FY 2003 contract actions
[BPA letterhead, sent to all contractors]
December 31, 2002
Dear Fish and Wildlife Contractor:
I want you to know that Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville)
truly appreciates the value of the work you do for the region's fish and
wildlife. As you have now heard, Bonneville has asked the Northwest
Power Planning Council (Council) to lead an effort and partner with
Bonneville and the region's fish and wildlife managers to manage fish
and wildlife spending in the Integrated Fish and Wildlife Program
(Program) so as not to exceed $139 million in expense in Fiscal Year (FY)
2003. Bonneville is maintaining its commitment to meeting its
statutory and treaty responsibilities including its fish and wildlife
responsibilities.
Bonneville has also asked the Council to prioritize program
implementation to provide information to guide Bonneville spending if it
is necessary to spend less than $139 million in expense annually through
the 2003-2006 period.[1]
On December 20, 2002, the Council responded to Bonneville's request and
committed to work with Bonneville to manage fish and wildlife spending
levels in 2003 to ensure that an average of $139 million per year in
expense is expended, which is consistent with the commitments made by
Bonneville in a December
3, 2001 letter from Administrator Steve Wright to Council Chair Larry
Cassidy.
We appreciate the Council's willingness to work with Bonneville to
address the current financial crisis that the agency faces and look
forward to an open, public process to arrive at the difficult decision of
reprioritization of the expenditures within the Program.
In order to provide context for this situation facing the Program, it
is important to understand that Bonneville is facing an unprecedented
financial challenge. If no action is taken, the agency could be
facing a $1.2 billion deficit by the end of this rate period in
2006. To date, Bonneville has managed to roll back its internal
operating costs and other program costs to 2001 levels saving about $350
million over the next four years.
So far, there have been no significant cuts in our fish and wildlife
funding which includes operations of the hydrosystem to benefit fish
passage, capital facilities at the Federal dams to enhance fish passage,
and direct funding of operation and maintenance of Corps of Engineers,
Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fish facilities
connected to the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) as well as
the Council's Program.
In order to keep an appropriate level of budget flexibility to
implement the outcome of the Council-led reprioritization process and to
ensure that expense spending for the Program does not exceed $139 million
in FY 2003, Bonneville has considered a number of alternatives including
short-term contracting as well as reduced levels of contracting. We
have heard from a number of project sponsors that short-term contracting
is time and labor intensive and that the negotiation involved in
short-term contracts conflicts with demands on their time needed to engage
in the reprioritization process. We have also heard concern on the
part of some Council members that standardized short-term reductions in
project budgets may not be aligned with the need to accomplish project
work that is time sensitive. In consideration of the Council's
acceptance of Bonneville's request to lead a reprioritization process
and commitment by the fish and wildlife managers to participate actively
in that process, Bonneville will not pursue short-term contract renewals
at this time. Bonneville is willing to take some risk in this area
because the full and undistracted participation of the Council and the
fish and wildlife managers is important to the success of this very
important prioritization process. It should be noted, however, that all
contracts to implement the Program may be subject to modification
immediately following the reprioritization process led by the Council in
order to implement the recommendations and to do so within the available
funding. In the interim, we are adopting the following actions until
the conclusion of the Council's process (February 21, 2003):
- Placing all land or easement purchases on hold. Bonneville
will make every effort to work with project sponsors to find ways to
preserve the option of completing the purchase at a future time;
- Renewing contracts:
- For a 12 month period (with contract language that states that the
contract will be subject to modification or termination pending the
outcome of the reprioritization process);
- Using the Council's recommended FY 2003 budget as adjusted by
Bonneville's contract
renewal guidance of November 20, 2002;
- When no FY 2003 budget recommendation exists, using the FY 2002
budget as recommended by the Council; and,
- Requiring a contract exhibit describing the contractor's best
estimate of projected accruals for the project on a monthly basis.
- No new contract starts with very limited exceptions ? i.e., only
in the event the contract addresses a time critical requirement
of the National Marine Fisheries Service FCRPS Biological Opinion 2003
check-in.
Bonneville will closely monitor the pace of contract accruals and in
the event accruals escalate beyond the pace expected, will consult with
the Council promptly regarding any additional interim actions that may be
required.
In recognition of the fact that some contract renewals during the month
of December may not be executed when contracts expire due to the recent
uncertainty regarding Bonneville's interim contracting procedures, I
have advised Bonneville's Contracting Officers to provide written
authorization for implementation actions to proceed during a short period
pending contract execution. Please note that Bonneville fish and
wildlife project managers acting as Contracting Officer's Technical
Representatives (COTR) are not able to give such authorization; only
Contracting Officers may provide authorization.
Also, in recognition of the need to improve contract management both on
the part of Bonneville and on the part of project sponsors, we provide the
following notice that will be applicable to all contract actions.
The following policy is consistent with the Bonneville Purchasing
Instructions Manual.
Please be advised that effective March 1, 2003:
- Contractors will not be allowed to perform work without a fully
executed contract (signed by both parties);
- In the rare instance that an exception is allowed, a contractor may
not begin work without express written permission from a Bonneville
Contracting Officer; and,
- Any costs incurred by a contractor prior to receipt of a fully
executed contract or written permission to proceed from a Bonneville
Contracting Officer are the sole responsibility of the
contractor. Bonneville will not reimburse the contractor for
these costs.
Once again, I want to reiterate the significant value that Bonneville
places on your efforts to provide high quality fish and wildlife actions
for fish and wildlife affected by the FCRPS.
If you have any questions, please contact your Bonneville project
manager (COTR).
Sincerely,
/s/
Sarah R. McNary
Director for Fish and Wildlife
[1] The capital portion of
the fish and wildlife program makes up to $36 million available for
capital projects.
^ top
|
home