American Iron and Steel.pdf

American Iron and Steel (AIS) Requirements

Section 746 of Title VII of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (Division A - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017) and subsequent statutes mandating domestic preference applies an American Iron and Steel requirement to this project. All listed iron and steel products used in this project must be produced in the United States. The term “iron and steel products” means the following products made primarily of iron or steel: lined or unlined pipes and fittings, manhole covers and other municipal castings, hydrants, tanks, flanges, pipe clamps and restraints, valves, structural steel, reinforced precast concrete, and construction materials.

Each submittal shall include Manufacturer’s Certification letter for compliance with Section 746 of Title VII of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (Division A - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017) and subsequent statutes mandating domestic preference, if applicable. Refer to Manufacturer’s Certification Letter provided in these Contract Documents.

Contractor shall provide a Manufacturers’ Certification letter of compliance with Section 746 of Title VII of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (Division A - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017) and subsequent statutes mandating domestic preference for all equals or substitutes approved by Addenda for American Iron and Steel products as provided in these Contract Documents.

Manufacturer’s Certification letter is documentation provided by the manufacturer, supplier, distributor, vendor, fabricator, etc. to various entities stating that the American Iron and Steel products to be used in the project are produced in the United States in accordance with American Iron and Steel requirements. Refer to Manufacturer’s Certification Letter provided in these Contract Documents.

AIS - refers to requirements mandated by Section 746 of Title VII of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (Division A - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017) and subsequent statutes mandating domestic preference. The term “iron and steel products” means the following products made primarily of iron or steel: lined or unlined pipes and fittings, manhole covers and other municipal castings, hydrants, tanks, flanges, pipe clamps and restraints, valves, structural steel, reinforced precast concrete, and construction materials.

Contractor shall include a Manufacturer’s Certification letter for compliance with American Iron and Steel requirements in support data, if applicable. Refer to Manufacturer’s Certification Letter provided in these Contract Documents. In addition, for the Deminimis Waiver, Contractor shall maintain an itemized list of incidental components and ensure that the cost is less than 5% of total materials cost for project; for the Minor Components Waiver, the Contractor shall maintain a list of products to which the minor components waiver applies and the cost of the non-domestically produced component is less than 5% of total materials cost of that product.

Engineer’s review and approval of Shop Drawing or Sample shall include review of compliance with American Iron and Steel requirements, as applicable.

Contractor shall certify upon Substantial Completion that all Work and Materials has complied with American Iron and Steel requirements as mandated by Section 746 of Title VII of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (Division A - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017) and subsequent statutes mandating domestic preference. Contractor shall provide said Certification to Owner.

Refer to General Contractor’s Certification Letter provided in these Contract Documents.

Services required to determine and certify that to the best of the Engineer’s knowledge and belief all iron and steel products referenced in engineering analysis, the Plans, Specifications, Bidding Documents, and associated Bid Addenda requiring design revisions are either produced in the United States or are the subject of an approved waiver and services required to determine to the best of the engineer’s knowledge and belief that approved substitutes, equals, and all iron and steel products proposed in the shop drawings, Change Orders and Partial Payment Estimates are either produced in the United States or are the subject of an approved waiver under Section 746 of Title VII of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (Division A - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017).

Include supporting data (name of manufacturer, city and state where the product was manufactured, description of product, signature of authorized manufacturer’s representative) in the Manufacturer’s Certification Letter, as applicable.

Installation of Materials that are non-compliant with American Iron and Steel requirements shall be considered defective work.

By submitting Materials for payment, Contractor is certifying that the submitted Materials are compliant with American Iron and Steel requirements. Manufacturer’s Certification letter for Materials satisfy this certification. Refer to Manufacturer’s Certification Letter provided in these Contract Documents.

The Contractor is required to determine and certify that to the best of the Contractor’s knowledge and belief all substitutes, equals, and all iron and steel products proposed in the shop drawings, Change Orders and Partial Payment Estimates, and those installed for the project are either produced in the United States or are the subject of an approved waiver under Section 746 of Title VII of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (Division A - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017) and subsequent statutes mandating domestic preference.

Definitions:

“Assistance recipient” is the entity that receives funding assistance from programs required to comply with Section 746 Division A Title VII of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017) and subsequent statutes mandating domestic preference. This term includes owner and/or applicant.

“Certifications” means the following:

• Manufacturers’ certification is documentation provided by the manufacturer or fabricator to various entities stating that the iron and steel products to be used in the project are produced in the United States in accordance with American Iron and Steel (AIS) Requirements. If items are purchased via a supplier, distributor, vendor, etc. vs. from the manufacturer or fabricator directly, then the supplier, distributor, vendor, etc. will be responsible for obtaining and providing these certification letters to the parties purchasing the products.

• Engineers’ certification is documentation that plans, specifications, and bidding documents comply with AIS.

• Contractors’ certification is documentation submitted upon substantial completion of the project that all iron and steel products installed were produced in the United States.

“Coating” means a covering that is applied to the surface of an object. If a coating is applied to the external surface of a domestic iron or steel component, and the application takes place outside of the United States, said product would be considered a compliant product under the AIS requirements. Any coating processes that are applied to the external surface of iron and steel components that would otherwise be AIS compliant would not disqualify the product from meeting the AIS requirements regardless of where the coating processes occur, provided that final assembly of the product occurs in the United States. This exemption only applies to coatings on the external surface of iron and steel components. It does not apply to coatings or linings on internal surfaces of iron and steel products, such as the lining of lined pipes. All manufacturing processes for lined pipes, including the application of pipe lining, must occur in the United States for the product to be compliant with AIS requirements.

“Construction materials” are those articles, materials, or supplies made primarily of iron and steel, that are permanently incorporated into the project, not including mechanical and/or electrical components, equipment and systems. Some of these products may overlap with what is also considered “structural steel”.

Note: Mechanical and electrical components, equipment and systems are not considered construction materials. See definition of mechanical and electrical equipment.

“Consulting engineer” is an individual or entity with which the owner has contracted to perform engineering/architectural services for water and waste projects funded by the programs subject to

AIS requirements).

“De minimis incidental components” are various miscellaneous low-cost components that are essential for, but incidental to, the construction and are incorporated into the physical structure of the project. Examples of incidental components could include small washers, screws, fasteners (such as “off the shelf” nuts and bolts), miscellaneous wire, corner bead, ancillary tube, signage, trash bins, door hardware etc. Costs for such de minimis incidental components cumulatively may comprise no more than a total of five percent of the total cost of the materials used in and incorporated into a project; the cost of an individual item may not exceed one percent of the total cost of the materials used in and incorporated into a project.

“General contractor” is the individual or entity with which the applicant has contracted (or is expected to) to perform construction services (or for water and waste projects funded by the programs subject to AIS requirements).

This includes bidders, contractors that have received an award from the applicant and any party having a direct contractual relationship with the owner/applicant. A general contractor is often referred to as the prime contractor.

“Iron and steel products” are defined as the following products made primarily of iron or steel:

lined or unlined pipes and fittings, manhole covers and other municipal castings, hydrants, tanks, flanges, pipe clamps and restraints, valves, structural steel, reinforced precast concrete, and construction materials. Only items on the above list made primarily of iron or steel, permanently incorporated into the project must be produced in the United States. For example trench boxes, scaffolding or equipment, which are removed from the project site upon completion of the project, are not required to be made of U.S. Iron or Steel.

“Manufacturers” meaning a supplier, fabricator, distributor, materialman, or vendor is an entity with which the applicant, general contractor or with any subcontractor has contracted to furnish materials or equipment to be incorporated in the project by the applicant, contractor or a subcontractor.

“Manufacturing processes” are processes such as melting, refining, forming, rolling, drawing, finishing, and fabricating. Further, if a domestic iron and steel product is taken out of the United States for any part of the manufacturing process, it becomes foreign source material. However, raw materials such as iron ore, limestone and iron and steel scrap are not covered by the AIS requirement, and the material(s), if any, being applied as a coating are similarly not covered.

Non-iron or steel components of an iron and steel product may come from non-US sources. For example, for products such as valves and hydrants, the individual non-iron and steel components do not have to be of domestic origin. Raw materials, such as iron ore, limestone, scrap iron, and scrap steel, can come from non-U.S. sources.

“Mechanical equipment” is typically that which has motorized parts and/or is powered by a motor. “Electrical equipment” is typically any machine powered by electricity and includes components that are part of the electrical distribution system. AIS does apply to mechanical equipment.

“Minor components” are components within an iron and/or steel product otherwise compliant with the American Iron and Steel requirements. This is different from the de minimis definition where de minimis pertains to the entire project and the minor component definition pertains to a single product. This waiver, would allow non-domestically produced miscellaneous minor components comprising up to five percent of the total material cost of an otherwise domestically produced iron and steel product to be used. However, unless a separate waiver for a product has been approved, all other iron and steel components in said product must still meet the AIS requirements. This waiver does not exempt the whole product from the AIS requirements only minor components within said product and the iron or steel components of the product must be produced domestically. Valves and hydrants are also subject to the cost ceiling requirements described here. Examples of minor components could include items such pins and springs in valves/hydrants, bands/straps in couplings, and other low cost items such as small fasteners etc.

“Municipal castings” are cast iron or steel infrastructure products that are melted and cast. They typically provide access, protection, or housing for components incorporated into utility owned drinking water, storm water, wastewater, and solid waste infrastructure.

“National Office” refers to the office responsible for the oversight and administration of the program nationally. The National Office sets policy, develops program regulations, and provides training and technical assistance to help the state offices administer the program. The National Office is located in Washington, D.C.

“Owner” is the individual or entity with which the general contractor has contracted regarding the work, and which has agreed to pay the general contractor for the performance of the work, pursuant to the terms of the contract for water and waste projects funded by the programs subject to AIS requirements. For the purpose of this Bulletin, this term is synonymous with the term “applicant” as defined in 7 CFR 1780.7 (a) (1), (2) and (3) and is an entity receiving financial assistance from the programs subject to the AIS requirements.

“Pass through Entities” is an entity that provides a subaward to a loan and/or grant recipient to carry out part of a Federal program. Examples are grantees utilizing the Revolving Loan Program and Household Water Well Program and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) or the State of Alaska from the RAVG Program.

“Primarily iron or steel” is defined as a product made of greater than 50 percent iron or steel, measured by cost. The cost should be based on the material costs. An exception to this definition is reinforced precast concrete (see Definitions). All technical specifications and applicable industry standards (e.g. NIST, NSF, AWWA) must be met. If a product is determined to be less than 50 percent iron and steel, the AIS requirements do not apply.

For example, the cost of a fire hydrant includes:

(1) The cost of materials used for the iron portion of a fire hydrant (e.g. bonnet, body and shoe); and

(2) The cost to pour and cast to create those components (e.g. labor and energy).

Not included in the cost are:

(1) The additional material costs for the non-iron and steel internal workings of the hydrant

(e.g. stem, coupling, valve, seals, etc.); and

(2) The cost to assemble the internal workings into the hydrant body.

“Produced in the United States” means that the production in the United States of the iron or steel products used in the project requires that all manufacturing processes must take place in the United States, with the exception of metallurgical processes involving refinement of steel additives.

“Project” is the total undertaking to be accomplished for the applicant by consulting engineers, general contractors, and others, including the planning, study, design, construction, testing, commissioning, and start-up, and of which the work to be performed under the contract is a part.

A project includes all activity that an applicant is undertaking to be financed in whole or part by programs subject to AIS requirements. The intentional splitting of projects into separate and smaller contracts or obligations to avoid AIS requirements is prohibited.

“Reinforced Precast Concrete” may not consist of at least 50 percent iron or steel, but the reinforcing bar and wire must be produced in the United States and meet the same standards as for any other iron or steel product.

Additionally, the casting of the concrete product must take place in the United States. The cement and other raw materials used in concrete production are not required to be of domestic origin. If the reinforced concrete is cast at the construction site, the reinforcing bar and wire are considered to be a construction material and must be produced in the United States.

“Steel” means an alloy that includes at least 50 percent iron, between 0.02 and 2 percent carbon, and may include other elements. Metallic elements such as chromium, nickel, molybdenum, manganese, and silicon may be added during the melting of steel for the purpose of enhancing properties such as corrosion resistance, hardness, or strength. The definition of steel covers carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, tool steel, and other specialty steels.

“Structural steel” is rolled flanged shapes, having at least one dimension of their cross-section three inches or greater, which are used in the construction of bridges, buildings, ships, railroad rolling stock, and for numerous other constructional purposes. Such shapes are designated as wide-flange shapes, standard I-beams, channels, angles, tees, and zees. Other shapes include but are not limited to, H-piles, sheet piling, tie plates, cross ties, and those for other special purposes.

“Ultimate recipient” is a loan or grant recipient receiving funds from a pass- through entity.

Examples include: (1) a loan recipient from the Revolving Loan Fund; (2) a loan recipient from the Household Water Well Program; and (3) a grant recipient from ANTHC or the State of Alaska from the RAVG Program.

“United States” means each of the several states, the District of Columbia, and each Federally Recognized Indian Tribe.