Talk on LACMTA\'s Green Construction POlicy, September 13, 2011, Valley Industry and Commerce Association

1. Overview of the LACMTA Green
Construction Policy
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
September 13, 2011
Cris B. Liban, D.Env., P.E.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

2. Outline
• LACMTA Environmental and Sustainability
Programs
• Policy Development
• Policy
• Implementation
• Questions

3. Transit Paradox
Transit’s Effects on Regional Carbon Footprint
APTA, 2010
To reduce emissions from mobile sources, we need higher
levels of public transit and more compact patterns of land
use that transit supports. 3

4. Metro’s Environmental/Sustainability Program
• Four-pronged approach to environmental protection and
enhancement
– Environmental clearance
– Remediation, restoration and enhancement of impacted sites
– Accounting and reduction of environmental liabilities
– Development, implementation and promotion of sustainable planning,
construction, operations, and procurement practices
• Clean buses
• Green Buildings and Infrastructure
• Renewable Energy Efficiency Energy Projects
• Federal and State Grants
• Environmental Management System

5. Recent Awards and Recognitions
• National Training Institute Model Program Award for
Sustainability Awareness Training
• ISO 140001:2004 certification of Red Line Yard
• LEED-NC and LEED-EBOM Buildings
• Energy Star Certification of Gateway Headquarters
• Air Quality Awards
• Finalist at the METROs Awards
5

6. Green Policies and GHGe Reduction Plans
• POLICIES
– Energy and Sustainability Policy
– Environmental Policy
– Construction and Demolition Debris Recycling
and Reuse Policy
– Environmental Liabilities Reporting Policy
– Water Conservation and Use Policy
– Green Construction Policy
– Renewable Energy Policy (September 22)
• PLANS
– Water Action Plan
– Energy Conservation and Management Plan
(forthcoming)
– Climate Action and Adaptation Plan
(forthcoming)

7. Policy Development Timeline
Present: Implementation
Board Report on 10/11 on progress
7

8. Major Elements of Policy
• New Construction
– Effective and enforceable immediately
upon adoption for all new construction
projects
• Existing Projects
– Policy will not be retroactive
– Encourage all Contractors to implement
the provisions of this policy to the
greatest extent feasible

9. Major Elements of Policy
• Types of Equipment Affected
– On-Road Equipment
– Off-Road Equipment
– Generators
Disclaimer: Featuring an equipment in this slide is not an endorsement of that equipment nor the company that makes the equipment

10. Major Elements of Policy
• On- and Off-Road Equipment
– Incorporate the best available technology or best
management practice where feasible
– Idling prohibitions
– Phase-in period until 2015
• Generators
– Connect to an existing power source as much as possible
– Meet a 0.01 gram per brake-horsepower-hour standard for
PM
– Be equipped with BACT for PM emissions reductions

11. Exceptions
• Good faith effort to rent but have not been
successful, within 200 miles of project
• Contractor awarded funding to retrofit, replace,
and repower but has not received funding and
cannot rent
• Contractor ordered equipment and within 60
days has not received equipment and cannot
rent
• Equipment use is only within 10 days of
contract
• Compliance step-down menu

12. Step-Down Menu Off-Road

13. Additional Policy Provisions
• Institutionalize common mitigation measures
developed during the CEQA Process
• Notification of Sensitive Receptors
• Contracts Based Enforcement
• Records Requirements Prior to Bid
• Quantification and Reporting of Emissions
Reductions

14. Comparison of MTA and CARB Regs
• More strict than California Air Resources Board
(CARB) Regulations
– Off-Road, Fleet by Fleet instead of Average
– Generators, but only as strict as SCAQMD
regulations
• As strict as CARB Regulations

15. Implementation Efforts
• Development of Specifications and
Incorporation into Procurement Documents
• Formation of Technical Working Group to
Develop Implementation Guidelines
– Phase 1: City Representatives
– Phase 2: Other Stakeholders
• CARB Enforcement Training
• Determine what funding and programmed
projects are affected
• Outreach through workshops

16. Questions/Discussion
Cris B. Liban, D.Env., P.E.
p: 213/922-2471
e/m: libane@metro.net
website: www.metro.net/sustainability
hotline: 213/922-1100