Item 6-K

Council Meeting: September 8, 1998 Santa Monica, California

TO: Mayor and City Council

FROM: City Staff

SUBJECT: Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Contract Modification with Arthur D. Little for Environmental Services at the Transportation Department Facility

Introduction

This report recommends that Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contract modification with Arthur D. Little in the amount of $410,000 to conduct environmental engineering and cleanup services related to releases from underground storage tank systems at the Transportation Maintenance Facility.

Background

The City has retained Arthur D. Little (ADL) through a competitive selection process to provide soil and groundwater cleanup services. The services provided by ADL include investigation and assessment of a fuel spill from ruptured piping, environmental monitoring, and the design and installation of a cleanup system. The cleanup system has been designed based upon the type and severity of the contamination, the cost and availability of effective technologies to remove the contamination, and the compatibility of the selected cleanup technology with the operational requirements of the Transportation Department. Up to this point, the contaminants that had been identified at the site include diesel, gasoline, hydraulic oil, and chlorinated and volatile organic compounds.

Discussion

During recent groundwater monitoring events, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MtBE) has been detected at the site. Although not encountered in prior sampling events, MtBE has now been detected in sufficient concentrations to require cleanup. Based upon site information and history, staff believes that the MtBE is due to contamination resulting from the rupture of fuel pipes at the Transportation Maintenance Facility. The cleanup system which the City intended to install was not designed to remove MtBE from groundwater, therefore, a redesign of the cleanup and treatment system is required. A portion of the treated groundwater will ultimately be discharged into the sewer system.

ADL has the experience, qualifications and expertise to effectively and efficiently incorporate technologies to remove MtBE into the existing system design. To change to another contractor at this time for one component of the treatment system design would not only cause significant delays, but would be cost-ineffective.

Budget/Financial Impact

The current contract with ADL for this project is for $821,850 plus a contingency for a total authorization of $860,400. This contract modification of $410,000 will bring the contract total to $1,231,850.

Funds for this activity have been appropriated in Transportation Capital Improvement Program account #41-750-657-20098-8900-99107, which is financed by funds received from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and/or funds from the lawsuit settlement related to the ruptured pipes.

Recommendation

This report recommends that Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contract modification with Arthur D. Little in the amount of $410,000 to conduct environmental engineering and cleanup services related to releases from underground storage tank systems at the Transportation Maintenance Facility.

Prepared by: Craig Perkins, Environmental and Public Works Management Director

John Catoe, Director of Transportation

Brian Johnson, Environmental Program Coordinator