American Iron and Steel Requirement - Waiver Process

Each local entity that receives CWSRF and/or DWSRF water infrastructure financial assistance is required to use American made iron and steel products in the construction of its project. However, if the recipient can justify a claim made under one of the categories below, a waiver may be granted. Until a waiver is granted by EPA, the AIS requirement must be adhered to as described in the act.

A waiver may be provided if EPA determines that:

  1. applying these requirements would be inconsistent with the public interest;
  2. iron and steel products are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or
  3. inclusion of iron and steel products produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.

EPA's guidance on AIS requirements includes specific instructions for communities interested in applying for a waiver.

  • Assistance recipients should submit waiver requests to the state. The state should then submit requests to EPA via the email addresses below.
  • After receiving a complete application for a waiver, EPA will publish the waiver request and all material submitted with the application on this website for 15 days.
  • During that period, the public will have the opportunity to review the request and provide informal comment to EPA.
  • Comments on CWSRF waiver requests can be submitted to cwsrfwaiver@epa.gov.
  • Comments on DWSRF waiver requests can be submitted to dwsrfwaiver@epa.gov.