Hoboken Brownstone Co 5/25/10 Visit

Adam Zeller (President of Greener by Design) kicked off the meeting.

HB Co was represented by Daniel Gans a nd George Vallone. Both are developers.

EPA staff present: Bob Dellinger, Frank Beha n, John Sager, Jesse Miller

Hoboken Brownstone Co (HB Co) is a New Jersey based company, and they visited EPA to educate management/staff on a product ( Autoclave Aerated Concrete – AAC ).

HB Co plan for the meeting was to: 1. Provide a history of AAC and their company 2. Explain where HB Co intends to go as a company 3. Get some advice for future actions from the EPA

History

There are 350 AAC plants worldwide, yet only 2 in the United States. The two plants in the US are independent of each other and ar e located in Georgia and Florida 1

.

- Xella Aircrete located in Georgia

- AERCON located in Florida

HB Co believes that AAC is being underused.

AAC composition consists of 70% sand. This percentage can be substituted with coal ash

. Thus, this represents a beneficial use for coal as h. HB Co believes using coal ash to offset the sand percentage in AAC is a win/win situation. It provides a market for coal ash, while also creating jobs in a distressed economy.

Where HB Co is going:

HB Co is pursuing 2 avenues at the same time: 1. They intend to build a Demonstration Project (Van Leer Place) 2. They intend to build an AAC Factory

Demonstration Project (Van Leer Place):

- HB Co was awarded a $3.5 m illion grant from New Jersey

- The project is planned to be 221 Un its to be completed in 8 phases

o Only 20 units are dedicated to the Demo Project

- This is a predominately a residential project

1 A Google search of AAC companies generated a list of 6 companies. HB Co did not list any specific AAC companies; instead, they st ated that one company exis ts in Florida and one comp any exists in Georgia.o HB Co is not going to get money upf ront;, hence, they are looking for additional funding

- This will be the first demonstration project under the NJ Master Plan

o The NJ Master Plan has a component th at stipulates a reduction in energy consumption in building construction by 2020

- HB Co has not broken ground yet on construction

o They intend to begin construction in the fall of 2010

- Van Leer is a Brownfields site

o HB Co has been in contact w ith the NJ Brownfields office

o HB Co is in the Brownfield Clean-Up Program (Revolving Loan Program)

- The project will be constructed primarily with the AAC product.

ACC Factory

- AAC can be constructed into blocks and/or planks

- HB Co plans to proceed with the factory construction regardless of whether or not CCRs are considered a beneficial use after the CCR rule is finalized.

- HB Co provided conservative estimates that the factory could bene ficially reuse about 30,000 tons of CCRs per year.

- HB Co plans to break ground on the f actory in the Spring/Summer of 2011

EPA Advice

Bob Dellinger suggested that HB Co contact the Br ownfield Office. Bob also provided an EPA contact in Region 2 who has an ex cellent record of building coali tions for projects that involve beneficial use of industrial by-products.

John Sager suggested that HB Co become fam iliar with the American Coal Ash Association

Additional Notes

AAC is currently struggling to find a US market because it is not easily available. There are very few plants in the United States. Most building constructors are primarily concerned with the R Value of material. AAC is unique in the sense that it shou ld be looked at as a holistic approach. AAC provides buildi ngs with better insulation so that smaller HVAC units are required. HB Co stressed that AAC saves money over the long haul.

A major drawback to AAC is that it is more expensive upfront than tr aditional concrete. For example, if 10 blocks of traditional concrete co st $10, then 10 blocks of AAC will cost $15.