S. 2137 — what changed

changed Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8253) (as amended by section 301) is amended by adding at the end the following:

changed “(h) “(hi) Federal Energy Management Program

“(1) In general—The Secretary shall establish a program, to be known as the “Federal Energy Management Program” (referred to in this subsection as the “Program”), to facilitate the implementation by the Federal Government of cost-effective energy and water management and energy-related investment practices—

“(A) to coordinate and strengthen Federal energy and water resilience; and

“(B) to promote environmental stewardship.

“(2) Program activities

“(A) Strategic planning and technical assistance—Under the Program, the Federal Director appointed under paragraph (3)(A) (referred to in this subsection as the “Federal Director”) shall—

“(i) provide technical assistance and project implementation support and guidance to Federal agencies to identify, implement, procure, and track energy and water conservation measures required under this Act and under other provisions of law (including regulations);

“(ii) in coordination with the Administrator of the General Services Administration, establish appropriate procedures, methods, and best practices for use by Federal agencies to select, monitor, and terminate contracts entered into under section 546 with utilities;

“(iii) in coordination with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, establish appropriate procedures, methods, and best practices for use by Federal agencies to select, monitor, and terminate contracts entered into under section 801 with energy service contractors and utilities;

“(iv) establish and maintain internet-based information resources and project tracking systems and tools for energy and water management;

“(v) coordinate comprehensive and strategic approaches to energy and water resilience planning for Federal agencies; and

“(vi) establish a recognition program for Federal achievement in energy and water management, energy-related investment practices, environmental stewardship, and other relevant areas, through events such as individual recognition award ceremonies and public announcements.

“(B) Energy and water management and reporting—Under the Program, the Federal Director shall—

“(i) track and report on the progress of Federal agencies in meeting the requirements of the agency under this section;

“(ii) make publicly available annual Federal agency performance data required under—

“(I) this section and sections 544 through 548; and

“(II) section 203 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15852);

“(iii)

“(I) collect energy and water use and consumption data from each Federal agency; and

“(II) based on that data, submit to each Federal agency a report that will facilitate the energy and water management, energy-related investment practices, and environmental stewardship of the agency in support of Federal goals under this Act and under other provisions of law (including regulations);

“(iv)

“(I) establish new Federal building energy efficiency standards; and

“(II) in consultation with the Administrator of the General Services Administration, acting through the head of the Office of High-Performance Green Buildings, establish and implement Federal building sustainable design principles for Federal facilities;

“(v) manage the implementation of Federal building energy efficiency standards established under section 305 of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6834); and

“(vi) designate products that meet the highest energy conservation standards for categories not covered under the Energy Star program established under section 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a).

“(C) Federal policy coordination—Under the Program, the Federal Director shall—

“(i) develop and implement accredited training consistent with existing Federal programs and activities—

“(I) relating to energy and water use, management, and resilience in Federal buildings, energy-related investment practices, and environmental stewardship; and

“(II) that includes in-person training, internet-based programs, and national in-person training events;

“(ii) coordinate and facilitate energy and water management, energy-related investment practices, and environmental stewardship through the Interagency Energy Management Task Force established under section 547; and

“(iii) report on the implementation of the priorities of the President, including Executive orders, relating to energy and water use in Federal buildings, in coordination with—

“(I) the Office of Management and Budget;

“(II) the Council on Environmental Quality; and

“(III) any other entity, as considered necessary by the Federal Director.

“(D) Facility and fleet optimization—Under the Program, the Federal Director shall develop guidance, supply assistance to, and track the progress of Federal agencies—

“(i) in conducting portfolio-wide facility energy and water resilience planning and project integration;

“(ii) in building new construction and major renovations to meet the sustainable design and energy and water performance standards required under this section;

“(iii) in developing guidelines for—

“(I) building commissioning; and

“(II) facility operations and maintenance; and

“(iv) in coordination with the Administrator of the General Services Administration, in meeting statutory and agency goals for Federal fleet vehicles.

“(3) Federal director

“(A) Appointment—The Secretary shall appoint an individual to serve as Federal Director of the Program, which shall be a career position in the Senior Executive service, to manage the Program and carry out the activities of the Program described in paragraph (2).

“(B) Duties—The Federal Director shall—

“(i) oversee, manage, and administer the Program;

“(ii) provide leadership in energy and water management, energy-related investment practices, and environmental stewardship through coordination with Federal agencies and other appropriate entities; and

“(iii) establish a management council to advise the Federal Director that shall—

“(I) convene not less frequently than once every quarter; and

“(II) consist of representatives from—

“(aa) the Council on Environmental Quality;

“(bb) the Office of Management and Budget; and

“(cc) the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings in the General Services Administration.

“(4) Savings clause—Nothing in this subsection impedes, supersedes, or alters the authority of the Secretary to carry out the remainder of this section or section 305 of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6834).

“(5) Authorization of appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $36,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2030.”

“(11) Major renovation—The term major renovation means a modification of the energy systems of a building that is sufficiently extensive to ensure that the entire building can achieve compliance with applicable energy standards for new buildings, as established by the Secretary.”

added “(13) Major renovation—The term major renovation means a modification of the energy systems of a building that is sufficiently extensive to ensure that the entire building can achieve compliance with applicable energy standards for new buildings, as established by the Secretary.”

“(3) Revised Federal building energy efficiency performance standards; certification for green buildings

“(A) Revised Federal building energy efficiency performance standards

“(i) In general—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2019, the Secretary shall establish, by regulation, revised Federal building energy efficiency performance standards that require that—

“(I) subject to clause (ii), new Federal buildings and Federal buildings with major renovations—

“(aa) meet or exceed the most recently published version of the International Energy Conservation Code (in the case of residential buildings) or ASHRAE Standard 90.1 (in the case of commercial buildings) as of the date of enactment of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2019; and

“(bb) meet or exceed the energy provisions of the State and local building codes applicable to the building if the codes are more stringent than the most recently published version of the International Energy Conservation Code or ASHRAE Standard 90.1 as of the date of enactment of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2019, as applicable;

“(II) unless demonstrated not to be life cycle cost-effective for new Federal buildings and Federal buildings with major renovations—

“(aa) the buildings shall be designed to achieve energy consumption levels that are not less than 30 percent below the levels established in the most recently published version of the International Energy Conservation Code or the ASHRAE Standard, as of the date of enactment of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2019, as appropriate; and

“(bb) sustainable design principles are applied to the location, siting, design, and construction of all new Federal buildings and replacement Federal buildings;

“(III) if water is used to achieve energy efficiency, water conservation technologies shall be applied to the extent that the technologies are life-cycle cost effective; and

“(IV) if life-cycle cost effective, as compared to other reasonably available technologies, not less than 30 percent of the hot water demand for each new Federal building or Federal building undergoing a major renovation be met through the installation and use of solar hot water heaters.

“(ii) Exception—Clause (i)(I) shall not apply to the unaltered portions of Federal buildings and systems that have undergone major renovations.

“(B) Updates—Not later than 1 year after the date of approval of each subsequent revision of the ASHRAE Standard or the International Energy Conservation Code, as appropriate, the Secretary shall determine whether the revised standards established under subclauses (I) and (II) of subparagraph (A)(i) should be updated to reflect the revisions, based on the energy savings and life cycle cost-effectiveness of the revisions.”

“(C) Budget request—In the budget request”

“(D) Certification for green buildings

“(i) Sustainable design principles—Sustainable design principles shall be applied to the siting, design, and construction of buildings covered by this subparagraph.

“(ii) Selection of certification systems—The Secretary, after reviewing the findings of the Federal Director under section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17092(h)), in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense relating to those facilities under the custody and control of the Department of Defense, shall determine those certification systems for green commercial and residential buildings that the Secretary determines to be the most likely to encourage a comprehensive and environmentally sound approach to certification of green buildings.

“(iii) Basis for selection—The determination of the certification systems under clause (ii) shall be based on ongoing review of the findings of the Federal Director under section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17092(h)) and the criteria described in clause (v).

“(iv) Administration—In determining certification systems under this subparagraph, the Secretary shall—

“(I) make a separate determination for all or part of each system; and

“(II) confirm that the criteria used to support the selection of building products, materials, brands, and technologies—

“(aa) are based on relevant technical data;

“(bb) use and reward evaluation of health, safety, and environmental risks and impacts across the lifecycle of the building product, material, brand, or technology, including methodologies generally accepted by the applicable scientific disciplines;

“(cc) as practicable, give preference to performance standards instead of prescriptive measures; and

“(dd) reward continual improvements in the lifecycle management of health, safety, and environmental risks and impacts.

“(v) Considerations—In determining the green building certification systems under this subparagraph, the Secretary shall take into consideration—

“(I) the ability and availability of assessors and auditors to independently verify the criteria and measurement of metrics at the scale necessary to implement this subparagraph;

“(II) the ability of the applicable certification organization to collect and reflect public comment;

“(III) the ability of the standard to be developed and revised through a consensus-based process;

“(IV) an evaluation of the robustness of the criteria for a high-performance green building, which shall give credit for promoting—

“(aa) efficient and sustainable use of water, energy, and other natural resources;

“(bb) use of renewable energy sources;

“(cc) improved indoor environmental quality through enhanced indoor air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics, day lighting, pollutant source control, and use of low-emission materials and building system controls;

“(dd)

“(AA) the sourcing of grown, harvested, or mined materials; and

“(BB) certifications of responsible sourcing, such as certifications provided by the Forest Stewardship Council, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the American Tree Farm System, or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification; and

“(ee) such other criteria as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; and

“(V) national recognition within the building industry.

“(vi) Review—The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services and the Secretary of Defense, shall conduct an ongoing review to evaluate and compare private sector green building certification systems, taking into account—

“(I) the criteria described in clause (v); and

“(II) the identification made by the Federal Director under section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17092(h)).

“(vii) Exclusions

“(I) In general—Subject to subclause (II), if a certification system fails to meet the review requirements of clause (v), the Secretary shall—

“(aa) identify the portions of the system, whether prerequisites, credits, points, or otherwise, that meet the review criteria of clause (v);

“(bb) determine the portions of the system that are suitable for use; and

“(cc) exclude all other portions of the system from identification and use.

“(II) Entire systems—The Secretary shall exclude an entire system from use if an exclusion under subclause (I)—

“(aa) impedes the integrated use of the system;

“(bb) creates disparate review criteria or unequal point access for competing materials; or

“(cc) increases agency costs of the use.

“(viii) Internal certification processes—The Secretary may by rule allow Federal agencies to develop internal certification processes, using certified professionals, in lieu of certification by certification entities identified under clause (ii).

“(ix) Privatized military housing—With respect to privatized military housing, the Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the Secretary may, through rulemaking, develop alternative certification systems and levels than the systems and levels identified under clause (ii) that achieve an equivalent result in terms of energy savings, sustainable design, and green building performance.

“(x) Water conservation technologies—In addition to any use of water conservation technologies otherwise required by this section, water conservation technologies shall be applied to the extent that the technologies are life-cycle cost-effective.

“(xi) Effective date

“(I) Determinations made after December 31, 2019—The amendments made by section 422(b)(1)(C) of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2019 shall apply to any determination made by a Federal agency after December 31, 2019.

“(II) Determinations made on or before December 31, 2019—This subparagraph (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2019) shall apply to any use of a certification system for green commercial and residential buildings by a Federal agency on or before December 31, 2019.”

“(c) Periodic review—The Secretary shall—

“(1) once every 5 years, review the Federal building energy standards established under this section; and

“(2) on completion of a review under paragraph (1), if the Secretary determines that significant energy savings would result, upgrade the standards to include all new energy efficiency and renewable energy measures that are technologically feasible and economically justified.”

“(1) In general—The head”

“(B) Procedures—The Architect of the Capitol shall adopt procedures necessary to ensure that the buildings referred to in subparagraph (A) meet or exceed the standards described in that subparagraph.”

“(2) Applicability

“(A) In general—The Federal”