Sec. 524. Establishing buy clean standards for federally funded infrastructure projects
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/bill/117/hr/1512/ih/section-524·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subtitle, the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with relevant Federal agencies, shall develop a Federal Buy Clean program to steadily reduce the quantity of embodied emissions of construction materials and products, and promote the use of low-emissions construction materials and products, in projects involving Federal funds. For purposes of subsection (a), relevant Federal agencies are— the Department of Commerce; the General Services Administration; the Department of Defense, including the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers; the Department of Transportation; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Veterans Affairs; and any other Federal agency determined appropriate by the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy. In developing a Federal Buy Clean program under this section, the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with relevant Federal agencies, shall consider— inclusion of specific materials and product categories under such program; the appropriate Federal agencies and project types to be covered by such program; effective methods of developing, setting, and adjusting Buy Clean performance standards, including consideration of— differentiation between products, classes, types, sizes, functional uses, and other factors that may warrant distinction between product categories; which stages of production and use of materials and products should be covered by performance standards; whether performance standards should be applied on a facility-specific basis, and for which product categories; appropriate and effective safeguards to ensure such performance standards do not reduce the international competitiveness of domestic manufacturers; issuance of waivers from performance standards, including factors for consideration to warrant a waiver; and additional factors involving materials and products covered by such performance standards, including durability, safety, other performance characteristics, domestic content requirements, and cost; methods to cover projects and contracts issued by State and local governments that involve Federal funding; effective enforcement of Buy Clean performance standards, including verification and enforcement of standards for imported products, and appropriate penalties for noncompliance; timing and other factors to promote ease of implementation of such program; the technical and financial assistance to manufacturers and State and local governments needed to support implementation of such program and to meet Buy Clean performance standards; promotion of novel technologies with the potential to reduce embodied emissions of materials and products covered by such program; the data collection and reporting requirements needed to implement and enforce such program; and harmonization with the program established under section 522 and the program established under section 324C of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (as added by this Act).
In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy shall solicit input from relevant stakeholders and organizations, including— manufacturers of relevant construction materials and products; labor organizations; experts in greenhouse gas emissions lifecycle assessments; experts in procurement; experts in international trade; State and local governments; and developers of relevant codes and standards.