With the Michigan legislature’s approval of the supplemental appropriations, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) can begin spending over $1billion in federal stimulus dollars made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for road, bridge, sewer, and water projects. As MDOT and MDEQ move quickly to meet the required obligation timeframes associated with these funds, many of the rules and requirements that will be attached to the ARRA funded projects continue to be defined and formalized at the federal level. The following is what MITA knows and understands today as it relates to some of those rules and requirements:
“Buy American”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated it will grant a waiver of the “Buy American” provision attached to ARRA funds for the refinancing of debt for water projects. The waiver applies only to projects for which ARRA funds will be used to refinance debt incurred between October 1, 2008, and February 17, 2009, the date the Recovery Act was signed by President Obama. EPA believes many of the refinancing candidate water projects may have contracted for non-U.S. steel or iron components under their original financing before the ARRA was enacted, and that imposition of the ARRA Buy American requirements would in all those cases create time-consuming delays and thus displace the “shovel ready” status of those projects.
In the MDOT arena the “Buy American” requirements of Subsection 105.10 Source of Steel and Iron, of the 2003 Standard Specifications for Construction, will apply.
D&B D-U-N-S Number
The prime contractor for all ARRA funded projects will be required to have a Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) “D-U-N-S Number”, and provide that number to MDOT prior to award of contract. MITA’s search of the D&B website found that many MITA members already have a registered D-U-N-S number. To request a D-U-N-S number click here. Subcontractors on ARRA funded projects are not required to have a D-U-N-S number.
Monthly Employment Reports
All prime contractors, and all-tier subcontractors on ARRA funded projects will be required to submit to the Engineer, monthly employment reports. MITA is working with MDOT to develop a report format that will be used statewide. Click here to view the Notice to Bidders – ARRA Monthly Employment Reports.
Project / Process Oversight
To insure full transparency in all aspects of the contracting and delivery of ARRA funded projects significant oversight resources and procedures are being put in place at the federal and state levels. Michigan is one of 13 states selected for more in-depth oversight and review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress.
Significant scrutiny is expected at all levels on the ARRA funded projects, from bidding, to subcontracting, DBE participation, prevailing wage, materials, testing, documentation, inspection, measurement and payment, and quality. All contractors (primes and subcontractors), material and product suppliers, and service providers are strongly encouraged to pay utmost attention to the contract requirements and your respective responsibilities associated with those requirements, regardless of what the past practice has been. Many sets of eyes will be watching your every action and step ……
Click here to view the Notice to Bidders – Required Contract Provisions to Implement American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Sections 902 and 1515.
Click here to view the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage, Notice to Bidders – ARRA Requirements.
The discussions and details associated with these, and other yet less formulated rules and requirements that will be attached to ARRA funded projects are still very dynamic and subject to change.
Stay tuned to future MITA bulletins for updates and additional information related to the ARRA funded projects.
Please feel free to contact Glenn Bukoski at glennbukoski@mi-ita.com, Mike Nystrom at mikenystrom@mi-ita.com or Keith Ledbetter at keithledbetter@mi-ita.com or call the MITA office at 517-347-8336 with any questions or comments.
