General Applicability Public Interest Adjustment Period Waiver from Application of the Build 

America, Buy America Provisions for Recipients of Treasury RESTORE Act, Direct 

Component Grants

AGENCY: U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury)

ACTION: Notice of Final Waiver

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Build America, Buy America Act (“Act”), this notice advises 

that Treasury is proposing a general applicability public interest adjustment period waiver from 

application of the Buy America Domestic Content Procurement Preference (“Buy America 

Preference,” or “BAP”) to the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and 

Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (“RESTORE Act”), Gulf RESTORE Program -

Direct Component grants under assistance listing number, 21.015, provided from the Gulf Coast 

Restoration Trust Fund (“Trust Fund”) and administered by the Treasury Office of Gulf Coast 

Restoration (“the Office”) to eligible states and local governments in the Gulf Coast Region. 

Treasury is requesting a six-month waiver from application of the Buy America Preference 

requirements for iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials for infrastructure 

projects under the Direct Component. In accordance with the Act, Treasury has found that this 

general applicability adjustment period waiver is in the public interest to allow Treasury sufficient 

time to prepare to implement the Act for the long-term while continuing to keep projects moving and 

preventing immediate delays to critically important projects to revive and sustain the ecosystems and 

economy of the Gulf Coast Region, including activities to support disaster preparedness and manage 

climate risk by building resilience and promoting sustainable economic development. 

Treasury is proposing this waiver not an alternative to increasing domestic production, but as 

an important tool to fill our knowledge gaps and implement the Buy America Preference provisions 

in the most efficient manner in order to promote investment in our domestic manufacturing base, 

strengthen critical supply chains, and position U.S. workers and businesses to compete and lead 

globally in the 21st century. Treasury understands that advancing the Made in America law’s 

objectives is a long game and Treasury plans to move forward with sufficient information to 

implement the new requirements in a way that maximizes coordination and collaboration to support

long-term investments in domestic production. The waiver period will provide Treasury sufficient 

time to work collaboratively with other federal agencies and learn from existing processes 

established for domestic preference for iron and steel. Treasury is proposing to use the waiver time to 
leverage the lessons learned, templates, guidance, policies, and procedures developed by the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies that have long applied a 

domestic content procurement preference requirement to iron and steel; the Office has already met 

with EPA and started this process. Treasury is also looking to leverage the work OMB’s Made in 

America Office (MIAO) is doing to identify domestic sources for these materials. Importantly, 

Treasury is proposing to use the six-month period to work directly with Direct Component eligible 

entities to fill knowledge gaps and understand the common needs for iron and steel products, 

construction materials and manufactured products. Treasury will use the time to identify needed 

information collections and get them approved through OMB’s Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

process. Treasury will work directly with recipients to identify and document the availability of 

required goods in the Gulf Coast Region, including any specific supply chain challenges the region 

experiences due to their unique vulnerability to hurricanes. Treasury will use the information gained 

from close engagement with other federal agencies, its financial assistance recipients, and the MIAO

to determine the appropriate scope of additional, targeted waivers that may be necessary to ensure 

projects stay on time, on task and on budget. Treasury will ensure that any waivers issued under the 

Act are balanced, practical, and an efficient tool to promote both American manufacturing and timely 

infrastructure investment. 

Furthermore, Treasury is committed to building its internal capacity to implement the new 

requirements, including hiring staff or contractors, while continuing work on other mission-critical 

objectives to keep projects moving, including standing up a new online grants management system, 

which will require dedicated staff resources for development, testing, data migration, training, and 

system launch. Treasury will use the adjustment period to build our internal capacity and the capacity 

of our external stakeholders, including providing training to subrecipients and contractors in these 

requirements. This adjustment period will give Direct Component recipients and subrecipients, the 

majority of which are small, local governmental entities, time to put in place their own policies, 

procedures, and systems to collect and submit required information, identify needs for projectspecific or product-specific waivers; increase staff capacity to handle the increased workload; 

educate construction contractors about these requirements; and participate in a Treasury-led working 

group to guide BAP implementation. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed waiver are set out in this document and were due on or before 

June 17, 2022. This waiver is effective for six months after the effective date to waive the application 
of the Buy America Preference requirements for iron, steel, construction materials, and manufactured 

products for infrastructure projects funded by Direct Component grants. This waiver is effective from

July 13, 2022 to January 12, 2023.

SUMMARY AND RESPONSE TO COMMENTS:

Treasury received seven comments in total on the waiver; four comments were submitted by 

Gulf Coast states specified in the RESTORE Act as eligible to receive grants under the Direct 

Component, two comments were submitted on behalf of industry groups, and a single comment was 

provided by an individual from the general public. All but one commenter is in support of Treasury 

issuing an adjustment period waiver to waive the application of the Buy America Preference 

requirements for iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials for infrastructure 

projects funded by Direct Component grants, to allow Treasury and their recipients and subrecipients 

sufficient time to prepare to implement the requirements for the long-term. Two commenters 

requested Treasury consider issuing a 12-month adjustment period waiver because they found six 

months is insufficient to stand up new policies and procedures, hire staff, and continue to deliver on 

the Office’s core mission. One commenter voiced concern about meeting a six-month 

implementation timeline given the supply chain problems currently affecting projects. Treasury has

determined that a six-month waiver with the possibility of an extension is consistent with the 

objectives of the waiver policy as specified in the Act. Treasury understands the public’s concerns 

and therefore plans to maximize efficiency by standing up policies and procedures that follow 

examples provided by other federal agencies that have long applied domestic content procurement 

preference requirements for iron and steel. Treasury will also use the adjustment period to work with 

OMB to clarify if and how Buy America Preference provisions apply to the Direct Component and

identify and develop other general applicability waivers so that at the end of the six-month 

adjustment period there will continue to be coverage for certain activities. 

Finally, Treasury understands that full implementation of BAP will require the recipients and 

subrecipients of Direct Component awards to develop their own policies and procedures and that the 

2022 hurricane season, June through November, may impact the capacity of entities in the Gulf Coast 

Region to prepare to implement and comply with these new requirements in the proposed timeline. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted that the 2022 Atlantic 

hurricane season will be above-normal. Therefore, in response to public comments noting concerns

about having sufficient time to prepare, Treasury has added an action item to the adjustment period 
schedule. After conclusion of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, the Office will engage through 

Treasury’s RESTORE Act Buy America Implementation Working Group to assess the capacity and 

preparedness of Direct Component eligible entities to implement and comply with the new 

requirements by the end of the proposed six-month adjustment period. If the Office learns that 

significant recipient and subrecipient staff time and resources are being used for post-disaster 

recovery efforts, Treasury will evaluate whether it is in the public interest to extend the adjustment 

period for the Direct Component eligible entities or issue additional, targeted waivers for impacted 

entities. 

Public Inspection of Comments. All properly submitted comments and communications submitted 

to Treasury will be made available for public inspection upon request. A complete summary and 

Treasury’s response to comments will be made available for inspection and download at 

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-markets-financial-institutions-and-fiscalservice/restore-act/restore-act-buy-america-preference.

For Further Information Contact: Please submit any questions, comments, or concerns to 

restoreact@treasury.gov c/o Bridget Cotti-Rausch. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Build America, Buy America Act

The Build America, Buy America Act was enacted on November 15, 2021, as part of the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Pub. L. 117-58. The Act establishes a domestic 

content procurement preference, the BAP, for Federal financial assistance programs that fund 

infrastructure. Section 70914(a) of the Act establishes that no later than 180 days after the date of 

enactment, Treasury must ensure that none of the funds made available for infrastructure projects 

may be obligated by the Office unless it has taken steps to ensure that “all of the iron, steel, 

manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project are produced in the United 

States.” In section 70912(7), the Act further defines a project to include “the construction, alteration, 

maintenance, or repair of infrastructure in the United States” and includes within the definition of 

infrastructure those items traditionally included along with buildings and real property.

II. Treasury’s Progress in Implementation of the Act

Treasury views the Act as an opportunity to create domestic manufacturing jobs, strengthen 

supply chains, and help lower costs in the Gulf Coast Region. Since the enactment of the Act, 
Treasury has worked diligently to prepare to implement the BAP. Consistent with the requirements 

of section 70913 of the Act, Treasury has produced a report that identifies and evaluates all of 

Treasury’s Federal Financial Assistance programs with potentially eligible uses of funds that include 

infrastructure as defined by the Act to determine which programs would be in compliance with the 

BAP and which would be considered inconsistent with section 70914 of the Act and thus “deficient” 

as defined by section 70913(c) of the Act. To prepare the report, the Office consulted with 

RESTORE Act grant recipients to identify items that are used in projects that may be relevant to any 

of the six critical supply chains. Treasury’s report was submitted to Congress and the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and published in the Federal Register within 60 days after the date 

of enactment of the Act, on January 21, 2022. Specifically, Treasury published the required report in 

a notice entitled “Federal Financial Assistance Infrastructure Programs Subject to the Build America, 

Buy America Provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” in compliance with section 

70913 (87 FR 3385). Since issuing the report, Treasury has held regular meetings with Departmental

and programmatic offices and consulted with OMB to plan to implement the requirements of the 

BAP. Treasury’s Office of the General Counsel coordinated with the OMB Counsel to determine 

whether the BAP applies to the Gulf RESTORE programs or whether the Gulf RESTORE programs 

are exempt from these requirements as “post disaster or emergency response expenditures” and 

determined that Direct Component grants were not exempt. Treasury has been an active participant in 

the Made in America Office’s Buy America Preference Working Group. Treasury also proactively

contacted the program offices for the EPA State Revolving Fund, which has implemented domestic 

content procurement preference requirements for iron and steel for water systems projects (just one 

of the many eligible activities under the Direct Component), to identify lessons learned and best 

practices. Discussions with EPA informed this request for a six-month adjustment period, as EPA 

indicated that even implementing the requirements for iron and steel requires significant staff and 

contractor resources, as well as robust policies, procedures, and systems. The Office also learned 

through these discussions that few resources exist across the federal government to support the 

implementation of the construction materials and manufactured products requirements of the Act.

Treasury looks forward to reviewing the responses to the Request for Information (RFI) recently 

issued by OMB to identify domestic sources of construction materials.

To allow sufficient time to build resources and internal capacity that leverage these collaborative 

efforts, Treasury requires a six-month adjustment period waiver for all requirements of the Act, as 

the Office applies the lessons learned from other agencies implementation of domestic content 
procurement preference requirements for iron and steel products, as well as the results of the RFI,

and further ramp up staff or contractual capacity in order to minimize delays for critically important

ecosystem and economic restoration projects, including activities related to disaster preparedness, 

mitigating climate risk, building resilience, and promoting sustainable economic development and 

job creation. To promote coordination with Direct Component recipients, Treasury stood up a 

Treasury RESTORE Act Domestic Procurement Working Group to solicit suggestions from Direct 

Component eligible entities to develop the best approach for implementation of these new 

requirements, and to fill knowledge gaps and better understand and document the demand for 

domestically produced iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials in the Gulf 

Coast Region. 

III. Waivers

Under section 70914(b) of the Act, Treasury has authority to waive the application of the Buy 

America Preference when if finds that (1) application of the preference would be contrary to the 

public interest, (2) the materials and products subject to the preference are not produced in the United 

States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities or of satisfactory quality, or (3) inclusion of 

domestically produced materials and products would increase the cost of the overall project by more 

than 25 percent. Section 70914(c) of the Act provides that a waiver under section 70914(b) must be 

made publicly available on a website designated by OMBand on the agency’s website with a detailed 

written explanation for the proposed determination to issue the waiver and provide a public comment 

period of not less than 15 days on the proposed waiver. 

Information on this waiver may be found at the webpage at this link: 

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-markets-financial-institutions-and-fiscalservice/restore-act/restore-act-buy-america-preference. 

IV. Public Interest in a General Applicability Waiver of the Buy America Preference 

Provisions

The Build America, Buy America Act represents a monumental change to how the nation 

builds things with Made in America products and Treasury understands that bringing back domestic 

manufacturing and advancing these objectives is in the nation’s best interest. Treasury is similarly 

authorized under the RESTORE Act to build a resilient workforce in the Gulf Coast Region; eligible 

activities for Direct Component projects include those that enhance workforce development and job 
creation. Treasury is eager to realize these shared goals and believes success will be achieved 

through collaboration with other agencies and close coordination with Direct Component recipients. 

In this notice, Treasury is seeking comments on its proposed general applicability public interest 

adjustment period waiver from the BAP requirements for Direct Component grant recipients to 

provide Treasury with sufficient time to engage in close coordination with the Office’s stakeholders. 

Treasury will use the proposed waiver period to fill knowledge gaps and build the internal and 

external capacity necessary to build processes that work long into the future. The six-month waiver

would apply to all the Direct Component grants that fund infrastructure projects that require the use 

of iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials, as outlined in section 70914(a) of 

the Act. The waiver would apply for six months from the effective date of the waiver. The waiver 

would apply for new awards and monetary amendments to existing awards for infrastructure projects 

in accordance with section 70914(a) of the Act and section V. of OMB Memorandum M-22-11. 

As indicated in Treasury’s Federal Register Notice

(https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/21/2022-01169/federal-financial-assistanceinfrastructure-programs-subject-to-the-build-america-buy-america), Treasury’s RESTORE Act did 

not previously implement mandatory domestic content procurement preference requirements, though 

Treasury has always included language in the RESTORE Act Standard and Program-Specific Terms 

and Conditions encouraging recipients, to the greatest extent practicable, to purchase American-made 

equipment and products for Direct Component projects, in support of Executive Order 13788 and 2 

CFR 200.322 regarding a domestic preference for procurements. Treasury’s adjustment period 

waiver request is necessary to provide the Office sufficient time to meet the ambitious goals to 

implement the new requirements. 

Treasury believes that increasing domestic supply for infrastructure projects is in the long-term 

public interest; Treasury has already seen how supply chain disruptions have negatively impacted

construction project schedules and budgets. However, in the near term, immediate application of 

these requirements would be inconsistent with the public interest for several reasons. 

First and foremost, Treasury recipients have indicated that immediately applying these 

requirements—right before the 2022 hurricane season and prior to having sufficient time to engage

with Direct Component recipients to identify domestic sources, training subrecipients and contractors 

in these requirements, identifying needed information collections, and hiring staff or contractors (at 

Treasury and recipient or subrecipient organizations) to manage the increase in workload — would 
lead to project delays and be deleterious to the timely implementation of ecosystem restoration

projects and economic development of the Gulf Coast in the near term. Examples of Direct 

Component projects that build resilience and promote disaster preparedness include building up 

levees and other flood protection structures; increasing the capacity of stormwater systems and 

constructing retention ponds to handle increased runoff; and rebuilding or strengthening beaches, 

dunes, coral reefs, and other ecosystems that were damaged by recent natural disasters but can play 

an important role in mitigating the impact of future disasters. Please see Treasury’s webpage 

"Addressing the Climate Crisis: How Treasury Partners with RESTORE Act Recipients to Build 

Climate Resilience” for more details on how particular Direct Component-funded projects support 

some of the Agency’s mission-critical strategic objectives.

Each Direct Component project could potentially involve hundreds or thousands of 

components qualifying as manufactured products or construction materials, for which the timely 

availability of sufficient quantities of these categories of goods at a reasonable cost has yet to be 

determined, thus necessitating building the capacity to process project-specific or product-specific 

nonavailability or unreasonable cost waivers. Through initial engagement with Direct Component 

recipients, we learned few projects require elements relevant to the six critical supply chains (with 

exception of semiconductors, in some cases), though many iron and steel products (including rebar, 

manhole covers, sheet metal, steel beams) are used commonly in construction projects, and the

universe of possible construction materials and manufactured products is largely unknown because 

those categories of goods are still being defined, but may include lumber, PVC, and water treatment 

pumps. Further, the frequency of hurricanes in the region creates annual uncertainty in supply costs 

and availability. Treasury is requesting the waiver to provide sufficient time to address these gaps in 

our knowledge base and anticipates that without an adjustment period waiver, there would be lengthy 

delays in carrying out these critical projects in the Gulf Coast Region.

In developing this request, Treasury also considered the capacity of external Direct 

Component eligible entities to implement and comply with the requirements of the Act and the 

burden that may be placed on the Gulf Coast communities benefitting from the Trust Fund (either 

through direct awards or subawards), most of whom are small, local governmental and nongovernmental entities. As of April 15, 2022, of the Gross Allocations available in the Trust Fund

for the Direct Component, more than $390 million has been obligated and approximately $517 

million of net allocations are available. The Estimated Trust Fund Gross Allocations Cumulative by 

the date of final deposit (in 2031) is estimated to be $1.86 billion. Since the first deposit was made
to the Trust Fund in 2015, the Office has obligated funds for more than 160 grants under the Direct 

Component. Of the total awards made to date under the Direct Component, ninety-four are made 

for construction activities, including for “infrastructure” as defined in the Act. Sixty percent of 

these obligations are for award amounts less than $500,000.

During the waiver period, Treasury will use the time to engage closely with the Direct 

Component recipients and broader network of stakeholders to obtain adequate information 

concerning the types of information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the BAP 

requirements or to seek product- specific or project-specific waivers under the Act or to readily 

provide the public, especially small entities, with an opportunity to evaluate the burdens associated 

with the information to be collected. Treasury will take time to first solicit and then fully consider 

information from Direct Component-eligible entities about the types of information that could be 

necessary to either request a waiver or demonstrate compliance with the BAP requirements, the 

scope of other public interest waivers (e.g., small grant waivers, de minimis waivers), the entities’ 

capacity for implementing and complying with the new requirements, and their needs for additional 

guidance, before beginning the process of soliciting and considering public comments for its 

proposed new information collections related to BAP requirements. Our priority is to use waivers 

as a balanced, practical, and efficient tool to ensure projects stay on time, on task and on budget.

By learning directly from Direct Component entities, Treasury will be well-informed so that 

waivers from BAP will be limited, targeted, and conditional where appropriate. With knowledge of 

specific supply chain limitations in the Gulf Coast Region, Treasury will better plan for issuing 

waivers for specific items or specific periods of time to enable agencies, recipients, and the private 

market to build capacity. Additionally, as a result of engagement with stakeholders, Treasury will 

be equipped to provide recipients and subrecipients of Direct Component awards with the 

opportunity to fully evaluate and comment on the proposed information collection for the 

implementation of the BAP requirements through the PRA clearance process. 

This adjustment period waiver will give the 47 eligible entities under the Direct Component time 

to adjust planning and budget estimates for projects to be funded after the waiver period ends; build 

staff capacity around implementation of BAP; facilitate coordination with state and local 

governmental entities that have previously implemented domestic content procurement preference 

requirements; assist the Office in determining categories of iron, steel products, manufactured 

products, and/or construction materials that may require a nonavailability waiver; and raise 

awareness about the sources of domestically-produced iron, steel, manufactured goods, and 
construction materials that are available in the marketplace based on the results of OMB’s RFI 

(https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/26/2022-11296/construction-materials-used-infederal-financial-assistance-projects-for-infrastructure-and-end). Direct Component award recipients 

that pass-through award funds to subrecipients will also include the requirements for compliance 

with the BAP in subaward agreements with these subrecipient entities (e.g., municipalities, nonprofits, academic institutions) pursuant to 2 CFR 200.101(b)(2). Therefore, the Office will also use 

the proposed waiver period to provide training and resources for recipients to educate subrecipients 

and prospective contractors to ensure compliance with the BAP requirements. These resources will 

include, but not be limited to, any guidance produced by OMB as a member of the Federal 

Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council). 

Finally, Treasury considered the Office’s internal capacity to implement the new 

requirements and how implementation may impact the Office’s ability to efficiently carry out other 

policy and programmatic priorities in accordance with the public interest. The Office appreciates

the opportunity to advance the Made in America law’s objectives for the long term and is building 

the internal capacity, including hiring staff, to stand up and maintain processes that will advance 

domestic production and lower costs to complete projects in the Gulf Coast Region. The Office’s 

current and new staff, possibly with contractual assistance, will implement BAP and be involved in 

conducting market research on product availability; coordinating with OMB; developing and 

conducting training for recipients, subrecipients, and contractors on the requirements; and 

reviewing, evaluating, posting, and approving or denying any project-specific or product-specific 

public interest, nonavailability and/or unreasonable cost waivers. Immediate implementation 

without these appropriate capacity-building measures could hinder the Office’s core mission to 

rebuild the economy and ecosystems of the Gulf Coast Region, keep projects moving, and 

accomplish several other critical initiatives, including standing up a new online grants management

system for the receipt, review, and approval of applications for Federal financial assistance under 

Treasury’s RESTORE Act by October 1, 2022. The system development effort requires substantial 

staff resources to ensure successful development, testing, data migration, user training, and system 

launch, further straining the Office’s capacity to implement a major new statutory requirement. The 

Office is also initiating the required public comment process pursuant to the PRA to revise the

approved information collections associated with migrating to a new grants system. Recipients of 

Direct Component financial assistance may also expend staff resources reviewing and commenting 

on the Office’s PRA notice and will engage in learning the new system. The Office is in the process 
of hiring two additional full-time employees (FTEs) and is seeking approval for contractual support 

to implement the BAP requirements. Therefore, Treasury finds it is in the public interest to allow 

sufficient time to develop and launch the new grants management system and increase internal staff 

capacity before implementing the BAP requirements, to ensure that there are limited delays in the 

delivery of services to Treasury’s RESTORE Act eligible entities due to capacity limitations. 

During the proposed waiver period, Treasury expects that implementing partners will take 

rapid action to prepare for compliance with these new requirements. The Office plans to use the

adjustment period to do all of the following to provide recipients with the information they need to 

build systems to source more products and ensure that the implementation of the BAP will 

accomplish the goals of the Act and result in the greater use of American-made items, goods, and 

materials in Direct Component infrastructure projects:

• Maintain active participation in the Made in America Office’s Buy America Working Group; 

• Continue to engage with other federal agencies, including EPA, to promote knowledge 

transfer and best practices;

• Maintain a detailed Buy America webpage that provides RESTORE Act recipients with upto-date information and resources about Treasury’s implementation of the requirements;

• Begin holding regular meetings of the RESTORE Act Buy America Implementation 

Working Group comprised of Direct Component eligible entities and subrecipients to fill 

knowledge gaps and plan for implementation of BAP (beginning June 2022). The Working 

Group will:

o Identify and list common iron and steel products, construction materials, and 

manufactured products used for Direct Component infrastructure projects to better 

understand the ongoing demand for domestically produced products in the Gulf Coast 

Region and the categories of iron and steel products, manufactured products, and/or 

construction materials that may not be available in the U.S.;

o Identify and list common Direct Component construction project types and 

coordinate with OMB and Treasury’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) to clarify 

what Direct Component eligible project types qualify as “infrastructure” as defined 

under the Act;

o Assess the need for other public interest waivers, including small grant and de 

minimis waivers;
o Scope product needs and develop draft processes and new information collections to

request project-specific nonavailability or unreasonable cost waivers to ensure that 

waivers are balanced, practical, and efficient tools to ensure projects stay on time, on 

task and on budget;

o Develop new information collections to demonstrate compliance with the BAP 

requirements, so that the Office may timely seek PRA clearance required for a new 

information collection; and

o Evaluate the recipients’ capacity for implementing and complying with the new 

requirements, and their needs for additional guidance for subrecipients and 

contractors regarding how to implement the BAP and ensure compliance with the 

law.

• Update Treasury’s RESTORE Act Standard Terms and Conditions to include the new BAP

requirements (June 2022);

• Draft new Frequently Asked Questions regarding OGCR’s implementation of the BAP (July 

2022);

• Fill the Office’s two vacant positions (target date: September 2022) and procure contractual 

support for implementation of the BAP (December 2022), as funding permits;

• Work with Treasury’s OGC to determine whether certain types of more limited general 

applicability public interest waivers will be required, such as a de minimis waiver, a small 

grants waiver, a minor components waiver, etc. (September 2022), and if so, work with the 

Treasury’s OGC to draft these waivers, solicit public comments, and issue these waivers 

(November 2022);

• Assess the impacts of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season on the capacity of Direct 

Component recipients and subrecipients to implement the BAP requirements. Treasury will 

evaluate whether an extension to the adjustment period waiver is in the public interest of the 

Direct Component eligible entities, or whether it may be in the public interest to develop 

more targeted waivers for impacted entities whose staff are focused on post-disaster recovery

efforts (November 2022);

• Develop and provide guidance and trainings to eligible entities under the Direct Component 

regarding how to include the BAP requirements in bid packages, submit waiver requests, 

conduct and document market research, monitor contractors for compliance, etc. (November 

2022);
• Complete the required public comment process pursuant to the PRA to establish approved 

collection(s) for the information identified as necessary to establish compliance with the BAP

(December 2022);

• Draft new policies and procedures governing the implementation of the BAP including 

review, posting, and approval of project-specific or product-specific waiver requests

(December 2022); and

• Build out functionality to manage, review, process and approve or deny waiver requests in 

OGCR’s new grants management IT system, if funds permit (if funds do not permit, 

implement manual process) (to be determined).

V. Assessment of Cost Advantage of a Foreign-Sourced Product

Under OMB Memorandum M-22-11, titled, “Initial Implementation Guidance on Application of 

Buy America Preference in Federal Financial Assistance Programs for Infrastructure,” issued on 

April 18, 2022, agencies are expected to assess “whether a significant portion of any cost advantage 

of a foreign-sourced product is the result of the use of dumped steel, iron, or manufactured products 

or the use of injuriously subsidized steel, iron, or manufactured products” as appropriate before 

issuing a public interest waiver. Treasury’s analysis has concluded that this assessment is not 

applicable to this waiver, as this waiver is not based in the cost of foreign-sourced products.

VI. Limited Duration of the Waiver

Treasury remains committed to the successful implementation of the important BAP 

requirements for new awards and monetary amendments to existing awards for infrastructure projects

under the Direct Component, recognizing the unique relationship it has with state, and local eligible 

entities in the Gulf Coast Region receiving Direct Component grants for projects, including

infrastructure projects. Treasury is committed to engaging in a timely consultation process as noted 

above.

From the effective date of this waiver, as determined by Treasury after consultation with 

MIAO the waiver for iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials will remain in 

effect for six months, for all new awards and monetary amendments to existing awards for 

infrastructure projects under the Direct Component for eligible Florida counties, Louisiana parishes, 

and Gulf Coast states as described in 31 C.F.R. § 34.302, or until Treasury issues a notice extending 

the waiver or a final notice confirming the completion of Treasury’s stakeholder consultation process 

and announcing the termination of this general applicability waiver.
VII. Solicitation of Comments

As required under section 70914 of the Act, Treasury completed the solicitation of comment 

from the public on this waiver. Please refer to the “DATES”, “FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 

CONTACT”, and “SUMMARY AND RESPONSE TO COMMENTS” sections of this notice for 

information on comments received and a summary of Treasury’s responses to those comments.