Request for Qualifications-Regional Biosolids Facility

Section 1
General Information
1.01 Definitions
A. Terms used in this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) have the meanings indicated in the General
Conditions and Supplementary Conditions. Additional terms have the meanings indicated below:
- Basis of Design Documents: For Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) Document No. 545,
Standard Form of Progressive Design-Build Agreement for Water and Wastewater Projects
as amended, the Basis of Design Documents are Owner's Project Criteria, Design-Builder's
Statement of Qualifications and the Deviation List, if any.
- Deliverable: A document, either in hard copy or electronic form, which describes certain
performance reporting, operational outcomes or maintenance aspects of the Project.
- Design-Builder: The entity with the prime design-build contract with the Owner.
- Design-Build Team: All entities listed by the Design-Builder as providing services or
construction on the Project. The Design-Builder is not required to list all members of the
Design-Build Team in the Statement of Qualifications. Members of the Design-Build Team
may also be referred to as "Team Members."
- Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP): A contractually agreed-upon price that is developed by
the Design-Builder in accordance with the draft Progressive Design-Build Agreement in
Attachment A of this Request for Qualifications.
- Key Team Member: Individuals who will be assigned to the Project who play an important
role in the design, construction, or management of the Project.
- Maintenance Phase: Period of the Project after Substantial Completion during which the
Design-Builder is required to maintain the Facility, in whole or in part, ending on the
expiration of the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Term.
- Operation Phase: Period of time after Substantial Completion during which the Design-
Builder is required to operate the Facility, in whole or in part, ending on the expiration of the
O&M Term as set forth in Attachment A (Draft Progressive Design-Build Agreement).
- Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Services: Services performed by the Design-Builder
during each of the Operational Phases and Maintenance Phases
- Owner: Portland Water District (PWD)
- Owners Advisor (OA): Consultant who represents the Owner during procurement, contracting,
and/or management of the Project.
- Phase 1A Services: Design-Builder shall perform the services of design, pricing and other
services for the Project based on Owner's Project Criteria as set forth in Exhibit A. The Phase
1A Services are defined in Exhibit B to the draft Design-Build Agreement (Attachment A).
Upon completion of Phase 1A Services, the Design-Builder shall submit a proposal to Owner
for Phase 1B Services.
- Phase 1B Services: Upon acceptance of Design-Builder's proposal for the Phase 1B
Services, Design-Builder shall perform the services of design, pricing and other services for
the Project based on Owner's Project Criteria and the Design Documents prepared during
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Phase 1A and identified in Design-Builder's Phase 1B Proposal, Design-Builder shall perform
the Phase 1B services which shall include developing the design, schedule and pricing to
the level of completion required for Design-Builder and Owner to establish the Contract Price
for Phase 2.
- Procurement: The Owner's process for selecting a Design-Build Team for this Project.
- Procurement Documents: All documents issued by the Owner in connection with the
Procurement or Project.
- Progressive Design-Build Agreement (PDB Agreement): Refers to the executed contract
between Owner and Design-Builder under DBIA Document No. 545, Standard Form of
Progressive Design-Build Agreement for Water and Wastewater Projects (2024 Edition) as
amended.
- Statement of Qualifications (SOQ): The document submitted by a Proposer in response to
this Request for Qualifications, including any completed forms, attachments, and exhibits.
- Projects of Similar Scope and Complexity: Projects that had completion dates within the last
five (5) years and that have many or all of the following characteristics:
* Projects of a similar size and budget that include design, construction, and operation of
biosolids facilities;
* Projects that utilize an integrated delivery method that require strong coordination and
integration of the design and construction professionals and operators, including early
involvement of the operators and construction professionals during design;
* Projects where the Design-Builder was selected prior to the establishment of the final
price and schedule and where the Design-Builder collaborated with the Owner to
develop the final price and schedule;
- Proposer: An entity that submits a Statement of Qualifications to Owner.
- Request for Qualifications (RFQ): The Owner's Request for Qualifications.
B. In addition to terms specifically defined, terms with initial capital letters in the RFQ include
references to identified Sections and paragraphs, and the titles of other documents or forms.
1.02 Project Description
The Owner, PWD, is seeking to construct a regional biosolids facility to be owned by PWD and
operated by a Design-Build Team. This facility is intended to provide advanced treatment for
biosolids generated by the Owner and several of its peer utilities in Maine. Specifically, the project as
currently contemplated would include cake receiving, anaerobic digestion, dewatering, thermal
drying, and PFAS destruction in landfill leachate. While not included in the current project scope, the
Owner wishes to reserve space on site to allow for design flexibility should a thermal destruction
solution be necessary in the future.
Based upon planning analysis performed to date, including the Owner's population projections, the
expected capacity of this facility is an average of 85 wet tons/day, where 75 wet tons/day are
contributions from the Owner's facilities and the remainder are contributions from peer utilities. The
Owner has performed preliminary outreach to gauge partner utility interest in this project and will
provide anticipated project participation as part of the RFQ.
The Owner has an existing Memorandum of Agreement for a future lease of land for the project at
the ecomaine solid waste facility in Portland, ME which can be found in RFQ Attachment F (Other
Preliminary Materials and Reports). Site maps, operating constraints, accessibility, and available
utilities are provided in RFQ Attachment D (ecomaine Site Areas Assessment). Permitting and
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approval requirements for each potential site location are summarized in RFQ Attachment E
(Preliminary Permitting Matrix). In addition, PWD's Biosolids Characterization Data for 2025 and
2026 is included in RFQ Attachment F.
1.03 Project Delivery
1.03.1 Delivery Approach
The delivery method for this project will be Design-Build-Operate, using Progressive Design Build with
long-term operations. Contractually, the Owner will offer severability to the Design-Builder following
successful commissioning, acceptance and warranty period, currently proposed to be 12 months
after acceptance. At which time, the Owner will have a long-term operations contract, the Agreement,
in place with an operations partner. Exhibit C to the draft PDB Agreement (Attachment A) details the
Owner's terms to operate and maintain the Facility. Note that the operations partner does not need
to be exclusive unless that is the preferred arrangement of the Design-Builder.
The Owner will engage a Design-Builder early to collaboratively develop the design, refine the basis
of project scope, and iteratively update the cost model and schedule to support informed, cost- and
schedule-based decision-making throughout design development. The Design-Builder will be
responsible for the design milestones outlined in this RFQ and Exhibit B to the draft PDB Agreement
(Attachment A). The Owner expects to have direct access to the Design-Build Team during design
development, workshops, and meetings.
In addition to design, the Design-Builder is responsible for taking the lead on permitting associated
with the project. The OA has prepared a preliminary permitting matrix in Attachment E (Preliminary
Permitting Matrix), identifying the likely necessary permits for the facility. This list is not necessarily
comprehensive, and it will be the responsibility of the Design-Build Team to identify and manage
permitting requirements regardless of whether they are included on a preliminary list. The Owner's
staff will be made available to provide information specific to the Owner's operations and biosolids
quality and are willing to support permit negotiations with state and local authorities.
The Design-Builder will propose a fixed price for the first ten (10) years, subject to escalation and the
exceptions noted below, to operate the facility. This pricing proposal shall be submitted at the time of
the GMP negotiations in order to facilitate the Owner's funding assessment. Labor costs will be
capped subject to escalation at an agreed upon rate and duration. Maintenance costs will be capped
subject to escalation at an agreed upon rate. The Design-Builder will specify the annual amount to be
contributed to a reserve fund for repair and replacement costs that exceed $50,000 (this value to be
finalized during negotiations). Design-Builder will guarantee that there are sufficient funds in this
account for all future repair and replacement costs during the term of the Agreement.
1.03.2 Milestone 1 Design Deliverable
The initial contracted design deliverable will be the Milestone 1 Design package prepared in
accordance with the Owner's standards, as further described in Exhibit B to the draft PDB Agreement
(Attachment A), Milestone 1 is intended to establish the technical and planning foundation for the
Project by confirming process selection, developing a preliminary site/facility layout, completing
concept-level major equipment sizing, and producing the planning-level information needed to
support early decision-making and stakeholder coordination.
Milestone 1 will provide sufficient project controls and technical definition to support a meaningful
Owner decision at an early stage, including the management framework (e.g., project management
plan, coordination meetings and documentation, schedule management, decision/risk tracking, and
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QA/QC certifications) and the core technical basis (e.g., data collection/validation, loading
projections, design criteria development, and development of the early technical package).
The Agreement will be structured so that Milestone 1 culminates in a formal 30% Design Milestone
Review and pause point. The Owner anticipates needing an Owner-led review and decision period
after delivery of the 30% package to advance internal approvals, align stakeholders, and continue
coordination related to funding and agency requirements before authorizing progression into
detailed design. During Milestone 1, the 30% cost estimate shall include operations and
maintenance (O&M) projections to support funding and lifecycle considerations, and the Owner also
intends to request a draft cost and schedule for the next step (60% or GMP -level design
development) based on the 30% concept so the Owner can understand Project cost and schedule as
the design develops. Once the Owner selects and approves a concept, the Design-Builder will be
expected to design-to-budget consistent with that approved basis; any subsequent budget
adjustments must be accompanied by written explanation and be subject to PWD review and sign-
off. The Phase 1B Proposal will be developed later through progressive refinement of the design and
cost model, and may include Owner-approved early work packages where they clearly reduce cost,
schedule, or risk.
1.04 Owner Objectives and Project Goals
By selecting the Progressive Design-Build-Operate delivery method for this Project, the Owner is
committed to working in close collaboration with the Design-Builder during Phase 1 to develop a
design that achieves the Owner's objectives at a mutually agreeable GMP for delivery of the Project.
The Owner also expects the Design-Builder to construct the Project, as designed, within the agreed-
upon price and schedule, through commissioning and startup. Finally, the Owner expects the Design-
Builder to participate in the operation of the facility for a maximum of fifteen (15) years. The
following Project-specific objectives are provided to give Proposers a better understanding of the
Project and the work to be performed.
A. Project Goals. The Project is intended to be procured and executed to meet the following goals
which are listed below and further defined in Exhibit B to the draft PDB Agreement (Attachment
A).
1. Procurement Goals
* Follow open, transparent, and fair procurement methodology
* Allocate risks in a fair and balanced manner
* Select a Design-Build Team based on the combined experience of the entities. There is
no preference for an operator, builder or designer-led team.
* Select a Design-Build Team that offers the best-value to PWD and the regional biosolids
community.
2. Performance Goals are listed briefly below and fully defined in Exhibit A to the draft PDB
Agreement (Attachment A).
* This facility is intended to be a reliable outlet for biosolids generated in Maine.
Proposers should account for reliability and storage as necessary to maintain continual
service/receipt of biosolids from participating utilities.
* Operations plan developed during Phase 1A should include a backup plan during
planned and unplanned (emergency and non-emergency) outages.
* Key milestones for the Phase 2 delivery will be finalized during the GMP negotiations,
but generally will include permitting to allow construction, air and water quality and
occupancy to coincide with startup and commissioning, substantial completion,
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acceptance testing, and final completion milestones that align with an approved
schedule.
* Operations will not interrupt service of PWD in the acceptance of incoming biosolids.
* Other performance requirements determined during design criteria/ Basis of Design
Report development and related to equipment and process selection.
3. Public Relations Goals
* Minimize construction impacts on adjacent businesses, residents, and the general
public.
* Maintain cooperative relationship with local municipalities, environmental groups, and
other stakeholders in coordinating project design and construction with adjacent
projects.
1.05 Project Budget
The estimated capital costs for the Project are $140M (2024 USD). Refer to Economic Evaluation of
Regional Biosolids Facility (Attachment C) for additional information regarding the Project budget.
Phase 1A services are expected not to exceed $1.5 million including the Design-Builder and other
Owner consultants. See Exhibit B of RFQ Attachment A for more details outlining the Project Scope of
Services.
1.06 Project Funding
The Project is expected to be funded by public sources; however, no public funding has been secured
thus far. In the future, the Project may need to comply with State and/or Federal Funding
requirements such as the requirements of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. Should State and/or Federal Funding be utilized for the Project,
the Design-Builder shall comply with funding requirements identified by the Owner. Requirements
may include but are not limited to:
* Davis-Bacon Act
* Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program
* American Iron and Steel
* Build America, Buy America
Should additional funding opportunities become available during Phase 1 of the Project, the Owner
may identify additional requirements. The Design-Builder may be required to assist the Owner in
submitting applications for potential funding opportunities.
1.07 Project Schedule
The anticipated schedule for Phases 1, 2, and 3 of the Project are shown below:
Table 1-1. Schedule for Phases 1, 2, and 3
Activity/Milestone Date
Milestone 1/Phase 1A Q3 2027
Phase 1B Q1 2028 - Q1 2029
Negotiate GMP Q1 2029 - Q3 2029
90 percent design Q1 2030
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Table 1-1. Schedule for Phases 1, 2, and 3
Activity/Milestone Date
Final design Q2 2030
Construction Services (Phase 2) Notice to Proceed Upon successful negotiation of GMP
Completion of Acceptance Testing Q1 2031
Construction Substantial Completion Q2 2031
Operation Services (Phase 3) Begins Q2 2031
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Section 2
Progressive Design-Build-Operate
Services
2.01 General
As noted in Section 1 and more fully described in Exhibit B to the draft PDB Agreement (Attachment
A) the Design-Builder will provide services in three distinct phases. Preconstruction-phase services
generally consist of preliminary engineering, geotechnical investigations, and design development,
as well as preparation-working closely with the Owner-of a proposed price and schedule. The
proposed price and schedule include the Project's design (developed to the Owner's required level of
completion), a Milestone 1 Deliverable, Project schedule, and supporting documentation, such as
detailed open-book costing for the GMP. Construction-phase services generally encompass
completing the Project's final design, construction, and performance testing. Operation-phase
services include long-term operation and maintenance of the completed facility (up to 10-year base
operations), performance monitoring, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement
initiatives, all in accordance with agreed service levels and performance guarantees. Permitting
activities are included in each phase.
Phase 1A and B: Preconstruction-phase services:
* Phase 1A (contract award to Milestone 1):
- Develop the Project execution plan, including Project schedule.
- Produce the Milestone 1 Design as outlined in Exhibit B to the draft PDB Agreement
(Attachment A).
- Prepare a project cost model and provide detailed cost estimates as the design and design
alternatives are advanced.
- Identify Project permitting requirements and initiate certain permitting activities.
* Phase 1B (Milestone 1 to GMP):
- Develop and submit Phase 1B Proposal containing the GMP or lump-sum price to complete
construction-phase services.
- Perform engineering studies (such as subsurface investigations, pilot studies, raw
water/wastewater analyses, etc.) to support design and cost estimating.
Phase 2: Construction-phase services (Future contract):
* Complete the final design (if not included in the Pre-construction phase).
* Procure equipment and subcontractors.
* Secure necessary permits.
* Construct the Project.
* Conduct startup, commissioning, performance testing, and acceptance testing.
* Provide operator training.
* Provide warranty coverage.
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