The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) is now accepting Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) for professional services to perform the collection of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission data for the 15 county Cincinnati OH-KY-IN metropolitan statistical area (MSA). This inventory will be used to inform a climate action plan being developed by OKI and its partner agencies per the US Environmental Protection Agency Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program. OKI, as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky metropolitan area, will serve as the project manager and contract directly with the selected firm resulting from this RFQ.
This RFQ contains detailed submission guidelines and SOQ specifications.
Submittal: All items requested as part of the RFQ must be completed in their entirety. Failure to do so can result in the submittal being declared unresponsive and will be automatically DISQUALIFIED. OKI must be in receipt of all SOQs by the date identified in Section 2.1.1 at the following address. One (1) original and four (4) copies of the SOQ are required.
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments
Attn: Finance Department
Cincinnati OH-KY-IN MSA GHG Inventory Collection – Statement of Qualifications
720 E. Pete Rose Way, Suite 420;
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
The SOQ should be placed in a sealed envelope and clearly marked “CINCINNATI OH-KY-IN MSA GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY COLLECTION – Statement of Qualifications”. Submissions not marked clearly will not be opened. Submissions received after the deadline will not be evaluated. No exceptions.
Interested firms’ questions and inquiries on the specifications of this SOQ shall be submitted in writing via email to Andy Meyer at ameyer@oki.org. Questions will be accepted until date identified in Section 2.1.1. The responses to all questions will be posted on www.oki.org within three (3) business days of receipt.
Schedule:
Please note dates marked with an asterisk (*) are subject to change.
RFQ Released to the Public August 30, 2023
Deadline for Written Questions September 21, 2023 4:00PM EDT
Submittal Deadline Date October 5, 2023 1:00PM EDT
Public Opening October 5, 2023 3:00PM EDT
Short List October 17, 2023*
Interviews and Selection October 30-November 3, 2023*
Notice to Proceed November 13, 2023*
FAQ:
Can you please help me understand the scope of the commodities that fall under the RFQ and is the underlying data related to utility service provider invoice-based data?
The EPA program requires a region-wide, comprehensive GHG inventory organized by the categories below and captures emissions for the GHG types listed below:
| Source Categories | Greenhouse Gases (across all sectors) |
| 1. Mobile Combustion
2. Stationary Combustion 3. Electricity Consumption 4. Solid Waste 5. Urban Forestry 6. Agriculture & Land Management 7. Water Use 8. Waste Generation 9. Wastewater Treatment |
carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), fluorinated gases (F-gases) including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) |
OKI possesses the experience modeling emissions for the Mobile Combustion category. We seek a contractor with experience to guide the data gathering and delineation of emissions for the other eight categories. Utility consumption data would be key to informing several categories, especially Stationary Combustion and Electricity Consumption. This data could be sourced from the several utilities active in the region, or from other energy data sources.
Are you able to disclose an estimated budget for this project?
We won’t be disclosing our budget for the project. The purpose of this RFQ request is to identify the most qualified applicant. Once selected, we will work with that applicant on a proposal that fulfills our project requirements and budget. We feel this prevents a budget figure from having an outsized influence on the selection process.
Which counties are within the study area?
The MSA encompasses 15 counties in southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky, and southeast Indiana: they are Brown, Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, and Pendleton counties in Kentucky;Dearborn, Franklin, and Ohio counties in Indiana. Union County, Indiana had been included in the Cincinnati MSA up until July of this year when the Whitehouse Office of Management and Budget issued a bulletin redefining the boundaries of some MSAs, including ours OMB Bulletin No. 23-01 (whitehouse.gov). We are awaiting final approval from the EPA to adjust our plan’s scope to remove Union County.
What is you anticipated approach to the scope of inventory for the PCAP vs the CCAP?
Our preferred approach to the PCAP is to provide an inventory or estimates for the full geography (all 15 counties) looking primarily at the largest emissions sectors – transportation, electricity, and natural gas. We feel it’s important for engagement that we show a priority to analyzing data from the entire region and that all communities feel like they’re being heard and represented in the process from the very beginning.
Do we need to register our intent to respond so that we are sent any updates and addendums?
You do not need to register your intent to respond. We will accept and review all responses received on or before the posted deadline, which is October 5th at 1:00 PM EDT. Any updates and addendums will be posted on the RFQ notice page of our website https://www.oki.org/cincinnati-oh-ky-in-msa-greenhouse-gas-inventory-collection/. The page includes an FAQ section where we are posting the questions we received and our responses.
The description of the grant includes a PCAP and a CCAP along with . But, the deliverables in the RFQ only specify delivery of the PCAP. Can you clarify if the schedule and scope that we submit should include both deliverables?
The Final Report referenced in item #2 in section 5.4 is meant for inclusion in the CCAP. Due to the imminent deadline of the PCAP, the preliminary inventory associated with that phase should be underway prior to the selected consultant being brought on board. We would expect the selected consultant to aid in the organization of the data collected up to that point and to produce the preliminary inventory report prior to February 1, 2024. The consultant would also be responsible for producing the final, comprehensive inventory and report for the CCAP phase on or before July 31, 2024.
Is there any component of stakeholder engagement and public outreach needed by the contracted firm, or will the COG work with the stakeholders and provide all data that the contractor is seeking? If there is engagement, will the meetings likely be in person or via virtual meetings?
Stakeholder engagement and public outreach will be important aspects of the resulting Climate Action Plans (PCAP and CCAP), but will not be a responsibility of the selected consultant. It should be expected that the consultant will be responsible for identifying and meeting with organizations that are sources of information needed for the GHG inventory, including utilities, solid waste districts, air quality monitoring agencies, etc. during the process of producing the inventory. We, or members of our project team, will help the consultant, to the extent possible, make these connections – but the consultant should be seen as the lead on the inventory component of the Climate Action Plans. These meetings could be virtual or in-person.
Is OKI interested in receiving deliverable #3 on the OKI MSA Greenhouse Gas Inventory Collection project in a database other than Excel?
We are aware that other database formats offer specific functionality or attributes that Excel does not. However, Excel offers the most universal access to the data, and whatever future use we would have for the data – should that require conversion to another database format – most offer easy conversion from Excel into that format. Therefore, we feel that Excel offers the best format for our needs.