Department of the Interior Wins Four Federal Energy and Water Management Awards

The Department of the Interior has won recognition from the Department of Energy (DOE) for its energy and water conservation efforts, earning four 2015 Federal Energy and Water Management Awards. Continuing its strong performance in this annual competition, DOI won Project Awards for (1) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Corn Creek Administrative Office and Visitor Center at Desert National Wildlife Refuge; (2) the FWS Northeast Regional Office; and (3) the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) Animas-La Plata Permanent Operating Facility; and (4) a Career Exceptional Service Award for Reclamation’s Tom Scott.

These award winners help strengthen the nation’s energy security, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, conserve water, and improve environmental quality. The winning projects showcase efficiency features that can be replicated, offering visitors the opportunity to learn from site displays and implement similar projects; while the winning individual’s efforts will improve water supply for municipal, agricultural, industrial, and recreational use and wildlife habitat within a sensitive river basin.

DOE honored this year's award winners in a ceremony on Wednesday, October 14, at the Renaissance Dupont Circle Hotel, Washington, D.C. VIPs from the FWS, Reclamation, and the Department joined Deputy Assistant Secretary – Budget, Finance, Performance, and Acquisition, Olivia Ferriter at the event. 

Information on each winning project follows:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Corn Creek Administrative Office and Visitor Center, Desert National Wildlife Refuge - Project Award.  The FWS’s Corn Creek Administrative Office and Visitor Center (Visitor Center) at Desert National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Nevada, is a new high-performance, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum-certified facility that is designed to achieve net zero energy use. Net-metered solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays totaling 91.5 kilowatts (kW) provide renewable electricity for all energy needs. The HVAC system’s 23.5 ton water-source heat pumps circulate surface water from an onsite pond to a geo-heat exchanger in the building to provide heating and cooling needs at a fraction of the energy use of traditional air source heat pumps. No petroleum products generate heat or electricity. Total annual renewable energy production is approximately 608.3 million British thermal units (MMBTU). Efficient WaterSense® plumbing fixtures reduce the building’s potable water consumption 40.4% below current standards, saving approximately 7,100 gallons per year. Xeriscaping with wildlife-friendly native plants and forbs and limited drip irrigation avoids chemical application and reduces outdoor water use by about 84.7% or over 663,000 gallons. Overall, the project avoids at least 98 metric tons of GHG emissions annually, the average annual emissions of 21 cars. Award recipients: Shannon Blackburn, Division Chief, Contracting and General Services; David Dorough, Contracting Officer’s Representative, Desert NWR; Greg Hranac, Project Manager, Division of Engineering; Wendy Smith, Visual Information Specialist, Desert NWR; and Amy Sprunger, Refuge Manager, Desert NWR.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Regional Office - Project Award. The FWS won a second Project Award for its Northeast Regional Office, an 80,600 gross square-foot General Services Administration (GSA)-provided building in Hadley, Massachusetts. A multi-year effort by a regional FWS “Green Team,” GSA, and Pearson, the building owner’s representative, made remarkable strides in renewable energy and sustainability, reducing electricity consumption by approximately 600,000 kilowatt-hours and natural gas consumption by approximately 2,408 MMBTU in FY 2014. A new roof-mounted, net-metered 108 kW PV system over a new cool roof can contribute up to 12% of electrical energy used on-site. Efficient WaterSense® plumbing will save an estimated 136,425 gallons of potable water annually. Multiple sustainable strategies combine to avoid at least 354 metric tons of GHG emissions per year, equal to taking 75 cars off the road. The U.S. Green Building Council awarded the building with a LEED for Existing Buildings - Operations & Maintenance Gold rating in February 2014. Lastly, two pollinator gardens featuring pollinator-friendly plants were created in support of the June 2014 Presidential Memorandum, “Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators.” Award recipients: Liz Dawson, Architect, Northeast Region, FWS; Bill Keavany, Project Manager, Pearson Companies, Inc.; Jeff Parsons, General Services Supervisor, Division of Contracting and General Services, Northeast Region, FWS; Nancy Swiechowicz, Leasing Contracting Officer, GSA; Wendi Weber, Regional Director, Northeast Region, FWS.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Animas-La Plata Permanent Operating Facility - Program Award. The Permanent Operating Facility (POF), located in in southwestern Colorado, has attained a certification of LEED Gold and meets 100% of the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings for new construction, as required by Executive Order. As such, the POF met every applicable requirement for integrated design, water and energy performance, indoor environmental quality, and materials. The combination of a passive solar wall; a high-efficiency heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system; efficient lighting; and natural lighting provide significant energy savings. Indoor and outdoor water is conserved via efficient plumbing fixtures and fittings and the use of xeriscape and natural landscaping, which does not require any permanent irrigation. All told, the energy efficient design is estimated to avoid 52 metric tons of GHG emissions per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of 11 vehicles. The POF is a bright example of how incorporation of and adherence to Federal Executive Order and Reclamation standards results in greener and more efficient new building design and construction. Award recipients: James Darling, Mechanical Engineering Tech, Reclamation; Carly DeLong, Office Manager, Animas-La Plata Operation, Maintenance and Replacement Association; Vergil Gray, Building Division Manager, Weeminuche Construction Authority (Ute Mountain Ute Tribe); Patrick Leonetti, Senior Project Manager, Reclamation; Janet Wiley, Architect, Janet Wiley Architects, PC.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Tom Scott – Career Exceptional Service Award. Tom Scott, a hydrologic engineer from Reclamation’s Lahontan Basin Area Office, Nevada, received a Career Exceptional Service Award for contributions to the establishment of the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA). This agreement will provide for flexibility in reservoir operations and improve water use efficiency through water exchanges between parties. Reclamation owns four reservoirs within the Truckee River basin, which provide storage for basin water uses, including municipal and industrial supply to the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area of Nevada; agricultural water to Reclamation’s Newlands irrigation project; and water for threatened and endangered species including the Lahontan cutthroat trout and cui-ui, a large sucker fish endemic to Pyramid Lake (the terminus of the Truckee River). TROA’s innovative system of water exchanges and credit water storage will help to buffer the region against the effects of drought, increase the flow of water to support endangered species, and improve recreational opportunities on the Truckee River. Mr. Scott served as the lead engineer guiding efforts for the computer modeling required for implementation of TROA and the associated Environmental Impact Statement, and his expertise was instrumental in the 18-year long negotiation of the agreement.