SUBJECT: REPORT ON WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TYCOM LTD. AND ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT (E & E) ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULANTS

 

Recommendation:

Receive and file this report

 

Background:

On May 8, 2001, the City Council approved the award of contract to E & E for environmental review of the TyCom submarine cable landing project in Hermosa Beach. A request for proposal was issued to six firms and E & E was one of two consultants submitting a proposal for the project. The firms receiving the RFP were selected on the basis of their recent experience with similar projects, to ensure that they were familiar with the new technology and the most recent comments by the permitting agencies including the California Coastal Commission. The other proposal was submitted by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).

 

Analysis:

Prior to executing the contract with E & E, staff requested that TyCom explain its prior relationship to the firm in order to ensure that there was no conflict of interest in the environmental review of the cable landing project. TyCom has explained that very few environmental consulting firms have completed EIR’s for similar project recently and consequently both of the firms submitting proposals to the City has worked previously on TyCom projects.

As noted in TyCom’s correspondence, E & E has recently prepared environmental documentation for a subsidiary, Global Crossing Ltd on a cable landing for Grover Beach, California. E & E was also responsible for mitigation monitoring imposed on this project by permitting agencies including the California Coastal Commission. This work is primarily being carried out by Applied Marine Sciences, E & E’s subcontractor, which performed oversight of the marine cable installation. Applied Marine Sciences will be preparing a report to the State Lands Commission and the Coastal Commission in closing out their work. Upon completion of the report the project is essentially complete. E & E has also been involved in permitting and environmental analysis for a South American cable project and a transpacific cable network. Both of these projects were completed prior to submittal of the Hermosa Beach proposal. Therefore the only outstanding work indirectly involving E & E is related to mitigation monitoring for the Grover Beach project and this project will be completed shortly.

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