Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 21, 2025 / Notices 7243 

the single provider could result in 

noncompliance, loss of use of a basic 

utility, and public exposure to safety 

risks from failing equipment. In 

addition, the limited selection could 

force various operators to install risers 

or regulators that are unfamiliar to their 

technicians or not compatible with their 

existing operating equipment. This 

would increase the grantee’s costs by 

requiring the purchase of new 

associated compatible equipment and 

additional training, and increase the risk 

of operator error on new and unfamiliar 

equipment. 

One commenter noted concerns 

regarding the domestic availability of 

additional products (transition fittings, 

electro-fusion tapping tees, lockwing 

valves, magnesium anodes, service 

adapters, curb valves, caps, couplings, 

and stiffeners) and suggested increasing 

the waiver duration from three to five 

years. Additional materials may be 

considered in future waivers. 

The proposed waiver facilitated a 

broad range of interest and input from 

the public and other stakeholders, and 

PHMSA greatly appreciates the robust 

feedback from members of the public. 

The comments are available on the 

docket at https://www.regulations.gov, 

Docket (PHMSA–2024–0131). 

Summary of Changes in the Final 

Waiver 

PHMSA is making two changes from 

the proposed waiver in response to the 

information received during the public 

comment period. First, PHMSA is 

clarifying that all types of risers are 

included in the waiver. This directly 

addresses concerns regarding the 

availability of BABA compliant gas 

service risers. Secondly, PHMSA is 

including gas service regulators in this 

waiver. Based on responses to questions 

that PHMSA posed regarding the 

availability of sufficient quantities of 

compliant gas service regulators, 

PHMSA finds that the availability and 

appropriate selection of gas service 

regulators that are BABA compliant are 

not available in timely and sufficient 

quantities to meet NGDISM grantees’ 

operating conditions and project 

schedule requirements. Therefore, 

PHMSA has added gas service 

regulators. The waiver for meters is 

unchanged from the proposed waiver. 

Public comments to the proposed 

waiver supported including meters and 

no changes for meters have been made 

in the final waiver. 

Final Waiver 

Based on its review of the waiver 

request, and in consideration of 

comments received on the proposed 

waiver, PHMSA has determined that gas 

service risers, gas meters, and gas 

service regulators are not manufactured 

in the United States in sufficient and 

reasonably available quantities. PHMSA 

is waiving BABA requirements for gas 

service risers, gas meters, and gas 

service regulators. The waiver will 

apply to obligations made on or after the 

effective date of the final waiver for 

recipients of funding under the 

NGDISM Grant Program and, in the case 

of awards obligated prior to the effective 

date, all expenditures for covered 

products incurred after the effective 

date and will expire after three years. 

Issued in Washington, DC, under authority 

delegated in 49 CFR 1.97. 

Tristan H. Brown, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2025–01320 Filed 1–17–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2024–0152] 

Pipeline Safety: Project-Specific 

Waiver of the Build America, Buy 

America Act Requirements for Certain 

Products Used by Philadelphia Gas 

Works Under the Natural Gas 

Distribution Infrastructure Safety and 

Modernization Grant Program 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA) is waiving the Build America, 

Buy America (BABA) Act’s domestic 

preference requirements for certain 

products that Philadelphia Gas Works 

(PGW) needs for its Natural Gas 

Distribution Infrastructure Safety and 

Modernization (NGDISM) grant project 

due to lack of availability, unreasonable 

cost, or public good. The waiver would 

exempt the following products used in 

PGW’s project from BABA requirements 

on the basis of nonavailability: electrofusion tapping tees, anodeless risers, 

transition fittings, lockwing valves, 

magnesium anodes, service adapters, 

curb valves, caps, couplings, and 

stiffeners. 

DATES: The effective date of the waiver 

is January 22, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions about this notice, please 

contact Mr. Louis Cardenas, Office of 

Pipeline Safety, by phone at 832–208– 

0132 or by email at Louis.Cardenas@

dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access and Filing 

A copy of this notice and all 

background material may be viewed 

online at https://www.regulations.gov 

using the docket number listed above. 

Electronic retrieval help and guidelines 

are also available at https://

www.regulations.gov. An electronic 

copy of this document also may be 

downloaded from the Office of the 

Federal Register’s website at 

www.FederalRegister.gov or the 

Government Publishing Office’s website 

at www.GovInfo.gov. 

Background 

The NGDISM grant program was 

authorized by the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act (‘‘IIJA’’) (Pub. 

L. 117–58). The program provides 

federal funding to municipal- or 

community-owned natural gas utilities 

(not including for-profit entities) to 

repair, rehabilitate, or replace their 

natural gas distribution pipeline 

systems or portions thereof, or to 

acquire equipment to (1) reduce 

incidents and fatalities, and (2) avoid 

economic losses. The IIJA appropriates 

$200 million per year for each of Fiscal 

Years (‘‘FY’’) 2022 through 2026 for the 

NGDISM grant program ($1 billion in 

total). The IIJA provides that two 

percent of this amount shall be used to 

pay the administrative expenses of the 

NGDISM grant program. Accordingly, 

the total amount expected to be awarded 

as grant funding over the five-year 

period is $980,000,000. 

Congress also enacted the BABA Act, 

providing that ‘‘none of the funds made 

available for a Federal financial 

assistance program for infrastructure 

. . . may be 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.’’ IIJA, Public Law 117–58, sec. 

70914(a). Under IIJA section 70914(b), 

PHMSA has authority to waive the 

requirements of BABA (1) if a domestic 

product is unavailable; (2) if using a 

domestic product would present an 

unreasonable cost; or (3) if application 

of BABA would not be in the public 

interest. 

Across three fiscal years (FY2022, 

FY2023, and FY2024) PGW has been 

awarded $125 million in NGDISM grant 

funding to help fund the replacement of 

‘‘at-risk’’ natural gas cast iron pipe 

within the city of Philadelphia as part 


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7244 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 21, 2025 / Notices 

of its ‘‘Citywide Neighborhood Safety 

and Modernization’’ project. Of the $125 

million awarded for this project the 

materials covered by the waiver only 

represent an estimated 0.11% or 

$140,201. The project, which will be 

located entirely within Philadelphia’s 

historically disadvantaged 

neighborhoods, will replace 

approximately 67 miles of aging cast 

iron, ductile iron, and unprotected steel 

pipelines with modern polyethylene 

plastic pipe that is less susceptible to 

breakage due to earth movement—the 

biggest threat to PGW’s existing cast 

iron pipelines, especially during the 

winter months. 

Proposed Waiver and Request for 

Comments 

On September 27, 2024, PHMSA 

published a Notice of Proposed ProjectSpecific Waiver of the BABA Act 

Requirements for Certain Products Used 

by Philadelphia Gas Works and Request 

for Comment (89 FR 79360) for certain 

products on the basis of nonavailability. 

The specific essential products PGW 

sought a waiver for are listed below: 

• Electro-fusion tapping tees: Electrofusion tapping tees are rigid sections of 

polyethylene pipe that are fused to the 

top of an existing polyethylene pipeline. 

They are used to provide a branch outlet 

from a gas main to a service line. 

(NAICS: 326122) 

• Anodeless risers: Anodeless risers 

are sections of pipe that provide a 90- 

degree connection between 

underground gas service lines and 

aboveground meter assemblies. Risers 

are typically made of steel but may also 

include polyethylene components and 

may include a protective sleeve over the 

polyethylene components. Anodeless 

risers are manufactured in a variety of 

sizes and may be rigid or flexible. 

(NAICS: 33296) 

• Transition fittings: Transition 

fittings are adapters that facilitate 

below-grade transition from 

polyethylene pipe to steel pipe before it 

exits the ground. The steel section of the 

fitting is epoxy-coated for corrosion 

resistance. Transition fittings 

incorporate both steel and polyethylene 

components. (NAICS: 332919) 

• Lockwing valves: Lockwing valves 

are installed at the ‘‘head’’ of a service 

line, upstream of a meter assembly, and 

are used to stop or start the flow of gas. 

They are lockable to resist tampering or 

accidental opening of the valve. They 

are typically made of brass. (NAICS: 

332919) 

• Magnesium anodes: Magnesium 

anodes are blocks of magnesium that are 

attached to steel pipe in order to protect 

against corrosion damage. (NAICS: 

335999) 

• Service adapters: Service adapters 

are threaded fittings used on a meter set 

assembly above ground. They are 

typically made of steel and are used to 

connect two pieces of steel pipe in a 

meter assembly. (NAICS: 332919) 

• Curb valves: Curb valves are shutoff valves installed in a readily 

accessible outside location (such as in 

the footway). They are used to control 

the gas upstream of a gas meter, but 

downstream of the main service tee in 

the street. Curb valves can be made of 

either polyethylene or steel. PGW 

requires the use of polyethylene curb 

valves in its system. Accordingly, 

PHMSA proposes to waive BABA 

requirements for polyethylene curb 

valves. (NAICS: 326122) 

• Caps: Caps are added to a pipeline 

in order to close off sections of the 

pipeline or to cap off dead-end lines. 

Caps can be made of either polyethylene 

or steel, depending on the material of 

the pipe capped off. PGW is not able to 

find a BABA-compliant source for steel 

caps. Accordingly, PHMSA proposes to 

waive BABA requirements for steel 

caps. (NAICS: 332919) 

• Couplings: Couplings can be used 

to connect two sections of pipe made 

from either polyethylene, steel, ductile 

iron, or cast iron. PGW requires the use 

of steel couplings on its distribution 

system. Accordingly, PHMSA proposes 

to waive BABA requirements for 

couplings made of steel. (NAICS: 

332919) 

• Stiffeners: Stiffeners are inserted 

into plastic pipe alongside couplings to 

support the pipe, mitigate stress, and 

provide a long-lasting seal. (NAICS: 

326122) 

To conduct market research, PGW 

initially engaged with its normal 

suppliers of gas distribution pipeline 

parts. Eight of PGW’s normal suppliers 

indicated that they could provide 

BABA-compliant products but were not 

willing to certify to BABA compliance. 

One of PGW’s alternate suppliers 

indicated it could provide BABAcompliant caps, couplings, and 

stiffeners, albeit at an increased cost and 

a long lead time, causing an estimated 

36-week delay in PGW’s construction 

schedule that is untenable for this 

project. PGW also reached out to 

neighboring gas utilities to inquire about 

their sources but was likewise unable to 

locate a domestic source. 

On April 10, 2024, in an effort to 

locate additional alternative suppliers, 

PGW issued a Request for Quotation 

(‘‘RFQ’’) titled ‘‘One Time Purchase of 

BABA Compliant Alternatives.’’ The 

RFQ was publicly posted to PGW’s 

Procureware website, and was open 

from April 10, 2024, until April 29, 

2024. PGW invited 80 suppliers and 

manufacturers to submit bids. As a 

result of the RFQ, PGW identified 

BABA-compliant alternatives for eight 

products for which PGW was not 

previously able to find domestic 

sources. However, PGW still was not 

able to find suitable or readily available 

alternatives for the 10 products 

proposed to be waived herein. 

Discussion of Public Comments 

PHMSA has reviewed the single 

supportive comment received in the 

initial 15-day comment period during 

our consideration of the proposed 

waiver, as required by section 

70914(c)(2) of the IIJA. The public 

comment regarding the PGW project 

specific NGDISM waiver was received 

by October 15, 2024. The commenter 

noted the potential need for the same 

products and that the commentor ‘‘fully 

support[s] the granting of this waiver to 

Philadelphia Gas Works.’’ 

Summary of Changes in the Proposed 

Waiver 

There are no changes to the proposed 

Waiver. As there was a single public 

comment in support of this waiver, 

there are no public comments that 

require changes in the proposed waiver. 

Final Waiver 

Based on its review of the waiver 

request, and in consideration of the 

supportive comment received on the 

proposed waiver, PHMSA is waiving the 

requirements of BABA for the above 

listed products for PGW’s ‘‘Citywide 

Neighborhood Safety and 

Modernization’’ project funded by 

NGDISM grant funds. The waiver is 

applicable only to PGW’s project; it is 

not applicable to any other NGDISM 

grant recipient’s projects. The waiver is 

effective from the date of the final 

waiver through the period of 

performance and closeout of PHMSA’s 

financial assistance for the project, 

which is estimated to be June 30, 2029. 

Issued in Washington, DC, under 

authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.97. 

Tristan H. Brown, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2025–01365 Filed 1–17–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 


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