General Applicability Public Interest Program Waiver of Build America, Buy America Manufactured Product Provisions as Applied to Recipients of the United States Army Corps of Engineers’, Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program Credit Assistance

Procurement Summary

Dam owners that began planning an eligible project prior to May 14, 2022, the effective date of BABA, did so with no knowledge that a domestic sourcing requirement would apply to CWIFP credit assistance. Without such knowledge, they lacked the opportunity to plan for such requirements in the project design approach and may have to reevaluate design alternatives and potentially redesign elements of their projects, investigate potential domestic products, revise engineering drawings and bid specifications, and resubmit plans and specifications for State or local approval, thereby delaying the initiation of construction, and increasing project costs and schedule substantially. The Corps proposes to provide a waiver of BABA requirements of manufactured products for CWIFP awards issued on or after the effective date of the final waiver. The duration of the waiver is one year from the effective date of final approval. For awards issued prior to the effective date of the final waiver, the waiver will apply to funds not yet expended. CWIFP awards covered under this waiver provide financing for projects with long lead times that initiated design planning prior to May 14, 2022, the effective date of the Build America, Buy America act. The Corps will review the waiver to assess its continued need and relevancy as CWIFP transitions to BABA compliance. This program waiver does not waive CWIFP’s American Iron and Steel (AIS) requirements; these AIS requirements were included in the program’s original authorization in 2014 and are familiar to prospective borrowers.

Description of items, products and materials or categories of such anticipated to be covered by this waiver

Commonly purchased items for dam projects include: electrical components such as controls and switches, analytical instrumentation, sensors and meters. The Corps anticipates recipients may purchase additional products such as valves, gates, pumps, actuators, backup power systems as well as non-steel structures and wood products.

Public comment link

Final waiver link

Is this a general applicability waiver?