Testimony
of
Lara Levison
Sierra Club DC Chapter
before the
DC Council Committee on Facilities & Procurement
Performance Oversight Hearing on the Department of General Services
Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 10:00 am
Chairperson White and members of the Committee, my name is Lara Levison, and I’m the chair of the Sierra Club DC Chapter’s Energy Committee. The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest environmental advocacy group. We have 3,000 dues-paying members in DC, and our top priority is combating climate change. We work to shift away from dirty fossil fuels and move toward a clean energy economy.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify at this oversight hearing on the Department of General Services. We urge the members of this Committee to support broad reforms in the Department of General Services to fulfill DC’s commitment to be carbon neutral and climate resilient by 2050 and cut carbon emissions 50 percent by 2032.
Achieving these commitments will be impossible without dramatic reductions in emissions from District-owned and operated buildings. Further, the DC government should set a good example for other building owners in the District.
The Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act, which passed in 2018, places several new requirements on DGS. Beginning in January 2021, DC government buildings of 10,000 square feet or more must comply with the Building Energy Performance Standards established by the law, to increase efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from large DC buildings. DGS is also required to develop a strategic energy management plan for reducing energy and water use across the DGS portfolio of buildings.
The DGS Division of Sustainability and Energy needs more staff and more resources if it is to undertake these additional responsibilities as well as carrying out current responsibilities. In 2014 the Division reportedly had as many as 16 staff and contractors and a budget of roughly $1.2 million. Now, the Division has eight staff, including contractors. This needs to change if we are to achieve DC’s vision of a carbon neutral city by 2050.
Similarly, getting the District where we need to go to reduce carbon is impossible unless we begin to eliminate the use of fracked gas (also known as “natural gas”) for heating and other uses in District buildings. DGS should design a comprehensive strategy that would first end all connections of gas in new buildings and substantially renovated buildings. Next, DGS should identify buildings that are good candidates for electrification. And lastly, DGS should develop and publish a plan to fully electrify the most suitable buildings over the next five years.
To achieve these goals, facility managers deserve the latest training available so they can run their buildings cleanly and efficiently. This will both reduce carbon and reduce the District’s energy bills, freeing up funds for other priorities.
DC buildings are underperforming from an energy perspective and are a largely untapped gold mine of potential cost savings to taxpayers. For instance, according to the Department of Energy and Environment's energy benchmarking database, recently renovated high schools-- such as Eastern, Dunbar and Wilson--have mediocre Energy Star scores in the 50s. This means that despite being built to be among the most highly energy efficient buildings, they are in the middle of the pack. Janney Elementary School, which was renovated in 2010, has a score of just 19, meaning that 81 percent of similar buildings are more energy efficient. The Wilson Building has made significant progress but still scores only 41. One Judiciary Square has a score of 38. Many of these buildings will be required to improve by DC’s new Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS). DGS should get out ahead of BEPS and strive to improve its buildings at a much faster rate.
DGS provides workspace for 77 agencies and manages 40 million square feet of building space in 840 facilities. While it might appear to be a daunting task to move towards a cleaner portfolio, larger cities have made a commitment to do just that. Recently, Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti announced that all new and substantially renovated buildings will be 100 percent carbon free. San Francisco and Seattle have already committed that all their new buildings will be all-electric or 100 percent emissions free.
Turning to a different topic, we urge DGS to reduce waste, increase recycling, and implement composting in government buildings. The Sierra Club strongly supports B23-0506, the Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act of 2019, which would reduce waste generated by businesses. In the hearing in December on this bill, we asked that the Council take steps--through legislation or oversight--to ensure that the DC government abides by these same measures or more rigorous ones. DC agencies, facilities, and staff serve as role models for the business community and residents.
We have been seeking an update from DGS on composting in schools and finally received a response yesterday, stating that DGS has awarded a new long-term organics hauling contract to a local business called F&L Construction, Inc., and that 40 schools are receiving organic hauling services through this contract based on requests for service and/or demonstrated participation. We encourage DGS to expand composting service to more schools and other government buildings.
Finally, Chairperson White, I want to close my testimony by thanking you for introducing the Renewable Energy Future Act of 2019. For DC to meet its commitment of 10 percent of electricity generated from solar panels in DC by 2041 and net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the District government will need to vastly expand solar installations. The DC government must lead by example, both to encourage private landowners to install solar, but also to bring DC taxpayers the savings associated with electricity generated on rooftops. The Sierra Club requests that the upcoming budget include sufficiency funding to carry out the the analysis required by the Renewable Energy Future Act.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Please let me know if you have any questions.