Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 25-000371
MEETING DATE:	05/20/25
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	3
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	OC Waste & Recycling (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Tom Koutroulis (714) 834-4122
	David Tieu (949) 551-7102

Subject: Approve Contract Change Order Three for Bowerman Landfill Phase VIII-A1

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: Yes

Current Year Cost: $3,454,729.25

Annual Cost: N/A

Staffing Impact:

No

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: Fund 273: 100%	County Audit in last 3 years: No
Levine Act Review Completed: Yes

Prior Board Action: 10/18/2022 #33

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Authorize the Director of OC Waste & Recycling or designee, through delegated authority from OC Public Works, to approve Contract Change Order No. 3 with Sukut Construction, LLC for the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill Phase VIII-A1 Groundwater Protection Project in an amount not to exceed $3,454,729.25 for a cumulative contract total of $57,520,334.21 and revise the contract duration to 910 calendar days of the effective date of the Notice to Proceed.

SUMMARY:

Approval of Contract Change Order No. 3 for the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill Phase VIII-A1 Groundwater Protection Project MA-299-22011298 will support continued operations and compliance with state and federal regulations.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

OC Waste & Recycling (OCWR) is responsible for managing the County of Orange’s (County) solid waste disposal system, including Central Region Landfills that consist of the active Frank R. Bowerman Landfill (Landfill) and five closed solid waste disposal sites. The Landfill was opened in 1990 to meet the solid waste disposal needs of the central portion of Orange County.

The Landfill Phase VIII-A1 Groundwater Protection Project (Project) will support continued operations and compliance with state and federal regulations at the Landfill, particularly Title 27 California Code of Regulations (Title 27 CCR) requirements. Title 27 CCR requirements regulate the permitting, operations and design standards for landfills.

In 2002, a sudden and unexpected landslide occurred at the Landfill. This contributed to other landslides, such as the East Flank Landslide. Interim slope stabilization measures were taken to avoid catastrophic failure of this unstable landmass. Since that time, extensive progress has been made to plan, design and engineer the remediation project to ensure long-term stability and mitigate operational impacts at the Landfill. Following the landslides, consulting geologists and engineers performed extensive design and geotechnical reviews of the area, which resulted in the revision of the site Master Development Plan and a recommendation to conduct the permanent landslide remediation project in three phases.

The first phase of remediation, the Backcut Excavation Project, included the excavation of approximately 5.8 million cubic yards of earth and bedrock and installation of drainage facilities and was completed in 2009. The second phase of remediation, the East Flank Landslide Remediation Project, involved removing landslide debris for subsequent soil stabilization buttress construction and was completed in January 2016. On June 28, 2016, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved plans and specifications for the third phase, Phase VIIIB-1 and Phase VIIIB-2 Projects, involved the construction of stabilization buttresses and was completed in 2019 and allowed for disposal capacity beyond the year 2024.

On October 18, 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved contract MA-299-22011298 with Sukut Construction, LLC for the Phase VIII-A1 Groundwater Protection Project for $54,087,030.00. The proposed Project scope of work for this contract primarily consists of excavation of soil to allow for the installation of a groundwater protection system in Phase VIII-A1, which provides disposal capacity through the year 2028. The Project also includes the final remediation of the North Landslide Complex. This work requires a dewatering system to remove hydrostatic pressure from the landslide plane, a soil buttress to stabilize the North Landslide Complex and removal of excess soil, which was contributing to the landslide instability. The Project included an allocation for potential landslide remediation on a time-and-material basis of $2,000,000.

During construction the North Landslide Complex movement significantly accelerated and there were numerous landslide failures that required immediate remediation to mitigate cost impacts, create a safe working area and allow for design features of the project to be constructed. This was not unexpected and was the reason for the allocation in the contract to address landslide remediation on a time and material basis. As the Project was progressing the movement was causing concern for long term stability of the landslide complex. There was a need to remove material that was the driving force of the landslide movement, buttress the lower slide plane, remove loose and unstable material and remediate landslide debris that was moving into the engineered excavations for installation of a soil buttress. These were all addressed in field memos and directives due to the urgency of the work to be performed.

After installation of the soil buttress the landslide material that was to remain in place was now buttressed but areas adjacent to the slope failures needed to be remediated so that it would be acceptable to have soil fill placed to stabilize the remaining landslide mass. The slopes above the work had also become unstable and needed to be remediated as they retain the East Flank Landslide, which had been stabilized previously, and were unsafe for prolonged exposure to erosion. Horizontal dewatering drains needed to be replaced, additional drains installed where localized groundwater pockets were detected and erosion control structures needed to be re-constructed. This work all required immediate action to limit the severity of the cost impacts of remediation. Design for remediation could not be anticipated so that a request for change order prior to exceeding the approved mitigation contract amount was not practical. Due to the cost of landslide remediation, repair of existing facilities damaged by landslides and new horizontal drains, the time and material work total cost was $5,828,306.92 which is $3,828,306.92 over the landslide remediation time and material contract value of $2 million. Contract Change Order No. 3 also includes a 25 calendar-day time extension with no extended overhead costs due to the work impeding construction of the groundwater protection system critical path.

Included in Contract Change Order No. 3 is a credit for Diesel Fuel Price Adjustment. In the Contract the County will receive a credit for diesel fuel used on the project that falls $0.40 below the price that was listed during the bid opening as per the US Department of Energy’s website. At the time of the bid opening the price of diesel fuel was $3.58 per gallon and during the time-period covered in this Change Order the price varies from as low as $2.20 per gallon to $2.44. This drop in diesel fuel cost has provided the County a credit of ($373,577.67) for diesel fuel delivered from July 2024 to December of 2024.

Original Contract Amount	$54,087,030.00
CCO No. 1	($ 16,675.54)
CCO No. 2	($ 4,749.50)
CCO No. 3	$ 3,454,729.25
New Contract Total	$57,520,334.21

Per the Contract Policy Manual, Section 3.5-108 (1) and (2) and in accordance with Public Contract Code Section 20142(b), the Director or designee may approve contract cost increases limited to

$25,000 per change for contracts in excess of $250,000, plus 5 percent of the original contract amount in excess of $250,000 up to a total maximum amount of $210,000 in accordance with Public Contract Code Section 20142(b). Ten percent of the original contract amount per change for contracts from $50,000 to $250,000 and changes in excess of this limit require Board approval.

The Contractor’s performance has been confirmed as satisfactory. OC Waste & Recycling has verified there are no concerns that must be addressed with respect to the Contractor’s ownership/name, litigation status or conflicts with County interests.

Compliance with CEQA: This Project is a necessarily included element of the project considered in Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) No. 604, certified by the Board on August 15, 2006, which adequately addressed the effects of the proposed Project. No substantial changes have been made in the Project, no substantial changes have occurred in the circumstances under which the Project is being undertaken, and no new information of substantial importance to the Project that was not known or could not have been known when the FEIR No. 604 was certified and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program was adopted have become known; therefore, no further environmental review is required.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

Appropriations for this contract are included in the FY 2024-25 Budget for OC Waste & Recycling Capital Project Fund 273.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Contract Change Order No. 3 to Agreement MA-299-22011298
Attachment B - Contract Change Order Number One & Two to Agreement MA-299-22011298