Request for Information Regarding Products and Categories of Products Used in Water Infrastructure Programs, 80717-80719 [2023-25515]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 222 (Monday, November 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80717-80719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25515]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0396; FRL 11285-01-OW]


Request for Information Regarding Products and Categories of 
Products Used in Water Infrastructure Programs

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: To support further development of multiple funding programs 
for water infrastructure subject to the requirements of the Build 
America, Buy America Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
invites public comment to inform the domestic availability of multiple 
products used in the construction, alteration, and/or maintenance of 
water infrastructure. The EPA is inviting comments to enable the agency 
to have the most comprehensive and current information available on the 
domestic market for BABA-covered products for its programs and the 
water infrastructure programs of other agencies. The EPA, along with 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the 
U.S. Department of the Interior, are especially interested in comments 
detailing domestic materials sourcing, market readiness, other product 
supply considerations, and whether specific water infrastructure 
products or their components are manufactured in the United States.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 20, 2023, to 
allow for their consideration during development of these funding 
programs. The EPA may consider comments received after the due date to 
the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2023-0396, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from 
www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Water Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: EPA Docket Center, WJC West 
Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. 
The Docket Center's hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., 
Monday-Friday (except Federal holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this notice. Comments received may be posted without change to 
https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments, see the 
``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Connor, Chemical Engineer, 
Office of Wastewater Management at (202) 566-1059, or via email at 
[email protected]; or Leslie Corcelli, Physical Scientist, Office 
of Ground Water and Drinking Water at (202) 564-3825, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2023-
0396, at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the 
other methods identified in the ADDRESSES section. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. The EPA may 
publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to the 
EPA's docket at https://www.regulations.gov any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information, Proprietary Business 
Information, or other information where disclosure is restricted by 
statute. If you wish to submit information containing CBI, contact 
Timothy Connor ([email protected]) with any questions on the EPA's 
secure CBI protocol or to initiate Agency procedures for submitting 
confidential information. After contacting the EPA regarding your 
intent to submit CBI, a secure data exchange will be initiated and 
detailed instructions will be provided. Multimedia submissions (audio, 
video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written 
comment is considered the official comment and should include 
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not 
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary 
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). 
Please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets for 
additional submission methods; the full EPA public comment policy; 
information about CBI, PBI, or multimedia submissions; and general 
guidance on making effective comments.

II. General Information

    The Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58, Nov. 
15, 2021) provides $50 billion of new funding for water infrastructure, 
funding that includes domestic content requirements (see details 
below). These developments provide an opportunity for significant 
expansion of domestic capacity. Additionally, the IIJA and the 
Inflation Reduction Act (Pub. L. 117-69, Aug. 16, 2022) collectively 
provide more than $10 billion of additional funding to the Department 
of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation for aging infrastructure, water 
delivery systems for rural communities, and to increase water supply. 
The EPA wishes to work in coordination with other agencies and with 
private industry to provide clear and consistent demand signals for 
products used in water infrastructure projects.
    The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to improve 
Federal agencies' understanding of the current state of the domestic 
market for products required to service drinking, agricultural, 
wastewater treatment and delivery systems.
    The Build America, Buy America Act requires iron, steel, 
manufactured

[[Page 80718]]

products, and construction materials used in infrastructure projects 
funded by Federal financial assistance to be produced in the United 
States. While BABA provides the opportunity for the EPA and other 
agencies to issue certain waivers to these requirements, approval 
depends on many factors, including availability of domestically sourced 
materials and products. Responses to this RFI will improve the 
agencies' understanding of the current domestic market for these 
products to effectively implement BABA for projects funded by its water 
infrastructure programs and to evaluate the potential need for short-
term product waivers from BABA requirements if products are 
unavailable.
    In this RFI, the agency provides a brief background of water 
infrastructure programs in the EPA's Office of Water, includes 
background information on BABA provisions, and requests comments and 
responses regarding products or categories of products for specific 
areas of interest. This RFI also includes guidance on submitting 
comments, procedures for submitting CBI, and where to find additional 
information.

Responding to This RFI

    Please indicate in your written comments the area of interest 
(product or category of product) and the topic number(s) below you are 
commenting on and provide specific examples or information to 
illustrate your comments where possible. You do not need to address 
every topic and should focus on those where you have relevant expertise 
or experience. In all cases, to the extent possible, please cite any 
public data related to or that support your responses. If data are 
available, but non-public, describe such data to the extent 
permissible. Responses with specific data are especially useful. As 
discussed in Section I, CBI is protected from public disclosure when 
properly submitted.

Background

    In this section, the agency provides background information on the 
Office of Water infrastructure programs subject to the BABA 
requirements. The IIJA, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure 
Law, appropriated $50 billion to the EPA to strengthen the nation's 
drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The IIJA includes BABA, 
establishing new and expanded domestic preference requirements for 
infrastructure projects that receive Federal financial assistance. 
(Pub. L. 117-58, Nov. 15, 2021, sec. 70901-52). Importantly, BABA 
requirements apply to all Federal financial assistance programs that 
include infrastructure projects. Currently, the EPA's Office of Water 
administers at least seventeen programs that provide Federal financial 
assistance for water infrastructure, including the Drinking Water State 
Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund 
(CWSRF) program, and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation 
Act (WIFIA) program. These programs address critical water 
infrastructure needs through construction, alteration, or repair of 
water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure, including, but not 
limited to, lead service line replacement, water quality improvements, 
source water protection, treatment of emerging contaminants, and 
climate resilience.
    Through this RFI, the EPA seeks information regarding the domestic 
availability of specific water infrastructure products identified in 
this notice. The agency is interested in promptly obtaining more 
information on this and other issues discussed in this notice to assess 
if enough products/systems are currently available to comply with BABA 
requirements or whether sufficient products would be available in the 
future, and if so, when. This information will also be supplied to 
USDA, USACE, FEMA, HUD, DOT, and Interior which also manage water 
infrastructure programs.

Build America, Buy America Act

    BABA requires each covered Federal agency to ensure that ``none of 
the funds made available for a Federal financial assistance program for 
infrastructure. . . [are] obligated for a project unless all of the 
iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in 
the project are produced in the United States'' except if a waiver is 
granted. (Pub. L. 117-58, sec. 70914.) These requirements apply to an 
entire infrastructure project funded by Federal financial assistance, 
including those funded by the EPA water infrastructure programs, even 
if it is also funded by non-Federal funds. The EPA is committed to 
ensuring strong and effective BABA implementation and compliance.
    For all predominantly iron or steel products used in infrastructure 
projects that involve the obligation of Federal financial assistance, 
all manufacturing processes of the iron and/or steel components, 
beginning with initial melting and including application of a coating, 
must occur in the United States (matching the American Iron and Steel 
statutory requirements). (Pub. L. 117-58, sec. 70912(6)(A).) Per the 
``Build America, Buy America Act Implementation Procedures for EPA 
Office of Water Federal Financial Assistance Programs'' dated November 
3, 2022, the EPA interprets a predominantly iron and steel product as 
``. . . made primarily (more than 50 percent) of iron and/or steel by 
materials cost . . ..'' This is consistent with the American Iron and 
Steel statutory requirements.
    Manufactured products must be produced in the United States, 
meaning the final point of manufacturing must occur in the United 
States and the cost of the components of the manufactured product that 
are mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States is greater 
than 55 percent of the total cost of all components of the manufactured 
product. (Pub. L. 117-58, sec. 70912(6)(B).)
    For construction materials, all manufacturing processes must occur 
in the United States. (Pub. L. 117-58, sec. 70912(6)(c).) Construction 
materials include incorporated products primarily made of non-ferrous 
metals, plastic and polymer-based products (including 
polyvinylchloride), fiber optic cable (including drop cable), optical 
fiber, glass, lumber, engineered wood, and drywall. (Pub. L. 117-58, 
sec. 70911(5) and 2 CFR 184.6.)

Request for Comments and Information

    In this section, the agency describes four general topics that it 
anticipates will be addressed for the products or categories of 
products listed below. To inform BABA implementation for the EPA's 
Office of Water and the additional Federal water infrastructure 
programs, including those administered by USDA, USACE, FEMA, HUD, DOT, 
and Interior, the EPA requests comments and information from the public 
on the following products or categories of products:
     lead service line replacement components (including but 
not limited to, service line, service saddle, corporation stop, curb 
stops, curb stop boxes and lids, service line fittings, water meters, 
meter setters, meter boxes, check valves and shut-off/isolation 
valves);
     valve actuators (electric/pneumatic/manual);
     pumps and pump motors;
     stainless steel products and domestic mills, especially 
small diameter pipe and fittings;
     PFAS treatment systems and media, especially granular 
activated carbon (GAC);
     controls and switches;
     analytical instrumentation;

[[Page 80719]]

     supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems;
     backup power products and systems;
     blowers and aeration equipment;
     gear reducers;
     drives (including variable frequency drives (VFDs));
     ultraviolet (UV) water treatment systems;
     membrane and other filtration systems (e.g., ion exchange, 
membrane, and reverse osmosis);
     clarifier mechanisms;
     disinfection systems;
     conveyors;
     dewatering equipment (such as compressors and presses, 
including belt presses);
     floating surface aerators;
     ozone generators;
     measurement sensors;
     water meters and associated communications devices;
     automated level control gates; and
     other critical water infrastructure products, including 
whether they comply with applicable BABA requirements.
    For each of these products or categories of products and based on 
your current understanding of BABA requirements, the EPA is requesting 
the following information about the following four general topics: 
domestic materials sourcing and manufacturing, market readiness, 
delivery lead times and other. At the beginning of your response, 
please specify the products for which you are providing an answer:
    Products: Please clearly identify the products or categories of 
products for which you are providing a response. If you are referring 
to ``other critical water infrastructure products and systems,'' please 
provide a detailed description of the product or system.
    1. Domestic Materials Sourcing and Manufacturing:
    a. For each of the products or categories of products you 
identified, please specify whether the product meets BABA requirements 
(described above) or is currently manufactured in the United States to 
meet a domestic final assembly condition. (Yes or no).
    b. Please identify whether the products in your response fall 
within the iron and steel, manufactured products, or construction 
materials categories of BABA.
    c. If you answered ``Yes'' to Topic 1(a), to the best of your 
knowledge.
    i. Please identify all manufacturers that can either meet BABA 
requirements or can currently manufacture products or categories of 
products you specified in the United States. For products that meet the 
condition of manufactured in the United States, please identify the 
manufacturing location and percentage of components manufactured in the 
United States as calculated by cost of components (if known).
    ii. What is the current production capacity of the products that 
can meet BABA requirements?
    iii. What is the anticipated growth in BABA-compliant capacity over 
the next five years? Does this anticipated growth consider the more 
than $50 billion in increased funding described above? Please explain.
    iv. For products able to meet BABA requirements, what is the 
estimated lead time from purchase order to delivery to the project 
site? Has this lead time increased or decreased in recent years?
    d. If you answered ``No'' to Topic 1a:
    i. What actions are manufacturers taking/could take to increase the 
manufacturing of products that will meet BABA requirements?
    ii. What additional support or incentives (e.g., financial, 
rulemaking certainty, etc.) are needed to ensure a sufficient supply of 
products that meet BABA requirements?
    iii. How long might it take to implement the steps needed to 
increase or begin production of BABA compliant products?
    iv. If a plan is in place to manufacture BABA compliant products, 
what is the volume of specific products that will follow BABA 
requirements and in what time frame?
    v. Will the volume of BABA compliant products be ramped up over 
time, and, if so, at what annual growth rate?
    vi. What are the limiting factors for the product's ability to meet 
criteria for BABA compliance? For example, are there components of 
these products for which it is hard to meet BABA requirements? Please 
describe each component separately and indicate approximately what 
percent of component value it represents.
    2. Market Readiness:
    a. For all products specified in Topic 1(a), provide your 
observations on the current and near-term demand expected for these 
products or categories of products. Does this estimate of future demand 
consider the more than $50 billion in increased funding described 
above? Please explain.
    b. Provide information regarding whether the current and/or near-
term manufacturing capacity would be adequate to meet the expected 
market demand.
    Please specify any factors helping or preventing the industry from 
meeting the expected demand today and in the near-term and provide 
information on the current and expected availability or unavailability 
of key components or sub-components of the product or category of 
products you specified.
    c. Are there supply chain issues that make it difficult to credibly 
communicate the existence of increased demand, or to credibly commit 
that such demand will be forthcoming? If so, please describe as 
specifically as possible.
    3. Timing:
    a. Where known, for each product/category of products specified in 
Topic 1, specify the current range of expected product delivery 
timeframes. Are any existing supply chain delays applicable or 
anticipated for the product(s) or critical components of the 
product(s)?
    b. Provide information, if available, on expected delivery 
timeframe outlooks through the near-term future. Provide information, 
if known, on whether current timing delivery concerns are related to a 
temporary disruption.
    c. Provide information on the current and expected near-term 
average customer delivery time.
    d. Provide information regarding global supply chain constraints, 
local permitting, safety requirements and needs that may affect 
delivery timeframes or extend installation time.
    4. Other Practical Considerations: Please specify any other 
considerations for the EPA regarding production, products, systems, 
equipment, or components of products used in water infrastructure.

Radhika Fox,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2023-25515 Filed 11-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P