Douglas Administrations' Environmental Accomplishments

Governor Douglas has concluded that the time has come for the State to take a more comprehensive approach to resource consumption. State government has an increasing awareness of the total cost of resource consumption, including its associated impact on the environment and desires to protect and manage the built environment as a resource in an efficient, economical, and in an environmentally accountable manner.

The objectives are:

• Reduce the environmental impact of State government's daily activities.
• Save operating revenue through energy savings
• Create increased market demand for environmentally sensitive products, packaging, and delivery, which will, in turn, lower the direct prices for these commodities.
• Demonstrate the State's commitment to preserving our environment and set a positive example for other states and the private sector, showing that fiscally successful governmental operations are not incompatible with environmentally responsible operations.

• Established Comprehensive Environmental & Resource Management Program (CERMP): coordinated effort to improve environmental footprint, save state financial resources through reduction in energy consumption, encourage and create sustainable local economic activities and transport means and methods of successful practices to other components of the state's economic sectors.
• Transferred environmental position to Department of Buildings and General Services.
• Reconstructed an intradepartmental Climate Neutral Working Group. Short-term goal to draft a plan to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from state operations by 2012 by 25% from 1990 baseline.

Building Infrastructure

• Established new design guidelines for building designs. Adopts principals of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Energy design) principals and standards
• Established new performance standards for buildings, includes objective to develop buildings operating at 30% above energy code requirements.
• Established strategy to achieve 25% GHG reduction by year 2012 based on 1990 GHG emission rate.
• Received a Rebuild America grant award totaling $126,000 for the Circuit Rider project. This will be used to hire technical assistants to benchmark energy consumption and implement energy conservation measures.
• Partnered with Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund on Biodiesel grant. VSJF received $75,000 to create a Vermont Biodiesel infrastructure.
• Administratively strengthened collaborative association with Efficiency Vermont. Integrating Efficiency Vermont's project review system at the earliest possible point of opportunity.
• Legislation:
  • Resource Revolving Fund
  • 2005 State Agency Energy Plan
  • Revised performance contracting authorization language.
  • Established a state-wide Fleet management program.
  • Capital Complex district heating system design and permitting authorization.
• Capital Appropriations:
  • Windows at Waterbury State Office Complex (WSOC) $400,000
  • Instrumentation at Waterbury State Office Complex $200,000
  • Instrumentation at Capital Complex $200,000
  • Authorization to expend $60,000 toward biomass cogeneration gasification project.
• Projects:
  • 108 Cherry Street, Burlington Electric Department, load reduction program; reducing energy consumption during high peak demand periods. Savings (order of magnitude) $10,000/year
  • 32 Cherry Street, Burlington Electric Department, load reduction program; reducing energy consumption during high peak demand periods. Savings (order of magnitude) $10,000/year
  • Mahady Courthouse, Middlebury, Kilowatt Partners, energy conservation project; reducing energy consumption primarily through change in energy use patterns. Savings (order of magnitude) $10,000/year
  • Performance contract Waterbury State Office Complex; 90% developed.
  • Alburg Wind Turbine; Receiving federal grant money for Renewable Energy Research & Development.
  • Gasification project at North East Regional Correctional Facility (NERCF); leading edge technology research and development project to convert wood energy to electrical and thermal energy through advanced gasification process. The state is providing some financial assistance but most significantly a host site to conduct this experiment and human resources to facilitate set up and operation of the plant. Application, if successful technology results, is for the development of marketable "small" scale cogeneration systems using locally produced wood biomass fuels.
  • Bennington Downtown State Office Building. Entered in first performance contract with Vermont energy Investment Corporation (VEIC). This will enhance our ability to fund geothermal heating and cooling system and make numerous envelop improvements that on a first cost basis would have been prohibitive.
  • Capital Complex district heating system. We are continuing the investigation and exploration of benefits to an expanded district heating system with the City of Montpelier and other large energy users in the immediate area.
  • Revised the Statehouse chiller system: (LPA; liquefied pump application) with rebate and incentive provided through Efficiency Vermont, payback 6 years +/-.
  • 2005: Revising the chiller system at 109 State Street in similar manner as Statehouse (LPA) with the support and cooperation of Efficiency Vermont. Payback 6 years +/-.
  • Vermont Information Center Division environmental assessments conducted.
  • Investigating replacement of photovoltaic cells in Middlesex

Resource Management

Purchasing

An Environmentally-Preferable Purchasing Policy was developed to screen a host of products with environmental impacts. The following language is now incorporated into Purchasing and Contract Administration’s Request for Proposal:

The State of Vermont is a national leader in the development and application of Environmentally Responsible Purchasing and control of Hazardous Material Use. Environmentally Preferable Purchasing means “products and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose" (source: Presidential Executive Order 13101; US EPA).

We have established specific goals and objectives aimed at: providing sound environmental stewardship, protection of human health, reducing state operating expenses associated with the use and control of regulated hazardous materials, and reduction of potential liability attributable to environmental impact. Therefore, the following environmental criteria shall be considered for all state purchasing and contracts".

• "Mercury Content
  • The State of Vermont is committed to minimizing the amount of mercury utilized in its operations, and desires to eliminate the purchase of products that contain mercury whenever feasible alternatives exist at a reasonable cost and comparable performance. Where mercury-free alternative products do not exist, preference will be given to the purchase of products with the lowest (documented) total mercury content feasible and products that bear a mercury content warning label as required of product manufacturers under Vermont law, Executive Order #03-02. The State of Vermont urges suppliers to continue to develop, produce, and bring to market appropriate, cost competitive, and effective mercury-free replacements".

• Electronics Takeback Program
  • As of October 1, 2004 the State of Vermont has new contracts in place with Gateway, Dell, IBM and Hewlett Packard as a result of a formal bid process. Take-back language was included in the RFP. Based on the RFP and the take-back language, for a fee, computers (complete PC) can be returned to the original equipment manufacturer. The fee is between $30 and $50 including shipping. Once received by the vendor, all components are recycled and/or refurbished. This RFP process was handled regionally by WSCA (Western States Contracting Alliance).

• An Environmentally Preferable Products catalog has been created which will be distributed as a supplement along with the 2005 Office Products catalog. Additionally, the catalog will be posted on the Purchasing website in early 2005.

Reduction
• An informal electrical usage survey was performed after hours by the Montpelier Security Division. Preliminary results indicate that the majority of lights and computers are being turned off and that windows are being closed at the end of the work day.
  
• Cross department discussions have begun investigating the benefits of electronic data management (EDM). This is an overall strategy to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing additional space requirements for storage.

Reuse
• Created an interdepartmental electronic reuse bulletin board to advertise small office supplies for reuse.
• Continuing the use of the Clean State Council listserve to redistribute small office supplies decreasing new product demand as well as costs while increasing reuse.
• Surplus Property continues to be the main avenue for redistributing state furniture and supplies.

Recycling
• The state recycling program in Central Vermont is over a decade old, however, continuous coordination is necessary to stay current with changes in the recycling industry.
• Where economically feasible, implementation of regional recycling programs have expanded, complementing those in Waterbury, Montpelier and Chittenden County. Consulting services are offered to other state agencies, such as VTrans and Department of Corrections.
• In 2003 a pilot beverage container recycling program was initiated at the Williston Information Centers. With the success of this program, each Welcome Center and rest area now offers the traveling public the means to recycle rather than dispose of their beverage containers.
• Complementary programs include metal and battery recycling.

Transportation

According to Executive Order 14-03, The Department of Buildings and General Services shall investigate cost-effective opportunities to purchase renewable energy to reduce the State of Vermont's reliance on fossil fuels.

• To this end alternative transportation fuels have been investigated, including:
  • Biodiesel:
    • Kubota lawn tractors on statehouse lawn and at the Highgate Welcome Center
    • VTrans Highway truck pilot project in Central Vermont
  • Electric
    • Electric car pilot project
    • Electric lawnmower employed at Waterbury State Office Complex
  Also according to Executive Order 14-03, the state will develop programs to encourage state employees, through the use of incentives, to use transportation alternatives to a single person in a single motor vehicle for commuting and business travel, including incentives.
  • Cost modeling has started for an intercomplex Central Vermont Shuttle Service
  • A complementary “No-Idling” Campaign is in development

  Section 44 of No. 121, Acts of 2004 amended 3 V.S.A. section 217 (c) to read:

  (c) At least 50 percent of the vehicles purchased annually by the commissioner shall be low emission passenger vehicles.

  • Exceeding this mandate, all of the 100 new Fleet program acquisitions meet the low emissions standards while 25 of those 100 new vehicles are super low emission hybrids.

  Top of Page