Consideration and Approval of Consulting Contract: Red Gap Ranch Water Resources Environmental Assessment.

Approve a Contract with Southwest Ground-water Consultants, Inc. to provide professional consulting services for a not-to-exceed amount of $276,210.

The scope of work prepared by Southwest Ground-water Consultants will address the impact that pumping groundwater from beneath Red Gap Ranch could have to base flow that feeds the Little Colorado River, East Clear Creek and Chevelon Creek, and the impact the conveyance of groundwater (i.e. pipelines, roads, treatment facility) could have on biological and cultural resources on the Red Gap Ranch property, as required by the NEPA process.

This project is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in the amount of $300,000.  The contract length will be seven (7) months from the date of the Notice to Proceed.

Effective governance.

Yes.  On August 23, 2011, Council approved an Agreement between Reclamation and other stakeholders to participate in and provide funds and in-kind services for the Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Council North Central Arizona Water Supply Feasibility Study.  On September 18, 2012 Council accepted the Reclamation FFY 2012 North Central Arizona Water Supply Grant for the Red Gap Ranch Feasibility Study in the amount of $300,000.

1) Approve the contract with Southwest Ground-Water Consultants to provide professional groundwater and environmental consulting services
2) Do not approve the contract with Southwest Ground-water Consultants and re-advertise for a statement of professional qualifications to provide groundwater and environmental services

The Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Council has been actively involved in finding regional solutions to meeting future water demands.  The Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Council completed the North Central Arizona Water Supply Appraisal Study in 2006.  That study identified that the City of Flagstaff may experience a shortfall of water supplies at 8,027 AF/year by 2050.  Scenario planning conducted by the City, as discussed in the Water Resources Master Plan (WRMP), estimates that under a normal climate scenario, and assuming a historical growth rate of 1.4%, the shortfall could be upwards of 12,100 AF/year at full development in 2080.  The Appraisal Study identified numerous solutions to this long-term water supply shortfall.  Reclamation is currently investigating the feasibility of the various projects that were identified in the Appraisal Study, one of which is the Red Gap Ranch project.

On August 23, 2011 City Council approved an Agreement between Reclamation, Coconino County, City of Flagstaff, City of Page and the Arizona Department of Water Resources to provide funds and in-kind services for the North Central Arizona Water Supply Feasibility Study.  The City's cost-share obligation in that agreement is $1.18 million.  

To date, approximately $1.66 million has been verified as the City's cost-share by Reclamation, which exceeds the requirement within our August 23, 2011 Agreement.  In order to receive this $300,000 grant accepted by Council on September 18, 2012, the City was required to only demonstrate a cost-share match of $731,000 (59% non-Federal).  The dollar amount in excess of this (i.e., $1.66 million - $731,000 = $929,000) will be applied toward future Reclamation and Rural Water Supply Program grants as they become available. 

On December 23, 2012, staff advertised a solicitation for a Request for Statement of Qualifications (RSOQ) for four weeks. Staff received nine responses from interested firms. An evaluation committee of 5 members, which included two representatives from outside the City of Flagstaff, to evaluate the submittals. The evaluation committee rendered three top candidates which were then interviewed by phone and Southwest Ground-water Consultants, Inc. was determined to be the top candidate.

The proposed pipeline from Red Gap Ranch to Flagstaff crosses Federal land and is also partially funded with Federal funds, therefore triggering permitting under the Council of Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the need for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  Work covered under the contract with Southwest Ground-water Consultants will fit into an EIS as overseen by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation).

The work covered by the contract with Southwest Ground-water Consultants, Inc. (Attachment-SCG Scope & Fee), will also satisfy Provision No. 3 written in the 2011 Stipulation between the City and the Navajo Nation (Superior Court of the State of Arizona, Civil No. 6417), part of which states: "The Parties agree to work cooperatively and in good faith to evaluate environmental impacts, if any, from both the City's pumping of Underground Water at Red Gap Ranch and the Navajo Nation's pumping of Underground Water along the south-western portion of the Navajo Nation."  The development of this scope of work involved collaboration between the City of Flagstaff, the Navajo Nation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Reclamation. 

Additionally, Council approved in July 2012, a Joint Funding Agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the monitoring of the C-Aquifer over an area that includes Flagstaff to Red Gap Ranch and base flow to the Little Colorado River, Clear Creek and Chevelon Creek.  The Navajo Nation has been a financial contributor to this data collection effort since 2005 and Staff recognized this collaborative opportunity to support monitoring of the C-Aquifer within a groundwater basin that both parties share.  Data from this effort is necessary baseline information for the water resources assessment task of this Scope of Work.

Collaborate. Moving forward with this work will involve collaboration with the Navajo Nation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Reclamation and others to ensure stakeholder concerns are represented and addressed.