Mr. Gifford’s lawsuit, originally filed as a class action, was amended in February 2011 to include claims of false advertising, deceptive practices, and illegal monopolization. According to a Sustainable Real Estate Solutions blog post about the lawsuit, Gifford’s chief complaint is that LEED misrepresents the energy performance of its building by skewing study results. This contention stems from Gifford’s analysis of a 2008 New Buildings Institute study that compared predicted energy use in LEED-certified buildings with actual energy use. In the study, NBI concluded that LEED buildings are between 25 and 30 percent more energy-efficient compared to the national average. In contrast, Gifford argues that LEED-certified buildings actually consume more energy, to the tune of 29% more than the national average. He further argues that the NBI study results are misleading, in that they compare the median energy use of LEED buildings to the mean energy use of non-LEED buildings.

In April 2011, the USGBC responded with a motion to dismiss the suit, arguing that the plaintiffs lack standing and cannot prove that they were harmed by illegal conduct. A decision from the court on the USGBC’s motion to dismiss is expected in coming months.

Whether Gifford and the other plaintiffs in the case can prove that they were misled by the USGBC’s energy performance claims remains unclear. The blog post notes that Gifford’s suit prompts a broader discussion on the availability of objective data that compares the energy use and cost of buildings relative to their peers, and the need for current green building professionals to document their buildings' energy performance accurately. The lawsuit, the post states, represents a potentially dangerous predicament for the green building industry, in that LEED is limited in its abilities to measure actual energy performance, and therefore green building professionals need to be ware of making unintentionally misleading representations about a building’s energy performance.

The need for caution when describing a building’s energy performance is especially important during a real estate transaction. Several states have recently passed laws requiring mandatory energy labeling and transaction disclosure regulations, the post notes.

Read more on the ongoing lawsuit and what it may hold in store for green building professionals, here.

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Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com

Release Date: 01/10/2012
Contact Information: David Deegan, 617-918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – Jan. 10, 2012) – Two companies face significant penalties for violating federal lead paint disclosure laws at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine and the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn. 

A complaint filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asserts that Northeast Housing, LLC, and Balfour Beatty Military Housing Management, LLC failed on multiple occasions over several years to notify prospective tenants, including families with young children, about potential lead paint hazards in housing managed by the companies on the two Navy bases in New England.  Notifying prospective tenants and purchasers of housing units helps parents protect young children from exposure to lead-based paint hazards.

The companies face a possible fine of $153,070 for alleged violations of the Lead Based Paint Disclosure Rule.  EPA’s complaint asserts that the two companies failed to comply with the Disclosure Rule when they entered into 13 contracts to lease target housing for military personnel during the years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the U.S. Naval Submarine Base.

The housing at both bases is owned by Northeast, a joint venture limited liability company between the Department of the Navy and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC, of which the BBC affiliate is the managing member.  There are approximately 25 target housing units located at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where housing was built in the 1800s and early 1900s.  There are approximately 735 target housing units at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, which was built in the early 1960s.

"Exposure to lead paint is a serious public health concern here in New England because of how much older housing we have.  Further, military families make significant sacrifices to protect our Nation, and the health of those families, as well as all families, should not be jeopardized by not being notified of potential lead hazards in the housing where they reside," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "Property managers and owners play an important part in helping to prevent lead poisoning by following lead paint disclosure requirements and making sure families are aware of potential lead hazards in homes."

The EPA complaint details that the companies failed to provide available records and reports regarding lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards to 13 lessees (10 lessees at Portsmouth and three lessees at the Conn. base).  Nine of the lessees were families with children, including seven families with children under the age of six.

Infants and young children are especially vulnerable to lead paint exposure, which can cause intelligence quotient deficiencies; reading and learning disabilities; impaired hearing; reduced attention span, hyperactivity and behavior problems. Adults with high lead levels can suffer difficulties during pregnancy, high blood pressure, nerve disorders, memory problems and muscle and joint pain.

The purpose of the Lead Disclosure Rule is to provide residential renters and purchasers of pre-1978 housing with enough information about lead-based paint in general and known lead-based paint hazards in specific housing, so that they can make informed decisions about whether to lease or purchase the housing.

Federal law requires sellers and landlords selling or renting housing built before 1978 to:

- Provide a lead hazard information pamphlet to inform renters and buyers about the dangers associated with lead paint;
- Include lead notification language in sales and rental forms;
- Disclose any known lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in the living unit and property and provide copies of all available reports to buyers or renters;
- Allow a lead inspection or risk assessment by home buyers; and
- Maintain records certifying compliance with federal laws for a period of three years.

More information:

- Lead paint health hazards (http://epa.gov/lead/)

- EPA enforcement of lead-based paint disclosure rule in New England (epa.gov/ne/enforcement/leadpaint/index.html)

Two important points can be taken from this occurrence: First, the EPA has the power to audit a renovation almost six months after the renovation was completed. In fact, they can retroactively audit you for paperwork for up to three years, according to the RRP Rule. Secondly, and the reason why my student was so concerned, the gentleman did not have his RRP certification at the time he completed that renovation in July, breaking the cardinal rule of the construction industry – having all of your certificates/credentials/permits updated and in-line.

It pays in the long run to do things by the book. As our contact from the EPA put it, “it’s better to pay up front,” considering it is the responsibility of the contractor to know the local, state and federal regulations governing the work they are being compensated for. And this most certainly applies to renovations in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities that will disturb lead-based paint, like the job my student conducted back in early July. There is simply no “wiggle-room” when the health and safety of children hang in the balance, as there shouldn’t be. 

So as a contractor, what do you need to take from this real-life example?

• First, even if you have your RRP certificate and it is current, the EPA can audit for information up to three years after a renovation is completed, so take what you learned in the RRP class about paperwork seriously. Take a moment to look over the following document: Enclosure II:  Information Request to make sure you would be able to present all of the listed items and documents if requested. The list on pages 6 & 7 of this document are an example of what they might request, but is not exhaustive.
• Next, if you know someone that does renovation, repair, maintenance or painting work in older homes, ask them if they have their RRP certification. I hear more and more from students in classes that they heard about the RRP certification from an associate in their field. This RRP lead-safe training certificate applies to ALL activity that will disturb lead-based paint, whether you are a carpenter, an electrician, a plumber, a renovator, or the businessman subbing out the actual work.  If they do need training, or have additional questions, we are happy to help – they can send an email to contact@greenedu.com or give us a call at 1-800-355-1751.

Submitted by Greg Jaskowiak, Certified Lead Renovator. Greg is a Primary Instructor and Course Developer at Green Education Services specializing in lead safety training.

Joel Quintal, the director of sustainability for global real estate concern Jones Lang LaSalle, said assessing the drivers of office productivity was a complex topic—the quality of the physical environment being just one factor affecting workplace productivity.

Other factors impacting workplace productivity included personal motivation and work satisfaction; organizational factors, including the quality of management and pay rates; social factors, including relationships with coworkers and recognition of individual achievements within a business; and the role of technology, such as IT and communication equipment.

Despite these, Quintal said, high rates of natural ventilation and access to natural light were green building features that have a clear link to increased work productivity. For example, a 2005-06 renovation of a Melbourne building, incorporating a host of green building features, resulted in a 44 percent reduction in the monthly average cost of sick leave for the building’s tenants. Other changes in the behavior of tenants after green renovations in their buildings included a 9 percent improvement in the average typing speed of secretaries, and a corresponding rise in accuracy; and a 7 percent reduction in headaches, as well as varying improvements in colds and flu, sore eyes, fatigue, and poor concentration.

“The office workplace is becoming a strategic tool that needs to be linked not only to the operational bottom line, but also to every company's human resource strategy,” Quintal said, in the article. Quintal also cited a 2003 study of 33 green buildings in the United States, the value of which improved by between $37 and $55 per square foot due to productivity gains.

“The results suggested some of these gains can be attributed to superior ventilation, lighting and general indoor environment,” Quintal said, in the article.

Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com

Compared to average commercial buildings, the buildings analyzed cost 19 percent less to maintain, on average; use 25 percent less energy and water; emit 36 percent fewer carbon dioxide emissions; and have occupants that are 27 percent more satisfied, on average.

The study, conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, built on a good indication of the potential for increased productivity and performance pilot research completed two years ago, with similarly impressive results.

Because of GSA’s commitment to real-world results, the study evaluated actual, not modeled, building performance. Successes and shortcomings were identified, along with areas requiring further research. The 22 buildings selected reflect different US regional climates, a mix of uses (courthouses and offices), and a mix of build-to-suit leases and federally owned buildings. Sixteen of these buildings were designed to meet or exceed basic LEED certification. The other six were designed to meet the requirements of other programs, including ENERGY STAR and the California Title 24 Energy Standard.

The research team used a consistent evaluation process for every building studied:

-          Obtaining and reviewing one year of operating data

-          Surveying building occupants

-          Interviewing the building manager

-          Conducting an expert walkthrough

To understand how GSA’s green buildings measured up to commonly accepted national benchmarks, the team compared each performance metric with the national average for US commercial buildings. The latest available benchmark data come from widely accepted industry and government standards

Commercial buildings account for 18 percent of the nation’s energy use, making the achievements earned by the design of the buildings in the analysis all the more laudable. By looking critically at real world performance, this report demonstrates that the GSA is actively pursuing its green building goals, and that GSA is delivering high-performance, sustainable workplaces federal agencies need to fulfill their missions on behalf of the American people.

Read the White Paper (PDF), here.

Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com

The state’s Air Resources Board approved 252 pages of rules governing how the state will cut 15 percent of carbon emissions from power generators, oil refineries, and industrial plants by 2020. The plan will now proceed to the state’s Office of Administrative Law.

“This is the most important experiment for the rest of the country to watch,” Ann Carlson, faculty director of the Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment at the University of California, Los Angeles. “It’s less about California and more about what an impressively designed program can prove to the country.”

California regulators spent three years designing rules for the cap-and-trade program, named for how it will cap carbon emissions and allow companies to trade pollution permits to comply. The final design draws from successes and failures of several other government program regulating pollution, including carbon markets in Europe and the US Northeast.

“We designed a program that avoids all the pitfalls we saw,” Stanley Young, a spokesman for the air resources board in Sacramento, said before the board’s vote. “There was no concerted effort to stop this cap-and-trade program in its tracks, and that only comes after a lot of thought and discussion.”

Under the rules, California will supply allowances, each permitting the release of one ton of carbon, through a combination of free allocations and auctions. Allocations will start at 90 percent of industries’ recent emissions levels and gradually shrink, from a peak of 394.5 million in 2015 to 334.2 million in 2020, to force emissions reductions.

Read more about the plan, here.

Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com

From USGBC:

The lab launched with eight applications, developed by LEED Automation Partners, and is designed for use with Internet browsers, tablets, smartphones and other devices.

The App Lab is a searchable catalog of third-party apps that are integrated with LEED data. Each app is a fully functional software tool that has been enhanced to provide LEED projects teams and administrators integration with LEED Online and address the LEED certification process. These tools are already being used for helping with task management, data interchange, file uploads, credit scorecards, credit strategies, team messaging and other uses, and are now capable of interacting directly with USGBC’s LEED Online system

You can check out available Apps and download for use at http://new.usgbc.name/apps/.

The amount of lead in blood is measured in micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) of the blood, a very small unit of measurement. A microgram is one millionth of a gram. That is like one penny out of $10,000. Here’s another way to understand it:  a standard size paperclip weighs about one gram, or one million times more than a microgram. We are talking about very small amounts (micrograms = microscopic) of a highly ingestible poison with the ability wreak havoc on the majority of a human’s body systems.

Over the past 40 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has responded to emerging knowledge about the effects of low-level lead exposure in children by progressively lowering the blood-lead level said to warrant medical intervention. In 1970, the level of concern was 60 micrograms per deciliter, but shortly after the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act was enacted in 1971, the level was lowered to 40 μg/dL.

 It was lowered on two more occasions before being drastically reduced to 10 μg/dL in 1991, and it has remained at this level for the past twenty years.  That all may change, however, if the CDC examines the recent report from the National Toxicology Program, which suggests an even lower level of lead could be a dangerous threat.  The findings show that there is sufficient evidence that children with blood-lead levels of 5 μg/dL or even less, “are associated with increased diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), greater incidence of problem behaviors, and decreased cognitive performance as indicated by lower academic achievement,” (NTP 2011).

It is evident that even further precautions need to be taken to prevent exposing children to the threat of lead, despite whether or not the CDC takes action to lower the official blood-lead level of concern. Following the EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair & Painting, guidelines for renovations, as well as properly recognizing and abating lead hazards in homes is one way that we as contractors and trade professionals can lead this effort.

Greg Jaskowiak, Certified Lead Renovator, is a Primary Instructor and Course Developer at Green Education Services specializing in lead safety training.

From the White House Press Release:

“Upgrading the energy efficiency of America’s buildings is one of the fastest, easiest, and cheapest ways to save money, cut down on harmful pollution, and create good jobs right now.  But we can’t wait for Congress to act.  So today, I’m directing all federal agencies to make at least $2 billion worth of energy efficiency upgrades over the next 2 years – at no up-front cost to the taxpayer.  Coupled with today’s extraordinary private sector commitments of $2 billion to upgrade businesses, factories, and military housing, America is taking another big step towards the competitive, clean energy economy it will take to win the future,” said President Obama.

GBCI states that these requirements help LEED professionals to maintain their green building knowledge, and to keep up to date with current best practices of the industry.  The LEED CMP program is meant to ensure quality control amongst the growing body of LEED Green Associates and LEED APs. By ensuring a system to engage current LEED professionals in the most recent trends in green building and sustainable design, GBCI hopes that the various LEED credentials will continue to maintain their high integrity.

The Requirements

LEED AP’s must complete 30 continuing education hours every two years, six hours of which must be approved as “LEED-specific”.  LEED-specific courses are those in which the majority of the content deals in-depth with specific LEED processes, credits, case studies, updates, benefits, or best practices. The course must also be approved by an ERB (Education Review Body) such as GBCI.  LEED Green Associate’s must complete a biennial total of 15 continuing education hours, including 3 LEED-specific hours.

If you took the LEED AP exam prior to the addition of specialties in 2009 (under LEED v2), you do not need to comply with the CMP program, and will keep your credential indefinitely unless you decide to retest and add a specialty. 

LEED CMP Activities

There are eight types of maintenance activities that can be completed towards the CMP requirements: professional development courses (must be approved by USGBC or GBCI); live presentations; self- study programs, including reading; college and university courses; certificates, professional licenses, and credentials; committee and volunteer work; authorship; and LEED project participation.  However, some activities have limits on the maximum number of hours you can earn for that specific type.  For example, you can only report up to 10 CE hours towards LEED Project Participation.  Individuals can also renew their credential by re-taking the exam.  For a comprehensive chart of CMP activities visit www.greenedu.com/leed-cmp/.

LEED CMP Courses

One of the easiest ways to maintain your LEED credential is attending professional development & continuing education courses.  GBCI’s website contains a course catalog of approved CE courses. In addition, many providers offer the classes online for a convenient and economic way to comply.  For example, GreenEDU.com offers a catalog of over 50 hours of GBCI-Approved online CMP courses, including those that comply with the LEED-specific requirement.  Individuals can also purchased pre-bundled packages tailored to specific LEED credentials.

If an individual fails to comply with the CMP requirements within 24 months of passing the LEED exam, their credential will expire and the only option for renewal is through re-testing.  Therefore, it is of utmost importance as a LEED professional to understand and comply with the CMP requirements to avoid losing that hard-earned credential.

The 639,860 square-foot campus is located in downtown Seattle, across from the Space Needle. Taking advantage of the wet climate of Seattle in the form of water conservation is a huge part of the building’s design. A one-million-gallon rainwater storage tank is located underneath the campus. Water runoff is collected in the rainwater storage tank, cleaned of pollutants and filtered back into the campus for reflecting pools, irrigation and toilets. The campus’ potable water use is reduced by nearly 80 percent.

Additional green features of the campus include a roof-mounted solar energy system which provides energy for more than a third of the hot water use. Below the surface is a 750-thousand gallon water storage system that minimizes energy used to cool buildings by chilling stored water at night for recirculation during the day. The building’s overall energy use has been reduced by nearly 40 percent.

The building, which was originally completed this past spring, replaced what had been an asphalt parking lot. It returned what is said to be more than 40 percent of the site back to green space. Taking up nearly 640,000 square feet of space, this large-scale sustainable architecture project was designed by NBBJ and had originally been targeted for LEED Silver.

It is believed the initial investments made in what is seen as a 100 year, energy efficient building will pay for itself in less than 30 years. The project reportedly was able to recycle construction debris at a rate of 97 percent, while over 20 percent of the project was built with recycled content and regional materials. 21 subcontractors extracted and manufactured materials within 500 miles of the job site.

Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com

Though lead paint is assumed to be present in thousands of homes in Minneapolis and elsewhere across the country, the federal funds will pay to make an estimated 365 homes lead-safe, and another 675 homes will have safety repairs made to them, according to a recent article about the grant.

"It's not just an inner-city problem," said Melisa Illies, spokeswoman for the county project. "The inner-ring suburbs especially will also have these problems."

Elevated lead levels can pose serious health issues for anyone, but small children are especially at risk. It gets into their systems when they inadvertently ingest paint chips, or play with toys in which lead paint is used. At elevated levels, it can cause serious physical and mental damage and even death, particularly in young children.

The county plans to use the grants for abatement testing and evaluation and targeted buildings, and then work with owners and contractors to make the homes lead-safe, according to the article.

Since Hennepin County's lead prevention program began in 2003, the county has received more than $24 million in lead abatement grants from the federal government, matched with more than $15 million from local, state and private resources.

The county says it has created 1,900 lead-safe housing units, helped make about 1,500 homes lead-safe.

Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com

EPA has improved and updated its search tool for EPA-certified RRP firms, allowing the public to search by firm name, as well as by location. You can find the search tool at http://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/searchrrp_firm.htm. EPA-certified firms should encourage their potential customers to use this search tool to check the certification status of firms they are considering hiring.

In addition, EPA has updated its database of Frequent Question (FQ) about the RRP Rule to reflect recent regulatory changes that took effect on October 5, 2011. The searchable database is located at http://toxics.supportportal.com/link/portal/23002/23019/ArticleFolder/615/. In addition to the database, you can also find a searchable pdf version of the FQs at http://epa.gov/lead/pubs/rrp-faq.pdf.

Finally, EPA has issued a fact sheet describing how provisions of the RRP rule apply to repairs and renovations done in response to natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes. It is posted on EPA’s website at http://epa.gov/lead/pubs/rrp-disaster-fact-sheet.pdf.

• cost less to maintain, by 19%
  
• use less energy and water by 25%
• emit fewer carbon dioxide emissions, by 36%
• have more satisfied occupants, by 27%

The study was conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Find out more by reading the white paper.