Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
for Cultural Resources and Tribal
Ethnography Studies
RFP Number WRPD-3-26
ADDENDA
Prospective bidders are responsible for reviewing any
published addenda regarding this bid at
ebmud.com/business-center
CONTACT
I-Pei Hsiu, Associate Civil Engineer
ipei.hsiu@ebmud.com
or
Sami Harper, Associate Civil Engineer
sami.harper@ebmud.com
RESPONSE DUE
August 14, 2026
4:30 p.m. PST
SUBMIT ELECTRONICALLY TO*
Sabrina Cheng, EBMUD
sabrina.cheng@ebmud.com
*Hardcopy proposals will not be accepted
375 ELEVENTH STREET . OAKLAND . CA 94607-4240 . WWW.EBMUD.COM/BUSINESS-CENTER/

EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
RFP for Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies RFP Number WRPD-3-26
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. STATEMENT OF WORK .............................................................................................................. 3
A. SCOPE................................................................................................................................... 3
B. PROPOSER QUALIFICATIONS ............................................................................................... 4
C. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................... 4
D. DELIVERABLES / REPORTS ................................................................................................. 12
II. CALENDAR OF EVENTS ............................................................................................................ 14
III. DISTRICT PROCEDURES, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS ................................................................. 15
A. RFP ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD......................................................................................... 15
B. EVALUATION CRITERIA/SELECTION COMMITTEE ............................................................. 15
C. PRICING .............................................................................................................................. 17
D. NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD AND PROTESTS ................................................................ 19
E. INVOICING ......................................................................................................................... 20
IV. RFP RESPONSE SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION ............................................. 21
A. DISTRICT CONTACTS .......................................................................................................... 21
B. SUBMITTAL OF RFP RESPONSE .......................................................................................... 22
C. RESPONSE FORMAT ........................................................................................................... 22
EBMUD IS REQUIRED TO RESPOND TO CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT (CA PRA) REQUESTS.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) ARE SUBJECT TO CA PRA REQUESTS. IF YOU ARE SUBMITTING
SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES AS PART OF YOUR
RESPONSE TO AN RFP FOR SOFTWARE SERVICES, YOU MUST SUBMIT IT AS PART OF EXHIBIT E FOR
IT TO BE CATEGORIZED AS EXEMPT FROM CA PRA REQUESTS. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED
OUTSIDE OF EXHIBIT E MAY BE RELEASED IN RESPONSE TO A CA PRA REQUEST.
ATTACHMENTS
EXHIBIT A - RFP RESPONSE PACKET
EXHIBIT B - INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
EXHIBIT C - CONSULTING AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT D - IRAN CONTRACTING ACT CERTIFICATION
EXHIBIT E - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY INFORMATION TO BE EXCLUDED FROM
PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUESTS
REV 3/26/25

Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies RFP Number WRPD-3-26
I. STATEMENT OF WORK
A. SCOPE
It is the intent of these specifications, terms, and conditions to describe the
performance of technical studies related to Cultural Resources (Archaeology and Built
Environment) and Tribal Ethnography Resources to support the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) Project 2916 - Lower Mokelumne River (Project)
relicensing effort.
East Bay Municipal Utility District (District) intends to award a multi-year contract to the
Proposer(s) who best meets the following District's requirements:
* Perform the two studies according to the standards and objectives in the Cultural
Resources Study Plan (CR-1) and the Tribal Ethnography Resources Study Plan (CR-2),
which support the FERC Project 2916 relicensing effort.
* Review existing management plans and archaeological data, as well as EBMUD data
from the Project area to develop a baseline with an understanding of the current
management goals and objectives in the Project vicinity.
* Review the two study plans to develop and implement a program to gather pertinent
data, including measurements and sampling leading to two study reports (CR-1 and
CR-2 study reports).
* Conduct pedestrian field surveys for cultural resources coordinating with Tribal
monitors, as appropriate.
* Work with an ethnographer with experience with interested Tribes to interview,
collaborate, and obtain privileged/confidential Tribal interests and information (and
treat information as privileged per Tribal requirements). EBMUD is interested in
ensuring that the ethnographer will be well-received by the Tribes in order to
facilitate the gathering of the necessary information.
* Support EBMUD's meetings/consultations with Tribal representatives to implement
the ethnographic study. Document study methods, data, and results in two Technical
Study Reports (TSRs), including the draft Cultural Resources TSR (CR-1) and Tribal
Ethnography Resources TSR (CR-2).
* Evaluate study results to develop recommendations and mitigations for potential
license requirements for the FERC license No. 2916.
* Incorporate draft review comments as appropriate and prepare a Final TSR for both
studies.
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Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies RFP Number WRPD-3-26
Findings and results from the studies/analyses will need to support development of the
Historic Properties Management Plan (HPMP) that will be part of a future step of the
relicensing process. Preparation of the HPMP is not part of this RFP.
B. PROPOSER QUALIFICATIONS
a. Proposer Minimum Qualifications
i. Proposer, Proposer's principal, or Proposer's staff shall have been regularly
engaged in the business of providing cultural and archaeological field support
in implementing study plans and their development for at least five (5) years.
ii. Proposer shall conduct work using a professional archaeologist qualified to
work in California as a Principal Investigator, as defined by the professional
qualifications adopted by the California State Historical Resources
Commission.
iii. Proposer shall possess all permits, licenses, and professional credentials
necessary to perform services as specified under this RFP.
C. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
PART 1: Cultural Resources (Archaeological and Built Environment) Study (CR-1)
A reasonable and good-faith effort is required to identify historic properties
(archaeological and built environment) that may be affected by FERC Project No. 2916.
Anticipated study methodology includes completing an archaeological inventory with
archival records searches and pedestrian field surveys encompassing the Area of
Potential Effect (APE) and buffer areas, as appropriate. The general standard for
archaeological inventories in the region is pedestrian surface survey, with systematic,
complete coverage via controlled transects. As field conditions and tribal input may
indicate potential effects outside the mapped APE (e.g., access/staging footprints;
culturally sensitive locations), the Proposer shall use an adaptive approach. In
coordination with EBMUD and consulting Tribes/THPO(s), the Proposer may extend field
surveys, documentation, and effects analysis beyond the APE when warranted by
observed conditions or tribal recommendations. Extensions beyond the APE in defined
corridors may be authorized in the field by EBMUD's cultural resources lead and project
management team; larger extensions require written approval. The Proposer shall
document each extension with GPS tracks/maps, a brief justification (reason, requester,
cultural/technical basis), and a memo proposing any APE refinement or addendum.
Records Search Update and Additional Background Research
As part of the inventory, an up-to-date accounting of all previously recorded
archaeological sites within the APE will be required, as all such sites must be accounted
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Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies RFP Number WRPD-3-26
for during the field survey. The archaeological records search for the APE was last
updated in 2021. This search should be updated to include more recent work as part of
this study.
Additional background research should also be conducted as part of a more complete
records search effort, primarily to provide context for historic-period sites discovered
during the survey. This would include searches of land patents; Government Land Office
plats; historical maps and aerial photos; census records; newspaper accounts; scholarly
research; and any relevant maps or other materials at EBMUD offices. A detailed built-
environment survey of the APE has recently been completed (Demarais et al. 2025),
meeting EBMUD's mandate to make a reasonable and good-faith effort to identify these
resources. The 2025 survey made a number of recommendations that the successful
Proposer will assist EBMUD in addressing in this study.
Field Survey
The field survey will be supervised by one or more qualified professional archaeologists
(i.e., individuals who meet the Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualifications
Standards for Archaeology at 36 CFR Part 61) who will participate in all field work. Tribes
with ancestral ties to areas within or encompassing the APE will have the option to
provide a Tribal Monitor during the field survey.
During the survey, archaeologists will walk parallel transects spaced at no more than 20
meters (approximately 22 yards), as vegetation and terrain allow, within the Project's
study area (APE plus 0.25-mile buffer). If conditions allow, lands typically inundated by
Project reservoirs will be examined if they become accessible during the survey season.
Areas within the study area that cannot be accessed in a safe manner (e.g., locations
with dense vegetation or unsafe slopes) will not be included within the survey or
recording of archaeological resources. These areas will be identified in the resulting
survey report, and an explanation for variations in survey coverage will be provided.
Locations of previously recorded archaeological sites will be verified, and their site
records will be updated when the existing documentation does not meet current
standards for recording or if the condition and/or integrity of the property has changed
since its previous recording. The archaeologists will determine if sketch maps for
previously documented sites require revision to describe current site conditions more
accurately.
Newly discovered archaeological resources, including isolated finds, will be documented
following the documentation procedures outlined in the Instructions for Recording
Historical Resources (California State Office of Historic Preservation [OHP] 1995), which
utilizes California Department of Parks and Recreation DPR523 forms. Sketch maps will
be drawn to scale. All site constituents, including artifacts and features, will be
described, photographed, and mapped.
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Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies RFP Number WRPD-3-26
Field personnel will use global positioning system (GPS) receivers with sub-meter
accuracy to document the location of cultural resources, including site boundaries,
artifacts (including isolates), and features. These data will be compiled in a Project-wide
geographic information system (GIS) and provided to EBMUD at the conclusion of the
survey to assist with future management of these resources.
EBMUD's 2019 Cultural Resources Management Plan provides initial guidance on field
survey techniques, Tribal involvement, and procedures in the event of discovery of
human remains. Tribal Monitors provided by Tribes may join for portions of the survey.
EBMUD will enter into agreements with Tribal Monitors .
National Register Evaluation
National Register evaluations will be completed where applicable and where sufficient
information is available. However, archaeological sites often cannot be evaluated at the
survey phase, unless they can be found to contain National Register-eligible qualities
based on surface features alone (e.g., pictographs) or ineligible due to a clear lack of
physical integrity (e.g., redeposited materials). Some sites will therefore remain
unevaluated and treated as eligible for the National Register until further formal
evaluations can take place. Detailed, site-specific recommendations for formal
evaluations will be developed in the HPMP and are not part of this study.
Archaeological site locations are considered highly sensitive due to the potential for
intentional or accidental damage and looting, should these locations become known to
the general public. All site records and figures depicting site locations will be contained
in confidential appendices in the inventory report and must be treated as confidential
throughout the relicensing process.
Coordination with Other Studies
To the extent feasible, archaeological and built-environment resources field studies will
be coordinated with each other and with the Tribal Ethnography Resources Study, and
information shared as appropriate. Native American TCPs, while a type of historic
property subject to Section 106 of the NHPA, will be documented via consultation, as
described in the Part 2: Tribal Ethnography Resources Study.
Cultural field studies should be conducted in a manner that does not affect other
sensitive natural resources, and permits will be attained as required. The selected
consultant should not violate other federal or state laws or regulations protecting
natural resources, including but not limited to the Endangered Species Act and Clean
Water Act. Tribes may use natural resources for subsistence or specific ceremonial uses
and consultants should avoid affecting those uses or events while conducting studies.
Reporting and Historic Properties Management Plan
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Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies RFP Number WRPD-3-26
The non-privileged results of the study will be reported in Exhibit E of the License
Application, which will include a summary of the information and findings of the
technical studies. Figures and other pertinent data supporting the summary in Exhibit E
will be appended to the License Application. The archaeological records and other
sensitive information will be included in a confidential appendix withheld from public
disclosure, in accordance with Section 304 (16 United States Code 4702-3) of the NHPA.
It is anticipated that FERC will enter into a programmatic agreement with the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation, OHP, and any other agencies or entities FERC elects to
include. One of the programmatic agreement stipulations will be the completion and
implementation of an HPMP to be included with the License Application.
Cultural Resources Study Project Tasks
Task 1. Records Search & Literature Review for Archaeological Inventory
a. Conduct archival research at state and local repositories
b. Review previous surveys, site records, and historic maps
c. Compile environmental and ethnographic context
d. Identify previously recorded cultural resources within and near the APE
Task 2. Field Inventory & Survey of APE
a. Perform pedestrian surveys, subsurface testing, or remote sensing (as needed)
b. Record archaeological sites, isolates, and historic resources
c. Document built environment resources (e.g., dams, powerhouses, transmission
lines, roads, hunting preserve)
d. Use GPS/GIS for spatial documentation
e. Prepare site forms consistent with SHPO standards
f. Assist, as necessary, with the preparation of agreements with Tribes for Tribal
Monitors Coordinate pedestrian surveys with Tribal Monitors
g. Update and prepare California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) 523
Series forms
Task 3. Resource Evaluation
a. Evaluate identified resources for eligibility for the National Register of Historic
Places (NRHP)
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Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies RFP Number WRPD-3-26
b. Apply NRHP criteria (A-D) and integrity thresholds
c. Prepare eligibility recommendations and supporting documentation
Task 4. Reporting & Documentation
a. Prepare technical reports:
i. Cultural Resources Inventory Report
ii. National Register Evaluation Technical Memorandum
iii. Appendix E Summary and confidential summary
b. Incorporate GIS data, maps, and appendices
c. Protect confidentiality (e.g., site location protection)
PART 2: Tribal Ethnography Resources Study (CR-2)
With input from a tribal ethnographer, the study will make a good-faith effort to
document and support the preservation of the culture, traditions (past and present),
and land-use practices of the tribal communities that have an ancestral connection to
the land within the study area. The selected firm shall retain a tribal ethnographer and
shall represent the District in a professional, courteous, and respectful manner in all
communications and interactions with Tribal representatives and state regulatory
agencies, and shall conduct all work in a manner that supports positive, collaborative,
and culturally respectful relationships.
Archival Research
As needed during the implementation of the study, archival research will be conducted
to obtain additional information specific to the prehistory, ethnography, and history of
the Project area. The results of the archival research will 1) provide primary data to
create a background Native American ethnohistory of the proposed study area; and 2)
inform the Tribal resources historic context against which such resources may be
evaluated for the National Register.
The consultant will conduct background archival research of the study area.
Consultation with Tribal Governments
The consultant will be expected to support meetings with Tribal governments to provide
Project data to Tribal groups, elicit areas of interest, identify appropriate Tribal contacts,
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Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies RFP Number WRPD-3-26
and establish protocols for conveying information, including privileged/confidential
Tribal information.
Interviews
The consultant will conduct interviews with interested and responsive Tribes to better
understand their priorities and perspectives. Individuals to interview will be identified in
collaboration with each participating Tribe. The methods and nature of the interviews
are expected to vary from person to person. Interview records are similarly likely to be
variable regarding privileged/confidential protocols and the Tribal expert's willingness to
share. Recording methods (e.g., handwritten notes, video, audio tape) will
be determined by consulting with the interviewees.
Documentation and Evaluation
Three main categories of Tribal resources are anticipated, which include 1) Tribal
Cultural Properties (TCPs) or places; 2) Tribal Cultural Resources (TCRs); and 3) Tribal
government matters. Each category will be documented as appropriate to each resource
type. Tribal places may be potential historic properties, places associated with the
ancestral past, places related to current gathering and/or hunting practices, or other
resource types. Those that qualify as potential historic properties will be documented
on California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) 523 forms as appropriate and
with Tribal permission, while others will be described in the study. All resources will be
documented and described and submitted for review to Tribal representatives. National
Register evaluation of Tribal resources suitable for DPR 523 documentation will use site-
specific procedures to identify historic context of the resource, boundaries, jurisdiction
or land ownership, Tribal significance, integrity from a Tribal perspective, and
contributing characteristics. Evaluation of other resource types may occur at the
managerial or agency level. After documentation is complete, it will be provided for
review and comment to the OHP and the Tribes.
Coordination with Other Studies
Other resource areas may have a connection to Tribal resources. This includes not only
cultural resources, but also fisheries/aquatics, botanical, wildlife, water resources, and
recreation. As needed, the consultant will work to assist other resource experts
in identifying Tribal resources with connections to their technical study. Assistance to
the cultural resource team is anticipated to aid field identification and documentation of
historic Native American resources, potential gathering areas, and other places that may
have value to Native American Tribes.
EBMUD understands that Tribal interests extend beyond the resources identified in this
study. For this reason, study implementation will be coordinated with both the TERR-1
and TERR-2 studies to ensure wildlife and botanical species with cultural significance
within the study area are identified and included in the final reports.
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Cultural Resources and Tribal Ethnography Studies RFP Number WRPD-3-26
Tribal Ethnography Study Tasks
Task 5. Records Search & Literature Review
a. Conduct archival research at state and local repositories
b. Review previous surveys, site records, and historic maps
c. Compile ethnographic context
Task 6. Interviews and Consultation
a. Conduct interviews with Native American Heritage Commission-listed Tribes
(identified in the Proposed Study Plan) including government representatives,
elders, cultural practitioners, and/or community members
b. Assist EBMUD on a framework for the most constructive and inclusive way to
work with Tribes to conduct the interviews and consultation and obtain relevant
information
Task 7. Documentation
a. Ensure Tribal data sovereignty and confidentiality requests are honored
b. Record information regarding cultural practices, traditional knowledge, and oral
and written history to support protection of tribal resources and practices within
the APE (the recording methodology should be determined in consultation with
the interviewee)
c. Document concerns, recommendations, and areas of sensitivity
d. Prepare technical reports
(a) Supplement Cultural Resources Inventory Report and National Register
Evaluation Technical Memorandum prepared for the Cultural Resources
Study (CR-1) with confidential addendum
(b) Prepare maps of identified TCPs and TCRs, where necessary and
appropriate, and be protective of sensitive privileged/confidential
information
PART 3: Data Management and General Guidelines
GIS Data Management
The District will provide baseline GIS data (i.e., Project boundary, facilities locations, and
land ownership). Additional GIS datasets will be provided according to a mutually
agreed upon schedule between the Consultant and the District.
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