Sec. 422. Federal building energy efficiency performance standards; certification system and level for green buildings
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Section 303 of the Energy Conservation and Production Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6832 ) (as amended by section 101(a)) is amended— in paragraph (6), by striking to be constructed and inserting constructed or altered ; and by adding at the end the following: The term major renovation means a modification of building energy systems sufficiently extensive that the whole building can meet energy standards for new buildings, based on criteria to be established by the Secretary through notice and comment rulemaking. . Section 305 of the Energy Conservation and Production Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6834 ) is amended— in subsection (a)(3)— by striking (3)(A) Not later than and all that follows through subparagraph
(B)and inserting the following: Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, the Secretary shall establish, by rule, revised Federal building energy efficiency performance standards that require that— new Federal buildings and alterations and additions to existing Federal buildings— meet or exceed the most recent revision of the International Energy Conservation Code (in the case of residential buildings) or ASHRAE Standard 90.1 (in the case of commercial buildings) as of the date of enactment of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act; and meet or exceed the energy provisions of State and local building codes applicable to the building, if the codes are more stringent than the International Energy Conservation Code or ASHRAE Standard 90.1, as applicable; unless demonstrated not to be life-cycle cost effective for new Federal buildings and Federal buildings with major renovations— the buildings be designed to achieve energy consumption levels that are at least 30 percent below the levels established in the version of the ASHRAE Standard or the International Energy Conservation Code, as appropriate, that is applied under subclause (I)(aa), including updates under subparagraph (B); and sustainable design principles are applied to the location, siting, design, and construction of all new Federal buildings and replacement Federal buildings; if water is used to achieve energy efficiency, water conservation technologies shall be applied to the extent that the technologies are life-cycle cost effective; and if life-cycle cost effective, as compared to other reasonably available technologies, not less than 30 percent of the hot water demand for each new Federal building or Federal building undergoing a major renovation be met through the installation and use of solar hot water heaters. Clause (i)(I) shall not apply to unaltered portions of existing Federal buildings and systems that have been added to or altered. Not later than 1 year after the date of approval of each subsequent revision of the ASHRAE Standard or the International Energy Conservation Code, as appropriate, the Secretary shall determine whether the revised standards established under subparagraph
(A)should be updated to reflect the revisions, based on the energy savings and life-cycle cost-effectiveness of the revisions. ; in subparagraph (C), by striking
(C)In the budget request and inserting the following: In the budget request ; and by striking subparagraph
(D)and inserting 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; and confirm that the criteria used to support the selection of building products, materials, brands, and technologies— are based on relevant technical data; use and reward evaluation of health, safety, and environmental risks and impacts across the lifecycle of the building product, material, brand, or technology, including methodologies generally accepted by the applicable scientific disciplines; as practicable, give preference to performance standards instead of prescriptive measures; and reward continual improvements in the lifecycle management of health, safety, and environmental risks and impacts. 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; 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; the sourcing of grown, harvested, or mined materials; and certifications of responsible sourcing, such as certifications provided by the Forest Stewardship Council, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the American Tree Farm System, or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification; 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. The amendments made by section 432(b)(1)(C) of Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act shall apply to any determination made by a Federal agency after December 31, 2017. This subparagraph (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act) shall apply to any use of a certification system for green commercial and residential buildings by a Federal agency on or before December 31, 2017. ; 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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Sec. 422
Federal building energy efficiency performance standards; certification system and level for green buildings
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