The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an environmental mitigation project. The project will consist of designing, building, financing, operating, and maintaining a mitigation bank site on all or part of approximately 140 acres of PennDOT-owned property near Chalfont.

A mitigation bank is a site where environmental resources are restored, established, enhanced, and/or preserved for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation for environmental impacts of public or private developments. The Chalfont mitigation bank will provide on-demand mitigation credits for PennDOT projects.

In addition, the successful bidder will be responsible for securing and complying with all required permitting and mitigation banking instruments to develop and provide on-demand mitigation credits; commercialization of excess mitigation credits to third parties; and securing, maintaining and monitoring the mitigation bank site as required by the regulatory agencies.

The different types of environmental mitigation available to the selected developer include but are not limited to wetland creation, wetland preservation, wetland enhancement, streambank restoration, threatened and endangered species habitat preservation or enhancement, stormwater controls, riparian buffer construction and pollutant reduction measures.

This RFQ is the first step of a two-step tender process. In the second step, PennDOT intends to invite up to four shortlisted proposers to submit proposals for the project. Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) must be submitted by 19 February 2019, with shortlisted proposers to be announced on 28 March 2019.