Billions for defense, not a penny for LEED certification

The law bars the Pentagon from spending money to certify projects Gold or Platinum but loopholes in the language should allow the military to continue as before.

By

Clint Williams

Thu, Jan 05 2012 at 5:32 PM

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Green Building, Obama, LEED

President Obama signed the bill into law despite reservations. (anhonorablegerman/Flickr)

Buried in the 500-plus pages of the defense budget signed by President Obama on Dec. 31 is a curious provision that prohibits the Department of Defense from spending any of the $662 billion to certify that its buildings meet rigorous environmental standards.

The National Defense Authorization Act bars the Pentagon from spending money to certify projects Gold or Platinum, the two highest certifications of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Program (LEED), reports The Federal Times.

But the restrictions are unlikely to have significant impact on the Pentagon’s programs to reduce energy use, said Bryan Howard, the legislative director of the U.S. Green Building Council. There is enough flexibility in the language “that the federal agencies doing good work will be able to keep on keeping on,” Howard said Thursday.

In a blog post, Howard noted that the provision is “is irrational and misguided at best” but the Department of Defense “can still LEED certify to Gold and Platinum levels if there is no additional cost or they document a positive return on investment, which they have done and will continue to do.”

The Department of Defense, Howard said, “has been a partner of the U.S. Green Building Council for more than a decade.” The department has the largest number of LEED-registered and certified buildings owned or occupied by any federal agency, Howard said, adding that more than 800 LEED-accredited professionals work in the Department of Defense.

The LEED rating system takes into account several factors: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and LEED innovation credits. A project can earn a total of 69 points. The higher the points total, the higher the certification: A score of 33 points earns LEED Silver status, a score of 39 points scores LEED Gold and a score of 52 points or higher earns LEED Platinum.

The scoring is based on a review of a project’s design and construction. Fees for those reviews are based on the square footage of a project, Howard said in a telephone interview. The certification fee doesn't vary with the level of certification — silver costs the same as gold.

“Unless they are doing something highly unusual the cost of certification should never exceed $25,000,” Howard wrote in an email Thursday.

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Comment: 1

Brandt Hardin Jan 05 2012 at 7:45 PM

The NDAA only goes to further stifle our Constitutional Rights without the approval of the Americans, just as the Patriot Act was adopted WITHOUT public approval or vote just weeks after the events of 9/11. A mere 3 criminal charges of terrorism a year are attributed to this act, which is mainly used for no-knock raids leading to drug-related arrests without proper cause for search and seizure. The laws are simply a means to spy on our own citizens and to detain and torture dissidents without trial

.... More

or a right to council. You can read much more about living in this Orwellian society of fear and see my visual response to these measures on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/09/living-in-society-of-fear-ten...

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