In Connecticut, lawmakers have been quietly working to repair a 2007 law with a similar aim that flummoxed regulators attempting to enact it.
The Connecticut General Assembly is considering a bill that would revise the state building code to include energy and green-building standards for new construction or renovation above certain thresholds.
The bill would replace a 2007 law that lawmakers freely admit missed the mark, written in language that made it difficult for the state building inspector to incorporate with existing regulations.
Without a fix, real-estate professionals say, any push toward green construction could be waylaid by ongoing confusion over the existing statute.
“I think in these times the last thing we need as we come out of this recession is something that”™s putting a choke hold on economic development through renovations and expansions,” said Joseph Wrinn, vice president of the Danbury-based Goodfellow Cos., who testified on the issue on behalf of the Connecticut Association of Realtors and the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors.
In March, Rell pushed for a new law that would require the state to adopt strict new regulations for the construction or renovation of state-owned buildings, with an eye on reducing energy consumption and costs.
The prospective law is based on principles articulated by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program run by the U.S. Green Building Council, founded by Richard Fedrizzi, former United Technologies Corp. manager. The Rell law would require building designers to:
Ӣ situate facilities near public transportation;
Ӣ improve building energy efficiency more than 20 percent above the existing code;
Ӣ cut water flow from fixtures 20 percent;
Ӣ install only appliances that comply with federal Energy Star standards;
Ӣ use coatings that have low volatile organic compound emissions;
Ӣ cut landscaping water use by half using systems to capture or recycle rain and wastewater;
Ӣ use materials manufactured within 500 miles of the construction site; and
Ӣ consider brownfield sites requiring decontamination.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency already included Connecticut and just two other states on the latest installment of its quarterly list of the top purchasers of “green” power from renewable sources, with California-based Intel Corp. and Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. topping the list.
When it comes to environmental requirements in its building code, however, the state ranks in the bottom half nationally by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.
Still, more than 40 buildings in Connecticut carry the federal Energy Star label, including 16 in Fairfield County, several of those in the Merritt 7 Office Park in Norwalk.
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund announced last month they are studying ways to accelerate the growth prospects for Connecticut”™s green-collar industry.
Last month, the U.S Department of Energy announced more than $5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Fairfield County municipalities to improve energy efficiency, including for energy audits and retrofit work in buildings; and development of advanced building codes and inspection regimens.
DOE made more than $100 million more available for Connecticut to help low-income families weatherize their homes by better insulating them, and for the purchase of energy-saving appliances.
Several groups are attempting to nudge the state along through various programs. The Connecticut Green Building Council is accepting submissions through April 24 for its second annual design awards, recognizing residential, commercial and public buildings either to be built in Connecticut, or designed by architects here.
In an ongoing series of seminars, the University of Hartford”™s Construction Institute has been examining emerging issues in green construction, including at a forum in late March at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport. On the agenda: how architects and engineers can answer the all important question posed by developers and building owners, particularly in a recession: “what”™s in it for me?”
Panelists included facilities managers from Yale University and Wesleyan University, and representatives of CB Richard Ellis and Hawthorne, N.Y.-based O’Dea, Lynch, Abbattista Consulting Engineers.
