NIGP 96322: Allowances, All Types

NIGP 96322 Allowances, All Types (Item) encompasses stipulated allowances and contingency funds that state and local governments build into construction and infrastructure contracts to cover anticipated but unquantified costs such as field orders, utility potholing, permits, contaminated soil disposal, and equipment salvage. The code appears primarily in civil infrastructure and water/wastewater projects where exact quantities or unit costs cannot be determined at bid time; allowances are specified as lump-sum or unit-price line items within a broader contract scope rather than as standalone procurements. Recent solicitations from the Long Beach Public Utilities Department show allowances functioning as a mechanism to allocate risk and manage scope uncertainty in projects ranging from retaining wall repair to sewer lift station rehabilitation to water main abandonment, with the city naming specific allowance amounts and eligible cost categories in each project's contract documents.

Long Beach Public Utilities Department is the dominant recent buyer under this code, posting three separate infrastructure bids between early August and mid-September 2026, each incorporating stipulated allowances. The Rancho Los Alamitos Transmission Main Abandonment Project (RFQ due August 31, 2026, Solicitation UD26352) allocates $77,500 in stipulated allowances for field orders, utility potholing, permits, contaminated soil disposal, and livestock boarding on a water infrastructure project requiring California Class A General Engineering Contractor licensure and prevailing wage compliance. The Rehabilitation of Sewer Lift Stations S-19, S-28 and S-29 (proposal due September 1, 2026, Solicitation UD26350) and the Los Cerritos Channel at Bixby Hill Retaining Wall Repair (IFB due October 13, 2026, Solicitation UD26359) similarly embed allowances within their contract structures. Activity is concentrated in Southern California, specifically Long Beach municipal utilities, though the pattern suggests allowances remain routine in state and local capital projects nationally wherever infrastructure scope contains unforeseeable or variable components.