Department of the Interior Grassland Bypass Program Grant Opportunity

RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT
The Recipient will be responsible for carrying out the Scope of Work in accordance with the terms and conditions state herein. The Recipient shall adhere to Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and codes, as applicable, and shall obtain all required approvals and permits. If applicable, the Recipient shall also coordinate and obtain approvals from site owners and operators.

RECLAMATION INVOLVEMENT

No substantial involvement on the part of Reclamation is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded by this award. It is anticipated that Reclamation’s involvement will consist of standard federal stewardship responsibilities such as monitoring project performance, technical assistance at the request of the recipient, etc.
Reclamation did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria:

(2) CONTINUATION

Single Source Justification Description:
A sole source justification is recommended in this financial assistance agreement because the applicant is uniquely qualified based on their long history and extensive knowledge of the Grassland Bypass Project. SFEI has been conducting work on this project since 1998. They have published data, reviewed annual reports, and participated in DCRT meetings. Their long history has provided them with a vast familiarity of the program and has helped them establish a good working relationship with project stake holders. They have also operated and maintained the GBP website for many years, which serves as a single repository for all of the data, reports, and analysis related to the project. It would cost considerably more money and staff/contractor time to get a new recipient up to speed on the almost 20 year history of the project, develop a brand new website platform, and upload all of the projects past reports and relevant documents. It is in the best interest of the government to award this agreement as a single-source because it will save the government a significant amount of time, money and resources.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY
Public Law 86-488, Section 1(a) and 5 of San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project

Section 1(a) – To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct the San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project, California, to enter into an agreement with the State of California with respect to the construction and operation of such unit, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That (a) for the principal purpose of furnishing water for the irrigation of approximately five hundred thousand acres of land in Merced, Fresno, and Kings Counties, California, hereinafter referred to as the Federal San Luis unit service area, and as incidents thereto of furnishing water for municipal and domestic use and providing recreation and fish and wildlife benefits, the secretary of the interior (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) is authorized to construct, operate, and maintain the San Luis unit as an integral part of the Central Valley project. The principal engineering features of said unit shall be a dam and reservoir at or near the San Luis site, a forebay and afterbay, the San Luis Canal, the Pleasant Valley Canal, and necessary pumping plants, distribution systems, drains, channels, levees, flood works, and related facilities, but no facilities shall be constructed for electrical transmission or distribution service which the Secretary determines, on the basis of an offer of a firm fifty year contract from a local public or private agency, can through such contract be obtained at less cost to the Federal Government than by construction and operation of Government facilities. The works (hereinafter referred to as joint-use facilities) for joint use with the State of California (hereinafter referred to as the State) shall be the dam and reservoir at or near the San Luis site, forebay and afterbay, pumping plants, and the San Luis Canal. The joint-use facilities consisting of the dam and reservoir shall be constructed, and other joint-use facilities may be constructed, so as to permit future expansion or the join-use facilities shall be constructed initially to the capacities necessary to serve both the Federal San Luis unit service area and the State’s service area, as hereinafter provided. In constructing, operating, and maintaining the San Luis unit, the Secretary shall be governed by the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), an Acts amendatory thereof supplementary thereto). Construction of the San Luis unit shall not be commenced until the Secretary has (1) secured, or has satisfactory assurance of his ability to secure, all rights to the use of water which are necessary to carry out the purposes of the unit and the terms and conditions of this Act, and (2) received satisfactory assurances for the State of California that it will make provision for a master drainage outlet and disposal channel for the San Joaquin Valley, as generally outlined in the California water plan, Bulletin Numbered 3, of the California Department of Water Resources, which will adequately serve, by connection therewith, the drainage system for the San Luis unit or has made provision for constructing the San Luis interceptor drain to the delta designed to meet the drainage requirements of the San Luis unit as generally outlined in the report of the Department of the Interior, entitled “San Luis Unit, Central Valley Project,” dated December 17, 1956.
Section 5 – In constructing, operating, and maintaining a drainage system for the San Luis unit, the Secretary is authorized to permit the use thereof by other parties under contracts the terms of which are as nearly similar as is practicable to those required by the Federal Reclamation laws in the case of irrigation repayment or service contracts and is further authorized to enter into agreements and participate in construction and operation of drainage facilities designed to serve the general area of which the lands to be served by the San Luis unit are a part, to the extent the works authorized in section 1 of this Act contribute to drainage requirements of said area. The Secretary is also authorized to permit the use of the irrigation facilities of the San Luis unit, including its facilities for supplying pumping energy, under contracts entered into pursuant to Section 1 of the Act of February 21, 19811 (36 Stat. 925;43 U.S.C.523).