King County honors employees with ‘Excellence in Building Green’ awards

Highlighted projects save money and resources, cut waste

King County employees were honored today by Executive Dow Constantine with “Excellence in Building Green” awards for their work that helps maintain the County’s position as a national leader in cost-effective and sustainable building practices.

“I am proud of the employees we recognized today. They are true stewards of our environment,” Executive Constantine said. “These employee green innovations demonstrate that we can save on operation and maintenance costs while practicing sustainable development.”

The awards ceremony took place at the Brightwater Environmental Education and Community Center, which is located at the Brightwater Treatment Plant near Woodinville.

Awards were given to more than three dozen employees in 10 categories: Infrastructure, building, planning, creative deconstructing and reuse/recycling, maintenance and operations, leader in green building, resource conservation, innovation in policy, habitat restoration and legacy in sustainable development.

More information about King County’s green building work is available at http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/greenbuilding/county-green-building.asp.

The award categories and winners are:

Infrastructure – Southwest 98th Street Pedestrian Improvements
This project provides accessible, low impact transportation facilities that enhance bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in White Center. By increasing opportunities to walk and bike safely, the community relies less on fossil fuels and people are encouraged to improve physical health. Unique landscape art was integrated, which helps to visually meld the hillside and walkway. In addition, this project utilized sustainable development by implementing fly ash as a cement substitute, which reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Building – Atlantic/Central Base Operations Building
Metro Transit just completed a new 44,000–square-foot office facility to support the expansion of the Atlantic/Central Bus Base. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) process was involved in all aspects of planning, design, and construction, and will be submitted for LEED-Gold certification later this year. This building project incorporates high use of native vegetation, with more than 20 percent of its area as vegetative open space and use of a “green screen.” In addition, more efficient plumbing fixtures contribute to a 43 percent water savings; building insulation in conjunction with increased natural daylighting add an 18 percent energy savings; and a new HVAC system provides a 17 percent annual energy cost savings. Goals for building materials were also exceeded. More than 38 percent total building materials by cost came from pre- and post-consumer recycled content and 99.5 percent of all demolition and construction waste have been diverted from the landfill for reuse or recycling.

Planning – Houghton Transfer Station Roof Improvement and Mitigation Project
The Houghton Transfer Station Roof Improvement and Mitigation Project was completed in large part through a huge effort from Francis Gaspay, from the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks’ Solid Waste Division, and additional contractors. Large components of the sustainable design included using salvaged and recycled materials and installing photocell-controlled site lighting and new skylights. Additional precautions had to be taken for excavating into refuse in the closed Houghton Landfill, as well as managing runoff from stormwater and wastewater during construction. A pedestrian pathway was also constructed and the transfer station remained fully operational during construction.

Creative deconstruction, reuse and recycling – Fagan Hall Deconstruction at Passage Point
The deconstruction of Fagan Hall at Passage Point involved collaboration between three County departments and provided training to young offenders in the King County Department of Community and Human Service Work Training Program. The deconstruction project removed a 14,000 square-foot building from the site, while offering relevant green training to 12 young offenders in the Work Training Program. More than 90 percent of the deconstructed building materials were kept out of the landfill through salvaging and recycling.

Maintenance and Operations – Denise Thompson, Black River Building
Denise Thompson of the Facilities Management Division was instrumental in the Black River Building project, which earned a LEED silver rating for excellence in building operations and maintenance (EBOM). Thompson identified obtainable LEED criteria standards and defined the improvements to be made in the building’s operational systems and maintenance procedures. As a pioneer for her division’s landmark achievement, Thompson has also set the bar for the division’s approach to the future maintenance and operations of existing buildings, as well as forging the template for the pursuit of LEED EBOM certification on other existing County buildings.

Leader in Green Building – Jacquelynn Roswell
For the past 10 years, Jacquelynn Roswell of the Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) has been instrumental in promoting and maintaining momentum for green building efforts. Under her leadership, the South Plant Administration Building achieved a LEED New Construction (NC) – Gold rating in 2010. In addition to her work on the South Plant Administration Building, Roswell has also received LEED Accredited Professional-NC certification and made significant contributions to developing WTD’s Sustainability Scorecard, as well as contributing extensively to the WTD Green Team and is a great resource of sustainability related information.

Resource Conservation - West Point Treatment Plant Cogeneration: Waste-2-Energy
The Wastewater Treatment Division’s Waste-2-Energy project at the West Point Treatment Plant has been using a digester gas, which is a byproduct of the treatment process, to power equipment since 1966. Powered by digester gas, a cogeneration system will produce “green” electricity equal to 30 percent of the plant’s electricity consumption and hot water for plant process systems. The annual equivalent of energy produced through this process is equal to the average annual electricity used in 2,150 Puget Sound-area homes. Using the gas also reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 15,000 metric tons, and fulfills federal requirements for claiming double the renewable energy credits. The project was partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Innovation in Policy – Larry Fay and Dave Cantrell
Larry Fay and Dave Cantrell have been instrumental in advocating for public policies that improve sustainability in Washington. In particular, they have been involved with an amendment to allow rainwater harvesting and other water reuse systems. In 2010, an amendment to the Washington State Plumbing Code was achieved to allow rainwater captured from roof catchment systems as a potable water source. Fay and Cantrell have also worked extensively with various organizations to increase awareness and develop policy solutions to address water conservation, public health and the constant demand for safe water supplies.

Habitat Restoration and Landscape – Chinook Bend Natural Area
Several sustainable solutions were implemented during restoration of Chinook Bend Natural Area, which was a collaborative effort between the Parks, Water and Land Resources, and Wastewater Treatment divisions of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks. External partners were the City of Carnation, Ducks Unlimited, 4Culture and the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum. The project involved planting more than 18,000 native plants to restore the floodplain forest and enhance the wetland. Critical habitat was also restored for federally protected chinook salmon. In addition, reclaimed wastewater from the Carnation Treatment Plant is piped to Chinook Bend to enhance and increase the wetland habitat. The site features artwork, plus recreational facilities.

Legacy in Sustainable Development – Brightwater Treatment Plant Environmental Education and Community Center
Brightwater – King County’s new wastewater treatment plant, conveyance system and marine outfall to Puget Sound – includes numerous sustainability efforts. It supports King County’s mission of protecting public health and the environment, and integrates wastewater treatment, water reclamation and the site’s natural systems in a framework designed to educate the public and sustain nature. The project incorporates sustainable design and building practices in all facets of its construction and future operations. This includes the Environmental Education and Community Center that will apply for LEED-NC Platinum certification, the membrane bioreactor technology system, high recycled content materials that cut carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 3,000 cars and restoring 43 acres to enhance salmon habitat and wetlands and more.

Related information

Green Building

King County Solid Waste