42 USC 17095 - Cost-effective technology acceleration program

Collapse to view only § 17095. Cost-effective technology acceleration program

§ 17091. Leasing
§ 17092. High-performance green Federal buildings
§ 17093. Federal green building performance
§ 17094. Storm water runoff requirements for Federal development projects
§ 17095. Cost-effective technology acceleration program
§ 17096. Authorization of appropriations

§ 17091. Leasing

(a) In general

(b) Exception

(1) ApplicationThis subsection applies if—

(A) no space is available in a building described in subsection (a) that meets the functional requirements of an agency, including locational needs;

(B) the agency proposes to remain in a building that the agency has occupied previously;

(C) the agency proposes to lease a building of historical, architectural, or cultural significance (as defined in section 3306(a)(4) of title 40) or space in such a building; or

(D) the lease is for not more than 10,000 gross square feet of space.

(2) Buildings without Energy Star labelIf one of the conditions described in paragraph (1) is met, the agency may enter into a contract to lease space in a building that has not earned the Energy Star label in the most recent year if the lease contract includes provisions requiring that, prior to occupancy or, in the case of a contract described in paragraph (1)(B), not later than 1 year after signing the contract, the following requirements are met:

(A) The space is renovated for all energy efficiency and conservation improvements that would be cost effective over the life of the lease, including improvements in lighting, windows, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.

(B)

(i) Subject to clause (ii), the space is benchmarked under a nationally recognized, online, free benchmarking program, with public disclosure, unless the space is a space for which owners cannot access whole building utility consumption data, including spaces—(I) that are located in States with privacy laws that provide that utilities shall not provide such aggregated information to multitenant building owners; and(II) for which tenants do not provide energy consumption information to the commercial building owner in response to a request from the building owner.

(ii) A Federal agency that is a tenant of the space shall provide to the building owner, or authorize the owner to obtain from the utility, the energy consumption information of the space for the benchmarking and disclosure required by this subparagraph.

(1) In general

(2) Consultation

(Pub. L. 110–140, title IV, § 435, Dec. 19, 2007, 121 Stat. 1615; Pub. L. 114–11, title III, § 301(a), Apr. 30, 2015, 129 Stat. 189.)

§ 17092. High-performance green Federal buildings

(a) Establishment of OfficeNot later than 60 days after December 19, 2007, the Administrator shall establish within the General Services Administration an Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, and appoint an individual to serve as Federal Director in, a position in the career-reserved Senior Executive service, to—

(1) establish and manage the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; and

(2) carry out other duties as required under this part.

(b) Compensation

(1) coordinate the activities of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings with the activities of the Office of Commercial High-Performance Green Buildings, and the Secretary, in accordance with section 6834(a)(3)(D) of this title;

(2) ensure full coordination of high-performance green building information and activities within the General Services Administration and all relevant agencies, including, at a minimum—

(A) the Environmental Protection Agency;

(B) the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive;

(D) the Department of Energy;

(E) the Department of Health and Human Services;

(F) the Department of Defense;

(G) the Department of Transportation;

(H) the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and

(I) the Office of Science and Technology Policy;

(3) establish a senior-level Federal Green Building Advisory Committee under section 474,1

1 See References in Text note below.

which shall provide advice and recommendations in accordance with that section and subsection (d);

(4) identify and every 5 years reassess improved or higher rating standards recommended by the Advisory Committee;

(5) ensure full coordination, dissemination of information regarding, and promotion of the results of research and development information relating to Federal high-performance green building initiatives;

(6) identify and develop Federal high-performance green building standards for all types of Federal facilities, consistent with the requirements of this part and section 6834(a)(3)(D) of this title;

(7) establish green practices that can be used throughout the life of a Federal facility;

(8) review and analyze current Federal budget practices and life-cycle costing issues, and make recommendations to Congress, in accordance with subsection (d); and

(9) identify opportunities to demonstrate innovative and emerging green building technologies and concepts.

(d) Additional dutiesThe Federal Director, in consultation with the Commercial Director and the Advisory Committee, and consistent with the requirements of section 6834(a)(3)(D) of this title shall—

(1) identify, review, and analyze current budget and contracting practices that affect achievement of high-performance green buildings, including the identification of barriers to high-performance green building life-cycle costing and budgetary issues;

(2) develop guidance and conduct training sessions with budget specialists and contracting personnel from Federal agencies and budget examiners to apply life-cycle cost criteria to actual projects;

(3) identify tools to aid life-cycle cost decisionmaking; and

(4) explore the feasibility of incorporating the benefits of high-performance green buildings, such as security benefits, into a cost-budget analysis to aid in life-cycle costing for budget and decisionmaking processes.

(e) IncentivesWithin 90 days after December 19, 2007, the Federal Director shall identify incentives to encourage the expedited use of high-performance green buildings and related technology in the operations of the Federal Government, in accordance with the requirements of section 6834(a)(3)(D) of this title, including through—

(1) the provision of recognition awards; and

(2) the maximum feasible retention of financial savings in the annual budgets of Federal agencies for use in reinvesting in future high-performance green building initiatives.

(f) ReportNot later than 2 years after December 19, 2007, and biennially thereafter, the Federal Director, in consultation with the Secretary, shall submit to Congress a report that—

(1) describes the status of compliance with this part, the requirements of section 6834(a)(3)(D) of this title, and other Federal high-performance green building initiatives in effect as of the date of the report, including—

(A) the extent to which the programs are being carried out in accordance with this part and the requirements of section 6834(a)(3)(D) of this title; and

(B) the status of funding requests and appropriations for those programs;

(2) identifies within the planning, budgeting, and construction process all types of Federal facility procedures that may affect the certification of new and existing Federal facilities as high-performance green buildings under the provisions of section 6834(a)(3)(D) of this title and the criteria established in subsection (h);

(3) identifies inconsistencies, as reported to the Advisory Committee, in Federal law with respect to product acquisition guidelines and high-performance product guidelines;

(4) recommends language for uniform standards for use by Federal agencies in environmentally responsible acquisition;

(5) in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, reviews the budget process for capital programs with respect to alternatives for—

(A) restructuring of budgets to require the use of complete energy and environmental cost accounting;

(B) using operations expenditures in budget-related decisions while simultaneously incorporating productivity and health measures (as those measures can be quantified by the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, with the assistance of universities and national laboratories);

(C) streamlining measures for permitting Federal agencies to retain all identified savings accrued as a result of the use of life-cycle costing for future high-performance green building initiatives; and

(D) identifying short-term and long-term cost savings that accrue from high-performance green buildings, including those relating to health and productivity;

(6) identifies green, self-sustaining technologies to address the operational needs of Federal facilities in times of national security emergencies, natural disasters, or other dire emergencies;

(7) summarizes and highlights development, at the State and local level, of high-performance green building initiatives, including executive orders, policies, or laws adopted promoting high-performance green building (including the status of implementation of those initiatives); and

(8) includes, for the 2-year period covered by the report, recommendations to address each of the matters, and a plan for implementation of each recommendation, described in paragraphs (1) through (7).

(g) Implementation

(h) Identification of certification system

(1) In general

(2) BasisThe system identified under paragraph (1) shall be based on—

(A) a study completed every 5 years and provided to the Secretary pursuant to section 6834(a)(3)(D) of this title, which shall be carried out by the Federal Director to compare and evaluate standards;

(B) the ability and availability of assessors and auditors to independently verify the criteria and measurement of metrics at the scale necessary to implement this part;

(D) the ability of the standard to be developed and revised through a consensus-based process;

(E) an evaluation of the robustness of the criteria for a high-performance green building, which shall give credit for promoting—

(i) efficient and sustainable use of water, energy, and other natural resources;

(ii) use of renewable energy sources;

(iii) 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;

(iv) reduced impacts from transportation through building location and site design that promote access by public transportation; and

(v) such other criteria as the Federal Director determines to be appropriate; and

(F) national recognition within the building industry.

(Pub. L. 110–140, title IV, § 436, Dec. 19, 2007, 121 Stat. 1616.)

§ 17093. Federal green building performance

(a) In general

Not later than October 31 of each of the 2 fiscal years following the fiscal year in which this Act is enacted, and at such times thereafter as the Comptroller General of the United States determines to be appropriate, the Comptroller General of the United States shall, with respect to the fiscal years that have passed since the preceding report—

(1) conduct an audit of the implementation of this part, section 6834(a)(3)(D) of this title, and section 17091 of this title; and

(2) submit to the Federal Director, the Advisory Committee, the Administrator, and Congress a report describing the results of the audit.

(b) Contents

An audit under subsection (a) shall include a review, with respect to the period covered by the report under subsection (a)(2), of—

(1) budget, life-cycle costing, and contracting issues, using best practices identified by the Comptroller General of the United States and heads of other agencies in accordance with section 17092(d) of this title;

(2) the level of coordination among the Federal Director, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Energy, and relevant agencies;

(3) the performance of the Federal Director and other agencies in carrying out the implementation plan;

(4) the design stage of high-performance green building measures;

(5) high-performance building data that were collected and reported to the Office; and

(6) such other matters as the Comptroller General of the United States determines to be appropriate.

(Pub. L. 110–140, title IV, § 437, Dec. 19, 2007, 121 Stat. 1619.)

§ 17094. Storm water runoff requirements for Federal development projects

The sponsor of any development or redevelopment project involving a Federal facility with a footprint that exceeds 5,000 square feet shall use site planning, design, construction, and maintenance strategies for the property to maintain or restore, to the maximum extent technically feasible, the predeve

(Pub. L. 110–140, title IV, § 438, Dec. 19, 2007, 121 Stat. 1620.)

§ 17095. Cost-effective technology acceleration program

(a) Definition of Administrator

(b) Establishment

(1) In general

(2) RequirementsThe program established under this subsection shall—

(A) ensure centralized responsibility for the coordination of cost reduction-related recommendations, practices, and activities of all relevant Federal agencies;

(B) provide technical assistance and operational guidance to applicable tenants to achieve the goal identified in subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii);

(D) be fully coordinated with and no less stringent nor less energy-conserving or water-conserving than required by other provisions of this Act and other applicable law, including sections 321 through 324, 431 through 438, 461, 511 through 518, and 523 through 525 and amendments made by those sections.

(1) Review

(A) In generalAs part of the program under this section, not later than 90 days after December 19, 2007, the Administrator shall conduct a review of—

(i) current use of cost-effective lighting technologies and geothermal heat pumps in GSA facilities; and

(ii) the availability to managers of GSA facilities of cost-effective lighting technologies and geothermal heat pumps.

(B) RequirementsThe review under subparagraph (A) shall—

(i) examine the use of cost-effective lighting technologies, geothermal heat pumps, and other cost-effective technologies and practices by Federal agencies in GSA facilities; and

(ii) as prepared in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, identify cost-effective lighting technology and geothermal heat pump technology standards that could be used for all types of GSA facilities.

(2) Replacement

(A) In general

(B) Acceleration plan timetable

(i) In general

(ii) Goal

(d) GSA facility technologies and practices

(1) In generalNot later than 180 days after December 19, 2007, and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall—

(A) ensure that a manager responsible for implementing section 432 1 and for accelerating the use of cost-effective technologies and practices is designated for each GSA facility; and

(B) submit to Congress a plan to comply with section 432,1 this section, and other applicable provisions of this Act and applicable law with respect to energy and water conservation at GSA facilities.

(2) Measures

(3) Contents of planThe plan shall—

(A) with respect to cost-effective technologies and practices—

(i) identify the specific activities needed to comply with sections 431 through 435; 1

(ii) identify the specific activities needed to achieve at least a 20-percent reduction in operational costs through the application of cost-effective technologies and practices from 2003 levels at GSA facilities by not later than 5 years after December 19, 2007;

(iii) describe activities required and carried out to estimate the funds necessary to achieve the reduction described in clauses (i) and (ii);

(B) include an estimate of the funds necessary to carry out this section;

(i) the extent to which programs, including the program established under subsection (b), are being carried out in accordance with this part; and

(ii) the status of funding requests and appropriations for those programs;

(D) identify within the planning, budgeting, and construction processes, all types of GSA facility-related procedures that inhibit new and existing GSA facilities from implementing cost-effective technologies;

(E) recommend language for uniform standards for use by Federal agencies in implementing cost-effective technologies and practices;

(F) in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, review the budget process for capital programs with respect to alternatives for—

(i) implementing measures that will assure that Federal agencies retain all identified savings accrued as a result of the use of cost-effective technologies, consistent with section 8253(a)(1) of this title, and other applicable law; and

(ii) identifying short- and long-term cost savings that accrue from the use of cost-effective technologies and practices;

(G) with respect to cost-effective technologies and practices, achieve substantial operational cost savings through the application of the technologies; and

(H) include recommendations to address each of the matters, and a plan for implementation of each recommendation, described in subparagraphs (A) through (G).

(4) Administration

(e) Authorization of appropriations

(Pub. L. 110–140, title IV, § 439, Dec. 19, 2007, 121 Stat. 1620.)

§ 17096. Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out sections 434 through 439 and 482 1

1 See References in Text note below.

$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, to remain available until expended.

(Pub. L. 110–140, title IV, § 440, Dec. 19, 2007, 121 Stat. 1623.)