What is LEED ® ? The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. LEED provides a roadmap for measuring and documenting success for every building type and phase of a building lifecycle. Specific LEED programs include: Sustainable sites 14 possible points. Water efficiency: 5 possible Energy & Atmosphere 17 possible Materials & Resources 13 possible Indoor environmental quality 15 possible Innovation in Design 5 possible Certified 26 – 32 points Silver 33 – 38 Gold 39 – 51 Platinum
Transcript
What is LEED®?
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
LEED provides a roadmap for measuring and documenting success for every building type and phase of a building lifecycle. Specific LEED programs include:
Civil law – regulates relations between individuals or between individuals & corporations. Civil cases are decided by a preponderance of evidence vs. criminal where decisions are unanimous. There is no jail time.
Common law is custom & a body of previous court decisions where no particular statute exists.
Tort law – seeks compensation for damages. Tort = injury.
*Many groups sue the government for not enforcing laws instead of a large corporation that has “deep pockets”.
Environmental groups have been very successful in asking courts to stop logging & mining or enforce implementation of the endangered species act or clean air or water regulations.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW – a special body of rules, decisions, & actions concerning environmental quality, natural resources, & ecological sustainability. Laws are summarized on page 218.
Statute law – formal documents or decrees enacted by the legislative branch of government declaring, commanding, or prohibiting something. It represents the formal will of the legislature.
Case law – derived from court decisions in both civil & criminal cases.
Administrative law – executive orders, administrative rules & regulations, & enforcement decisions in which statutes passed by the legislature are interpreted in specific applications & individual cases.
LawsLaws written by Congress provide the authority for EPA to write regulations.Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, More Law Summaries
RegulationsRegulations explain the technical, operational, and legal details necessary to implement laws.
Compliance & EnforcementEPA helps regulated entities meet federal requirements, and holds entities legally accountable for environmental violations.
Policy & GuidanceEPA issues policy and guidance documents to assist the public and regulated entities.
SWBAT distinguish between different types of law, laws & mitigation.
List the different laws that we’ve learned throughout the year.
Administrative law – The executive branch.
More than 100 federal agencies & thousands of state & local boards & commissions have environmental oversight. They have power to set rules, adjudicate disputes, & investigate misconduct.
EPA is a cabinet-level department with the primary responsibility for protecting environmental quality. It was established in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.
Alternative to litigation:
1. Arbitration is a formal process of dispute resolution & results in a legally binding decision but not a precedent. The arbitrator is formally trained.
2. Mediation is a process where disputants sit down & talk but the mediator is merely a facilitator. It can be quicker & cheaper than law suits but it doesn’t generate publicity or binding decisions.
Community based planning works with local groups & involves all stakeholders. Green plans: Comprehensive, long-range national environmental strategies.
Example: Atlantic Coastal Action program in Eastern Canada to restore & maintain harbors.
Dutch Green Plan: 1. Environmental quality will not deteriorate. 2. Abatement at the source rather than clean up pollution. 3. The polluter pays. 4. Prevent unnecessary pollution. 5. Application of best practicable means for pollution control. 6. Carefully controlled waste disposal. 7. Motivate people to
behave responsibly.
* SLAPP – Strategic Lawsuits Against Political Participation are suits brought against environmental groups sued in retaliation or as a first strike because these law suits are so expensive that they are meant to be a chilling deterrent.
The cornerstone of environmental Law is NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) of 1970.It authorizes:
1. Authorizes the Council on Environmental Quality. 2. Directs federal agencies to environmental consequences
into account.3. Requires Environmental Impact Statement( EIS) to be
prepared for every major federal project that will significantly impact the environment?
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 Protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation." The U.S. Supreme Court found that "the plain intent of Congress in enacting" the ESA "was to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost." The Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The major parts of the Clean Air Act.
1963, 1970, 1990 & 1997
1963: A pool of money to be used by the states to set limits & regulate air pollution.
1970: Set specific standards for the criteria pollutants, (Also the EPA was established to not only set standards but also enforce them.)
1997: Proposed lowering troposheric ozone from 0.12 ppm to 0.08 ppm. Lowering soot & dust from 10 microns to 2.5 microns & therefore requiring factories & powerplants to clean up emissions.
WATER LAWSWATER LAWS
1972 Clean Water Act1972 Clean Water Act: Goal was to make all U.S. surface waters “fishable & swimmable”. To restore & maintain the chemical, physical, & biological integrity of the Nation’s waters. It regulates everything from urban runoff, industrial discharges, & municipal sewage treatment to land-use practices & wetland drainage.
Best Practicable Control Technology BPT:Best Practicable Control Technology BPT: Required for specific point sources of pollution like sewage outfalls & industrial discharge.
Best Available, economically achievable TechnologyBest Available, economically achievable Technology: For toxic substances & requires zero discharge for 126 priority toxics.
OTHER IMPORTANT LEGISLATION:
Safe Drinking Water Act 1972: Safe Drinking Water Act 1972: to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S. This law focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use, whether from above ground or underground sources.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), enacted in 1976, is the principal Federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.
*Protect health & environment.
*Reduce the amount of waste generated.
•Manage wastes in an environmentally sound manner.
•RCRA tracks the progress of hazardous wastes from their point of generation, their transport, and their treatment and/or disposal. Due to the extensive tracking elements at all points of the life of the hazardous waste, the overall process has become known as the "cradle to grave" system.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, was enacted by Congress on December 11, 1980. established prohibitions and requirements concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste sites;
•provided for liability of persons responsible for releases of hazardous waste at these sites; and
•established a trust fund to provide for cleanup when no responsible party could be identified.
The law authorizes two kinds of response actions:
•Short-term removals, where actions may be taken to address releases or threatened releases requiring prompt response.
•Long-term remedial response actions, that permanently and significantly reduce the dangers associated with releases or threats of releases of hazardous substances that are serious, but not immediately life threatening. These actions can be conducted only at sites listed on EPA's National Priorities List(NPL).
•A tax on chemical & petroleum industries generated $1.6 billion.
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) amended the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) on October 17, 1986. SARA reflected EPA's experience in administering the complex Superfund program during its first six years and made several important changes and additions to the program. SARA:
•stressed the importance of permanent remedies and innovative treatment technologies in cleaning up hazardous waste sites;
•required Superfund actions to consider the standards and requirements found in other State and Federal environmental laws and regulations;
•provided new enforcement authorities and settlement tools;
•increased State involvement in every phase of the Superfund program;
•increased the focus on human health problems posed by hazardous waste sites;
•encouraged greater citizen participation in making decisions on how sites should be cleaned up; and
•increased the size of the trust fund to $8.5 billion.
•Superfund is now broke.
. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (Public Law 107-118 [H.R. 2869]) was signed into law January 11, 2002. The focus of this act is to provide relief for small businesses from liability under CERCLA of 1980, and to amend CERCLA to promote the cleanup and reuse of Brownfields, to provide financial assistance for Brownfields revitalization, to enhance State response programs, and for other purposes.Brownfield redevelopment can benefit both private investors and the communities in which they are located. For the private sector, Brownfields redevelopment can mean new business opportunities, the potential for profit on unused or under-utilized properties, improved community and environmental stewardship, and access to untapped urban markets. The public sector can benefit from an increased number of employment opportunities, increased local and state tax revenues, improvements in the community’s quality of life, and a reduction in urban sprawl.
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) requires restoration of the shape of the land and Re-vegitation to minimize impacts on local surface & ground water.
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) provides the basis for regulation, sale, distribution and use of pesticides in the U.S. FIFRA authorizes EPA to review and register pesticides for specified uses. EPA also has the authority to suspend or cancel the registration of a pesticide if subsequent information shows that continued use would pose unreasonable risks.
COUNCIL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Environmental Policy.
Agency coordination.
Environmental impact statements.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCYBorn in the wake of elevated concern about environmental pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opened its doors in downtown Washington, D.C., on December 2, 1970. EPA was established to consolidate in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. EPA's mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment—air, water, and land—upon which life depends.
For more than 30 years, the EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.From regulating auto emissions to banning the use of DDT; from cleaning up toxic waste to protecting the ozone layer; from increasing recycling to revitalizing inner-city brownfields, EPA's achievements have resulted in cleaner air, purer water, and better protected land.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Endangered species, Energy, Minerals, National Parks
Public landsThe Department of the Interior (DOI) is the nation's principal conservation agency. Its mission is to protect America's natural resources, offer recreation opportunities, conduct scientific research, conserve and protect fish and wildlife, and honor our trust responsibilities to American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and our responsibilities to island communities.DOI manages 500 million acres of surface land, or about one-fifth of the land in the United States, and manages hundreds of dams and reservoirs. Agencies within the DOI include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Minerals Management Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The DOI manages the national parks and is tasked with protecting endangered species.1st National Park – Yellowstone in 1872 by President Ulysses Grant
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Soil & Forestry
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) develops and executes policy on farming, agriculture, and food. Its aims include meeting the needs of farmers and ranchers, promoting agricultural trade and production, assuring food safety, protecting natural resources, fostering rural communities, and ending hunger in America and abroad.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYEnergy policy & Petroleum allocation.
The mission of the Department of Energy (DOE) is to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.The DOE promotes America's energy security by encouraging the development of reliable, clean, and affordable energy. It administers federal funding for scientific research to further the goal of discovery and innovation — ensuring American economic competitiveness and improving the quality of life for Americans.The DOE is also tasked with ensuring America's nuclear security, and with protecting the environment by providing a responsible resolution to the legacy of nuclear weapons production.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Airplane noise, Mass transit, Oil pollution, Roads.
The mission of the Department of Transportation (DOT) is to ensure a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people.Organizations within the DOT include the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Maritime Administration.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Agreements.
The Department of Commerce is the government agency tasked with improving living standards for all Americans by promoting economic development and technological innovation.The department supports U.S. business and industry through a number of services, including gathering economic and demographic data, issuing patents and trademarks, improving understanding of the environment and oceanic life, and ensuring the effective use of scientific and technical resources. The agency also formulates telecommunications and technology policy, and promotes U.S. exports by assisting and enforcing international trade agreements.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Housing, Urban parks, Urban planning
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE – Environmental litigation.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE – Civil works construction, dredge & fill permits, pollution control from defense facilities.
SPECIAL COMMISSIONS AND CORPERATIONS
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Licensing & regulation of nuclear power.
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY – Electric power generation.
