14B NCAC 03 .0407          Procedures for bidding and contracting for search and rescue team and specialty rescue team mission

(a)  Eligibility for participation as a Contract or Specialty Rescue Team:

(1)           Sponsoring agencies shall:

(A)          be a local unit of government, State-recognized tribal government, or a corporation with an active response agreement with a local or tribal unit of government;

(B)          maintain participation in the statewide mutual aid agreement; and

(C)          ensure all personnel possess the qualifications as outlined in Rule .0409 of this Section.

(2)           Participating agencies shall ensure all personnel possess the qualifications as outlined in Rule .0409 of this Section.

(b)  Eligibility for participation as personnel.

(1)           Personnel shall be from the NC SAR System, NCEM All-Hazards Incident Management Team Program, or an employee of NCEM. If not an employee of NCEM, each member's Sponsoring Agency shall have an active system agreement that outlines the conditions of their participation.

(2)           NCEM shall ensure all personnel possess the qualifications as outlined in Rule .0409 of this Section.

(c)  Contract Response Teams – Within 18 months of the first day of the contractual performance, NCEM shall electronically distribute a bid announcement via electronic mail to all system resources and local emergency management coordinators for interested parties to return a letter of interest. NCEM shall distribute an electronic bid package to all interested parties that shall be returned to NCEM.

(1)           Contract Response Teams shall be limited to seven regionally based all hazard response taskforces. Each taskforce will be assigned a primary response region in the state.

(2)           The bidding agency and any participating agencies shall be located in that specified response region.

(3)           A review committee shall be established by the NCEM Director or designee. This committee will open all completed sealed bid packages and evaluate them based on an agreed upon criteria as outlined in Rule .0408 of this Section at a date set by the NCEM Director or designee.

(4)           The committee shall develop a bid package review summary that includes their recommendations for selections that will be sent to the NCEM Operations Section Chief for concurrence before being reviewed and approved by the NCEM Director.

(5)           Agencies who are successful in the bid process will be notified and system agreements shall be drafted and executed.

(6)           NCEM shall draft, execute, and maintain a system agreement with the sponsoring agency for the resource to maintain participation in the NC SAR System.

(A)          NCEM shall execute and maintain a system agreement with the sponsoring agency that outlines the scope of work that the team shall follow to enable reimbursement of eligible training, equipment, and administrative costs associated with maintaining a Contract Response Team. The system agreement shall be limited to the contract period.

(B)          Funds reimbursed through this agreement shall go directly to cover program costs and be utilized by the Sponsoring and Participating agencies.

(C)          The Sponsoring Agency shall maintain all records of any NC SAR System spending and shall not comingle funds or use NC SAR System funding for any other purpose.

(D)          Each Sponsoring Agency is responsible to draft, execute, and maintain agreements with each participating agency that is supporting their bid for a Contract Response Team with personnel, equipment, or funding. The Sponsoring Agency may include any participating agency resources in their bid package.

(E)           Resources shall maintain a response agreement with NCEM that outlines the activation process and the reimbursement process for costs of state missions.

(d)  Specialty Rescue Teams - NCEM shall enter into response agreements with Sponsoring Agencies to establish specialty rescue teams to ensure statewide response capability in established NC SAR System program areas.

(1)           These program areas shall be:

(A)          Swiftwater Search and Rescue;

(B)          Wilderness / Land Search and Rescue;

(C)          Mountain Search and Rescue; and

(D)          Helicopter Search and Rescue

(2)           NCEM shall support system resources with training and equipment within the confines of available funding. Participation as a Specialty Rescue Team is considered at will by either party to the extent that agreements can be terminated with or without cause by either party with a 30-day notice.

(3)           Each Sponsoring Agency shall enter into a response agreement specific to each established program area with NCEM. The resource will then enter into a system agreement with NCEM that shall be referred to as a Specialty Rescue Team response agreement.

(4)           Specialty Rescue Teams shall demonstrate their ability to deploy a self-sufficient team outside their jurisdiction to be eligible to participate in the NC SAR System. Specialty Rescue Teams shall provide all support requirements for their deployed personnel and equipment for a period of 72 hours from deployment without outside support.

(5)           Each Sponsoring Agency of a Specialty Rescue Team shall draft, execute, and maintain agreements with each Participating Agency that is supporting the Sponsoring Agency in maintaining a Specialty Response Team with personnel, equipment, or funding.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 166A-65; 166A-66; 166A-67;

Eff. April 1, 2023.