PA Dedicates First "Gold Standard" Green Building in U.S.

EBENSBURG, Pennsylvania – Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David Hess
joined local residents, legislators and business leaders in Ebensburg to dedicate DEP’s Cambria
Office — the first building in the nation to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s "gold" standard.

The building was honored as the first building in the nation to meet the gold standard. The rating
system scores buildings based on the following criteria: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and
atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design.
Because of the design, more than 700 gallons of water is saved each day compared to conventional
buildings.

"The ‘green’ technology at work at our award-winning Cambria Office is further proof that the
environment and economy go hand in hand," said Secretary Hess. "[It] serves as yet another reminder
to private industry that it doesn’t have to cost more to help the environment."

DEP’s Cambria Office Building was designed using an integrated process to minimize redundancies
between systems and to maximize efficiency. The building was blended into the site to preserve
existing wetlands and trees. The building also features improved energy efficiency techniques, such as
a ground source heating and cooling supply that will also provide hot water. In addition, the building
has a 15-kilowatt solar panel system, which generates renewable energy that is being sold to Green
Mountain Energy to offset the cost of building energy use.

Materials used in the building were selected based on their recycled content and the energy used to
produce them, including recycled structural steel and roofing shingles, fly-ash-content concrete, and
paint and adhesives made of low or no volatile organic compounds.

The 34,500-square-foot building was designed by L. Robert Kimball & Associates/Kulp Boecker
Architects and built at a cost of $93 per square foot, similar to the cost of other conventional buildings
in the area.

The DEP Cambria office was also selected as one of the nation’s top 10 "design solutions that protect
and enhance the environment" by the American Institute of Architects.

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