Battle brewing over milfoil bid

SANDPOINT — Trouble is brewing in Bonner County’s plan to treat Eurasian milfoil infestations with herbicides this summer.

A formal challenge has been filed against the award of a contract to herbicide applicator AquaTechnex because of alleged bidding improprieties. Meanwhile, a clean water advocacy group is calling on the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to investigate those claims and possible mismanagement of Bonner County’s treatment program.

Clean Lakes Inc., which won last year’s contract, contends it hewed to bid specifications and submitted a proposal which won a higher ranking in a review process, but ended up losing the contract because AquaTechnex was allegedly advised by the county to bid using a lesser herbicide application rate, which drove down costs and broadened the amount of treatment acreage.

Tom McNabb of Clean Lakes argues the midstream shift in the bid specs was improper because Idaho’s administrative code requires all bidders to be advised of any modifications in the specifications.

“You can’t tell one guy to do something without telling everybody else,” said McNabb.

AquaTechnex’s bid proposal indicates the application rate for triclopyr was based on “personal communications with Brad Bluemer,” the county’s noxious weed superintendent. Clean Lakes’ application rate, however, was based on the written request for proposals issued by the county.

Bluemer disputes Clean Lakes’ claims and points out that every bid could be debated endlessly by a contractor.

“We also have treated every contractor equally and fairly in evaluating bid proposals each year…” Bluemer said in a June 18 letter to Clean Lakes.

Bluemer also denies bid prices were based on personal communication with AquaTechnex, according to further correspondence in the matter.

Bluemer was not immediately available on Friday and did not respond to e-mail and phone messages seeking further comment.

Alleged bid irregularities aside, McNabb said AquaTechnex’s proposal is troubling because it proposes a triclopyr application rate of 10 gallons per acre. Clean Lakes, citing the manufacturer’s application guidelines, maintains such a rate of application would be insufficient to adequately treat areas, especially in the Pend Oreille River where there is a higher water exchange.

McNabb calculates that more than 13 gallons an acre would be needed to effectively treat in the river.

County Commissioner Cornel Rasor said on Thursday he was advised that the manufacturer, Alligare LLC, had certified that 10 gallons/acre was a sufficient application rate. But he discovered on Friday that the Alligare did not certify such a rate and was in fact recommending 13.5 gallons/acre.

“There is, at the very least, miscommunication going on,” said Rasor, who is continuing to look into the matter.

McNabb believes the bidding process was manipulated to discount Clean Lakes because the company disagreed with Bluemer’s plan about treatments in the river last year. McNabb advised against treating the river in the middle of summer because the flow was too high, which limited the herbicide’s contact time with the milfoil.

“It almost looked like he tried setting up these guys (AquaTechnex) to do this because they’d do whatever he told them,” said McNabb, who adds that Clean Lakes was criticized by the county for declining to abide by its wishes.

Pend Oreille Waterkeeper, which has been critical of the county’s reliance on herbicides, contends the county’s actions have violated the terms of the ISDA grant requirements. The group called on ISDA to investigate Clean Lake’s claims and revoke the herbicide funding.

“My main concern is for the water quality here,” said Waterkeeper’s executive director, Jennifer Ekstrom. “When you see a breach of the rules in such an outward fashion, it just makes a person call into question the whole process — and motivation and worth of the program.”

McNabb disagrees that the funding should be pulled, but does not hide the fact that he wants the county to recognize its mistake and award the contract to Clean Lakes.

“We’re better off moving ahead,” he said.