Is it allowable for Grantees/Sub-Grantees to use competitive price proposals (RFP) for selection of consultants to perform Alternatives Analysis and Development of an Environmental Impact Statement?
We require the services of an outside consultant to perform Alternatives Analysis, Identification of the Locally Preferred Alternative, and development of a Draft and Final Environmental Impact Study related to public transit service. These services are often provided by professional planning firms because the preponderance of effort is of a planning nature. While this work requires some degree of engineering analysis, there is not a requirement for plans or specifications to be sealed by a licensed professional engineer. Does FTA require that these services be performed by a licensed professional engineer, thereby requiring the use of a qualifications-based (Brooks Act) procurement, or can these services be procured by use of a competitive price proposal? It should be noted, it is also anticipated that a professional engineering firm will be procured separately to perform Preliminary Engineering and Final Design concurrent with the later stages of preparation of the Final Environmenta
