Geotechnical and Structural Document Review for LNG Facilities

GEOTECHNICAL AND STRUCTURAL DOCUMENT REVIEW FOR LNG FACILITIES Statement of Work 1.0 Introduction: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) issues contracts for Civil Geotechnical and Structural experts to review front end engineering design information for proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and to review final design engineering information for authorized LNG facilities that are under construction. The expert technical review verifies compliance with the applicable federal and/or state regulations, guidelines, codes, standards, specifications, and generally accepted good engineering practices in the United States. This Statement of Work (SOW) describes the services that will be required for the review process of the selected Civil Geotechnical and Structural Contractor (Contractor). 1.1 FERC's Mission: Economically Efficient, Safe, Reliable, and Secure Energy for Consumers.  Assist consumers in obtaining economically efficient, safe, reliable, and secure energy services at a reasonable cost through appropriate regulatory and market means, and collaborative efforts.   1.2 Purpose:  The Contractor shall provide technical expert level engineering support in efforts to support the FERC mission, specifically, Goal 2 which is to promote safe, reliable, and secure infrastructure. Contractors will provide support to the appropriate office objectives and the level of technical expertise provided supports each individual efforts.  2.0 Background: The FERC regulates the interstate transmission, storage, and sale of natural gas. The Office of Energy Projects (OEP) carries out Goal 2 of the Commission’s Strategic Plan by facilitating potential benefits to the nation through the review of natural gas and hydropower infrastructure proposals and minimizing risks to the public associated with FERC jurisdictional energy infrastructure.   Specifically, the Division of LNG Facility Reviews and Inspections (DLNG) coordinates and manages the engineering design review of applications for liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities under Sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act.  In addition, DLNG has post-authorization oversight during LNG facility construction and through the operational life of each jurisdictional LNG facility.  Therefore, DLNG’s oversight has a direct bearing on life, property, and the environment.  To support these efforts, expertise is required to supplement existing technical staff. Companies that propose to construct, operate, and maintain jurisdictional natural gas facilities must secure approval from the FERC in the form of an Order Issuing Certificate or Order Issuing Authorization. The engineering design requirements that apply to any individual project will vary depending upon site specific conditions and the applicable FERC regulations. 3.0 Objective: The objective of this contract is to provide technical evaluation services on the civil geotechnical, and structural engineering design of proposed LNG facilities. Post-authorization implementation of these required design measures, and other related tasks may also be assigned. Such studies determine the overall adequacy of the proposed civil geotechnical and structural engineering design and input values. Ensure the civil engineering design analysis/calculations of the structures, systems, and components (SSCs) for the LNG facilities are in compliance with the applicable federal and/or state regulations, guidelines, codes, standards, specifications, and generally accepted good engineering practices in the United States. As part of this effort, the Contractor will be expected to have expertise on the field that are qualified in all of these areas. 4.0 Scope: The Contractor will provide technical evaluation services on Civil Geotechnical and Structural engineering design and operation of various LNG projects proposed to or authorized by the FERC to assure compliance with the applicable federal and/or state regulations, guidelines, codes, standards, specifications, and generally accepted good engineering practices in the United States, including but not limited to the following: 49 CFR 193, 18 CFR 380, NFPA 59A, API 620, API 625, API 653, ASCE/SEI 7, ASCE/SEI 24, ASCE/SEI 41, ACI 376, ACI 318, ACI 350, ACI 543R, AISC, ANSI/AISC 341, ANSI/AISC 360, ANSI/AWS D, IBC, ICC, MOTEMS, PCI, AASHTO, ASTM, AWS, and etc. For the Pre-Filing and Application phase, the Contractor will review related materials produced by the applicant (in multiple drafts and final form) and provide constructive feedback on the adequacy of the necessary studies to assist FERC staff generating the engineering information requests (EIRs), which will then be provided to the applicant. Elements of the proposed LNG project subject to Contractor review include the applicant's studies of geologic hazards, geotechnical investigations, natural hazards study, and civil structural engineering design of the SSCs for the proposed LNG project site. The Contractor will review and comment on the materials provided by FERC staff and provide analyses and recommendations to FERC staff on the drafting of Environmental Assessment (EA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) documents. Review of civil structural basis of design, and criteria will be assessed for facilities including interaction with ships and marine facilities and their supportive engineering calculations, drawings, and other engineering documentation, to determine whether they have been done correctly, consistently, and in accordance with the applicable federal and/or state regulations, guidelines, codes, standards, specifications, and generally accepted good engineering practices in the United States. Special emphasis shall be placed on all loads referenced in FERC Guidance Volume II, 2017. The evaluation reports are the property of the FERC and the information contained in the reports is considered proprietary. Review basis will include…