Sec. 1018. Certification for green buildings
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Section 305 of the Energy Conservation and Production Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6834 ) (as amended by sections 1015 and 1016(b)) is amended— in subsection (a)(3), by adding at the end the following: Sustainable design principles shall be applied to the siting, design, and construction of buildings covered by this subparagraph. The Secretary, after reviewing the findings of the Federal Director under section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 ( 42 U.S.C. 17092(h) ), in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense relating to those facilities under the custody and control of the Department of Defense, shall determine those certification systems for green commercial and residential buildings that the Secretary determines to be the most likely to encourage a comprehensive and environmentally sound approach to certification of green buildings.
The determination of the certification systems under clause
(ii)shall be based on ongoing review of the findings of the Federal Director under section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 ( 42 U.S.C. 17092(h) ) and the criteria described in clause (v). In determining certification systems under this subparagraph, the Secretary shall— make a separate determination for all or part of each system; confirm that the criteria used to support the selection of building products, materials, brands, and technologies— are fair and neutral (meaning that the criteria are based on an objective assessment of relevant technical data); do not prohibit, disfavor, or discriminate against selection based on technically inadequate information to inform human or environmental risk; and are expressed to prefer performance measures whenever performance measures may reasonably be used in lieu of prescriptive measures; and use environmental and health criteria that are based on risk assessment methodology that is generally accepted by the applicable scientific disciplines. In determining the green building certification systems under this subparagraph, the Secretary shall take into consideration— the ability and availability of assessors and auditors to independently verify the criteria and measurement of metrics at the scale necessary to implement this subparagraph; the ability of the applicable certification organization to collect and reflect public comment; the ability of the standard to be developed and revised through a consensus-based process; an evaluation of the robustness of the criteria for a high-performance green building, which shall give credit for promoting— efficient and sustainable use of water, energy, and other natural resources; the use of renewable energy sources; improved indoor environmental quality through enhanced indoor air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics, day lighting, pollutant source control, and use of low-emission materials and building system controls; and such other criteria as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; and national recognition within the building industry. The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services and the Secretary of Defense, shall conduct an ongoing review to evaluate and compare private sector green building certification systems, taking into account— the criteria described in clause (v); and the identification made by the Federal Director under section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 ( 42 U.S.C. 17092(h) ). Subject to subclause (II), if a certification system fails to meet the review requirements of clause (v), the Secretary shall— identify the portions of the system, whether prerequisites, credits, points, or otherwise, that meet the review criteria of clause (v); determine the portions of the system that are suitable for use; and exclude all other portions of the system from identification and use. The Secretary shall exclude an entire system from use if an exclusion under subclause (I)— impedes the integrated use of the system; creates disparate review criteria or unequal point access for competing materials; or increases agency costs of the use. The Secretary may by rule allow Federal agencies to develop internal certification processes, using certified professionals, in lieu of certification by certification entities identified under clause (ii). With respect to privatized military housing, the Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the Secretary may, through rulemaking, develop alternative certification systems and levels than the systems and levels identified under clause
(ii)that achieve an equivalent result in terms of energy savings, sustainable design, and green building performance. In addition to any use of water conservation technologies otherwise required by this section, water conservation technologies shall be applied to the extent that the technologies are life-cycle cost-effective. This subparagraph shall apply to any determination made by a Federal agency after December 31, 2015. This subparagraph (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016 ) shall apply to any use of a certification system for green commercial and residential buildings by a Federal agency on or before December 31, 2015. ; and by striking subsections
(c)and
(d)and inserting the following: The Secretary shall— once every 5 years, review the Federal building energy standards established under this section; and on completion of a review under paragraph (1), if the Secretary determines that significant energy savings would result, upgrade the standards to include all new energy efficiency and renewable energy measures that are technologically feasible and economically justified. .
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