REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 18, 2026
FROM
NOEL CASTILLO, Director, Department of Public Works - Solid Waste Management
SUBJECT
Title
On-Call Contracts to Provide Geotechnical, Geological, and Hydrogeological Engineering Services for Various Landfill Projects
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contracts with the following consultants, to provide On-Call Geotechnical, Geological, and Hydrogeological engineering services for various San Bernardino County landfills and disposal sites, in the total aggregate not-to-exceed amount of $3,000,000, for the period of September 14, 2026 to September 13, 2031:
1. Advanced Earth Sciences, Inc., a Verdantas Company
2. Geologic Associates, Inc.
3. Geosyntec Consultants, Inc.
4. Tetra Tech BAS, Inc.
(Presenter: Noel Castillo, Director, 387-7906)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as the Department of Public Works - Solid Waste Management Division (SWMD) is financed by fee revenue. SWMD establishes fees that are charged to the public and other agencies for utilization of San Bernardino County’s (County) Waste Disposal System. The costs for the four contracts have a combined not-to-exceed amount of $3,000,00. Sufficient appropriation and revenue are included in the 2026-27 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
SWMD operates and manages the County's solid waste disposal system, which consists of five regional active sanitary landfills, nine transfer stations and numerous closed landfills and disposal sites. The five regional active landfills provide refuse disposal for the County's Valley, Mountain, High Desert and Low Desert Regions. As the owner and operator of these facilities, SWMD is regulated by numerous state and local agencies, including the following: three California Regional Water Quality Control Boards (Lahontan, Santa Ana, and Colorado River Basin Regions); CalRecycle, the Local Enforcement Agency, and two Air Quality Management Districts (South Coast and Mojave Desert). In addition, SWMD's operations and capital projects often require negotiations with other federal, state, and local agencies, such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S Army Corps. of Engineers, California Department of Transportation, Land Use Services, and cities located within the County.
In order for SWMD to maintain a disposal system that meets the disposal capacity needs of the residents of the County and maintain good standing with the aforementioned regulatory agencies, it is necessary to retain geotechnical, geological, and hydrogeological (GGH) services that cannot be provided by existing SWMD staff. Because this assistance is often needed immediately, conducting a project-specific Request for Proposals (RFP) for each assignment is impractical. As a result, SWMD developed a RFP to meet the need to perform necessary GGH services, and to fulfill the requirements of the County’s Procurement Policy.
Approval of the recommended contracts will provide on-call GGH engineering services to characterize current and future site conditions and provide analysis and conclusions in support of County projects and to address the aforementioned regulatory agencies’ orders, directives, comments or concerns to comply with regulations and directives in a timely manner. Under these contracts, the work is assigned through task orders. The County does not guarantee any minimum or maximum number of tasks to be assigned through the terms of the contracts.
The recommended contracts support the County and Chief Executive Officer’s goals and objectives of operating in a fiscally-responsible and business-like manner by efficiently obtaining the most reasonable cost of services for the County and providing for the safety of County residents by properly operating and maintaining the County’s waste disposal system.
Review for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was conducted by the Department of Public Works Environmental Management Division. It was determined that the activities in the contracts are not considered a “project” as defined in Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines and no further environmental analysis is necessary.
PROCUREMENT
On March 23, 2026, Request for Proposal (RFP) No. PWG-126-SOLID-6334 for on-call GGH Services for the San Bernardino County Solid Waste Management Division was released via the County’s eProcurement System (ePro). The RFP was sent to 458 firms via ePro. Amendment No. 1 to the RFP was issued on April 8, 2026, addressing proposers’ questions. On April 23, 2026, the County received four proposals from:
|
Consultant |
Location |
|
Advanced Earth Sciences, Inc. a Verdantas Company |
Irvine, CA |
|
Geologic Associates, Inc. |
Ontario, CA |
|
Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. |
Ontario, CA |
|
Tetra Tech BAS, Inc. |
Diamond Bar, CA |
A selection committee comprised of three representatives from SWMD was assembled to evaluate the written proposals. The representatives evaluated the proposals on the professional qualifications, cost, and proficiency to perform the on-call GGH Services set forth in the RFP. After reviewing and scoring the proposals, the Selection Committee found all four firms were qualified to provide the required GGH services. The contracts are written in a manner to allow SWMD the flexibility of selecting the firm that best meets the needs for each project, while providing the most value to the County.
The proposed contracts will commence on September 14, 2026, and continue through September 13, 2031. The County maintains the right to terminate the Contract(s) for convenience upon thirty (30) calendar days’ written notice.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Maria Insixiengmay, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 27, 2026; Purchasing (Dylan Newton, Lead Buyer, 387-3377) on June 1, 2026; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Dalton, Administrative Analyst, 387-4222) on July 30, 2026.