The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it is seeking comments on a proposed waiver on how the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act would effect already-planned projects funded by Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF)-funded projects.
EPA had explained it is pursuing this waiver because “it is not in the public’s interest to apply BABA requirements to projects that already submitted engineering plans and specifications due to the critical need to repair and upgrade the nation’s water infrastructure in a timely and cost-effective manner.”
Since May 14, 2022, BABA requires all federally-funded projects to use domestic iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials.
EPA had proposed a similar waiver in early May, which withheld BABA’s effects for already-planned projects funded by Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans.
The waiver can be viewed in PDF form here.
The agency asks for comments to be submitted to [email protected] by June 29, 2022.
