Three Sisters Permanent Power Project-Phase 1

Pierce County Communication's Systems Division (PC-CSD) requires professional electrical engineering and design services to develop project plans for shore power installation up to the Three Sisters Radio Site, a federally funded project. Phase 1 of the FEMA grant will require firm to complete the electrical design and planning (zoning/permitting) tasks. Design Firm will need to acquire electrical engineering design, planning, and design services as well as support other planning services such as historical, archaeological, environmental, and geological. Design Firm to determine all information needed to apply for new permanent electrical service per PSE standards and provide necessary information for Pierce County to apply for utility easements.

NEPA Compliance and Coordination Requirements
The Design Consultant shall incorporate all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) related constraints into the design process from the outset. Coordination shall be maintained with Pierce County, Washington Emergency Management Division (EMD), and FEMA environmental specialists to ensure regulatory compliance and to prevent delays in Phase II project approval. This project involves the undergrounding of approximately 15 miles of powerline infrastructure to support a critical emergency communication system and is subject to NEPA review under FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Phase I. Design activities shall comply with applicable FEMA regulations, including 44 CFR Part 9 (Floodplain Management), 44 CFR Part 10 (Environmental Considerations), and FEMA’s Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) Policy. The Design Consultant shall minimize impacts to sensitive environmental and cultural resources, including wetlands, endangered species, and historic sites. The Design Consultant shall provide all documentation necessary to support NEPA review, including site maps, environmental and cultural assessments, and applicable permits. As stated in the grant award, “Engineering design must be completed in accordance with all applicable FEMA rules and regulations, including environmental and historic preservation requirements. The NEPA review will be a critical component of Phase I and must be supported by the design documentation.”

Pierce County operates and maintains a public safety emergency communications system site near the peak of the Three Sisters North (Latitude 47.116750, Longitude -121.892716) in unincorporated Pierce County, a site selected for its ideal location for providing ample coverage for emergency communications. The Three Sisters site currently receives electrical power solely from diesel powered generators. The generators have experienced multiple issues, and subsequent power outages, over the past few years and are increasingly becoming an unreliable source of electricity for the site. When the tower’s generators are inoperable, the tower is unable to function, which results in the loss of emergency communication services provided by the tower and inefficiency in public safety services and operations.

Three Sisters North is also extremely remote and heavily forested; primary access to the site is by a private forest service/logging road. During the winter season, the station and surrounding area experiences winter snow drifts of up to ten feet in depth, which limits access to tracked vehicles, such as snowcats. Additionally, the road is closed during fire season to reduce wildfire risk. Given the remoteness of this site, the costs of continual electrical power generation, and resulting facility maintenance, Three Sisters is by far Pierce County’s highest-cost radio communications site in the network.

See Attachment A, “Other Information” additional details.