GSA's Analysis of the Alignment of LEED v4 With Federal Green Building Requirements, 2935-2937 [2015-00861]
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<![CDATA[
2935
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 2015 / Notices
Original
threshold
(million $)
Subsection of 7A
Section
Section
Section
Section
7A
7A
7A
7A
note:
note:
note:
note:
Assessment
Assessment
Assessment
Assessment
and
and
and
and
Collection
Collection
Collection
Collection
of
of
of
of
Any reference to these thresholds and
related thresholds and limitation values
in the HSR rules (16 CFR parts 801–803)
and the Antitrust Improvements Act
Notification and Report Form and its
Instructions will also be adjusted, where
indicated by the term ‘‘(as adjusted)’’, as
follows:
Original
threshold
Adjusted
threshold
(million $)
$10 million ............................
$50 million ............................
$100 million ..........................
$110 million ..........................
$200 million ..........................
$500 million ..........................
$1 billion ...............................
$15.3
76.3
152.5
167.8
305.1
762.7
1,525.3
Filing
Filing
Filing
Filing
Fees 1 (3)(b)(1) .................................................................
Fees (3)(b)(2) ....................................................................
Fees (3)(b)(2) ....................................................................
Fees (3)(b)(3) ....................................................................
Section 8(a)(1), and $3,108,400 for
Section 8(a)(2)(A).
DATES: Effective January 21, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James F. Mongoven, Federal Trade
Commission, Bureau of Competition,
Office of Policy and Coordination, (202)
326–2879.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 19(a)(5).
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015–00929 Filed 1–20–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
GENERAL SERVICES
ADMINISTRATION
[Notice–MG–2014–04; Docket No. 2014–
0002; Sequence No. 25]
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
GSA’s Analysis of the Alignment of
LEED v4 With Federal Green Building
Requirements
[FR Doc. 2015–00933 Filed 1–20–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
Office of Federal HighPerformance Green Buildings; Office of
Government-wide Policy (OGP), General
Services Administration (GSA).
ACTION: Request for information.
AGENCY:
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Revised Jurisdictional Thresholds for
Section 8 of the Clayton Act
Federal Trade Commission.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Federal Trade
Commission announces the revised
thresholds for interlocking directorates
required by the 1990 amendment of
Section 8 of the Clayton Act. Section 8
prohibits, with certain exceptions, one
person from serving as a director or
officer of two competing corporations if
two thresholds are met. Competitor
corporations are covered by Section 8 if
each one has capital, surplus, and
undivided profits aggregating more than
$10,000,000, with the exception that no
corporation is covered if the competitive
sales of either corporation are less than
$1,000,000. Section 8(a)(5) requires the
Federal Trade Commission to revise
those thresholds annually, based on the
change in gross national product. The
new thresholds, which take effect
immediately, are $31,084,000 for
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
1 Public Law 106–553, Sec. 630(b) amended Sec.
18a note.
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Jkt 235001
GSA is seeking public input
on its analysis of the latest version of
the U.S. Green Building Council’s
(USGBC) Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED v4) green
building certification system and its
alignment with Federal green building
requirements. GSA is also seeking
public input on several questions
related to the Government’s use of LEED
v4 and future GSA reviews of green
building certification systems.
GSA used the findings from its
supplemental review to consult with
other Federal agencies in the EISA
436(h) Interagency Ad-hoc Discussion
Group (Interagency Discussion Group)
on the Federal Government’s use of
LEED v4. GSA will be using the
deliberations from the Interagency
Discussion Group as well as public
input from this Federal Register notice
and a to-be-scheduled public listening
session to augment GSA’s October 25,
2013 recommendation to the Secretary
of Energy. The information being asked
for in this notice is not for the purpose
SUMMARY:
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100
100
500
500
Adjusted
threshold
(million $)
152.5
152.5
762.7
762.7
of a proposed GSA rulemaking or a GSA
regulation.
DATES: Interested parties should submit
written comments by one of the
methods shown below on or before
March 23, 2015 to be considered in the
formation of GSA’s updated
recommendation to the Secretary of
Energy.
Submit comments in
response to Notice–MG–2014–04 by any
of the following methods:
• Regulations.gov: https://
www.regulations.gov. Submit comments
via the Federal eRulemaking portal by
searching for ‘‘Notice–MG–2014–04’’.
Select the link ‘‘Comment Now’’ that
corresponds with ‘‘Notice–MG–2014–
04’’. Follow the instructions provided
on the screen. Please include your
name, company name (if any), and
‘‘Notice–MG–2014–04’’ on your
attached document.
• Fax: 202–501–4067.
• Email: bryan.steverson@gsa.gov.
• Mail: General Services
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat
(MVCB), ATTN: Ms. Flowers, 1800 F
Street NW., Washington, DC 20405.
Instructions: Please submit comments
only and cite Notice–MG–2014–04, in
all correspondence related to this case.
All comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal and/or business confidential
information provided. Visit https://
www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview for
more information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Bryan Steverson, Program Advisor, GSA
Sustainability and Green Buildings, at
telephone 202–501–6115 or email
bryan.steverson@gsa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request For Public Input: GSA is
seeking public input on questions that
arose during the Interagency Discussion
Group meetings:
1. GSA is seeking public input on
what LEED v4 credits agencies should
consider focusing on. In its 2013
recommendations, GSA recommended
that agencies should focus on achieving
those credits or points that align with
federal green building requirements. In
discussions with the Interagency
Discussion Group, agencies believed
ADDRESSES:
E:\FR\FM\21JAN1.SGM
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2936
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 2015 / Notices
that GSA should avoid making
recommendations on specific credits
agencies would be required to pursue if
using LEED v4, and that any credit
prioritization or requirement should be
left up to the discretion of each
department or agency. The Ad-hoc
Discussion Group also believed GSA
should develop guidance that maps
LEED v4 credits to federal green
building requirements in order to
inform agencies as to those credits that
agencies could achieve to determine
conformance with federal green
building requirements.
2. While several agencies, GSA
included, have had subject matter
experts participate on technical
committees and other advisory roles for
green building certification systems in
either their development or
implementation, how else can the
Federal Government better contribute
and collaborate with green building
certification system owners to ensure
that the Federal Government’s voice is
heard in both the system development
process and in the overall effort to push
the built-environment to be more
sustainable?
In order to improve future green
building certification system reviews,
GSA would like to seek public input on
several questions on how to strengthen
the analysis and improve GSA’s review
process:
3. While GSA believes its analysis
provides a good source of information
for other agencies and the public at
large, GSA would like input on where
GSA’s future certification system
reviews could be stronger. In its
supplemental analysis of LEED v4, GSA
used the same criteria and methodology
as it used in its 2012 green building
certification system study. GSA had this
analysis peer reviewed by other federal
agencies, private sector high
performance green building experts and
notable members of academia as well as
the U.S. Green Building Council.
4. GSA is seeking public input on
other ways to visually illustrate
certification system alignment with
Federal green building requirements.
During the peer review process for
GSA’s supplemental analysis of LEED
v4, several peer reviewers suggested
GSA should revisit how it visually
illustrates certification system
alignment with Federal green building
requirements in Table 1 (page vii) and
Table 3–1 (page 3–6) of the report
(available at https://www.gsa.gov/
gbcertificationreview). The tables show
several differently shaded circles that
are defined as follows:
Full Circle—Federal requirement met
automatically because certification
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:58 Jan 20, 2015
Jkt 235001
system includes prerequisite that fully
aligns with the Federal requirement;
Three-quarters circle—Certification
system has a credit that meets the
Federal requirement;
Half-circle—Certification system has a
credit that is related to, but not
specifically aligned with, the Federal
requirement;
Empty circle—Federal requirement is
not an identified component within the
certification system.
5. GSA is seeking comment on how
GSA and the Federal Government can
better carry out its responsibilities in
Section 436(h) of EISA, and do so in
‘‘real-time’’. During GSA’s 2012 review
of green building certification systems,
both Green Globes and LEED were in
the process of being revised. GSA’s
recommendation number five (from
GSA’s October 25, 2013 letter to the
Secretary of Energy) suggested that a
process be established to keep current
with revisions to green building
certification systems and to review
certification systems once they have
been released to the public. While GSA
still believes this process is critical in
staying current with the evolving green
building certification system
marketplace, the reviews GSA conducts
have proven to be time-consuming, and,
in some cases, have overlapped with a
release of a new version to a
certification system not part of that
current review.
Background
GSA is seeking public input on its
analysis of LEED v4 and its alignment
with Federal green building
requirements. Section 436(h) of the
Energy Independence and Security Act
of 2007 (EISA, Pub. L. 110–140) requires
the Director of GSA’s Office of Federal
High-Performance Green Buildings to
evaluate green building certification
systems every five years and to identify
a system and certification level that
‘‘will be most likely to encourage a
comprehensive and environmentally
sound approach to the certification of
green federal buildings’’. EISA requires
the GSA Administrator to provide a
recommendation to the Secretary of
Energy, who then consults with the
Secretary of Defense and the GSA
Administrator, to identify the system(s)
appropriate for use in the Federal sector.
In October 2013, GSA recommended
that agencies, if they choose to use a
green building certification system, use
one of two certification systems as best
suited to agency missions and portfolio
needs: The Green Building Initiative’s
Green Globes and USGBC’s LEED
v2009. GSA submitted additional
recommendations on how the
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Government should stay involved with
green building certification systems as
they evolve over time, including the
establishment of a process to keep
current with revisions to green building
certification systems.
In November 2013, the USGBC
released an updated version of LEED,
LEED v4, for use in the marketplace. In
keeping with its recommendation, GSA
completed a supplemental review of
LEED v4 in August 2014 and focused
the analysis on LEED v4 BD+C: New
Construction, LEED v4 O+M: Existing
Buildings, and LEED v4 ID+C:
Commercial Interiors. GSA considered
this review a supplement to its previous
2012 study (found at https://
www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview) and
used the same criteria and methodology
in its evaluation of LEED v4. While no
recommendations are offered in the
supplemental study, the analysis shows
that LEED v4 aligns well with Federal
green building requirements. For a copy
of the analysis and associated
appendices, please visit https://
www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview.
In recognition that there was a high
level of interest in the green building
certification system review, both within
and outside the Federal sector, GSA
asked the Department of Energy (DOE)
and the Department of Defense (DoD) to
co-chair an Interagency Discussion
Group to discuss the Federal
Government’s use of LEED v4. The
Interagency Discussion Group included
representatives from major Federal real
estate portfolio holders, including GSA,
the DoD, the DOE, the Department of
Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the
Department of State (DOS), the
Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS), the Department of
Interior (DOI), the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), and the
Department of Justice (DOJ). The
Interagency Discussion Group met two
times in September and October 2014 to
discuss the Federal Government’s
potential use of LEED v4, credits within
LEED v4 that agencies should focus on,
and the need for guidance that maps
LEED v4 credits to Federal green
building requirements.
It should be noted that on October 14,
2014, the U.S. DOE published its final
rule that formally identifies criteria that
green building certification systems
must meet in order to be used by the
Federal Government. This GSA request
for information is not for the purposes
of that final rulemaking, but to inform
GSA on its related responsibilities to
study green building certification
systems and recommend ones to the
DOE that may fit within the framework
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of the final rule. DOE’s final rule can be
found at https://www.regulations.gov
(docket number EE–RM/STD–02–112 or
RIN number 1904–AC13).
Dated: January 13, 2015.
Kevin Kampschroer,
Federal Director, Office of Federal HighPerformance Green Buildings, Office of
Government-wide Policy, U.S. General
Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015–00861 Filed 1–20–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820–14–P
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICE
Medicare Payment Advisory
Commission Nominations
Government Accountability
Office (GAO).
ACTION: Notice on letters of nomination.
AGENCY:
The Balanced Budget Act of
1997 established the Medicare Payment
Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and
gave the Comptroller General
responsibility for appointing its
members. For appointments to MedPAC
that will be effective May 1, 2015, I am
announcing the following: Letters of
nomination and resumes should be
submitted by March 13, 2015 to ensure
adequate opportunity for review and
consideration of nominees prior to the
appointment of new members.
ADDRESSES:
Email: MedPACappointments@
gao.gov
Mail: U.S. GAO, Attn: MedPAC
Appointments, 441 G Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20548
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
GAO Office of Public Affairs, (202) 512–
4800.
42 U.S.C. 1395b–6.
SUMMARY:
Gene L. Dodaro,
Comptroller General of the United States.
[FR Doc. 2015–00759 Filed 1–20–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1610–02–M
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Public Meeting of the Presidential
Commission for the Study of
Bioethical Issues
Presidential Commission for
the Study of Bioethical Issues, Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Health,
Office of the Secretary, Department of
Health and Human Services,
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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Jkt 235001
ACTION:
Notice of meeting.
The Presidential Commission
for the Study of Bioethical Issues (the
Commission) will conduct its twentieth
meeting on February 5–6, 2015. At this
meeting, the Commission will conclude
discussions related to the BRAIN
Initiative and ongoing work in
neuroscience, and begin discussions
about the ethical considerations and
implications of public health emergency
response with a focus on the current
Ebola virus disease epidemic.
DATES: The meeting will take place
Thursday, February 5, 2015, from 9 a.m.
to approximately 5:30 p.m., and Friday,
February 6, 2015, from 9 a.m. to
approximately 12 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Hamilton Crowne Plaza
Hotel, 1001 14th St. NW., Washington,
DC 20005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Hillary Wicai Viers, Communications
Director, Presidential Commission for
the Study of Bioethical Issues, 1425
New York Avenue NW., Suite C–100,
Washington, DC 20005. Telephone:
202–233–3960. Email: Hillary.Viers@
bioethics.gov. Additional information
may be obtained at www.bioethics.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant
to the Federal Advisory Committee Act
of 1972, Public Law 92–463, 5 U.S.C.
app. 2, notice is hereby given of the
twentieth meeting of the Commission.
The meeting will be open to the public
with attendance limited to space
available. The meeting will also be
webcast at www.bioethics.gov.
Under authority of Executive Order
13521, dated November 24, 2009, the
President established the Commission.
The Commission is an expert panel of
not more than 13 members who are
drawn from the fields of bioethics,
science, medicine, technology,
engineering, law, philosophy, theology,
or other areas of the humanities or
social sciences. The Commission
advises the President on bioethical
issues arising from advances in
biomedicine and related areas of science
and technology. The Commission seeks
to identify and promote policies and
practices that ensure scientific research,
health care delivery, and technological
innovation are conducted in a socially
and ethically responsible manner.
The main agenda items for the
Commission’s twentieth meeting are to
discuss the BRAIN Initiative and
ongoing work in neuroscience, and the
ethical considerations and implications
of public health emergency response
with a focus on the current Ebola virus
SUMMARY:
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2937
disease epidemic. The draft meeting
agenda and other information about the
Commission, including information
about access to the webcast, will be
available at www.bioethics.gov.
The Commission welcomes input
from anyone wishing to provide public
comment on any issue before it.
Respectful debate of opposing views
and active participation by citizens in
public exchange of ideas enhances
overall public understanding of the
issues at hand and conclusions reached
by the Commission. The Commission is
particularly interested in receiving
comments and questions during the
meeting that are responsive to specific
sessions. Written comments will be
accepted at the registration desk and
comment forms will be provided to
members of the public in order to write
down questions and comments for the
Commission as they arise. To
accommodate as many individuals as
possible, the time for each question or
comment may be limited. If the number
of individuals wishing to pose a
question or make a comment is greater
than can reasonably be accommodated
during the scheduled meeting, the
Commission may make a random
selection.
Written comments will also be
accepted in advance of the meeting and
are especially welcome. Please address
written comments by email to info@
bioethics.gov, or by mail to the
following address: Public Commentary,
Presidential Commission for the Study
of Bioethical Issues, 1425 New York
Avenue NW., Suite C–100, Washington,
DC 20005. Comments will be made
publicly available, including any
personally identifiable or confidential
business information that they contain.
Trade secrets should not be submitted.
Anyone planning to attend the
meeting who needs special assistance,
such as sign language interpretation or
other reasonable accommodations,
should notify Esther Yoo by telephone
at (202) 233–3960, or email at
Esther.Yoo@bioethics.gov in advance of
the meeting. The Commission will make
every effort to accommodate persons
who need special assistance.
Dated: January 5, 2015.
Lisa M. Lee,
Executive Director, Presidential Commission
for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
[FR Doc. 2015–00801 Filed 1–20–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150–28–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2935-2937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00861]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
[Notice-MG-2014-04; Docket No. 2014-0002; Sequence No. 25]
GSA's Analysis of the Alignment of LEED v4 With Federal Green
Building Requirements
AGENCY: Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Office of
Government-wide Policy (OGP), General Services Administration (GSA).
ACTION: Request for information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: GSA is seeking public input on its analysis of the latest
version of the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED v4) green building certification
system and its alignment with Federal green building requirements. GSA
is also seeking public input on several questions related to the
Government's use of LEED v4 and future GSA reviews of green building
certification systems.
GSA used the findings from its supplemental review to consult with
other Federal agencies in the EISA 436(h) Interagency Ad-hoc Discussion
Group (Interagency Discussion Group) on the Federal Government's use of
LEED v4. GSA will be using the deliberations from the Interagency
Discussion Group as well as public input from this Federal Register
notice and a to-be-scheduled public listening session to augment GSA's
October 25, 2013 recommendation to the Secretary of Energy. The
information being asked for in this notice is not for the purpose of a
proposed GSA rulemaking or a GSA regulation.
DATES: Interested parties should submit written comments by one of the
methods shown below on or before March 23, 2015 to be considered in the
formation of GSA's updated recommendation to the Secretary of Energy.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments in response to Notice-MG-2014-04 by any of
the following methods:
Regulations.gov: https://www.regulations.gov. Submit
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching for ``Notice-
MG-2014-04''. Select the link ``Comment Now'' that corresponds with
``Notice-MG-2014-04''. Follow the instructions provided on the screen.
Please include your name, company name (if any), and ``Notice-MG-2014-
04'' on your attached document.
Fax: 202-501-4067.
Email: bryan.steverson@gsa.gov.
Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory
Secretariat (MVCB), ATTN: Ms. Flowers, 1800 F Street NW., Washington,
DC 20405.
Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Notice-MG-2014-
04, in all correspondence related to this case. All comments received
will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal and/or business confidential information provided. Visit
https://www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview for more information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bryan Steverson, Program Advisor,
GSA Sustainability and Green Buildings, at telephone 202-501-6115 or
email bryan.steverson@gsa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request For Public Input: GSA is seeking public input on questions
that arose during the Interagency Discussion Group meetings:
1. GSA is seeking public input on what LEED v4 credits agencies
should consider focusing on. In its 2013 recommendations, GSA
recommended that agencies should focus on achieving those credits or
points that align with federal green building requirements. In
discussions with the Interagency Discussion Group, agencies believed
[[Page 2936]]
that GSA should avoid making recommendations on specific credits
agencies would be required to pursue if using LEED v4, and that any
credit prioritization or requirement should be left up to the
discretion of each department or agency. The Ad-hoc Discussion Group
also believed GSA should develop guidance that maps LEED v4 credits to
federal green building requirements in order to inform agencies as to
those credits that agencies could achieve to determine conformance with
federal green building requirements.
2. While several agencies, GSA included, have had subject matter
experts participate on technical committees and other advisory roles
for green building certification systems in either their development or
implementation, how else can the Federal Government better contribute
and collaborate with green building certification system owners to
ensure that the Federal Government's voice is heard in both the system
development process and in the overall effort to push the built-
environment to be more sustainable?
In order to improve future green building certification system
reviews, GSA would like to seek public input on several questions on
how to strengthen the analysis and improve GSA's review process:
3. While GSA believes its analysis provides a good source of
information for other agencies and the public at large, GSA would like
input on where GSA's future certification system reviews could be
stronger. In its supplemental analysis of LEED v4, GSA used the same
criteria and methodology as it used in its 2012 green building
certification system study. GSA had this analysis peer reviewed by
other federal agencies, private sector high performance green building
experts and notable members of academia as well as the U.S. Green
Building Council.
4. GSA is seeking public input on other ways to visually illustrate
certification system alignment with Federal green building
requirements. During the peer review process for GSA's supplemental
analysis of LEED v4, several peer reviewers suggested GSA should
revisit how it visually illustrates certification system alignment with
Federal green building requirements in Table 1 (page vii) and Table 3-1
(page 3-6) of the report (available at https://www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview). The tables show several differently shaded
circles that are defined as follows:
Full Circle--Federal requirement met automatically because
certification system includes prerequisite that fully aligns with the
Federal requirement;
Three-quarters circle--Certification system has a credit that meets
the Federal requirement;
Half-circle--Certification system has a credit that is related to,
but not specifically aligned with, the Federal requirement;
Empty circle--Federal requirement is not an identified component
within the certification system.
5. GSA is seeking comment on how GSA and the Federal Government can
better carry out its responsibilities in Section 436(h) of EISA, and do
so in ``real-time''. During GSA's 2012 review of green building
certification systems, both Green Globes and LEED were in the process
of being revised. GSA's recommendation number five (from GSA's October
25, 2013 letter to the Secretary of Energy) suggested that a process be
established to keep current with revisions to green building
certification systems and to review certification systems once they
have been released to the public. While GSA still believes this process
is critical in staying current with the evolving green building
certification system marketplace, the reviews GSA conducts have proven
to be time-consuming, and, in some cases, have overlapped with a
release of a new version to a certification system not part of that
current review.
Background
GSA is seeking public input on its analysis of LEED v4 and its
alignment with Federal green building requirements. Section 436(h) of
the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA, Pub. L. 110-
140) requires the Director of GSA's Office of Federal High-Performance
Green Buildings to evaluate green building certification systems every
five years and to identify a system and certification level that ``will
be most likely to encourage a comprehensive and environmentally sound
approach to the certification of green federal buildings''. EISA
requires the GSA Administrator to provide a recommendation to the
Secretary of Energy, who then consults with the Secretary of Defense
and the GSA Administrator, to identify the system(s) appropriate for
use in the Federal sector.
In October 2013, GSA recommended that agencies, if they choose to
use a green building certification system, use one of two certification
systems as best suited to agency missions and portfolio needs: The
Green Building Initiative's Green Globes and USGBC's LEED v2009. GSA
submitted additional recommendations on how the Government should stay
involved with green building certification systems as they evolve over
time, including the establishment of a process to keep current with
revisions to green building certification systems.
In November 2013, the USGBC released an updated version of LEED,
LEED v4, for use in the marketplace. In keeping with its
recommendation, GSA completed a supplemental review of LEED v4 in
August 2014 and focused the analysis on LEED v4 BD+C: New Construction,
LEED v4 O+M: Existing Buildings, and LEED v4 ID+C: Commercial
Interiors. GSA considered this review a supplement to its previous 2012
study (found at https://www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview) and used the
same criteria and methodology in its evaluation of LEED v4. While no
recommendations are offered in the supplemental study, the analysis
shows that LEED v4 aligns well with Federal green building
requirements. For a copy of the analysis and associated appendices,
please visit https://www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview.
In recognition that there was a high level of interest in the green
building certification system review, both within and outside the
Federal sector, GSA asked the Department of Energy (DOE) and the
Department of Defense (DoD) to co-chair an Interagency Discussion Group
to discuss the Federal Government's use of LEED v4. The Interagency
Discussion Group included representatives from major Federal real
estate portfolio holders, including GSA, the DoD, the DOE, the
Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), the Department of State (DOS), the Department of Health and
Human Services (DHHS), the Department of Interior (DOI), the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The
Interagency Discussion Group met two times in September and October
2014 to discuss the Federal Government's potential use of LEED v4,
credits within LEED v4 that agencies should focus on, and the need for
guidance that maps LEED v4 credits to Federal green building
requirements.
It should be noted that on October 14, 2014, the U.S. DOE published
its final rule that formally identifies criteria that green building
certification systems must meet in order to be used by the Federal
Government. This GSA request for information is not for the purposes of
that final rulemaking, but to inform GSA on its related
responsibilities to study green building certification systems and
recommend ones to the DOE that may fit within the framework
[[Page 2937]]
of the final rule. DOE's final rule can be found at https://www.regulations.gov (docket number EE-RM/STD-02-112 or RIN number 1904-
AC13).
Dated: January 13, 2015.
Kevin Kampschroer,
Federal Director, Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings,
Office of Government-wide Policy, U.S. General Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-00861 Filed 1-20-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-14-P
