DC Government Buildings Must End Reliance on Dirty Fuels

Testimony
of
Lara Levison
Sierra Club DC Chapter
DC Council Committee on Government Operati`nd Facilities
Performance Oversight Hearing
Department of General Services
March 8, 2021

Thank you, Councilmember White, for holding this oversight hearing on the Department of General Services, which is responsible for building and maintaining the DC government’s real estate portfolio. My name is Lara Levison, and I’m representing the Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest, largest and most influential environmental advocacy organization. We have 3,000 dues-paying members in DC.

Introduction

2020 was a year of environment-related disasters. The coronavirus pandemic that has tragically taken so many lives likely was caused by a zoonotic disease that jumped from wildlife to humans and reflects humanity’s unhealthy relationship with nature.^[1] Even as Americans suffer through the pandemic, the climate crisis is accelerating. In January, the federal government reported that 2020 was a historic year of weather and climate disasters across the United States, with 22 separate billion-dollar disasters that cost the nation a combined $95 billion in damages.^[2],[3] And that doesn’t include the recent disaster in Texas in which millions of people lost power and water in bitterly cold weather.

Just as President Joe Biden is taking a whole-of-government approach to the climate crisis in the federal government, the District must as well, and that includes the Department of General Services. It cannot be only the Sustainability and Energy Management Division (DGS-SE) that concerns itself with how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to climate-related extreme weather.

Since about three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions in the District are from buildings,^[4] DGS must move more rapidly to reduce emissions from the large portfolio of buildings that the agency manages, and new DC government buildings should not include any use of fossil fuels on-site. Reducing emissions will also reduce local air pollution, which will bring immediate public health benefits to DC residents.

Councilmember White, the Sierra Club had the opportunity to testify at length on DGS at your oversight roundtable in November. Our concerns remain largely the same and are provided in more detail in our written testimony.

DGS Office of Sustainability and Energy Management (DGS-SE)

While the Sierra Club urges DGS leadership to recognize the need for a whole-of-government approach to the climate crisis, we remain concerned that the Office of Sustainability and Energy Management has lacked an associate director for long intervals. The position was vacant for years, finally filled last year, and then abruptly was vacant again. Was this individual too vigorous in his pursuit of sustainable energy goals?

As I was finalizing this testimony, I checked the DGS website again and saw that this vacancy in the DGS leadership team has finally been filled. We hope the new associate director understands the urgent need for DGS to meet the climate crisis through increasing resiliency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We also urge him to improve the management of waste generated in DC buildings--a responsibility that was unfortunately not included in the job description.^[5]

The sustainable energy division still needs more staff to carry out its critical mission, and we encourage Mayor Bowser and the Council to deploy more resources to this agency in the FY22 budget. Training DGS staff in the management of modern net-zero energy buildings is also essential and requires organizational commitment and funding. Over the past few years, we’ve seen considerable taxpayer investment in energy efficiency at some DC public schools. But these upgrades have not been maintained. The District must do better.

Net-Zero Energy Buildings

The Sierra Club applauds DGS for having three net-zero building projects underway. A net-zero energy building has two important pieces to it: first, a highly energy efficient design that greatly reduces the building’s energy needs, and second, enough renewable energy generation on-site, or at another location, to cover all of the building's energy usage.^[6] Renewable energy may include solar, wind, or geothermal sources.

The Sierra Club recently had the opportunity to learn more about these three projects: Banneker High School, West Education Campus, and Stead Recreation Center. Notably, Banneker was not originally planned to be a net-zero building, but no additional funding was needed to upgrade it to net-zero. For Banneker, some of the renewable energy will be provided off-site through a power purchase agreement, while for West Education Campus, the solar panels can all be mounted on the roof of the building. All three of these projects also incorporate geothermal heat pumps that use the constant temperature of the earth, a few feet underground, for heating and cooling.^[7] Not only will these beautiful buildings benefit the climate, they will also benefit the children and adults who use them by providing more daylight, better indoor air quality, improved access to the outdoors, and overall a better environment for learning and recreating.

Net-zero buildings are essential for the District to achieve Mayor Bowser’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Going forward, all new DC government buildings should be net-zero energy buildings. To achieve that goal, the Sierra Club recommends that the Council pass legislation establishing a requirement that all new DC government buildings be required to be net-zero energy. That policy would put DC in line with other cities across the nation that have already required similar changes, including Boston, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Seattle.^[8]

We understand DGS has obtained training services for the facility managers for these new buildings, and the next step is ensure the building operators are trained. We urge DGS to develop a comprehensive plan to train DGS staff in the management and maintenance of net-zero energy buildings, perhaps in cooperation with the University of the District of Columbia, and recommend that the FY22 budget include funding for this purpose.

Sustainable Energy Management Plan

The Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act directed DGS to prepare a strategic energy management plan to reduce energy and water use across the DGS portfolio of buildings by January 1, 2020 and provided $250,000 for that purpose. The study must include timelines and cost estimates for an energy retrofit across at least nine percent of DGS buildings between 2021 and 2024 and a net-zero energy retrofit program across at least 12.5% of DGS buildings between 2026 and 2032.

We recognize that the pandemic has caused delays in many activities, but we are concerned that this study is still in its early stages, and as far as we know, a draft is not yet available. The study was already delayed for a year before the pandemic started, and the climate crisis is not waiting for the pandemic to end. As we did in November, we again ask the committee to keep tabs on the progress of this study and encourage DGS to keep it moving forward, while ensuring sufficient time and opportunities for the public to comment on the plan.

Building Energy Performance Standards

The Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act also established the Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS) program to increase the energy performance of DC’s large buildings, and the requirements apply to DC government-owned buildings as well as privately owned buildings. The Council in writing this law expected the District government to be a leader in meeting these new standards that will greatly improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from DC government buildings. The emergency regulations establishing the BEPS standards were published in the DC Register on January 1.^[9] Although the law does not yet require it, as DGS implements BEPS through building renovations and equipment retrofits, the use of on-site fossil fuels should be eliminated to the greatest extent possible.

The DC government’s compliance with BEPS will require new capital investments in buildings and project management staff. We understand that DGS is currently estimating these requirements, and we urge Council to approve these requests. These investments will provide a big payback to the city in terms of utility bill savings, employee and student health and comfort, improved air quality, and GHG emissions reductions.

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

At the DGS roundtable in November, I testified that electric vehicles are the wave of the future and pointed out that the Council in the 2018 Clean Energy DC law directed the Mayor to establish a sweeping transportation electrification program. Several major announcements since then have underscored my point. On January 25, President Biden announced plans to replace the government’s vehicle fleet with electric vehicles assembled in the United States.^[10] On January 28, General Motors announced that the company would stop selling gas and diesel-powered vehicles entirely by 2035 and committed to an all-electric future.^[11],[12]

For all new and renovated DC government buildings that include parking, electric vehicle charging infrastructure should be incorporated during construction or renovation. Investing in this infrastructure during major construction will save the city money later by avoiding costly retrofits as the market shifts toward electric vehicles. Making electric vehicle charging stations available at more government sites will demonstrate the District’s leadership in the transition.

Zero Waste

Regarding the sustainable management of waste in DGS buildings, we have a number of questions that haven’t changed significantly since the November oversight roundtable:

Leadership: How is DGS working with DC Public Schools (DCPS) leadership, including Jonathan Rifkin (Energy and Sustainability Specialist for DCPS) to align goals and create accountability on sustainable management of waste including potential compost from DCPS Food and Nutrition services?

Operations: As we asked in November five months ago, when will DGS publish the Master Hauling Schedule for all hauling contracts? For each building, this schedule should include the container size, number, and pick up schedule for trash, recycling, and compost.

Education: what are DGS’s plans for connecting with DCPS to educate on zero waste approaches, and would the agency like to partner with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education on the “Make the Most of Food” Challenge for Earth Month 2021? Reducing food waste has significant climate benefits.

Performance Data: When will DGS publish the performance data for all buildings, including diversion rates (e.g. building by building as originally requested in the Healthy Schools Act) and compliance/participation (e.g. like the DCPS Recycles! Honor Roll)? This request also applies to other buildings where large quantities of food are prepared everyday, such as where the DC Central Kitchen is located.

How can we help? The Sierra Club would like to be DGS’s ally in promoting zero waste approaches. What can we do to create a supportive environment?

We understand the challenges DCPS and DGS are facing during the pandemic, and we applaud the tremendous efforts to feed students and families in need. Still, we ask DGS to see the upcoming school year as an opportunity to use school food systems to match the scale of awareness and need in our time to not waste any food.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the Sierra Club DC Chapter.

Appendix

Here is the job announcement for Associate Director for Sustainability & Energy Management:

The following job announcement has been posted. Open to Public for 15-days

General Job Information

Job Summary

This position is located in the Department of General Services (DGS).  The mission of DGS is to manage the capital improvement and construction program for District government facilities, which include the development and construction of new government owned facilities consisting of the District of Columbia Public Schools, recreation centers, office buildings, among others.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Associate Director for Sustainability and Energy Management will be responsible for providing strategic oversight of the District’s utility portfolio, providing strategic direction for the District’s efforts to – green – district properties and enforcing energy conservation programs, as well as conducting detailed analytics, and performing short- and long-term forecasting and planning related to the utilities’ programs.

The incumbent manages relationships between DGS, its customers, and vendors for energy services.  Manages DGS’s Green Building and Energy Management programs. Confers and coordinates with other DGS staff and management, representatives of other District and Federal agencies to implement the provisions of the Green Building Act and to design and implement energy saving measure.  Manages and coordinates the revision of codes, policies, and procedures to include green building practices to require priority leasing buildings that meet certain green building standards.

Qualifications and Education

The applicant must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the position which has equipped the individual with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, such as conducting continuous review and analysis of DGSs Green Building Program and related administrative and financial activities.

A Bachelor's Degree in Sustainability Management, Public Policy, Public or Business Administration, Sustainability, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field and a minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in sustainability, renewable energy, technology procurement, sustainability-related market transformation opportunities, energy efficiency or other government services management is preferred.

Licensure/Certification

LEED Certified (Preferred)

Working Condition/Environment

The work is performed in an office setting

Other Significant Factors

Tour of Duty: Varies

Pay Plan, Series and Grade:  MS-1101-16

Salary Range: $132,831.00 - $185,960.00

Duration of Appointment: Management Supervisory Services (MSS)

MSS -At-Will: Positions in the Management Supervisory Service (MSS) serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and may be terminated at any time with or without cause.

Collective Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under a Collective Bargaining Agreement

Promotion Potential:  No known promotion potential

Area of Consideration: Open to the Public

Position Designation: This position has been deemed Security Sensitive under the guidelines of the DC Personnel Manual. Incumbents of this position are subject to enhanced suitability screening pursuant to Chapter 4 of DC personnel regulations, and are subject to the following checks and test:

(a) Criminal background check;

(b) Traffic record check (as applicable);

(c) Consumer credit check (as applicable);

(d) Reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol test; and

(e) Post-accident or incident drug and alcohol test.

Residency Requirement: If the position you are applying for is in the Career, Management Supervisory, or Educational Service at an annual salary of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) or more, you must establish residency in the District of Columbia within one hundred eighty (180) days of the effective date of the appointment and continue to maintain residency within the District of Columbia throughout the duration of the appointment.

EEO Statement: The District of Columbia Government is an Equal Opportunity Employer: all qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, genetic information, disability. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination, which is also prohibited. In addition, harassment based on any of the above-protected categories is prohibited