[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 32 (Thursday, February 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11829-11831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03083]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2024-0038; FRL-11694-01-OCSPP]


Draft Approach for Implementation of the EPA Label Program for 
Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials; Notice of Availability, 
Webinar and Request for Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
availability of and seeking public comment on a document that describes 
its draft approach for implementation of the EPA label program for low 
embodied carbon construction materials (Draft Label Program Approach), 
and is announcing a webinar on February 27, 2024. The Inflation 
Reduction Act authorized $100 million to EPA to develop a program to 
identify and label construction materials and products that have 
substantially lower embodied carbon, in coordination with the General 
Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Transportation's 
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

DATES: 
    Webinar: February 27, 2024, noon-1 p.m. EST.
    Registration: To receive the webcast meeting link and audio 
teleconference information before the meeting, you must register by 5 
p.m. EST on February 26, 2024.
    Special Accommodations: To allow EPA time to process your request 
for special accommodations, please submit your request to EPA by 5 p.m. 
EST on February 16, 2024.
    Written comments: Submit your comments on or before March 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Webinar: Register online at https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_UK3t7WwXToiRNIYFlml7CA#/registration.
    Special Accommodations: Please contact the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Written comments: Submit your comments, identified by docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2024-0038, through https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to 
be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Additional instructions on 
commenting or visiting the docket, along with more information about 
dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kersey Manliclic, Data Gathering and 
Analysis Division (4410G), Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 566-9981; email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Executive Summary

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This is directed to the public in general. This notice may be of 
specific interest to persons who represent federal contracting 
officers, construction contractors and specifiers for federal agencies. 
It may also be of interest to the following entities including federal

[[Page 11830]]

agencies setting specifications and/or requirements for federal 
construction (e.g., GSA, FHWA, Department of Defense); manufacturers of 
lower embodied carbon construction materials; entities purchasing 
products covered by the Draft Label Program Approach for products used 
in federally funded construction projects; entities setting criteria 
for programs which provide funding for materials and products procured 
as part of transportation infrastructure and/or building construction 
projects (e.g., FHWA); and architects, engineers, and other 
procurement-adjacent professionals and organizations aiming to use 
lower embodied carbon construction materials and products in their 
projects, rating systems, and construction planning tools.

B. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?

    IRA Section 60116 authorized $100 million to EPA to develop a 
program to identify and label construction materials and products that 
have substantially lower embodied carbon, in coordination with the GSA 
and the FHWA.

C. What action is the agency taking?

    The Agency is requesting comment on the document titled ``Draft 
Approach for Implementation of the EPA Label Program for Low Embodied 
Carbon Construction Materials'' (Draft Label Program Approach), which 
is available in the docket. EPA is requesting information on a number 
of remaining questions that will help shape and refine the program. EPA 
is also announcing a stakeholder engagement opportunity through a 
webinar. During the webinar EPA will give a presentation on the Draft 
Label Program Approach and provide an opportunity for the public to 
provide comments.

D. What should I consider as I prepare my comments?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI to EPA through email or 
https://www.regulations.gov. If you wish to include CBI in your 
comment, please follow the applicable instructions at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets#rules and clearly mark the 
information that you claim to be CBI. Information so marked will not be 
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR 
parts 2 and 703, as applicable.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting 
your comments, see the commenting tips at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.html.

II. Background

    An increasing number of U.S. federal, state, and local government 
procurement policies, as well as large institutional procurement 
policies, are aimed at driving down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 
related to construction materials. These policies often require 
manufacturers to disclose the embodied carbon of the materials and 
products they produce to be eligible for procurement. Embodied carbon 
refers to the amount of GHG emissions associated with the extraction, 
production, transport and manufacturing of materials and products.
    The IRA, passed by Congress and signed into law in August 2022, 
leverages federal procurement and funding of buildings and 
infrastructure to catalyze markets for American-made construction 
materials and products with lower embodied carbon (also known as 
embodied greenhouse gas emissions). IRA Section 60116 provided EPA with 
$100 million dollars to develop and carry out a program to identify and 
label construction materials and products that have substantially lower 
levels of embodied greenhouse gas emissions associated with all 
relevant stages of production, use, and disposal, as compared to 
estimated industry averages of similar materials or products. EPA is 
committed to developing a label program that creates an easy and 
reliable way for purchasers to identify and procure such lower embodied 
carbon construction materials and products.
    The Draft Label Program Approach was developed by EPA in 
collaboration with stakeholders through a series of webinars announced 
in the Federal Register of January 26, 2023, titled ``Stakeholder 
Engagement Opportunities on Inflation Reduction Act Programs To Reduce 
Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated With Construction 
Materials and Products'' (88 FR 5002 (FRL-10439-01-OCSPP)). These 
webinars requested initial feedback on establishing new grant and 
technical assistance programs, and a carbon labeling program for 
construction materials with substantially lower levels of embodied 
greenhouse gas emissions. The Draft Label Program Approach has been 
informed greatly by the input received from the Request for Information 
(RFI) responses submitted, and by extensive collaboration with other 
federal agencies, including the GSA, FHWA, and others.

III. Request for Public Comment

A. What feedback does EPA hope to gain from the public comments?

    In the Draft Label Program Approach, the Agency has outlined the 
following:
     An initial focus on steel construction products, asphalt 
mixtures, concrete mixtures, and flat glass, consistent with EPA's 2022 
Interim Determination and the Federal Buy Clean Initiative;
     A phased approach that all material categories will be 
able to follow at a cadence that aligns with that material's market 
maturity and data availability;
     A plan to label specific construction materials and 
products based on the global warming potential provided via robust 
environmental product declarations;
     A publicly accessible online registry of certified 
materials and products;
     A tiered rating system of certification for materials and 
products; and
     A conformity assessment and verification system aligned 
with the existing Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) verification 
system, and consistent with standards and best practices within the ISO 
IEC 17000 series and EPA's Framework for Assessing Environmental 
Performance for Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal 
Purchasing. For more information about EPA's Framework and related 
recommendations see https://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/framework-assessment-environmental-performance-standards-and-ecolabels-federal.
    EPA is seeking public input on specific aspects of the Draft Label 
Program Approach. The following information and topics may help inform 
stakeholder input on data quality improvements, material threshold 
settings, certification and labeling, and the overall program approach.
    1. Data quality improvements. EPA has begun work to implement Phase 
I of the label program, which includes:
     Development of a Vision for Improving Background Data with 
the Interagency Background Data Team, which will be published in the 
coming weeks.
     Development of a proposed process for ensuring datasets 
directed for use in Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) development in Product 
Category Rules (PCRs) are of sufficient quality to be used by PCR 
Technical Committees. EPA will issue a Dataset Quality Assessment 
methodology in the coming weeks.

[[Page 11831]]

     Development of PCR criteria to be utilized under the label 
program to help ensure that any Environmental Product Declarations 
(EPDs) used to develop GWP thresholds for the label program or identify 
lower embodied carbon materials qualifying for the label are 
sufficiently robust. EPA will be releasing the draft PCR criteria for 
public comment in the coming weeks.
    To inform development of these documents and build upon input 
already received via the 2022 RFI, EPA welcomes additional input on 
ways to improve background data, enhance publicly available datasets in 
the LCA Data Commons, and facilitate PCR improvements.
    2. Material threshold setting. EPA is considering several options 
for addressing regional differences specific to the sourcing of 
materials and products in the Global Warming Potential (GWP) threshold 
setting process as part of Phase II of the Draft Label Program 
Approach. EPA welcomes specific input on what methods would be 
effective, feasible, and time- and cost-effective for specifying 
regions where necessary (e.g., AASHTO Climate Zones, groupings of 
states, market share or geological breakdowns).
    EPA is interested in ensuring that GWP thresholds are based on 
sufficiently representative data, recognizing that what constitutes 
``representative'' will vary by material. EPA plans to conduct proper 
statistical analysis on EPD availability, however, EPA is aware of the 
time constraints in doing so. EPA welcomes specific input on how to 
effectively define ``representative'' data for a specific material type 
when setting thresholds (e.g., at least 30-50 EPDs for each material 
type in each region, or X% of all EPDs for a material type in each 
region).
    3. Certifying and labeling materials and products. EPA recognizes 
the need for credible conformity assessment to ensure stakeholder 
confidence in the Draft Label Program Approach. EPA welcomes specific 
input on what qualifications/accreditations should be considered (or 
required) of EPD verifiers to demonstrate sufficient knowledge and 
experience. EPA is interested in stakeholder feedback on whether the 
conformity criteria and processes used by EPA programs (e.g., ENERGY 
STAR, WaterSense), recommended in the EPA Framework for the Assessment 
of Environmental Performance Standards and Ecolabels for Federal 
Purchasing, and/or those used for EPDs in the market today should be 
applied to this Draft Label Program Approach available at https://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/framework-assessment-environmental-performance-standards-and-ecolabels-federal.
    Additionally, EPA is interested in hearing from EPD verifiers and 
Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) that would like to provide 
conformity assessment/verification services for this Draft Label 
Program Approach.
    4. Overall approach. EPA recognizes the importance of transparency 
and stakeholder input as we continue to develop this program. Other 
feedback is welcome in the form of questions, comments or additional 
information for consideration as we move forward.

B. What is the request for information?

    EPA encourages all potentially interested parties, including 
individuals, governmental and non-governmental organizations, non-
profit organizations, community-based organizations, labor 
organizations, academic institutions, research institutions, community 
health centers and clinics, public health administration and 
environmental health administration programs, and private sector 
entities to comment on the Draft Label Program Approach. To the extent 
possible, the Agency asks commenters to please cite any public data 
related to or that supports responses, and to the extent permissible, 
describe any supporting data that is not publicly available.
    Authority: 26 U.S.C. 55 et seq.

    Dated: February 8, 2024.
Jennie Romer,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2024-03083 Filed 2-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P