Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - 37

GMA NEWS
GMA is dedicated to
our members' success.
GMA actively identifies,
assesses, analyzes
and acts upon market
growth opportunities
and issues that affect
its member companies.
The activities of
the association are
proactive in nature and
center on five areas:
» Engineering support
» Business development
» Education
» Government relations
» Geosynthetics industry
recognition
By Fred C. Chuck and Bryan Gee
Interpreting and monitoring the final
Buy America guidelines
A
s I sat down to write this article, the final rule for the Guidance for Grants
and Agreements from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had
been posted on the Federal Register (FR) with a 60-day notice to take effect October
23, 2023. (whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/REV_2-CFR-Guidance-Prepublication-version-8.13.pdf)
The
Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) has been constantly monitoring the
issues involved with the Build America, Buy America (BABA) rule in the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
(BIL), and have been keeping the membership informed on actions and requests for
comments so every member could provide commentary to the requests based on the
individual corporate positions.
We posted this FR notice online back in August to help our members digest and
clarify how this rule affects their businesses. Shortly after the release of the OMB
guidance, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released its clarification of
a limited waiver of Buy America requirements for de minimis costs and small grants
(federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/16/2023-17602/waiver-of-buy-americarequirements-for-de-minimis-costs-and-small-grants)
becoming effective on any
projects after August 16, 2023.
This establishes that the threshold for noncompliant products is no more than the
Fred C. Chuck is the
executive director of GMA.
lesser of $1 million or 5% of total allowable costs. As a reminder, all involved with
federally funded project (any agency) should review and determine their own clarity
of these documents. GMA will continue to closely monitor and distribute any request
for comments, actions and/or decisions as they are posted.
As a part of GMA's access to the discussions and commentary that have been
occurring around the BABA clarifications, much of our access has been created by
our continued legislative lobbying work in Washington, D.C., and multiple states. Our
fall 2023 Lobby Days will be held November 14-15. If you would like to have a direct
voice into the actions and changes occurring in the federal government, join us for
Lobby Day to meet with your congressional delegation (bring good walking shoes!).
Registration details can be found on the GMA website (gmanow.com). G
Bryan Gee is the director of
education and training for
Tensar International Corp.
and the chair of the GMA
executive council.
Division
Geosynthetics is the official
publication of the Geosynthetic
Materials Association.
GeosyntheticsMagazine.com
37
>> For more, search GMA at
GeosyntheticsMagazine.com.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/REV_2-CFR-Guidance-Pre http://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/16/2023-17602/waiver-of-buy-america http://www.gmanow.com http://www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com http://www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com

Geosynthetics October/November 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Geosynthetics October/November 2023