R2024-111 Resolution Authorizing an Agreement with Ecosystem Services Exchange, for Services with the Regional Conservation Partnership Program

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EXHIBIT A SCOPE OF WORK Under this agreement with the City of Decatur,ESE's role will be limited to the completion of conservation drainage practice designs for the project-specified practices. These designs will meet the requirements of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service(MRCS)Design&Implementation Activity 164(DIA 164),"Improved Management of Drainage Water Design". A DIA 164 is used to support a farmer's use of a certified Technical Service Provider(TSP)for all aspects of site assessment through planning to final"shovel ready"design for the installation of manual and automated drainage water management,saturated buffers,and denitrifying bioreactors. An ESE-developed DIA 164 meets all NRCS requirements and enables a farmer to receive a payment from EQIP,RCPP,or another eligible conservation program for this completed plan/design. NRCS has estimated the full cost of the development of a DIA 164 for fields with existing tile maps and fields without existing tile maps. The cost of developing a DIA 164 is the same for a manual or automated drainage water management system, a saturated buffer,or a denitrifying bioreactor. As producer's signup for participation in this RCPP Project for the eligible conservation drainage practices,ESE will work with them to complete planning and design activities consistent with the NRCS DIA 164. ESE has been provided an estimate of 70 practices needing DIA 164s at the amount of 14 per year for each of five years. ESE estimates that 40 of these sites for the development of DIA 164s will have a tile map available to use in the design process, and 30 will have no tile map available for use in the design process. This breakdown is an estimate only and the actual breakdown will be based on producer signup and whether or not they can provide a suitable tile map or not for use in the design process. NRCS has determined it is more costly to develop a DIA 164 in the absence of a tile map and this is reflected in the Illinois NRCS practice scenarios posted online.For federal fiscal year 2024,NRCS's estimate of the 100 percent(full)cost for a DIA 164 with tile map is$6,839.36,whereas the 100 percent(full)cost estimate for a DIA 164 without a tile map is$9,315.76. The published cost estimates are the basis for how NRCS provides financial assistance for a DIA 164 under EQIP and RCPP. These cost estimates are updated annually on a federal fiscal year basis to account for cost changes because of labor and other associated costs. The DIA 164 is the site-specific prescription developed by ESE(NRCS certified Technical Service Provider)that helps the farmer to achieve the benefits of the designated conservation drainage practices- -manual and automated drainage water management,saturated buffers,and denitrifying bioreactors. Costs accounted for in developing a DIA 164 include a site assessment for feasibility,a site investigation and survey to establish design parameters, and the development of the actual design and its specifications for practice installation. ESE also includes an Operation and Maintenance Plan for the practice to be used by the producer after its installation. ESE will scrutinize each potential practice plan/design for optimized cost-effectiveness and functionality. For instance,a drainage water management system(automated or manual)needs to account for field slope,drainage volume,and other conditions,and a saturated buffer needs to be a certain length to be worthy of construction because of high contractor deployment and mobilization costs. Similarly, denitrifying bioreactors should be chosen where the design flow and nitrate load is high enough to justify the construction costs. ESE frequently combines multiple adjacent outlets into a single practice to