS4 permit. This analysis consists of H&H
modeling and evaluation against the current stormwater management standards to
determine whether or not retrofits are needed.
Up to 8 ponds will be analyzed annually and the findings summarized in a technical
memorandum and provided in electronic format to the County.
d) Public Education
The successful firm will prepare an annual public education brochure/bulletin (The
Resource) based on the previous iterations posted on the County's website. The firm
will be responsible for coordinating with Forsyth County to gain approval of any topics
or content.
3. Watershed Technical Support Services
The County also requires technical support on an as-needed basis throughout the year that
necessitates expertise in multiple disciplines, which include, but are not limited to those
listed below.
a) Design support services for roadway culvert replacement.
b) Review of floodplain maps and no-rise certifications.
c) Drainage complaint investigations from erosion or after large storm events.
d) Water quality complaint investigations from spills or illicit discharges.
e) Targeted studies to identify locations and sources of pollution.
f) Project identification, prioritization, and funding opportunities for watershed
improvement projects.
g) Addressing stormwater concerns or issues from other departments within Forsyth
County.
h) Review and update of various stormwater-related ordinances, review checklists, and
stormwater plan guidance.
i) Review proposed proprietary Best Management Practices (BMPs) that are submitted
by developers for new development projects based on Forsyth County stormwater
management performance requirements.
4. KFCB Industrial Permit Support
This contract also includes supporting the County's compliance with Industrial General
Permits (IGPs) for the Tolbert Street, Coal Mountain, and Old Atlanta Road Recycling Facilities.
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To comply with the IGP, the County prepared and maintains Stormwater Pollution Prevention
Plans (SWPPPs) for each of these facilities. The SWPPPs require a number of activities each
year so that pollution sources are identified, controlled, and reduced or eliminated. The
selected firms will coordinate with the Forsyth County Manager of Environmental Programs
on activities that could include:
* Conducting employee training annually.
* Updating the SWPPPs as needed.
* Conduct routine facility inspections at least quarterly.
* Conduct annual comprehensive site inspection.
* Coordinating quarterly visual inspections, annual indicator monitoring, as well as bi-
annual bacteria sampling with the Forsyth County Stormwater Technicians.
* Compiling data for the annual reports and submitting the information to GAEPD.
Minimum Proposer's Qualifications:
The successful proposer shall be knowledgeable with both Forsyth County's SWMP and WPP
watershed compliance requirements and be experienced in environmental monitoring
methodologies and analyses.
Environmental Monitoring
* Demonstrated experience with water quality sampling methodologies, applicable
regulatory water quality standards, and analysis of water quality data.
* Demonstrated recent work history of taxonomy practices with regards to the local fish
and macroinvertebrate communities found in the Piedmont region of Georgia in
accordance with the latest GAEPD guidelines.
* Provide and hold a current Scientific Collecting Permit from GADNR and USFWS.
Regulatory Compliance
* Demonstrated experience with MS4, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES), and industrial permits, as well as the permitting processes and compliance
requirements.
* Provide work history to demonstrate familiarity with GAEPD's guidance for Phase I
Medium MS4 Stormwater Management Programs.
* Provide work history to demonstrate familiarity with GAEPD's Watershed Protection
Program.
* Demonstrated knowledge and experience with the Metropolitan North Georgia Water
Planning District (Metro District) and associated requirements.
* Demonstrated knowledge and experience with TMDL compliance for impaired stream
segments.
* Demonstrated knowledge and experience with the Georgia Stormwater Management
Manual (GSMM) as well as stormwater plan reviews.
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