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Washington Sets Green Building Standards for State Facilities

Governor Christine Gregoire recently signed the high performance green building bill, making Washington the first state with a law requiring new public buildings to meet "green building" standards of energy efficiency, water conservation, and other environmental standards. Under the new law, all major new public agency facilities exceeding 5,000 square feet, including school buildings receiving state funding, will be required to meet the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

According to Washington’s State Board of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction, use of sustainable building designs result in:

* Twenty percent annual savings in energy costs,
* Twenty percent reduction in water costs,
* Thirty-eight percent reduction in waste water,
* Twenty-two percent reduction in construction waste,
* potential reduction in student absenteeism,
* potential 5 percent decrease in teacher turnover rates, and
* potential 5 to 26 percent improvements in standardized test scores.

Related Links:

* US Green Building Council’s LEED Standards http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19

* Governor Gregoire’s press release http://access.wa.gov/news/2005/Apr/n200538_6003.aspx

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