(a) Advertising required; exceptions. Unless the Administrator approves another method for use on a particular airport development project, each contract for construction work on a project in the amount of more than $2,000 must be awarded on the basis of public advertising and open competitive bidding under the local law applicable to the letting of public contracts. Any oral or written agreement or understanding between a sponsor and another public agency that is not a sponsor of the project, under which that public agency undertakes construction work for or as agent of the sponsor, is not considered to be a construction contract for the purposes of this section, or §§ 151.45, 151.49, and 151.51.

(b) Advertisement; conditions and contents. There may be no advertisement for bids on, or negotiation of, a construction contract until the Administrator has approved the plans and specifications. The advertisement shall inform the bidders of the contract and reporting provisions required by § 151.54. Unless the estimated contract price or construction cost is $2,000 or less, there may be no advertisement for bids or negotiation until the Administrator has given the sponsor a copy of a decision of the Secretary of Labor establishing the minimum wage rates for skilled and unskilled labor under the proposed contract. In each case, a copy of the wage determination decision must be set forth in the initial invitation for bids or proposed contract or incorporated therein by reference to a copy set forth in the advertised or negotiated specifications.

(c) Procedure for the Secretary of Labor's wage determinations. At least 60 days before the intended date of advertising or negotiating under paragraph (b) of this section, the sponsor shall send to the Area Manager, completed Department of Labor Form DB-11, with only the classifications needed in the performance of the work checked. General entries (such as “entire schedule” or “all applicable classifications”) may not be used. Additional necessary classifications not on the form may be typed in the blank spaces or on an attached separate list. A classification that can be fitted into classifications on the form, or a classification that is not generally recognized in the area or in the industry, may not be used. Except in areas where the wage patterns are clearly established, the Form must be accompanied by any available pertinent wage payment or locally prevailing fringe benefit information.

(d) Use and effectiveness of the Secretary of Labor's wage determinations. (1) Wage determinations are effective only for 120 days from the date of the determinations. If it appears that a determination may expire between bid opening and award, the sponsor shall so advise the FAA as soon as possible. If he wishes a new request for wage determination to be made and if any pertinent circumstances have changed, he shall submit a new Form DB-11 and accompanying information. If he claims that the determination expires before award and after bid opening due to unavoidable circumstances, he shall submit proof of the facts which he claims support a finding to that effect.

(2) The Secretary of Labor may modify any wage determination before the award of the contract or contracts for which it was sought. If the proposed contract is awarded on the basis of public advertisement and open competitive bidding, any modification that the FAA receives less than 10 days before the opening of bids is not effective, unless the Administrator finds that there is reasonable time to notify bidders. A modification may not continue in effect beyond the effective period of the wage determination to which it relates. The Administrator sends any modification to the sponsor as soon as possible. If the modification is effective, it must be incorporated in the invitation for bids, by issuing an addendum to the specifications or otherwise.

(e) Requirements for awarding construction contracts. A sponsor may not award a construction contract without the written concurrence of the Administrator (through the Area Manager) that the contract prices are reasonable and that the contract conforms to the sponsor's grant agreement with the United States. A sponsor that awards contracts on the basis of public advertising and open competitive bidding, shall, after the bids are opened, send a tabulation of the bids and its recommendations for award to the Area Manager. The allowable project costs of the work, on which the Federal participation is computed, may not be more than the bid of the lowest responsible bidder. The sponsor may not accept a bid by a contractor whose name appears on the current list of ineligible contractors published by the Comptroller General of the United States under § 5.6(b) of Title 29 of the regulations of the Secretary of Labor (29 CFR part 5), or a bid by any firm, corporation, partnership, or association in which that contractor has a substantial interest.

(f) Secretary of Labor's interpretations apply. Where applicable by their terms, the regulations of the Secretary of Labor (29 CFR 5.20-5.32) interpreting the fringe benefit provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act apply to this section.