Edison, New Jersey

This facility features the following green attributes:
Green Power
Water Management Plan

Region 2 Laboratory

Total Facility Area: 281,923 gross square feet (GSF)
Estimated Personnel: 462 persons
Energy Consumption: 35,003,791,238 Btu per year*
Btu per GSF per Year: 124,161
Total Water Consumption: 4,370,564 gallons per year
Gallons per GSF per Year: 15.5

All energy and water data are reported as of FY 2010.

* Region 2 Laboratory's total facility area and energy and water data include EPA's onsite Response Engineering and Analytical Contract (REAC) trailer and the Office of Research and Development's Butler facility.

Description

The Edison Complex supports the activities of various EPA organizations, including the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response's Environmental Response Branch, the Office of Research and Development's Release Control Branch, the Regional Environmental Science and Assessment Division, the Regional Enforcement and Compliance Assistance Division's Pesticides and Toxic Substances Programs, and the Regional Emergency and Remedial Response Division's Emergency Preparedness Programs.

Awards

Joe Pernice won a fiscal year (FY) 2010 Sustainable Sites Superstar Award for helping to implement a rainwater capture system in the laboratory's Building 210 boiler room. The system reuses three 1,500-gallon tanks from a former laboratory project to collect rainwater from five downspouts. After filtering, the captured rainwater is supplied as feed water to the laboratory cooling tower, the facility’s largest water consumer in summer, saving an estimated 250,000 gallons of water per year.
Joe Pernice received an FY 2010 Btu Buster Honorable Mention for helping the laboratory to achieve energy intensity savings of 6.2 percent in FY 2010 compared to FY 2009, due to several construction projects implemented to renovate both administrative and laboratory spaces.

Unique Environmental Features

Green Power

EPA offsets 100 percent of the electricity consumption at the Region 2 laboratory with renewable energy certificates (RECs) purchased through the Agency's current blanket green power contract. Learn more about EPA's current and past blanket green power contracts.
The Region 2 Laboratory has three solar water-heating systems that are the primary source of hot water in their respective facility areas. All three solar water-heating systems consist of a preheat tank (between 66 and 120 gallons) and various numbers of roof-mounted, single-glazed, liquid evacuated tube collectors. Because the building relies on the electrical systems only for auxiliary water heating when necessary, the solar heaters allow the facility to conserve electricity.

Water Conservation

EPA completed a water conservation assessment and developed a water management plan for the Region 2 Laboratory (PDF) (19 pp, 779K, About PDF) in April 2006.

Stormwater Management

In October 2009, EPA completed construction of an experimental parking lot and rain garden as part of a long-term research project. EPA will use the parking lot to quantify the effects of different permeable surfaces on stormwater runoff, and it will use the rain garden to quantify the ability of rain gardens to accept, store, and infiltrate stormwater. Learn more about Edison's stormwater parking lot and rain garden project.
In November 2010, EPA completed construction of an additional 60 permeable concrete parking spaces at the Region 2 Laboratory, separate from the experimental parking lot.

For More Information About This Facility

Website: www.epa.gov/region02/

Joseph Pernice (pernice.joseph@epa.gov)
2890 Woodbridge Ave. (MS-100)
Edison, NJ 08837
Phone: (732) 321-4382