New England Regional Laboratory (NERL)
69,349 gross square feet (GSF)
Energy Intensity:
FY 2022: 236,496 Btu per GSF
24.7% reduction from FY 2003
Water Intensity:
FY 2022: 16.99 gallons per GSF
1.0% increase from FY 2007
Chelmsford, Massachusetts
NERL conducts chemical and biological laboratory analysis of environmental samples for the Office of Environmental Measurement and Evaluation.
Sustainable Features
- The laboratory features variable air volume fume hoods and ventilation systems that use less energy than constant-volume models.
- The facility has faucet aerators and a condensate recovery system, which captures condensate water and reuses it as makeup water, saving the facility 140,000 gallons of water per year.
- As part of NERL’s active and passive solar design, EPA installed solar energy-producing window awnings that generated 472 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in fiscal year (FY) 2022.
- NERL received the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Gold for New Construction (version 1.0) certification in February 2003.
- A stormwater treatment system collects runoff from the site’s parking lot storm drains and separates sediment and oil from stormwater. Water from impervious surfaces flows into an underground chamber, where a vortex enhances gravitational settling of sediment. An oil baffle wall then removes oils and other floatables before treated water is released through a flow control chamber into the stormwater pipe system.
For more information, visit the NERL website or the EPA Facility Contact List.