DENVER-
The Environmental Protection Agency’s new “green” building in downtown Denver shows the agency is “walking the walk” on the environment, said Stephen Johnson, the agency’s administrator.
Johnson helped mark the official opening of the new regional EPA headquarters. The nine-story, 292,000-square-foot building is expected to use 40 percent less energy than similar-sized buildings.
Wind-power purchases will offset 100 percent of the building’s electricity. Rooftop solar panels generate electricity that feeds into the grid and is enough to supply five homes for a year. A rooftop garden will help absorb heat and filter rain water.
“At EPA we’re not just talking the talk, we really are walking the walk by this building,” said Johnson, as employees looked down on the lobby from balconies on the floors above.
The EPA is seeking the second-highest ranking from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system, or LEED, which is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. The nonprofit group, a building industry coalition, encourages construction that promotes human and environmental health, uses less energy and water, emits less pollution and conserves materials.
The $90 million EPA building, developed and leased to the agency by Minneapolis-based Opus Northwest LLC, has energy-efficient equipment, workstations built with sound-absorbing material and insulated glass to filter sunlight and reduce heat.
About 750 EPA employees and contractors work in the building. They began moving into their new offices from a building a few blocks away in late December.
The regional EPA office oversees six states: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
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