Short Span Steel Bridges 
NCSPA Releases Industry-Wide Environmental Product Declaration for Corrugated Steel Pipe
The following information was provided by SSSBA member National Corrugated Steel Pipe Association
July 23, 2026 – The National Corrugated Steel Pipe Association (NCSPA) has released its new industry-wide Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for corrugated steel pipe, providing standardized environmental information developed through a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and independently verified by SCS Global Services.
Establishing a Benchmark for Environmental Reporting
Representing participating NCSPA member manufacturers across North America, the Environmental Product Declaration establishes an industry benchmark for transparent environmental reporting while providing engineers, owners, contractors, municipalities, and specifiers with a valuable technical resource for infrastructure planning and material evaluation.
Understanding Environmental Product Declarations
Environmental Product Declarations are standardized reports of a product’s environmental performance based on a Life Cycle Assessment. Developed using internationally recognized standards, EPDs communicate environmental information using a consistent reporting framework and have become increasingly important resources as infrastructure owners and designers place greater emphasis on environmental transparency throughout the project development process.
Industry-Wide Assessment and Standards Compliance
The NCSPA Environmental Product Declaration follows ISO 14025 and ISO 21930 standards and represents production-weighted average environmental information for galvanized, aluminized, and polymer-laminated corrugated steel pipe manufactured by participating NCSPA member companies throughout North America. The declaration is valid through July 5, 2031.
“The release of our new Environmental Product Declaration is an important milestone for the corrugated steel pipe industry,” said Michael McGough, Executive Director of the National Corrugated Steel Pipe Association. “It provides our members, engineers, and project owners with a credible, third-party verified resource for discussing sustainability practices and policies. Just as importantly, it establishes a benchmark that will help identify opportunities for continuous improvement in areas such as transportation, fabrication, and end-of-life recovery.”
Life Cycle Assessment and Recycled Steel Content
The Environmental Product Declaration includes standardized environmental information developed through a Life Cycle Assessment evaluating impacts across defined stages of the product life cycle. It also reports that representative corrugated steel pipe contains at least 55% total recycled steel by mass, reflecting the recycled material content represented within the industry-wide assessment.
Supporting Informed Infrastructure Decisions
The release of the EPD is part of NCSPA’s ongoing commitment to providing engineers, project owners, contractors, and public agencies with trusted technical resources that support informed infrastructure decisions. In addition to the declaration itself, NCSPA has launched a dedicated online resource center featuring educational information about Environmental Product Declarations, Life Cycle Assessment, frequently asked questions, and access to the complete EPD.
Access the NCSPA Environmental Product Declaration
The NCSPA Environmental Product Declaration is available at:
https://www.ncspa.org/corrugated-steel-pipe-environmental-product-declaration-epd/
About the National Corrugated Steel Pipe Association
Founded in 1956, the National Corrugated Steel Pipe Association (NCSPA) promotes the use of corrugated steel pipe and related products through research, education, technical resources, and industry advocacy. Representing manufacturers throughout North America, NCSPA provides engineers, contractors, owners, and public agencies with the information and resources needed to design resilient, economical, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.
For more information, visit www.ncspa.org.
Media Contact
Diana Brooks
Marketing & Communications Manager
National Corrugated Steel Pipe Association
Phone: 540-743-1354
Email: DBrooks@NCSPA.org
What are buried steel bridges?
Buried steel bridges provide an economical choices for bridge replacement or bridge rehabilitation.
They essentially are a corrugated steel pipe or structural plate pipe systems that is “buried” with backfill to carry loads through soil-structure interaction. This means the bridge structure itself and the backfill soils surrounding the structure interact with each other to support the loads. In effect, the backfill material is part of the bridge.
Because of this interaction, the bridge structure is typically lighter, and there can be significant savings in structure costs.
There are also many cases where buried bridges can carry heavier loads than traditional bridges because of the benefits of spreading vehicle loads through the fill. Buried bridges do not require abutments; and unless foundation soil conditions are poor, do not typically
require deep foundations.An additional benefit with buried bridges is that they can be tailored to site conditions and geometric requirements. The design includes inputs for site soils and backfill, meaning that locally available materials can often be used in construction and the structure can be tailored to fit the needs of the site and the owner’s requirements.
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