BABAA

In case you haven’t heard, McCook now carries a substantial federal mandate in the form of a regulation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requiring the replacement of lead pipes throughout the city, including those located on private property. The mandate stems from a series of EPA regulations collectively known as the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) of 1991 and its subsequent updates, particularly the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) of 2021 and the more recent Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) of 2024.

Executing the mandate will require a significant financial commitment. To offset the burden, a no-interest/low-interest loan program with built-in forgiveness provisions will be offered—presumably to keep complaints about unfunded mandates to a minimum.

On Monday night, we heard from a state representative who will help administer those loans. Among the program requirements mentioned were compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act—a statute not often recalled since high school history—and the more recent Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA).

We will talk about Davis Bacon tomorrow, but yes, long before we had the large, comprehensive policy package nicknamed the Big Beautiful Bill Act and tossed around informally as the “BBA,” we had the BABAA. Are we confused yet?

The law, passed as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, requires that federally funded infrastructure projects use domestically sourced materials.

While Buy American policies have long been used to protect domestic industries and national security, BABAA imposes stricter standards on federally funded projects, ensuring that materials such as steel, concrete, aluminum and electrical components are produced in the United States. The initiative also responds to longstanding concerns over foreign “dumping” of lower-cost materials—particularly steel—that has challenged American producers.

Although the measure passed with bipartisan support, critics have raised concerns about potential cost increases and project delays, particularly when domestic production capacity falls short of demand. Steel, in particular, has been subject to price volatility and sustained foreign competition. To address these issues, BABAA includes waiver provisions that allow the use of non-domestic materials when American alternatives are unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

For McCook, the implications are clear: any municipal project receiving federal funding, even in part, must source its materials from U.S. suppliers.

As an interesting side note, while most of the pipe to be installed will be manufactured in the United States, the loan representative noted that some municipalities have found a workaround under the de minimis rule—a regulatory principle that allows items of minimal cost or impact to be exempt from strict compliance requirements.

In practice, this has involved the purchase and installation of ground rods for homes whose electrical systems were previously grounded to copper, galvanized or iron water pipes. Once those pipes are replaced with non-conductive materials, they no longer provide an electrical ground, making the installation of ground rods necessary.

Whatever the case, while we may take some comfort in reducing the cardiovascular risks associated with lead exposure in drinking water—including effects that can contribute to an enlarged heart—our hearts can swell with pride knowing that the replacement materials, most likely PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) or HDPE (high-density polyethylene), will be manufactured in the United States.