Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes1991-123 . . . Sponsored by: Schaefermever CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION NO. 91-123 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE U. S. FOREST SERVICE FOR PREPARATION OF A SUPPLEMENT TO THE 1984 EBASCO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT RELEVANT TO TRANSMISSION LINE UPGRADE WHEREAS, a portion of the new transmission line passes over U. S. Forest Service property; and WHEREAS, prior to issuing a permit for the new line, the Forest Service has determined that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EA) prepared by Ebasco in 1984 must be updated and a supplement prepared by a qualified consultant; and WHEREAS, it is in the publ ic interest to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Forest Service outlining each party's responsibilities relevant to the preparation of the supplement to the EAi NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, that: Section 1. The City Manager is hereby authorized to execute a Memorandum of Understanding between the city of Seward and the U. S. Forest Service for preparation of a supplement to the 1984 Ebasco Environmental Assessment relevant to the transmission line upgrade. A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding is attached and incorporated herein by reference. Section 2. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the city of Seward, Alaska, this 23rd day of September, 1991. THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA Q<<Jc/"" / d{~- David L. Hilton, Mayor -1- . CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION NO. 91-123 AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTEST: Burgess, Dunham, Hilton, Krasnansky, Meehan & Sieminski None Simutis None APPROVED AS TO FORM: Perkins Coie, Attorneys for the city of Seward, Alaska . . (City Seal) 7AM1 /(/ ~ Fred B. Arvidson City Attorney -2 - . . . I. INTRODUCTION: THIS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) is made and entered into by and between the City of Seward, hereinafter referred to as the City, and the Forest Service, Chugach National Forest, U.S. Department of Agriculture, hereinafter referred to as the Forest Service. WITNESSETH: 1) WHEREAS, the City desires to upgrade its transmission line from Mile 8 to 18 of the Seward Highway to provide better service to its customers; and 2) WHEREAS, that portion of the transmission line on the Chugach National Forest is under special use permit to the city; and 3) WHEREAS, in 1984 EBASCO Services, Inc., completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) for construction of a 115 KV Transmission line from Seward to Daves Creek which was accepted by the Forest Service; and 4) WHEREAS, the 1984 EA addressed line between Miles 8 and 18 proposal; and construction of a 115 KV similar to the current 5) WHEREAS, the Forest Service and the City recognize the importance of timely preparation of the supplement to the EA to allow construction to begin as soon as possible; and 6) WHEREAS, it is mutually advantageous to both parties herein that a supplement to the EA be prepared by a third party contractor; NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the above premises, the parties hereto agree as follows: A. THE CITY SHALL: 1. Establish a representative as a single contact for the Forest Service on all matters relating to the upgrading of the 1984 EA. 2. . 3. . . Provide the Forest Service with a summary of all contacts with the contractor including all written material and correspondence, a summary of any meetings held, and a summary of any telephone conversations as they relate to the supplement to the EA. In addition, the Forest Service will be invited to all meetings between the city and the contractor. Provide the Forest Service with description of the entire project, alternatives identified by the city. a complete including any 4. Retain an independent consultant, acceptable to the Forest Service, as the third party contractor for the preparation of the supplement to the EA. 5. Submit all RFP responses for the EA to the Forest Service for evaluation and recommendation. 6. Assist in any public EA hearings and workshops held by the EA contractor. 7. Provide the contractor and the Forest Service all relevant technical or environmental information it may have which the city and the Forest Service agree is necessary for the supplement to the EA. If significant baseline data gaps are identified during the process, the City will provide the necessary information to eliminate such gaps or may require the third party contractor to collect such data. 8. Respond to data requests and provide review comments within a reasonable time. If the City is not able to meet the schedule jointly agreed upon by the City and the Forest Service, the EA schedule will be expanded accordingly. 9. Attend meetings and participate in preparation of mitigation measures and related agreements, if any, when appropriate. 10. Be solely responsible for all costs incurred in connection with the employment of the third-party contractor and any and all subcontractors. The City will hold harmless and indemnify the Forest Service, its officers, agents, and employees with respect to any and all judgements or settlements arising from claims, demands, or causes of action in connection with the employment of the contractors and any subcontractors. This includes, but is not limited to, claims that may arise from the termination of performance of the contract or Page 3 . any other services or purchases of materials utilized for the supplement to the EA, or from termination of this MOU. This indemnification by the City does not extend to suits by third-parties (other than the contractor) with regard to the Forest Service's compliance with NEPA. 11. Act as project manager in overseeing implementation of the contract. B. THE FOREST SERVICE SHALL: 1. Establish a representative as a single contact for the City and any third-party contractor on all matters relating to the preparation of the supplement to the EA. 2. Review all phases of work incidental to the preparation of the supplement to the EA. 3 . Have its representatives available to attend meetings with the public and with Federal, State, Regional and local agencies to increase communication and receive comments on the development and preparation of the supplement to the EA. . 4. Ensure the timely coordination of effort and exchange of data and information so as not to delay the contractor's work. 5. Develop the scope of the Supplement to the 1984 EA in conjunction with the city. 6. Identify issues, concerns and opportunities to be addressed in the Supplement to the 1984 EA. 7. write the FONSI (if appropriate) and the Decision Notice. 8. Recommend to the City the third party contractor to be retained by the City after evaluating the proposals according to the selection procedure. 9. Select a Forest Service interdisciplinary team, whose role will be to develop the statement of work, evaluate contractor proposals, provide resource information to the contractor, and review for adequacy the Supplement to the 1984 EA prepared by the consultant. . Page 4 . 10. Consult with and keep the City informed of additional data needs, and of any changes required in the terms of the City third-party contract. 11. Submit to the City, for review purposes, proposed actions, alternatives, and mitigation measures concernlng the project design that are to be included in the supplement to the EA. 12. Invite state, groups the city to attend meetings with Federal, regional, and local agencies and other as appropriate. 13. Consult with the City with regard to specific and technical review of portions of the material supplied to the contractor, and by participants during the EA review process. These consultations will be the basis for supplementing the 1984 EA. 14. Respond to comments submitted by the city during the EA process, whether of a procedural or substantive nature. . 15. Make the final determination on the content of the amendment to the City special use permit. 16. Arrange and chair coordination meetings, as necessary, between the Forest Service, the City, the contractor, and any cooperating agencies. 17. Review the record of oral and public workshops or meetings the third-party contractor public comments. written comments from (if held), and assist during analysis of 18. Provide the City with a summary of all contacts with the contractor including all written material and correspondence, a summary of any meetings held, and a summary of any telephone conversations as they relate to the supplement to the 1984 EA. . 19. When requested to do so by the city, treat specific data provided by the City as confidential and proprietary to the extent permitted by law. In the event that any confidential or proprietary information is required by law to be released by the Forest Service, it shall provide the City prior written notice of any such proposed release at least 5 days in advance of such release. . . . Page 5 c. IT IS MUTUALLY AGREED AND UNDERSTOOD BETWEEN SAID PARTIES THAT: 1. Either party to this MOU may terminate the same upon 30 days written notice to the other party. During the 30 day period, the parties will actively attempt to resolve any disagreement. 2. This MOU may be modified by the parties hereto by mutually agreed upon written amendment. 3. No member of, or Delegate to, Congress, or Resident Commissioner, shall be admitted to any share or part of this agreement, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom. This provision shall not be construed to extend to agreements made with a corporation for its general benefit. 4. Nothing in this agreement will be construed as limiting of affecting, in any way, the authority or legal responsibility of the Forest Service, or as binding the Forest Service to perform beyond its authority. Neither does it affect or otherwise modify the Forest Service's final authority regarding acceptance or rejection of the content of the supplement to the EA and the processing of the application. 5. Nothing herein shall be construed as obligating the Forest Service to expand or as involving the united States on any contract or other obligation for the future payment of money in excess of appropriations authorized by law and administratively allocated for this work. 6. Confidential business information is considered confidential when disclosure would likely: (1) impair the Government's ability to obtain the necessary information in the future; or (2) cause substantial harm to the competitive position of the person or entity who provided the information. 7. only the City has authority to change the third-party contract. The Forest Service will not require the contractor to perform any services or increase or change the scope of work of the contractor's agreement with the City without prior written approval by the city. 8. This agreement will terminate upon acceptance by the Forest Service of the supplement to the 1984 EA. . . . Page 6 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this agreement as of the last date written below. By Date: CITY MANAGER City of Seward P.O. Box 167 Seward, Alaska 99664 By Date: FOREST SUPERVISOR united States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Chugach National Forest 201 E. Ninth Avenue Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Attest: Approved as to form: Linda S. Murphy, CMC/AAE City Clerk Fred Arvidson City Attorney