AIS Guidelines

SECTION 2 GUIDANCE FOR NEW YORK STATE CERTIFIED
SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS

ENTERPRISES (“SDVOB”) PARTICIPATION
OPPORTUNITIES
Contractor may contact the Office of General Services’ Division of Service-Disabled Veteran’s Business
Development at 518-474-2015 or VeteransDevelopment@ogs.ny.gov to discuss methods of maximizing
participation by SDVOBs on the Contract. The directory of New York State Certified SDVOBs can be
viewed at: http://ogs.ny.gov/Core/SDVOBA.asp .
Please contact EFC if you have any questions about utilizing SDVOBs on the Contract.
SECTION 3 GUIDANCE FOR AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL

(“AIS”) REQUIREMENT
Since 2014, if a Recipient uses CWSRF or DWSRF financial assistance to fund all or a part of the
construction, alteration, maintenance or repair a public water system or treatment works, the Recipient
must use iron and steel products that are produced in the United States for the whole project.
The AIS requirement does not apply to:

1. a project for which engineering plans and specifications were submitted for review by the
responsible State agency before January 17, 2014 and approved by that agency before April 15,
2014; or
2. a project funded by a financial assistance agreement with EFC that was signed before January
17, 2014.
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, construction materials. For
one of the listed products to be considered subject to the AIS requirement, it must be made of greater
than 50% iron and steel, measured by material cost (with the exception of reinforced precast concrete
products).
The term “produced in the United States” means that all manufacturing processes of the iron or steel,
including application of coatings, take place in the United States, with the exception of metallurgical
processes involving refinement of steel additives. All manufacturing processes includes processes such
as melting, refining, forming, rolling, drawing, finishing, fabricating and coating. Further, if a domestic iron
and steel product is taken out of the US 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.
The EPA may waive the AIS requirement for a treatment works project if:
1. applying the requirement 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.
A request for a waiver to use foreign iron or steel products must include adequate information for EPA’s
evaluation of the request, including:
1. A description of the foreign and domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods;
2. Unit of measure;
3. Quantity;
Bid Packet (For Contracts funded with NYS CWSRF or DWSRF)
Page 24 of 39 Revision Date: 10/1/2020
4. Cost;
5. Time of delivery or availability;
6. Location of the project;
7. Name and address of the proposed supplier; and,
8. A detailed justification for use of foreign iron or steel products.
Requests for AIS waivers are to be submitted to EFC. Upon review, EFC will submit AIS waiver requests
to EPA. When EPA receives a request for a waiver, EPA will publish the request and any accompanying
material on EPA’s official public Internet site, allowing informal public input on the request for at least 15
days before granting or denying the waiver request.
Additionally, EPA has the authority to issue waivers that are national in scope. National waivers may be
for specific products or in the public’s interest. These waivers can be found at EPA’s website at:
https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf/american-iron-and-steel-requirement-approved-national-waivers-0 .
The “De Minimis Waiver” is noteworthy. The waiver permits the use of iron and steel products when they
occur in de minimis incidental components of DWSRF or CWSRF projects, as long as:
1. the funds used for the de minimis incidental components cumulatively comprise no more than 5%
of the total cost of the materials used in a project; and,
2. the cost of an individual item does not exceed 1% of the total cost of the materials used in the
project.
Items covered by the de minimis waiver are:
1. essential, but incidental to the construction;

2. incorporated into the physical structure of the project; and,
3. often low-cost and bought in bulk.
Examples of “de minimis” items include: washers, screws, nuts, bolts, fasteners, miscellaneous wire,
corner bead, ancillary tubing, etc.
Examples of items that are NOT incidental and therefore are not considered “de minimis” include: process
fittings, tees, elbows, flanges, brackets, valves, sewer or water pipes for distribution, treatment or storage
tanks, large structural support systems, etc.
To use the de minimis waiver, Contractors should prepare a record in spreadsheet form that tracks the
cost of all materials incorporated into the project. This spreadsheet can be either project specific or
contract specific. If it is contract specific, a material tracking record for each construction contract should
be prepared and items that are subject to the AIS de minimis waiver should be highlighted. There should
be a clear calculation available to indicate that the cost of the de minimis iron and steel items is 5% or
less of the total cost of all materials.
Additional information, guidance and Questions and Answers about the State Revolving Fund American
Iron and Steel (AIS) requirement can be found at EPA’s website: https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf/state-revolving-
fund-american-iron-and-steel-ais-requirement .
SECTION 4 GUIDANCE FOR APPLICABLE LABOR STANDARDS

I. Davis-Bacon Act
The Davis-Bacon Act requires Contractors and Subcontractors performing construction, alteration and
repair work under Contracts in excess of $2,000 funded from SRF monies, to pay their laborers and
mechanics not less than the prevailing wage and fringe benefits for the geographic location.
For purposes of this section, “State Recipient” means EFC.
A. Requirements for Recipients.

This guidance describes how Recipients assist EPA in meeting its Davis-Bacon (DB) responsibilities
when DB applies to EPA awards of financial assistance under the Water Resources Reform and
Bid Packet (For Contracts funded with NYS CWSRF or DWSRF)

Page 25 of 39 Revision Date: 10/1/2020

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SECTION 2 GUIDANCE FOR NEW YORK STATE CERTIFIED

SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS

SECTION 3 GUIDANCE FOR AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL

The AIS requirement does not apply to:

1. applying the requirement would be inconsistent with the public interest;

Items covered by the de minimis waiver are:

1. essential, but incidental to the construction;

SECTION 4 GUIDANCE FOR APPLICABLE LABOR STANDARDS

For purposes of this section, “State Recipient” means EFC.

A. Requirements for Recipients.

Bid Packet (For Contracts funded with NYS CWSRF or DWSRF)

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