Norton Begins Greening Effort with Hearing on Federal Leadrship to Green D.C. and Region (4/16/08)

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management will lead the "First in a Series: Greening Washington and the National Capital Region" hearing on Thursday, April 17th, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, in room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The greening hearing will focus on Norton's goal to use the federal presence and the large federal leasing and construction footprint in the District and region to set an example for the rest of the country. "The Congress has finally enacted energy legislation for the nation," Norton said. "The burden on Uncle Sam is to lead by example."

The hearing will examine "green thinking" and the steps made and planned by federal and local agencies, commercial developers, businesses and organizations to improve the environment and promote energy efficiency in existing buildings and new construction. The subcommittee is especially interested in new frontiers in green thinking and action; greening and conservation practices such as reusing water and energy; the effectiveness and cost of various greening techniques, such as green roofs, to reduce the cost and use of energy to heat and cool buildings; the difference and value among various Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) designations; energy saving technology; and reducing practices that harm the environment in construction and leasing near waterways. The subcommittee is exploring additional legislation following its success in getting key sections and provisions in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-140).

Energy conservation, alternative energy, greening and energy technology together constitute a top priority of Norton's chairmanship of her subcommittee that directs federal construction and leasing here and nationwide. Her emphasis on promoting federal energy leadership was reinforced by her recent visit to India as part of a climate change delegation, led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Witnesses are: David Winstead, Commissioner, Public Building Service at the General Services Administration; George S. Hawkins, Director of the District Department of the Environment; Joan Kelsch, an environmental planner for the Arlington Department of Environmental Service; Doug Siglin, Federal Affairs Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Robert Shovan of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington; and Jim Epstein, Chairman of the board of directors of D.C. Greenworks.

The full text of Norton's Statement is below:

Statement of

the honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton

Subcommittee on economic development, public buildings

and emergency Management

Hearing

"First in a Series: Greening Washington and the National Capital Region"

April 17, 2008 10am

I am happy to welcome all to today's hearing. I thank our panelists for coming to offer testimony in this first of several hearings the subcommittee is conducting on climate change and energy issues. Because of our subcommittee's jurisdiction over federal leasing, construction, and economic development, we have a special obligation and a special opportunity to assure that in carrying out these missions, the federal government is an appropriate national environmental partner and leader, beginning in the national capital region, where the federal government is the preeminent leader in the region itself.

Last year this Congress began to face the seriousness of the escalating financial and environmental costs of existing energy policy, and the subcommittee itself has made a good start. The subcommittee's provisions became part of the path-breaking Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-140). The subcommittee's provisions authorized high efficiency light bulb replacement; a photovoltaic provision; extension of life cycle costing calculations for government energy contracts out to 40 years to have a greater beneficial effect on financing energy efficient projects than previously; and the creation of an office of High Performance Green Buildings that is required to coordinate with the Department of Energy, which is focusing on green issues in the private sector. In July 19, the subcommittee held a hearing focused on low-cost fixes for energy conservation entitled "Federal Leadership by Example on Energy Conservation: No Cost Quick and Easy Steps for Immediate Results."

This hearing will examine the range of "green thinking" and the steps being taken, planned or that should be taken, especially by the federal government as this region's leader, but also by local agencies, commercial developers, businesses and organizations, to improve the environment and promote energy conservation and efficiency in existing buildings and new construction. We begin this series by looking at the National Capital region because of the federal government's outsized presence here, particularly its leasing and construction footprint that is unmatched anywhere else in the nation. The federal government is in a position to provide environmental leadership nationwide because its consistent presence in the construction and leasing, especially here where Uncle Sam is the major influence on the region's daily life and can set the example for the public and private sectors throughout the United States.

Green building activities generally cover products and practices that conserve energy and water, promote clean indoor air, protect natural resources, and reduce the impact of a building on a community. Examples include insulation such as double paned windows that reduce or conserve the heating loads of buildings, or positioning buildings in order to reduce the need for cooling or heating the building. Green building includes reduced flow toilets and low water-need plants for landscaping. Green building improves the indoor environment with use of non-toxic caulks and adhesives, non formaldehyde cabinets, and the use of filters. Green building protects natural resources by promoting the use of products with recycled content like carpet, tile, and wall board, while promoting the use of rapidly renewable products like bamboo flooring and natural linoleum. Green building protects waterways like the Anacostia and the Chesapeake Bay by promoting practices that reduce the impact of structures on the environment by mitigating the effects of storm water runoff, using green roofs, cisterns, and permeable pavers locating buildings close to mass transit and including bike racks and storage units.

The subcommittee is especially interested in new frontiers in green thinking and action; in greening and conservation practices such as reusing water and energy; in various types of greenroofs, especially for existing buildings; in the difference and value among various LEED designations; in energy saving technology; and in reducing practices that harm the environment in constructing and leasing near waterways. We also have a strong interest in comparisons of cost to benefit and in whether savings in energy and cost are actually resulting. For example, testimony was offered at our recent hearing on the Capitol Complex that using photovoltaics here at the Rayburn Building would not to be cost effective.

There are several buildings in the backyard of the U.S. Capitol that exemplify green building. The Washington Nationals' stadium is the first LEED certified sports stadium in the United States. The Nationals stadium achieved its LEED silver rating in part because of its bike racks, its green roof, and its use of low emitting materials during construction. Just to the east of National Stadium, the new Department of Transportation (DOT) building, authorized by this committee, sits on the banks of the Anacostia River, one of the most polluted rivers in America. Federal structures are heavy contributors to the estimated 75 to 90 percent of the storm water runoff to the River. However, the DOT building has a 68,000 square feet green roof, one of the largest green roofs on the east coast. In addition to the DOT green roof, which limits storm water runoff into the Anacostia River, the DOT building has energy efficient boilers systems, heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) systems, and other building operations systems to maximize energy efficiency. This recent green attention to the Anacostia River needs to be repeated nationwide and used much more often in this region. Many federal buildings, particularly in the District and Maryland, border or are close to waterways, giving federal authorities particular responsibility for assisting clean water efforts here in managing real estate and managing construction.

The GSA has long engaged in energy conservation efforts well before climate change issues became prominent because the agency has understood the lost implications. However, the agency's efforts fall far short of what we now know will be required to meet what scientists tell us about the global risk we face and the energy crisis that is already upon us. This hearing will help the subcommittee as we consider the benefit and cost of our new requirements and new legislation.