### Environmental Assessment for Final Rule , 10 CFR 43 3 , “Energy Efficiency Standards for New Federal Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential Buildings” (DOE/EA

- 1918 )

June 28 , 2013

1Environmental Assessment for Final Rule , 10 CFR 43 3 , “Energy Efficiency Standards for New Federal Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential Buildings” (DOE/EA

- 1918 )



### SUMMARY

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared this e nvironmental

a ssessment (EA) for DOE’s Final Rule

, 10 CFR Part 433, “Energy Efficiency Standards for New Federal Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential Buildings”

. The Final Rule updates the baseline standard in 10 CFR 433 to the latest private sector standard based on cost

- effectiveness and DOE’s determin ation that energy efficiency has been improved in these codes as required by 42 U.S.C 6831 et seq. DOE h as previously published a final determination with regard to the comparison of American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/American Society of Heating , Refrigerating and Air

Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE)/Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Standard 90.1

- 2010 (90.1

- 2010) to the prior version, ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007. ( 76 F R 64904; October 19, 2011.)

Section 305(a) of the Ener gy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA) requires that DOE establish by rule Federal building energy efficiency standards for all Federal commercial and multi

- family high

- rise residential buildings. EPCA requires DOE to establish by rule revised Federal building energy efficiency performance standards. (42 U.S.C. 6834(a)(3)(A)) The revised standards must require, in part, that new Federal buildings be designed to achieve energy consumption levels that are at least 30 percent below the minimum standard r eferenced in S ection 305(a)(2), if life

- cycle cost

- effective. (42 U.S.C. 6834(a)(3)(A)(i)(I)) Th e current reference standard for commercial and multi

family high

- rise buildings is ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1

- 2007 . In general, life

- cycle cost

- effective means the savings associated with the improved efficiency are greater than the associated costs. See 10 CFR Part 436.

ECPA also requires that not later than 1

- year after the date of approval of each subsequent revision of the ASHRAE Standard , DOE must determine whether to amend the Federal building standards with the revised voluntary standard based on the cost

effectiveness of the revised voluntary standard (42 U.S.C. 6834(a)(3)(B))

. Th e Final Rule is the resu lt of DOE’s determination that the revised standards should be updated to reflect the amendments made in ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2010

. DOE has previously issued standards for all new Federal commercial and multi

family high

- rise residential (over three st ories in height above ground) buildings pursuant to the requirements of ECPA, as amended . Th e Final Rule would update the current rule for commercial and multi

- family high

- rise residential buildings, 10 CFR 433 “Energy Efficiency Standards for New Federal Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential Buildings,” to replace ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 20 07 with the more energy

2efficient ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2010

. The Final Rule would make no other changes to the Federal Building Energy Efficiency Standards.

The EA examines the potential incremental environmental impacts of the Final Rule on building habitability and the outdoor environment. To identify the potential environmental impacts that may result from implementing the Final Rule , DOE compared the F inal Rule with the “no

- action alternative” of using the minimum requirements of the previous version of the Federal standard

– 10 CFR Part 433 (referred to as the “no

- action alternative”).

Building Habitability (Indoor Air) Impacts

The Final R ule woul d not change mechanical ventilation rates or affect sources of indoor air pollutants from the no

- action alternative. For commercial and multi

- family high

- rise residential buildings, ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2010 does not require specific mechanical ventilatio n rates and the rule does not require any changes in mechanical ventilation rates. The Final R ule contains essentially the same requirements for sealing of the building envelope that have been in all previous versions of ASHRAE Standard 90.1. Accordingly, indoor air pollutant levels are not expected to increase under the Final Rule

.

Outdoor

- Air Environmental Impacts

Table S

- 1 summarizes the estimated emissions impacts for each of the alternatives for the Federal building energy efficiency standard. It shows cumulative c hanges in emissions for CO 2 , NO x , mercury, and SO 2 for 30 years of construction (2013 through 2042) and 30 years of energy reduction for each buil ding built during that period

. Cumulative CO 2 , NO x , and mercury emissions are reduced co mpared to the Reference case for all alternatives. Emission reductions for S O 2 are negligible.

Table S

- 2 summarizes the estimated emissions impacts for six additional pollutants

– methane, nitrous oxide (NO), halocarbons, carbon monoxide (CO), particu late matter (PM), and lead. It shows cumulative c hanges in emissions for a thirty year period for each of the alternatives. Cumulative emissions are reduced compared to the Reference case for all alternatives. Emissions impacts for all but methane are

n egligible.

3Table S

- 1 Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons ( 30

- Year s of Commercial Construction)

Baseline (no

- action alternative) Final Rule

- Code or Standard Carbon Dioxide Nitrogen Oxides Mercury Sulfur Dioxide

ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 90.1

- 2010 89,888,200 91,851 1.2795 Negligible 10% below 90.1

- 2010 126,091,100 128,857 1.7950 Negligible

20% below 90.1

- 2010 162,293,900 165,864 2.3105 Negligible

30% below 90.1

- 2010 198,496,800 202,870 2.8260 Negligible

40% below 90.1

- 2010 234,699,600 239,876 3.3415 Negligible

50% below 90.1

- 2010 270,902,400 276,882 3.8570 Negligible

30% Below ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 30% below 90.1

- 2010 62,921,800 64,296 0.8957 Negligible

40% below 90.1

- 2010 99,124,600 101,302 1.4112 Negligible

50% below 90.1

- 2010 135,327,500 138,308 1.9267 Negligible

Table S

- 2 Other Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons ( 30

- Year s of Commercial Construction)

Baseline (no

- action alternative) Final Rule

- Code or Standard Methane Nitrous Oxide and Halocarbons Carbon Monoxide, Particulate Matter

, and Lead

ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 90.1

- 2010 996,011 Negligible Negligible
10% below 90.1

- 2010 1,397,236 Negligible Negligible
20% below 90.1

- 2010 1,798,462 Negligible Negligible
30% below 90.1

- 2010 2,199,687 Negligible Negligible
40% below 90.1

- 2010 2,600,913 Negligible Negligible
50% below 90.1

- 2010 3,002,138 Negligible Negligible

30% Below ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 30% below 90.1

- 2010 697,208 Negligible Negligible
40% below 90.1

- 2010 1,098,433 Negligible Negligible
50% below 90.1

- 2010 1,499,659 Negligible Negligible

4

### ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ANSI American National Standards Institute ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air

- Conditioning Engineers, Inc. CAIR Clean Air Inte rstate Rule CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CFR Code of Federal Regulations CH 4 methane CO 2 carbon dioxide CO carbon monoxide D.C. District of Columbia DOE Department of Energy EA e nvironmental assessment ECPA Energy Conservation and Production Act EGU electric generating unit EPA Environmental Protection Agency EUI Energy use intensity, kBtu/ft2

- yr FR Federal Register f t 2 square feet GHG g reenhouse gas HVAC h eating, ventilation, and air conditioning IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IESNA Illuminating Engineering Society of North America kBtu o ne thousand British thermal units NAS National Academy of Sciences NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 NESHAP national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants N 2 O nitrous oxide NO 2 nitrogen dioxide NO x n itrogen oxide NRC National Research Council O 3 ozone PM particulate matter SO 2 sulfur dioxide SO x s ulfur oxide gases UNEP United Nations Environment Programme U.S.C. United States Code VOC v olatile organic compounds

5

### CONTENTS

SUMMARY

................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 2 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

................................ ................................ ........... 5 1 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR AGENCY ACTION

................................ ................... 8 2 THE FINAL RULE AND ALTERNATIVES

................................ ............................ 9 2.1 Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential Buildings

........................ 9 2.1.1 No

- Action Alternative One

– Standard 90.1

- 2007

................................ ........... 9 2.1.2 No

- Action Alternative Two

- 30 Percent Better than Standard 90.1

- 2007

....... 9 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

................................ ...... 10 3.1 Indoor Habitability

................................ ................................ ............................. 10 3.2 Outdoor Air

................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 13 3.2.1 Air Emissions Descriptions and Regulation

................................ .................. 13 3.2.2 Global Climate Change

................................ ................................ ........... 17 4 CALCULATING ENERGY SAVINGS BY BUILDING TYPE

............................. 20 4.1 Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential Buildings

...................... 20 4.1.1 Commercial Building Types Used to Estimate Energy Savings

.................... 20 5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT S

................................ ................................ .............. 22 5.1 Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential

................................ .......... 22 5.1.1 Building Habitability (Indoor

- Air) Impacts

................................ .................... 22 5.1.2 Outdoor Air

................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 22 5.2 Environmental Justice and Other Impacts

................................ ............................. 26 6 AGENCIES AND PERSON CONSULTED DURING THIS RULEMAKING

....... 27 7 REFERENCES

................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 28

6

### TABLES

Table 1 Indoor

- Air Emissions

................................ ................................ .......................... 11 Table 2 Estimated Floor Area Fraction of New Federal Commercial Building Construction

................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 20 Table 3 Annual Energy Savings (kBtu/ft 2

- yr) of Final Rule Compared to No

- Action Alternative

................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 21 Table 4 Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons (Year 1 of Commercial Construction)

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 23 Table 5 Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons (30

- Years of Commercial Construction)

................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 24 Table 6 Other Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons (Year 1 of Commercial Construction)

................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 25 Table 7 Other Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons (30

- Years of Commercial Construction)

................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 26

7

### 1 **PURPOSE AND NEED FOR AGENCY ACTION**

This e nvironmental a ssessment (EA) complies with the National Environment al Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the implementing regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR Parts 1500

- 1508), and DOE’s regulations for implementing National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA ) (10 CFR Part 1021).

Section 305 of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA), requires DOE to establish building energy efficiency standards for all new Federal buildings. (42 U.S.C. 6834) Section 305(a)(1) requires standards that contain energy efficiency measures that are technologically feasible and economically justified but, at a minimum, require the subject buildings to meet the energy saving and renewable energy specifications in th e applicable voluntary consensus energy code specified in S ection 305(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 6834(a)(1) and (2))

. Section 305 of ECPA also requires that “Not later than one

- year after the date of approval of each subsequent revision of the ASHRAE Standard or the IECC, as appropriate, the Secretary shall determine, based on the cost

- effectiveness of the requirements under the amendment, whether the revised standards established under this paragraph should be updated to reflect the amendment

. ” (42 USC 6834(a)(3 )(B))

.

The Final Rule is the result of DOE’s determination that the revised standards should be updated to reflect the amendments made in the ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2010 based on the cost

- effectiveness of the latest private sector standards and DOE’s determ inations as to the energy efficiency improvements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1

- 2010 as required by Title III of ECPA, which establishes requirements for the Building Energy Efficiency Standards Program ( 42 U.S.C. 6831 et seq. ). Prior to today’s Fina l Rule, DOE reviewed ASHRAE Standard 90.1 for DOE’s state building codes program and determined that the 2010 version of ASHRAE Standard 90.1 would achieve greater energy efficiency than the prior version. This determination was subject to notice and comm ent. See 76 FR 43298 (July 20, 2011 )

.

8

### 2 **THE FINAL RULE AND ALTERNATIVES**

Section 2.1 describes the Final Rule and the no

- action alternatives for commercial and multi

- family high

- rise residential buildings

.

2.1 Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential Buildings

The potential environmental impacts that would result from implementing the Final Rule for new Federal commercial buildings and multi

- family high

- rise residential buildings (over three stories in height and containing three or more dwelling units ) were examined by comparing the Final Rule with the minimum that Federal agencies must achieve under the existing 10 CFR Part 433, ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2007 . The Final Rule was also compared with a level of energy efficiency 30 percent better than Standard 90.1

- 2007 , because the existing 10 CFR Part 433 requires buildings to be at least 30 percent better than Standard 90.1

- 2007 if life

- cycle cost

- effective.

The proposed action is the Final Rule , which would update the baseline stan dard to ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2010

. This new baseline is compared against two alternative, "No

- Action" scenarios.



### 2.1. 1 No

- Action Alternative One

– Standard 90.1

- 2007

The first no

- action alternative is defined as the use of Standard 90.1

- 2007 , as required by the current 10 CFR Part 433. This standard establishes the minimum level of energy savings that Federal agencies should achieve under the current Federal commercial standard. 10 CFR Part 433 incorporates by reference design

, and perform ance

- based energy efficiency requirements for building envelope; heating, ventilation, and air

- conditioning (HVAC) systems and equipment; service water heating systems and equipment; electrical distribution systems and equipment for electric power; and lig hting.



### 2.1. 2 No

- Action Alternative Two

- 30 Percent Better than Standard 90.1

- 2007

The second no

- action alternative is defined as a level of energy efficiency 30 percent better than Standard 90.1

- 2007 . Although the second no

- action alternative is not explicitly required, 10 CFR Part 433 does require new Federal buildings to achieve a level of energy consumption 30 percent below Standard 90.1

- 2007 if that level is life

cycle cost

- effective.

9

### 3 **DESCRIP TION OF THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT** 

The Final Rule would establish requirements that may impact building habitability (indoor environment), the outdoor environment, and the Federal agencies that procure commercial and residential buildings. Section 3.1 a ddresses air emissions that can affect indoor

- air quality and related human health effects. Section 3.2 addresses air emissions in the outdoor environment.

3.1 Indoor Habitability

Energy efficiency codes can potentially affect indoor

- air quality, ei ther adversely or beneficially. The primary indoor

- air emissions that can adversely affect human health in typical commercial and residential buildings are particulate matter, carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), radon, form aldehyde, volatile organic compounds, and biological contaminants.

Building energy code requirements could influence the concentration levels of indoor

- air emissions in several ways. First, they could increase or decrease the ventilation and/or infiltration of fresh air from outdoors, which generally could reduce or increase indoor

- generated pollutant concentration levels, respectively. Th e Final Rule

w ould not change ventilation or infiltration relative to the no

- action alternatives for

commerc ial and high

- rise multi

- family residential buildings. Standard 90.1

- 2010 does provide an expanded list of potential openings to be sealed and new requirements for air barriers. However, Standard 90.1

- 2010 and the previous version both require all opening s in the building envelope to be sealed. (See Standard 90.1

- 2007, Section 5.4.3.1 Building Envelope Sealing, and Standard 90.1

- 2010, Section 5.4.3.1 Continuous Air Barrier.) Therefore, the re should be no impact on overall building infiltration from use o f Standard 90.1

- 2010. Additionally, Standard 90.1

- 2010 continues to reference ASHRAE Standard 62.1, which specifies minimum amounts of outdoor air that are to be provided. In specifying the minimum amounts of outdoor air to be provided, ASHRAE Standard 6 2.1 does not consider any air leakage through the building envelope.

Second, requirements in energy efficiency codes have the potential to impact internally generated indoor emissions by changing the materials or equipment used within the building s. Various emissions can be continuously or intermittently released within commercial and residential buildings. These emissions can originate from furnishings within a building (e.g., carpet, furniture), from building materials (e.g., insulation materia l, particle board), from the ground (e.g., radon), from the building occupants' indoor activities (e.g., tobacco smoking, painting), or from the mechanical equipment (e.g., fossil

- fuel appliances). Potential combustion emissions include CO, CO 2 , nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ). Fossil

- fuel

- burning (including gas stoves/ovens) equipment and, if allowed, tobacco smoke, are the main sources of combustion products. In addition, sources from outside the building (particularly vehicle exhaust) can be drawn into the building.

10Table 1 summarizes the principal indoor

- air emissions that can potentially be of concern within buildings.

Table 1 Indoor

- Air Emissions Pollutant Health Impacts Sources Particulate Matter Lung cancer, bronchitis and respiratory infections. Eye, nose, and throat irritations. Fossil fuel combustion, dust, smoking.

Carbon Monoxide CO is an odorless and colorless gas that is an asphyxiate and disrupts oxygen transport. At high concentration leve ls, CO causes loss of consciousness and death. Unvented kerosene and gas space heaters; leaking chimneys and furnaces; back drafting from furnaces, gas water heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces; gas stoves; and automobile exhaust from attached garages. Carbon Dioxide An excessive concentration of CO 2 triggers increased breathing to maintain the proper exchange of oxygen and CO 2 . Concentrations above 3 percent can cause headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Concentrations above 6 percent can cause death (NRC 1981) Sources include human respiration, tobacco smoking, gas stoves, and gas

ovens.

Nitrogen Dioxide NO 2 acts mainly as an irritant, affecting the eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory tract. Extremely high

- dose exposure to NO 2 (as i n a building fire) may result in pulmonary edema and diffuse lung injury. Continued exposure to high NO 2 levels can lead to acute bronchitis (EPA 1994) Sources include kerosene heaters, gas stoves, ovens, and tobacco smoke.

Radon Radon decay products in breathed air can deposit and stay in the lungs, sometimes contributing to lung cancer. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) estimates that 15,400 to 21,800 people in the United States die from lung cancer attributable to radon, although the number could be as low as 3,000 or as high as 32,000 (NAS 1998). A large majority of the deaths happen to cigarette smokers. Radon is much less of a concern in commercial buildings than in residential buildings bec a u s e these buildings usually have mechanical ventila tion and occupants are typically not in the buildings as many hours a week as they are in their homes. Radon is a radioactive gas that occurs in
nature. The greatest single source of radon is from the soil. It can be found in soils and rocks containing uranium, granite, shale, phosphate, and pitchblende (Moffat 1997).

11Table 1. Continued

Pollutant Health Impacts Sources Formaldehyde The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) has classified formaldehyde as a "probable human carcinogen" (EPA 1989). In low concentration levels, formaldehyde irritates the eyes and mucous membranes of the nose and throat (NRC 1981). Formaldehyde can cause watery eyes; burning sensations in the e yes, nose, and throat; nausea; coughing; chest tightness; wheezing; skin rashes; and allergic reactions (CPSC 1997). Various pressed

- wood products can emit formaldehyde, including particle board, plywood, pressed wood, paneling, some carpeting and backing, some furniture and dyed materials, urea

- formaldehyde insulating foam, and pressed textiles (CPSC 1997). Cigarette smoke also produces formaldehyde.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) VOCs can cause a wide variety of health problems. Some examples of potential hea l th effects include increased cancer risks, depression of the central nervous system, irritation to the eyes and respiratory tract, and liver and kidney damage. Some evidence exists that VOCs can provoke some of the symptoms typical of sick

- b uilding syndrome and cause severe reactions for individuals who appear to demonstrate multiple chemical sensitivities (EPA 1991). VOCs contain carbon and exist as vapors at room temperatures. Over 900 VOCs have been identified in indoor air (EPA 1991). F ormaldehyde is one type of VOC. Many products give off VOCs as they dry, cure, set, or otherwise age (Moffat 1997).

Biological Contaminants Biological agents in indoor air are known to cause three types of human disease: infections, where pathogens inva de human tissue; hypersensitivity diseases, where specific activation of the immune system causes diseases; and toxicosis, where biologically produced chemical toxins cause direct toxic effects (EPA 1994). Evidence is available showing that some episodes of sick

- building syndrome may be related to microbial contamination of buildings (EPA 1994). Sources include outdoor air and human occupants who shed viruses and bacteria, animal occupants (insects and other arthropods, mammals) that shed allergens, and indoor surfaces and water reservoirs such as humidifiers where fungi and bacteria can grow (EPA 1994).

12

### 3.2 Outdoor Air

The Final Rule would reduce energy consumption

, and therefore

, impact pollutant emissions associated with energy consumption.



### 3. 2.1 Air Emissions Descriptions and Regulation

This analysis first considers three air pollutants: sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen oxides (NO X ), and mercury (Hg). An air pollutant is any substance in the air that can cause harm to humans or the environment. Pollutants may take the form of solid particles (i.e., particulates or particulate matter), liquid droplets, or gases

. 1 DOE’s analysis also considers carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) , which is of interest because of its classification as a greenhouse gas (GHG). Seven additional pollutants

– methane, nitrous oxide, halocarbons, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and lead

– are also analyzed.

Carbon Dioxide. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is of interest because of its classification as a greenhouse gas (GHG). GHGs trap the sun’s radiation inside the Earth’s atmosphere and either occur naturally in the atmosphere or result from human activities. Naturally occurring GHGs include water vapor, CO 2 , methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and ozone (O 3 ). Human activitie s, however, add to the levels of most of these naturally occurring gases. For example, CO 2 is emitted to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), wood, and wood products are burned. In 2007, over 90 percent of anthropogen ic (i.e., human

- made) CO 2 emissions resulted from burning fossil fuels (EPA 2009).

Concentrations of CO 2 in the atmosphere are naturally regulated by numerous processes, collectively known as the “carbon cycle.” The movement of carbon between the atmosph ere and the land and oceans is dominated by natural processes, such as plant photosynthesis. While these natural processes can absorb some of the anthropogenic CO 2 emissions produced each year, billions of metric tons are added to the atmosphere annually. In the United States, in 2007, CO 2 emissions from electricity generation accounted for 39 percent of total U.S. GHG emissions

. 2

Nitrogen Oxides. Nitrogen oxides , or NO x , is the generic term for a group of highly reactive gases, all of which contain nitrogen and oxygen in varying amounts. Many of the nitrogen oxides are colorless and odorless. However, one common pollutant, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), along with particles in the air can often be seen as a reddish

brown layer over many urban areas. NO 2 is the specific form of NO x reported in this document. NO x is one of the main ingredients involved in the formation of ground

- level ozone, which can trigger serious respiratory problems. It can contribute to the formation

1 More information on air pollution characteristics and regulations is available on EPA’s website at
www.epa.gov. 2 IPCC Working Group 3, Table TS2.

13of acid rain, and can impair visibili ty in areas such as national parks. NO x also contributes to the formation of fine particles that can impair human health (EPA 2011b)

. Nitrogen oxides form when fossil fuel is burned at high temperatures, as in a combustion process. The primary manmade s ources of NO x are motor vehicles, electric utilities, and other industrial, commercial, and residential sources that burn fossil fuels. NO x can also be formed naturally. Electric utilities account for about 22 percent of NO x emissions in the United States

.
Mercury. Coal

- fired power plants emit mercury (Hg) found in coal during the burning process. C oal

- fired power plants are the largest remaining source of human

generated Hg emissions in the United States (EPA 2011c)

. U.S. coal

- fired power plants emit Hg in three different forms: oxidized Hg (likely to deposit within the United States); elemental Hg, which can travel thousands of miles before depositing to land and water; and Hg that is in particulate form. Atmospheric Hg is then deposited on land, lakes, rivers, and estuaries through rain, snow, and dry deposition. Once there, it can transform into methylmercury and accumulate in fish tissue through bioaccumulation.

Americans are exposed to methylmercury primarily by eating contaminated fish. Because t he developing fetus is the most sensitive to the toxic effects of methylmercury, women of childbearing age are regarded as the population of greatest concern. Children exposed to methylmercury before birth may be at increased risk of poor performance on

ne urobehavioral tasks, such as those measuring attention, fine motor function, language skills, visual

- spatial abilities, and verbal memory (Trasande et al. 2006).

Sulfur Dioxide. Sulfur dioxide, or SO 2 , belongs to the family of sulfur oxide gases (SO x ). T hese gases dissolve easily in water. Sulfur is prevalent in all raw materials, including crude oil, coal, and ore that contains common metals like aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, and iron. SO x gases are formed when fuel containing sulfur, such as coal and oi l, is burned, and whe n gasoline is extracted from oil or metals are extracted from ore. SO 2 dissolves in water vapor to form acid, and interacts with other gases and particles in the air to form sulfates and other products that can be harmful to people and their environment (EPA 2011a)

.

Methane

. Methane emissions are primarily from human

- related sources, not natural sources. U.S. methane emissions are from three categories of sources, each accounting for about one

- third of total emissions: (1) energy sources, (2) emissions from domestic livestoc k, and (3) decomposition of solid waste in landfills. The methane emitted from energy sources occurs primarily during the production and processing of natural gas, coal, and oil; not in the actual use (combustion) of these fuels. Methane is the primary i ngredient in natural gas, and production, processing, storage, and transmission of natural gas account for 56 percent of the energy source emissions (or 25 percent of all methane emissions). (DOE 2005)

Nitrous Oxide

. Nitrous oxide emission rates are mor e uncertain than those for CO 2 and methane, with nitrogen fertilization of agricultural soils being the primary

14human

- related source. Fuel combustion is also a source of nitrous oxide; however, in the commercial and residential sector total emissions are a negligible amount of all U.S. emissions. (DOE 2005)

Halocarbons and Other Gases. One group of human

- made greenhouse gases consists of halocarbons and other engineered gases not usually found in nature. Three of these gases are hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) , perfluorocarbons (PFC), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ). HFCs are compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, and fluorine. HFCs do not reach the stratosphere to destroy ozone so are, therefore, considered more environmentally benign than ozone

- depleting subs tances such as chlorofluoro

- carbons (CFCs), even though HFCs are greenhouse gases. HFCs are used as refrigerants and are becoming more common as ozone

- depleting refrigerants are phased out. PFCs are compounds containing carbon and fluorine. PFC emission s result as a byproduct of aluminum smelting and semiconductor manufacturing. SF 6 is used an insulator for electric equipment. Energy used in buildings contributes a negligible amount of emissions of these greenhouse gases. (DOE 2005)

Carbon Monoxide

. The main source of CO is the incomplete burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline. Exhaust from ‘highway vehicles’ contributes about 55 percent of all CO emissions. The CO produced from energy use related to buildings is 3 percent of all emissions, but mo st of this is from wood burning in residential buildings, which should not be impacted by these rules. 0.7% of CO emissions come from fuel combustion for electrical generation by utilities. (EPA 2007)

Particulate Matter . Particulate matter (PM)

, also known as particle pollution, is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Particle pollution is made up of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles.

PM impacts are of concern due to human exposures that can impact health. Particle pollution

- especially fine particles

- contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can get deep into the lungs and cause seriou s health problems. Numerous scientific studies have linked particle pollution exposure to a variety of problems, including: increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing, or difficulty breathing, for example; decreased lung fu nction; aggravated asthma; development of chronic bronchitis; irregular heartbeat; nonfatal heart attacks; and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

Power plant emissions can have either direct or indirect impacts on PM. A portion of the pollutants emitted by a power plant are in the form of particulates as they leave the smoke stack. These are direct, or primary, PM emissions. However, the great majority of PM emissions associated with power plants are in the form of secondary sulfates, w hich are produced at a significant distance from power plants by complex atmospheric chemical reactions that often involve the gaseous (non

- particulate) emissions of power plants, mainly SO 2 and NO x . The quantity of the secondary sulfates produced is deter mined by a very complex set of factors including the atmospheric quantities of SO 2

15and NO x , and other atmospheric constituents and conditions. Because these highly complex chemical reactions produce PM comprised of different constituents from different so urces, EPA does not distinguish direct PM emissions from power plants from the secondary sulfate particulates in its ambient air quality requirements, PM monitoring of ambient air quality, or PM emissions inventories. Further, as described below , it is

unc ertain whether efficiency standards will result in a net decrease in power plant emissions of SO 2, and of NO x in many s tates because those pollutants are now largely regulated by cap and trade systems. For these reasons, it is not currently possible to de termine how the standard s impact either direct or indirect PM emissions.

Lead Exposure to lead can cause a variety of health problems. Lead can adversely affect the brain, kidneys, liver, nervous system, and other organs. Today, metals processing is the major source of lead emissions to the atmosphere. Combustion from electric utilities is less than 2 percent of all lead emissions, with most of the combustion emissions are from coal, not natural gas or oil. Lead emissions directly from buildings are a negligible share of national total emissions (EPA 2001).

Air Quality Regulation

. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 list 188 toxic air pollutants that EPA is required to control (EPA 1990)

. EPA has set national air quality standards for six common p ollutants (also referred to as “criteria” pollutants), two of which are SO 2 and NO X . Also, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 gave EPA the authority to control acidification and to require operators of electric power plants to reduce emissions of SO 2 and NO X . Title IV of the 1990 amendments established a cap

and

- trade program for SO 2 , in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.), intended to help control acid rain

. 3 This cap

- and

- trade program serves as a model for more recent programs with sim ilar features.

In 2005, EPA issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) under sections 110 and 111 of the Clean Air Act ( 40 CFR Parts 51, 96, and 97 ) 4 70 FR 25162

– 25405 (May 12, 2005) . CAIR limited emissions from 28 eastern States and D.C. by capping emis sions and creating an allowance

- based trading program. Although, CAIR was remanded to EPA by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit), ( see North Carolina v. EPA , 550 F.3d 1176 (D.C. Cir. 2008 ),) it remained in effect temporarily, consistent with the D.C. Circuit’s earlier opinion in North Carolina v. EPA

, 531 F.3d 896 (D.C. Cir. 2008 ).

O n July 6, 2011, EPA promulgated a replacement for C AIR, entitled “ Federal Implementation Plans: Interstate Transport of Fine Parti culate Matter and Ozone and Correction of SIP Approvals,” but commonly referred to as the Cross

- State Air Pollution Rule or the Transport Rule. 76 FR 48208 (Aug. 8, 2011) . On December 30, 2011,

3 In contrast to the modeling forecasts of NEMS

- BT that SO 2 emissions will remain at the cap, during the years 2007 and 2008, SO2 emissions were below the trading cap. This raises the possibility that standards would cause some reduction in SO 2 emissions. However, because DOE does not have a method to predict when emissions will be below the trading cap, it continues to rely on NEMS

- BT and thus does not estimate SO 2 emissions reductions at this time.
4 See http://www.epa.gov/cleanairinterstaterule/.

16however, the D.C. Circuit stay ed the new rules while a panel of judges reviews them, and told EPA to continue enforcing CAIR (see EME Homer City Generation v. EPA

, No. 11

- 1302, Order at *2 ( D.C. Cir. Dec. 30, 2011)).

At the time the analysis was performed following the update to ASHRAE 90.1

, E PA had issued national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAPs) for mercury and certain other pollutants emitte d from coal and oil

- fired electric generating units ( EGUs )

. ( 77 FR 9304 ; February, 16, 2012

. ) The NESHAPs do not include emissi ons caps and, as such, DOE’s energy conservation standard s wou ld likely reduce Hg emissions.



### 3.2.2 Global Climate Change

Climate change has evolved into a matter of global concern because it is expected to have widespread, adverse effects on natural resources and systems. A growing body of evidence points to anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), as major contributors to climate change. Because this r ule will likely decrease CO 2 emission rates from the fossil fuel sec tor in the United States, the Department here examines the impacts and causes of climate change.

Impacts of Climate Change on the Environment. Climate is usually defined as the average weather, over a period ranging from months to many years. Climate ch ange refers to a change in the state of the climate, which is identifiable through changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties (e.g., temperature or precipitation) over an extended period, typically decades or longer.

The World Meteorol ogical Organization and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide an objective source of information about climate change. According to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC Re port), published in 2007, climate change is consistent with observed changes to the world’s natural systems; the IPCC expects these changes to continue (IPCC WGI 2007a)

. Changes that are consistent with warming include warming of the world’s oceans
to a depth of 3000 meters; global average sea level rise at an average rate of 1.8 mm per year from 1961 to 2003; loss of annual average Arctic sea ice at a rate of 2.7 percent per decade, changes in wind patterns that affect extra

- tropical storm tracks and tem perature patterns, increases in intense precipitation in some parts of the world, as well as increased drought and more frequent heat waves in many locations worldwide, and numerous ecological changes

. (IPCC WGI 2007b)

Looking forward, the IPCC describes continued global warming of about 0.2°C per decade for the next 2 decades under a wide range of emission scenarios for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), other greenhouse gases (GHGs), and aerosols. After that period, the rate of inc rease is less certain. The IPCC Report describes increases in average global

17temperatures of about 1.1°C to 6.4°C at the end of the century relative to today. These increases vary depending on the model and emissions scenarios. (IPCC WGI 2007b)

The IPCC Report describes incremental impacts associated with the rise in temperature. At ranges of incremental increases to the global average temperature, IPCC reports, with either high or very high confidence, that there is likely to be an increasing degree of i mpacts such as coral reef bleaching, loss of wildlife habitat, loss of specific ecosystems, and negative yield impacts for major cereal crops in the tropics, but also projects that there likely will be some beneficial impacts on crop yields in temperate

re gions.

Causes of Climate Change. The IPCC Report states that the world has warmed by about 0.74°C in the last 100 years. The IPCC Report finds that most of the temperature increase since the mid

- 20th century is very likely caused by the increase in anth ropogenic concentrations of CO 2 and other long

- lived greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere, rather than from natural causes.

Increasing the CO 2 concentration partially blocks the E arth’s re

- radiation of captured solar ener gy in the infrared band, inhibits the radiant cooling of the E arth, and thereby alters the energy balance of the planet, which gradually increases its average temperature. The IPCC Report estimates that currently, CO 2 makes up about 77 percent of the total CO 2 - equivalent 5 global warming potential in GHGs emitted from human activities, with the vast majority (74 percent) of the CO 2 attributable to fossil fuel use (IPCC 2007b) . For the future, the IPCC Report describes a wide range of GHG emissions scenarios, but under each scenario CO 2 would continue to comprise above 70 percent of the total global warming potential

. (IPCC 2000)

Stabilization of CO 2 Concentrations. Unlike many traditional air pollutants, CO 2 mixes thoroughly in the entire atmosphere and is long

- lived. The residence time of CO 2 in the atmosphere is long compared to the emission processes. Therefore, the global cumulative emissions of CO 2 over long periods determine CO 2 concentrations because it takes hundreds of years for natural processes t o remove the CO 2 . Globally, 49 billion metric tons of CO 2 – equivalent of anthropogenic (man

- made) greenhouse gases are emitted every year

. 6 Of this annual total, fossil fuels contribute about 29 billion metric tons of CO 2 (IPCC 2000).

Researchers have focused on considering atmospheric CO 2 concentrations that likely will result in some level of global climate stabilization, and the emission rates associated with achieving the “stabilizing” concentrations by particular dates. They

5 GHGs differ in their warming influence (radiative forcing) on a global climate system due to their different radiative properties and lifetimes in the atmosphere. These warming influences may be expressed through a common metric based on the radiative forcing o f CO 2 , i.e., CO 2 - equivalent. CO 2 equivalent emission is the amount of CO 2 emission that would cause the same

- time integrated radiative forcing, over a given time horizon, as an emitted amount of other long

- lived GHG or mixture of GHGs.
6 Other non

- fossil fuel contributors include CO 2 emissions from deforestation and decay from agriculture biomass; agricultural and industrial emissions of methane; and emissions of nitrous oxide and fluorocarbons.

18associate these stabil ized CO 2 concentrations with temperature increases that plateau in a defined range. For example, at the low end, the IPCC Report scenarios target CO 2 stabilized concentrations range between 350 ppm and 400 ppm (essentially today’s value)

— because of climate inertia, concentrations in this low

- end range would still result in temperatures projected to increase 2.0°C to 2.4°C above pre

- industrial levels 7 (about 1.3 °C to 1.7 °C above today’s levels). To achieve concentrations between 350 ppm to 400 ppm, the IPC C scenarios present that there would have to be a rapid downward trend in total annual global emissions of greenhouse gases to levels that are 50 to 85 percent below today’s annual emission rates by no later than 2050. Because it is assumed that there woul d continue to be growth in global population and substantial increases in economic production, the scenarios identify required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions intensity (emissions per unit of output) of more than 90 percent. However, even at these r ates, the scenarios describe some warming and some climate change is projected because of already accumulated CO 2 and GHGs in the atmosphere (IPCC 2007c)

. It is difficult to correlate specific emission rates with atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 and spe cific atmospheric concentrations with future temperatures because the IPCC Report describes a clear lag in the climate system between any given concentration of CO 2 (even if maintained for long periods) and the subsequent average worldwide and regional tem perature, precipitation, and extreme weather regimes. For example, a major determinant of climate response is “equilibrium climate sensitivity”, a measure of the climate system response to sustained radiative forcing. It is defined as the global average

su rface warming following a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations. The IPCC Report describes its estimated, numeric value as about 3°C, but the likely range of that value is 2°C to 4.5°C, with cloud feedbacks the largest source of uncertainty. Further, a s illustrated above, the IPCC Report scenarios for stabilization rates are presented in terms of a range of concentrations, which then correlates to a range of temperature changes. Thus, climate sensitivity is a key uncertainty for CO 2 mitigation scenarios that aim to meet specific temperature levels.

7 IPCC Working Group 3, Table TS 2.

19

### 4 **CALCULATING ENERGY SAVINGS BY BUILDING TYPE**

4.1 Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential Buildings

To compare estimated outdoor emissions, it is necessary to determine differences in building energy use by fuel type . This section provides the differences in potential building energy use that may result from implementing the Final Rule, which is evaluated at the ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2010 level, as well as increments of 10 percent increase s in energy efficiency, up to 50 percent better than 90.1

- 2010

. These values are then compared to the no

- action alternatives, which are ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2007 and 30 percent below 90.1

- 2007. The Final Rule energy savings were assessed for five common buildi ngs types in 15 cities, representing 15 climate regions within the United States. Energy savings from the Final Rule were estimated using the EnergyPlus whole building energy simulation program (DOE 2010 b ). Assumptions used in this analysis are described below.



### 4.1.1 Commercial Building Types Used to Estimate Energy Savings

GSA data was used to find the distribution of existing Federal building types (GSA 2008, GSA 2009). It was assumed that new Federal construction would have a similar distribution b etween building types. Several less common buildings types were put in the office category because they were not easily characterized or modeled and their use

patterns are likely similar to those of office buildings. The distribution shown in Table 2

was u sed for new Federal construction

.

Table 2 Estimated Floor Area Fraction of New Federal Commercial Building Construction

Building Type Estimated Fraction of Floor Space Office 63% Education/Training 8% Dormitory Barracks 9% Warehouse 15% Hospital 4%

Office and education/training buildings were further subdivided into several common building types : small offices, medium offices, large offices, primary education, and secondary education. The distribution of building floor space within these

20subcategories was assumed to be the same as national building stock. 8 A total of 22 million square feet of new Federal buildings are assumed to be constructed each year.

Table 3 shows the national average energy savings in terms of energy use intensity (EUI) from the Final Rule by building and fuel type. The table compares various levels of increased efficiency (reduced EUI) against two "No

- Action" baselines as described in Sect ion 2. EUI is the energy consumed by a building per square foot per year. The national average EUIs were calculated using a weighted average of EUIs for the types of buildings that the Federal Government is expected to construct shown in Table 2 . Site en ergy includes energy used only at the building site. Source energy includes energy used at the building site and energy lost in producing and delivering the energy to the site. The total source EUI savings for the combined average building indicates the total energy savings averaged across the five building types using the percent distribution given above.

Table 3 Annual Energy Savings (kBtu/ft 2

- yr) of Final Rule Compared to No

- Action Alternative

Baseline (no

- action alternativ e) Final Rule

- Code or Standard Site Energy Breakdown Total

Gas EUI

(kBtu/ ft 2

- yr) Electric EUI (kBtu/ ft 2

- yr) Site EUI (kBtu/ ft 2

- yr) Source EUI (kBtu/ ft 2

- yr)

ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 90.1

- 2010 1.7 7.6 9.3 26.2 10% below 90.1

- 2010 2.4 10.7 13.1 36.8 20% below 90.1

- 2010 3.1 13.8 16.8 47.3 30% below 90.1

- 2010 3.7 16.8 20.6 57.9 40% below 90.1

- 2010 4.4 19.9 24.3 68.5 50% below 90.1

- 2010 5.1 23.0 28.0 79.0
30% Below ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 30% below 90.1

- 2010 1.2 5.3 6.5 18.3 40% below 90.1

- 2010 1.9 8.4 10.3 28.9 50% below 90.1

- 2010 2.5 11.5 14.0 39.5

8 The 2011 Annual Energy Outlook projects approximately 2.2 billion square feet of commercial floor space will be added annually to the U.S. building stock (http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/). Since Federal buildings represent about 1 percent of total U.S. building stock, about 2 2 million square feet of new Federal buildings are added each year.

21

### 5 **ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS**

5.1 Commercial and Multi

- Family High

- Rise Residential

This section provides the potential environmental impacts that may result from implementing the Final Rule, which is evaluated at the ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2010 level

, as well as increments of 10 percent increase s in energy efficiency, up to 50 percent bett er than 90.1

- 2010

. These values are then compared to the no

- action alternatives, which are ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2007 and 30 percent below 90.1

- 2007

.



### 5.1.1 Building Habitability (Indoor

- Air) Impacts

The Final Rule would not change mechanical ventilat ion rates or affect sources of indoor

- air pollutants from the no

- action alternative. For commercial and multi

- family high

- rise residential buildings, ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2010 does not require specific mechanical ventilation rates and the Final R ule does not require any changes in mechanical ventilation rates. The Final Rule contains essentially the same requirements for sealing of the building envelope that have been in all previous versions of ASHRAE Standard 90.1. Accordingly, indoor

- air pollutant leve ls are not expected to increase under the Final Rule.



### 5.1.2 Outdoor Air

In general, u nder all the alternatives examined in th is EA

, carbon dioxide, nitro gen oxides, and mercury emissions would be reduced because more energy efficient buildings consume less fossil fuel s

. The emissions reductions described in this section represent the annual savings from only 1 year of Federal commercial building construction ( 22 million ft 2 ) and over an arbitrary 30

- year time period.

Electricity production u ltimately used in Federal commercial buildings is assumed to have the same distribution of fuel/energy sources (e.g., coal, nuclear) as overall national electricity production. The emissions coefficients were calculated using data from the EIA’s Electric Power Annual (DOE 20 10a ).

Table 4 shows the estimated first

- year reduction in emissions for one year of Federal construction

.

22Table 4 Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons (Year 1 of Commercial Construction)

Baseline (no

- action alternative) Final Rule

Code or Standard Carbon Dioxide Nitrogen Oxides Mercury Sulfur Dioxide

ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 90.1

- 2010 99,876 102 0.00142 Negligible

10% below 90.1

- 2010 140,101 143 0.00199 Negligible

20% below 90.1

- 2010 180,327 184 0.00257 Negligible

30% below 90.1

- 2010 220,552 225 0.00314 Negligible

40% below 90.1

- 2010 260,777 267 0.00371 Negligible

50% below 90.1

- 2010 301,003 308 0.00429 Negligible

30% Below ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 30% below 90.1

- 2010 69,913 71 0.00100 Negligible

40% below 90.1

- 2007 110,138 113 0.00157 Negligible

50% below 90.1

- 2007 150,364 154 0.00214 Negligible

As can be seen from Table 4 , if buildings meet s the new minimum requirement rather than the previous requirement (ASHRAE Standard 90.1

- 2010 versus 90.1

- 2007 ), an estimated 99

, 876 metric tons of carbon dioxide emission will be eliminated in the first year of the Final R ule for the estimated 22 million ft 2 of new construction. These emission reductions compare to 5,835 million metric tons of total carbon dioxide emissions for the U.S. in 200 8 (DOE 20 10a ), or about one

- half of one

- thousandth of 1 percent of the national total.

23Estimated reductions for 30 years of construction (2013 through 2042) and 3 0 years of energy reduction for each building built during that period are shown in Table 5

.

Table 5 Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons (30

- Years of Commercial Construction)

Baseline (no

- action alternative) Final Rule

- Code or Standard Carbon Dioxide Nitrogen Oxides Mercury Sulfur Dioxide

ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 90.1

- 2010 89,888,200 91,851 1.2795 Negligible 10% below 90.1

- 2010 126,091,100 128,857 1.7950 Negligible

20% below 90.1

- 2010 162,293,900 165,864 2.3105 Negligible

30% below 90.1

- 2010 198,496,800 202,870 2.8260 Negligible

40% below 90.1

- 2010 234,699,600 239,876 3.3415 Negligible

50% below 90.1

- 2010 270,902,400 276,882 3.8570 Negligible

30% Below ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 30% below 90.1

- 2010 62,921,800 64,296 0.8957 Negligible

40% below 90.1

- 2010 99,124,600 101,302 1.4112 Negligible

50% below 90.1

- 2010 135,327,500 138,308 1.9267 Negligible

SO 2 emission s were also considered in this analysis. SO 2 emissions from affected

e lectric g enerating u nits (EGUs) are subject to nationwide and regional emissions cap and trading programs, which create uncertainty about the impact of energy efficiency standards on SO 2 emissions. The attainment of emissions caps is typically flexible among EGUs and is enfor ced through the use of emissions allowances and tradable permits. Under EPA regulations in place at the time this analysis was performed following the update to ASHRAE 90.1 , any excess SO 2 emissions allowances resulting from the lower electricity demand ca used by the imposition of an efficiency standard could be used to permit offsetting increases in SO 2 emissions by any regulated EGU. However, if the standard resulted in a permanent increase in the quantity of unused emissions allowances, there would be an overall reduction in SO 2 emissions from the standards. While there remains some uncertainty about the ultimate effects of efficiency standards on SO 2 emissions covered by the existing cap and trade sys tem, the National Energy Modeling System ( NEMS ) [ NEMS 2003 ] model that DOE uses to forecast emissions reductions for many other analyses indicates that no physical reductions in power sector emissions would occur for SO 2
. Therefore, no reductions in SO 2 emissions are assumed for this analysis.

24Again, at th e time this analysis was performed following the update to ASHRAE 90.1, t he CAIR established a cap on NO x emissions in 28 eastern states and the District of Columbia. All these s tates and D.C. have elected to reduce their NO x emissions by participating in cap

- and

- trade programs for EGUs. Therefore, energy conservation standards may have little or no physical effect on these emissions in the 28 eastern s tates and D.C. for the same reasons that they may have little or no effect on SO 2 emissions.

DOE also considered the emission impacts for methane, nitrous oxide, halocarbons, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and lead. Tables 6 and 7 show the

one

- year and 30

- year cumulative air emission reductions for these pollutants. A ll alternatives show s avings over the baseline.

Table 6 Other Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons (Year 1 of Commercial Construction)

Baseline (no

- action alternative) Final Rule

- Code or Standard Methane Nitrous Oxide and Halocarbons Carbon Mon oxide, Particulate Matter, and Lead

ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 90.1

- 2010 1107 Negligible Negligible
10% below 90.1

- 2010 1552 Negligible Negligible
20% below 90.1

- 2010 1998 Negligible Negligible
30% below 90.1

- 2010 2444 Negligible Negligible
40% below 90.1

- 2010 2890 Negligible Negligible
50% below 90.1

- 2010 3336 Negligible Negligible

30% Below ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 30% below 90.1

- 2010 775 Negligible Negligible
40% below 90.1

- 2010 1220 Negligible Negligible
50% below 90.1

- 2010 1666 Negligible Negligible

2 5Table 7 Other Air Emissions Reductions in Metric Tons (30

- Years of Commercial Construction)

Baseline (no

- action alternative) Final Rule

- Code or Standard Methane Nitrous Oxide and Halocarbons Carbon Monoxide, Particulate Matter, and Lead

ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 90.1

- 2010 996,011 Negligible Negligible
10% below 90.1

- 2010 1,397,236 Negligible Negligible
20% below 90.1

- 2010 1,798,462 Negligible Negligible
30% below 90.1

- 2010 2,199,687 Negligible Negligible

40% below 90.1

- 2010 2,600,913 Negligible Negligible
50% below 90.1

- 2010 3,002,138 Negligible Negligible

30% Below ASHRAE 90.1

- 2007 30% below 90.1

- 2010 697,208 Negligible Negligible
40% below 90.1

- 2010 1,098,433 Negligible Negligible
50% below 90.1

- 2010 1,499,659 Negligible Negligible



### 5.2 Environmental Justice and Other Impacts A consideration of Environmental Justice is made pursuant to Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low

- Income Populations” (59 FR 7629, EO signed Feb. 11, 1994). The Executive Order requires F ederal agencies to address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on low

- income or minority populations. The Final Rule would not result in any adverse health effects and therefo re does not have the potential for disproportionately high and adverse health effects on minorities and low income population. The Final Rule is not expected to impact any sensitive environmental resources such as wetlands, endangered species, or histori c or archaeological sites. There are no aspects of the Final Rule that would be affected by a terrorist act.

26

### 6 **AGENCIES AND PERSON CONSULTED DURING THIS RULEMAKING** 

In accordance with Council on Environmental Quality CEQ regulations in 40 CFR 1508.9(b), a list of persons/agencies consulted during the development of this rulemaking and environmental assessment is provided below.

DOE and Contractor Staff US Department of Energy

- Michael Erbesfeld and Mohammed Khan Pacific Northwest National Lab oratory (DOE contractor)

- Mark Halverson

, James Hand , Robert Lucas, and Sriram Somasundaram

27

### 7 **REFERENCES**

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40 CFR 1500

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U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). 2009. FY 2008 Federal Real Property Report. Washington, D.C.

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