Environmental Cleanup Program Tier 1 Call for Projects 

Tier 1 Call for Projects Application Package  

On February 13, 2012, the Orange County Transportation Authority’s (OCTA) Board of Directors (Board) authorized staff to issue the Measure M2 (M2) Environmental Cleanup Program (ECP), Tier 1 Fiscal Year 2012-13 Call for Projects. OCTA is pleased to announce that the first Call for Projects opened February 21, 2012.

The M2 ECP Tier 1 is designed to mitigate the more visible forms of pollutants, such as litter and debris that collects on the roadways and in the catch basins prior to being deposited in waterways and the ocean. It consists of funding for equipment purchases and installation to existing catch basins and related best management practices such as screens, filters, inserts, and other “street scale” low flow diversion devices.

The M2 ECP Tier 1 provides an allocation of $2.8 million to eligible applicants, which include Orange County cities and the County of Orange (County). The maximum amount that an applicant can receive in the funding period is $500,000 for fiscal year July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013. The maximum grant amount is $100,000 per project. To ensure that M2 ECP Tier 1 funds are distributed to the highest number of eligible agencies, entities submitting more than one proposal must designate which project is the highest priority for funding.

Third parties such as water and wastewater public entities, environmental resource organizations, nonprofit 501(c) environmental institutions, and homeowners associations cannot act as the lead agency for a proposed project. However, these agencies can jointly apply with a city and/or the County.

Purchase and Installation Agreement  

As part of this call for projects, the County has entered into master agreements with several BMP vendors, which eligible agencies can utilize for the purchase and installation of automatic retractable screens, connector pipe screens, and catch basin inserts. If desired, eligible agencies can utilize the County's master agreements or go through their own procurement process to secure Tier 1 BMPs.

OCTA and the County are not advocating the foregoing equipment listed under the Master Agreements over other Tier 1 BMPs as all eligible devices will be evaluated equally. The BMP Vendors that were selected through the County's Request for Proposals process include Bio Clean Environmental Services, Inc, United Storm Water, Inc., and West Coast Storm, Inc. The vendor master agreements, inclusive of their pricing for equipment purchases and installation on a quantity basis, can be viewed here. The County is in the process of extending the contract terms with all three vendors. Prices and rates are subject to change based on market conditions. The quantity based pricing is for the County as a whole, not on an individual city basis. In addition, each vendor has provided an Equipment Design & Specification Report for each BMP that is covered under their respective Master Agreement and can be viewed here.

How to Submit the Application  

The ECP Tier 1 Grant Program is described in Chapter 12 of OCTA's Comprehensive Transportation Funding Program (CTFP). An electronic version of the ECP Tier 1 Grant Application Form can be accessed here. Information must be submitted using the M2 ECP Tier 1 FY 2012-13 Call for Projects application. An unbound original and five copies (total of six) of the completed application form and related exhibits are to be submitted to OCTA no later than 5 p.m. on April 20, 2012. Applications are to be mailed to the attention of Dan Phu at OCTA, P.O. Box 14184, Orange, California 92868 or delivered to OCTA at 600 South Main Street, Orange. Electronic submittals will not be accepted. It is anticipated the Board will review and approve programming recommendations in June 2012. Successful Tier 1 Grant recipients will be required to enter into an agreement with OCTA for expenditure of funds prior to project implementation.

If you have any questions regarding the call, please submit them via email at ECPcall@octa.net. If you require any other assistance, please contact Dan Phu, Section Manager, at (714) 560-5907.