United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service	Southern Research Station 200 W.T. Weaver Boulevard Asheville, NC 28804
The Savannah River Forestry Sciences Laboratory receives LEED Silver certification for energy and environmental design.	Date:   June 26, 2008 News Release Contact: Stevin Westcott 828-259-0512 swestcott@fs.fed.us

New Laboratory Awarded “Green” Building Certification

Asheville,NC --

Asheville, NC – USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Director Jim Reaves announced today that the station’s new laboratory in New Ellenton, SC, recently received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the United States Green Building Council.

“From the very beginning, our goal was to construct a facility that not only serves our research and administrative needs, but reduces its environmental footprint, conserves natural resources, and saves taxpayer dollars,” said Reaves. “Attaining the LEED Silver certification shows that we achieved our goal, and the Forest Service is committed to practicing sustainability on the land and in its operations.”

The LEED® Green Building Rating System is a third-party certification program administered by the non-profit United States Green Building Council for the design, construction, and operation of high performance, sustainable buildings.

The SRS facility, the Savannah River Forestry Sciences Laboratory, is a 4,256 square foot office building and laboratory. The structure is located just outside the Savannah River Site on the Warner Savannah River Research Campus. Eight SRS scientists and technicians use the facility to conduct ecological research on forests of the Savannah River Site, which is owned by the Department of Energy. The Savannah River Forestry Sciences Laboratory is the second Forest Service facility to receive LEED Silver certification.

The Savannah River Forestry Sciences Laboratory includes the following sustainable and energy efficient features and benefits:

• 33 percent more energy efficient than a standard building;
• Geothermal heating and air conditioning (HVAC) system;
• Highly efficient light fixtures and windows to reduce energy use;
• Natural lighting to reduce artificial light demand and improve
employees’ indoor work environment;
• Site design that minimizes storm water runoff and improves discharged water quality;
• Minimal site disturbance and clearing of land during building construction;
• No use of ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants in HVAC system;
• Building materials made from recycled waste products;
• Locally manufactured building materials;
• Implementation of an indoor air quality management plan: and
• Use of paint, sealants, and primers with low volatile organic content to improve indoor air quality.

Energy models estimate that these sustainable building practices save the Forest Service close to $2,000 annually. In addition, the practices offer other savings and environmental benefits that are more difficult to measure, such as increased employee productivity because of enhanced natural lighting and improved indoor air quality, savings from the use of recycled materials and from recycling construction waste, and environmental savings from reduced storm water run-off and improved run-off water quality.

The LEED system awards buildings points for satisfying specific “green” building criteria including: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process. LEED awards green building certifications at the Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels.

SRS began construction of the building on Nov. 7, 2005. Construction was completed Oct. 26, 2006. SRS contracted with the firm Armstrong-Glenn, PC, of Charlotte, NC, to design the building.

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