Richmond, California

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

Region 9 Laboratory

Total Facility Area: 44,950 gross square feet (GSF)
Estimated Personnel: 45 persons
Energy Consumption: 17,941,891,837 Btu per year
Btu per GSF per Year: 399,152
Total Water Consumption: 263,670 gallons per year
Gallons per GSF per Year: 5.9

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

Description

The Richmond facility consists of an administration/laboratory building with a separate hazardous materials storage building and secured storage for four mobile laboratories. The building is part of the University of California, Berkeley, Field Station. EPA began laboratory operations in FY 1994. The Region 9 Laboratory performs chemical and biological analysis and field sampling services. The laboratory plays a critical role in EPA's mission of protecting people's health and the environment through the analysis of air, water, soil and biota samples (avian, fish, and occasionally mammalian tissues).

Awards

Jack Berges, Roberto Gutierrez, and Jennifer Mann won a fiscal year (FY) 2010 Waste Warrior Honorable Mention for having the third-highest diversion rate, 82.7 percent, of the EPA facilities that reported waste and recycling data in FY 2010.
Facility Manager Jennifer Mann won an FY 2009 Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) Exceptional Service Award for her efforts to improve energy efficiency and start a composting program at the Region 9 Laboratory.

Unique Environmental Features

Energy Conservation

Through a series of mechanical upgrades, EPA hoped to reduce electricity demand by approximately 21 percent at the Richmond Laboratory. The project, which was completed in July 2005, included the installation of a natural gas-fired combined heat and power unit for electricity and hot water; replacement of a boiler (two small boilers instead of a single oversized one); and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) controls upgrades. The project became operational in fall 2005. As of May 2006, the project was not performing as well as anticipated, so EPA initiated a study to determine the cause for the shortfall in anticipated energy savings. In FY 2009, after the facility worked to modify the system to perform correctly, the Region 9 laboratory’s energy use decreased 10.4 percent and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreased 11 percent compared to FY 2008.
EPA employees at the Richmond laboratory are continuously encouraged to turn off lights and computers when not in use.

Green Power

EPA offsets 100 percent of the electricity consumption at the Region 9 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.

Water Conservation

EPA completed a water conservation assessment and developed a water management plan for the Region 9 Laboratory (PDF) (16 pp, 308K, About PDF) in June 2006.

For More Information About This Facility

Website: www.epa.gov/region09/lab/index.html

Jennifer Mann (mann.jennifer@epa.gov)
1337 S. 46th Street
Building 201
Richmond, CA 94804
Phone: (510) 412-2300