BABA Special Provisions(Bridge Grid Deck).docx

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

Build America, Buy America Preference — Applicability and General Requirement

(a) This procurement is funded in whole or in part by federal financial assistance for an infrastructure project and is subject to the Build America, Buy America Act, Pub. L. 117-58, div. G, tit. IX, subtit. A, and the Buy America Preference implemented at 2 CFR Part 184 and applied through 2 CFR 200.322.

(b) None of the federal funds provided for this project may be obligated unless all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials incorporated into the project are produced in the United States, as those terms are defined in 2 CFR 184.3 and as the applicable standards are set out in 2 CFR 184.5 and 184.6.

(c) This clause applies to all articles, materials, and supplies furnished under this contract for permanent incorporation into the project. It does not apply to the Contractor's or Supplier's equipment, tools, shipping materials, or other items not incorporated into the completed project.

(d) There is no minimal-use, de minimis, or small-dollar exception to this requirement. The only relief available is a waiver issued by the federal awarding agency under 2 CFR 184.7 and clause BABA-7 below. No quantity of foreign iron or steel, however small, may be furnished without such a waiver.

(e) This clause flows down to, and the Contractor or Supplier shall include it in, all subcontracts and purchase orders of any tier for products supplied or work performed under this contract, including orders placed with mills, fabricators, galvanizers, and fastener suppliers.

(f) Order of precedence. In the event of any conflict between this clause set and any specification, standard specification, special provision, or other document referenced or attached to this solicitation, this clause set governs as to the Buy America Preference.

Classification of Materials — Single Category Rule

(a) Each article, material, or supply furnished under this contract shall be classified into one, and only one, of the following categories, determined by its status at the time it is brought to the work site: (i) iron or steel products; (ii) manufactured products; (iii) construction materials; or (iv) section 70917(c) materials. An item shall not be treated as falling into multiple categories.

(b) Each item shall satisfy the Buy America Preference standard for the single category into which it is classified, and no other.

(c) The Owner has preliminarily determined that the steel grid deck panels, trim plates, plates, bolts, nuts, washers, and shear transfer angles specified in this solicitation are iron or steel products subject to clause BABA-3, and that galvanizing and any other coating of those items is within that requirement.

(d) With its bid, the Bidder shall submit a schedule identifying each item to be furnished, the category assigned to it, the manufacturer, the location of the final manufacturing process, and the compliance basis. A Bidder that contends any item falls in a different category than stated in paragraph (c) shall so state, with supporting basis, in that schedule. The Owner may require reclassification where the assigned category is not supported.

(e) Section 70917(c) materials — cement and cementitious materials, aggregates such as stone, sand, or gravel, and aggregate binding agents or additives — are excluded from the definition of construction materials by statute, and no domestic-content standard is imposed on them by this clause. Iron or steel products furnished with such materials, including reinforcing steel and prestressing strand, remain fully subject to clause BABA-3.

Iron and Steel Products

(a) All manufacturing processes for iron or steel products furnished under this contract, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, shall have occurred in the United States.

(b) “Iron or steel products” means articles, materials, or supplies that consist wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both. An item is predominantly of iron or steel where the cost of the iron and steel content exceeds 50 percent of the total cost of all its components. For this purpose the cost of iron and steel is the cost of the iron or steel mill products, such as bar, billet, slab, wire, plate, or sheet, castings, or forgings utilized in the manufacture of the product, together with a good faith estimate of the cost of iron or steel components.

(c) Coating processes, including galvanizing, metallizing, epoxy coating, and painting, are within the requirement of paragraph (a) and shall occur in the United States. Galvanizing required by Section 811 of the Louisiana Standard Specifications for Roads and Bridges shall be performed in the United States.

(d) The Contractor shall furnish, for each iron or steel product, mill certifications or equivalent documentation traceable to the point of initial melt, identifying the producing mill and its location, together with certification that all subsequent manufacturing processes, including fabrication and coating, occurred in the United States. Certification shall separately identify the galvanizer and the plant location.

(e) Fasteners, including bolts, nuts, washers, and shear studs, shall be certified separately by line item. A general certification covering “all steel” does not satisfy this paragraph as to fasteners.

Certification, Submittals, and Records

(a) With its bid, the Bidder shall submit the signed Buy America Preference certification in the form included in this solicitation, together with the material classification schedule required by BABA-2(d). The certification form included in this solicitation is the required form. A bid submitted without a signed certification may be rejected as nonresponsive.

(b) Before shipment of any material, the Contractor shall submit for the Owner's review: mill certifications traceable to initial melt for each iron or steel product; certification of the location of all fabrication and coating processes, identifying each facility; separate certification for fasteners; and, for any manufactured product, the component cost breakdown required by BABA-4(d).

(c) Upon delivery and again before final acceptance and final payment, the Contractor shall submit updated certification confirming that the material actually furnished conforms to this clause set, identifying by line item the material delivered and its certification documents.

(d) The Contractor shall obtain and furnish a separate certification from each supplier, mill, fabricator, and galvanizer for each applicable material. A certification executed only by the Contractor, without supporting supplier certifications, does not satisfy this paragraph.

(e) The Contractor shall maintain all records substantiating compliance with this clause set for the period required by the federal award terms and 2 CFR 200.334, and shall make them available to the Owner, the federal awarding agency, the Comptroller General of the United States, and their authorized representatives on request.

(f) The Owner and the federal awarding agency reserve the right to inspect and audit any and all records relating to the Contractor's certifications and processes, and to inspect any facility at which iron or steel products furnished under this contract are manufactured, fabricated, or coated.

(g) Submission of a false or unsupported certification may result in rejection of material, termination for default, and referral for suspension, debarment, or action under the civil False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq.

Nonconforming Material, Owner Remedies, and Waivers

(a) The Owner may reject any material for which the certification or supporting documentation required by BABA-6 is not furnished, is incomplete, or does not substantiate compliance.

(b) Material delivered or incorporated into the work that is later determined not to comply shall be removed and replaced with conforming material at the Contractor's sole expense, including all costs of removal, replacement, redesign, retesting, reinstallation, and delay.

(c) No approval of a submittal, and no inspection, delivery, or acceptance of material, relieves the Contractor of responsibility for compliance with this clause set.

(d) Costs of noncompliant material are not allowable charges against the federal award and shall not be paid.

(e) The Buy America Preference may be waived only by the federal awarding agency, and only on a finding that applying the preference would be inconsistent with the public interest; that the types of iron, steel, manufactured products, or construction materials are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities or of a satisfactory quality; or that the inclusion of domestically produced materials will increase the cost of the overall infrastructure project by more than 25 percent.

(f) Before a final waiver is issued, the federal agency must prepare a detailed written explanation, make the proposed waiver and explanation publicly available in an easily accessible location on a designated website, provide a public comment period of not less than 15 calendar days, and, unless the Director of OMB provides otherwise, submit the determination to the Made in America Office in OMB for final review. A proposal to modify or renew a waiver of general applicability carries a public comment period of not less than 30 days.

(g) No Bidder, Contractor, or Supplier may self-certify, assume, or apply a waiver, and no Owner official, including any Department engineer, has authority to grant one. No waiver is effective for this procurement unless issued by the federal awarding agency and confirmed in writing by the Owner. A bid conditioned on the issuance of a waiver is nonresponsive.

(h) If the Contractor believes a waiver is justified, it shall notify the Owner in writing with full supporting documentation. Only the Owner, as recipient, may submit a waiver request to the federal awarding agency, in the format that agency requires. The Contractor bears all risk of schedule impact pending any waiver decision.

Build America, Buy America Preference — Certification of Domestic Content

By signing this bid I certify the following:

1. All iron and steel products will be produced in the United States, meaning that all manufacturing processes, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, will have occurred in the United States. This includes all galvanizing and other coating of grid deck panels, trim plates, and appurtenant steel.

2. All fasteners, including bolts, nuts, washers, and shear studs, are separately certified as meeting paragraph 1, and the attached schedule identifies the producing mill and location for each.

3. Any manufactured product furnished will have been manufactured in the United States, and the cost of components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States will exceed 55 percent of the total cost of all components of each such product, computed in accordance with 2 CFR 184.5. A component cost breakdown is attached for each such product.

4. Any construction material furnished will be produced in the United States in accordance with the material-specific standards at 2 CFR 184.6.

5. The attached material schedule identifies each item, its assigned category under 2 CFR 184.4(e), the manufacturer, the location of the final manufacturing process, the galvanizer and plant location where applicable, and the supporting certification documents.

6. The Bidder will include the Buy America Preference requirement in all subcontracts and purchase orders of any tier, including orders to mills, fabricators, galvanizers, and fastener suppliers, and will obtain and furnish equivalent certifications from each.

7. The Bidder understands that there is no minimal-use or de minimis exception, and that no quantity of foreign iron or steel may be furnished absent a waiver issued by the federal awarding agency.

8. The Bidder has not assumed, and its price does not depend upon, any waiver of the Buy America Preference.

9. The Bidder will maintain records substantiating this certification for the period required by 2 CFR 200.334 and will make them available to the Owner and the federal awarding agency on request.

The undersigned understands that this certification is a material representation of fact relied upon by the Owner and the federal awarding agency, and that a false certification may result in rejection of material, termination for default, suspension or debarment, and liability under the civil False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq.

BABA Compliance Package — Abbeville Bypass VL Bridge (009460) — Page 16