From: Kyle Arney <kyle.arney@tricoreweb.com>
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2023 5:28 PM
To: Moore, Alyson R. <Alyson.Moore@Illinois.gov>
Cc: Larson, Allegra <Allegra.Larson@Illinois.gov>
Subject: [External] Bid Number: 23-532EPA-LAND5-B-35191 Description: QBS – Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Sites
Ms. Moore:
I recently became aware of the above bid for environmental consultants to perform work at leaking underground storage tank (LUST) sites throughout the state. My employer has been specializing in LUST work for over 20 years in Illinois and we would like to bid on this project. However, there is a an IDOT prequalification requirement. A portion of this requirement includes an Advanced Hazardous Waste qualification established by IDOT. Of the numerous contractors listed at http://apps.dot.illinois.gov/eplan/desenv/epas/ConsultantsPrequalificationR080.pdf, there are eleven (11) that have this qualification. These firms are:
AECOM Technical Services, Inc.
Andrews Engineering, Inc.
CDM Smith Inc.
Fehr-Graham & Associates, LLC
Huff & Huff, Inc.
Parsons Transportation Group, Inc.
Terracon Consultants, Inc.
Tetra Tech, Inc.
Weston Solutions, Inc.
Woolpert, Inc.
WSP USA, Inc.
All of but one of these firms have annual revenues over $10 million annually, some in the billions, and at least one firm exceeds $1 Trillion annually. It is not clear to me why the requirements to perform work at the LUST sites for this bid package differ so significantly from those in the IEPA’s LUST database https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/cleanup-programs/bol-database/leaking-ust.html.
At face value, it seems that the IEPA has created this bid package excludes small businesses, particularly those that have LUST work as a key component of their business models. If this bid did not exclude small businesses, total costs would likely be much lower than what the IEPA will receive from the above large to massive companies. By imposing highly restrictive IDOT standards on the contractors eligible to bid on this package, competition very is limited. At best there will be eleven bidders, assuming all of the aforementioned companies submit bids. I understand that there may be a reasonable explanation for the current format and requirements built into this bid package; however, such requirements are not clear to me. Are you able to share the specific environmental concerns associated with the sites that are a part of this bid package that make them materially different than the sites in the LUST database? If not, can you share what decisions where made in the planning phases of this bid package that made it so restrictive for bidders? I would appreciate a response at your earliest convivence.
Sincerely,
Kyle Arney, P.G.
TriCore Environmental, LLC
2368 Corporate Lane, Suite 116
Naperville, Illinois 60563
Office: (630) 520-9973 ext. 7
Mobile: (630) 779-7004
