Upcoming Municipal Green Construction Code

  By Marc Karell, P.E., CEM, Principal, Climate Change & Environmental Services, LLC

The International Code Council (ICC) is in the process of rolling out final standards for Green Construction, called International Green Construction Codes (IgCC), in March 2012 (www.iccsafe.org/cs/IGCC). The IgCC is intended to be an enforceable code for municipalities to seamlessly adopt and enforce for future "green" building construction should a municipality or state wish to amend its building code to require "green" standards to be met. It is intended to provide achievable standards that would reduce the negative impacts of the built environment on the natural environment. This could reduce future costs to a municipality of potential adverse effects, such as flooding. The IgCC is not intended to be a rating system or to replace LEED. Points would not be accumulated. It is meant as minimum requirements for future design and construction and to drive the building industry toward more green construction to be focused and enforceable by municipal Dept of Buildings officers.

The IgCC will contain a "model" code which municipalities can adopt or modify. There are also unique regional requirements. There will likely be two levels of standards, a "green" building and a more chalenging "high performing" standard. IgCC contains ANSI/ASHRAE 189.1 as a compliance option. Minimum standards in IgCC include:

• Energy use conservation and efficiency (zEPI for large buildings, sub-metering)
• Water use conservation and efficiency (rain harvesting, plumbing, irrigation stds.)
• Indoor environmental quality (indoor air quality, HVAC stds., materials use)
• Materials and resource conservation (waste management planning, recycling)
• Site development and land use (protection of parklands, agriculture, floodplains)
• Operations & maintenance (building maintenance stds., building user education).

IgCC will contain separate standards for new and for refurbishing existing buildings. Commissioning will be required for most projects.

The ICC is expected to publish the "green" standards final in March 2012. They plan on upgrading them every 4-5 years, but will do the first upgrade earlier, based on the early results of adoption of these standards in municipalities. Will this become the norm for all or many states or municipalities? This is hard to say, but diverse places, such as the States of Maryland, Rhode Island, and Oregon and Cities of Phoenix and Boynton Beach, FL have already passed resolutions stating it will adopt the final IgCC standards as mandatory when published. Plus others are "on the fence" waiting for the final standards to be published to review and decide. Therefore, building owners and builders should prepare to understand and potentially comply with these standards.

CCES can help your facility prepare an analysis of the impacts of IgCC on your future buildings and strategize cost-effective options to comply with such codes in your area.

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CCES technical experts can help your facilities prepare for the Tailoring Rule and how they currently impact future facility expansions and your Title V Permit.

Reprinted with permission by CCES.

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