I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1819

To promote research on, and development, acquisition, and use of, environmentally efficient materials in the construction, repair, and maintenance

of Federal buildings.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 22, 1993

Mr. FINGERHUT introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to

the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology and Public Works and

Transportation

A BILL

To promote research on, and development, acquisition, and

use of, environmentally efficient materials in the construction, repair, and maintenance of Federal buildings.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Environ5 mentally Efficient Building Materials Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 For purposes of this Act:

8 (1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad9 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
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1 (2) The term ‘‘agency’’ means an Executive

2 agency as defined under section 105 of title 5, Unit3 ed States Code, and any agency of the judicial

4 branch of Government.

5 (3) The term ‘‘environmentally efficient mate6 rials’’ means any recycled, recovered, reclaimed, or

7 reused material whose production, manufacture, fab8 rication, and use conserves and preserves natural re9 sources when compared to the production, manufac10 ture, fabrication, and use of comparable, more con11 ventional materials.

12 (4) The term ‘‘environmentally efficient build13 ing materials’’ means any environmentally efficient

14 material which may be used in the construction of

15 a building or facility.

16 (5) The term ‘‘solid waste’’ means any garbage,

17 refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water

18 supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facil19 ity and other discarded material, including solid, liq20 uid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material result21 ing from industrial, commercial, mining, and agri22 cultural operations, and from community activities,

23 but does not include solid or dissolved material in

24 domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in

25 irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which
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1 are point sources subject to permits under section

2 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33

3 U.S.C. 1342) or source, special nuclear, or byprod4 uct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of

5 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).

6 (6) The term ‘‘construction’’ with respect to

7 any project of construction under this Act, means

8 (A) the erection or building of new structures and

9 acquisition of lands or interests therein, or the ac10 quisition, replacement, expansion, remodeling, alter11 ation, modernization, or extension of existing struc12 tures, and (B) the acquisition and installation of ini13 tial equipment of, or required in connection with,

14 new or newly acquired structures or the expanded,

15 remodeled, altered, modernized or extended part of

16 existing structures (including trucks and other

17 motor vehicles, and tractors, cranes, and other ma18 chinery) necessary for the proper utilization and op19 eration of the facility after completion of the project;

20 and includes preliminary planning to determine the

21 economic and engineering feasibility and the public

22 health and safety aspects of the project, the engi23 neering, architectural, legal, fiscal, and economic in24 vestigations and studies, and any surveys, designs,

25 plans, working drawings, specifications, and other
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1 action necessary for the carrying out of the project,

2 and (C) the inspection and supervision of the proc3 ess of carrying out the project to completion.

4 SEC. 3. FEDERAL ACQUISITION AND USE OF ENVIRON5 MENTALLY EFFICIENT BUILDING MATE6 RIALS.

7 (a) DEMONSTRATION OF ACQUISITION AND USE OF

8 MATERIALS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the

9 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish

10 a 3-year pilot program to promote research on, and devel11 opment of, environmentally efficient building materials

12 through demonstration of the acquisition and use of envi13 ronmentally efficient building materials in the construc14 tion of new Federal facilities and buildings and in existing

15 Federal facilities and buildings. In carrying out the pilot

16 program, the Administrator shall take into consideration

17 the advice and recommendations of the Environmentally

18 Efficient Building Material Advisory Board established

19 under section 5.

20 (b) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting environ21 mentally efficient building materials, the Administrator

22 shall use the criteria of—

23 (1) maximizing the conservation and preserva24 tion of natural resources;
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1 (2) ensuring that the materials are similar in

2 quality and durability to comparable, more conven3 tional materials;

4 (3) ensuring that the materials are cost com5 petitive with comparable, more conventional mate6 rials on a life-cycle cost basis;

7 (4) ensuring that the materials meet appro8 priate environmental, public health, and safety

9 standards; and

10 (5) ensuring that the materials meet appro11 priate standards for energy efficiency.

12 (c) PREFERENCES AMONG ENVIRONMENTALLY EF13 FICIENT BUILDING MATERIALS.—When making choices

14 between comparable environmentally efficient building ma15 terials that meet all the criteria under subsection (b), the

16 Administrator shall give preference to those materials that

17 best satisfy the criteria under subsection (b)(1).

18 SEC. 4. REPORT.

19 Not later than 30 days after completion of the pilot

20 program established under section 3, the Administrator

21 shall submit to Congress a report on its implementation.

22 Such a report shall include—

23 (1) a listing of the type and quantities of envi24 ronmentally efficient building materials used;
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1 (2) the cost and performance of such materials

2 compared to comparable, more conventional mate3 rials;

4 (3) an assessment of the extent to which the ac5 quisition and use of such materials can be expanded

6 beyond the scope of the pilot program;

7 (4) an assessment of how well the materials

8 meet the criteria under section 3(b); and

9 (5) an assessment of the extent to which re10 search on, and development of, such materials oc11 curred as a result of the pilot program and the ex12 tent to which further support is needed to stimulate

13 such research and development.

14 SEC. 5. ENVIRONMENTALLY EFFICIENT BUILDING MATE15 RIAL ADVISORY BOARD.

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Envi17 ronmentally Efficient Building Material Advisory Board

18 (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Board’’). The

19 Board shall consist of 11 members appointed by the Ad20 ministrator of whom—

21 (1) one shall be a representative from the Envi22 ronmental Protection Agency;

23 (2) one shall be a representative from the Gen24 eral Services Administration;
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1 (3) one shall be a representative from the Army

2 Corps of Engineers;

3 (4) two shall be representatives from the envi4 ronmental community;

5 (5) two shall be representatives from the con6 struction industry, of whom at least one shall be

7 from a small business;

8 (6) two shall be representatives from manufac9 turing companies that produce environmentally effi10 cient materials, of whom at least one shall be from

11 a small business; and

12 (7) two shall be representatives from the sci13 entific and technical community.

14 (b) DUTIES.—The Board shall—

15 (1) provide advice and recommendations to the

16 Administrator on the implementation of the pilot

17 program established under section (3);

18 (2) advise the Administrator on the latest re19 search on, and development of, environmentally effi20 cient building materials and design and how such re21 search and development may be incorporated into

22 the construction of Federal buildings;

23 (3) make recommendations to the Adminis24 trator on actions needed to further facilitate the re25 search on, and development, acquisition, and use of,
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1 environmentally efficient materials in Federal con2 struction; and

3 (4) make recommendations to the Adminis4 trator on actions needed to minimize the generation

5 of solid waste in the construction of Federal build6 ings and facilities.

7 (c) CHAIRMAN.—The Administrator shall serve as

8 Chairman of the Board and shall be a voting member.

9 (d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet on a quar10 terly basis. The Board shall comply with the provisions

11 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

12 (e) APPOINTMENTS.—No later than 90 days after the

13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

14 make the initial appointments to the Board. The ap15 pointees shall serve until the Board’s termination.

16 (f) HEARINGS.—The Board may hold such hearings,

17 sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony,

18 and receive such evidence as the Board considers advisable

19 to carry out the purposes of this Act.

20 (g) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

21 Board may secure directly from any Federal department

22 or agency such information as the Board considers nec23 essary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Upon re24 quest of the Chairman of the Board, the head of such de-
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1 partment or agency shall furnish such information to the

2 Board.

3 (h) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Board may use the

4 United States mail in the same manner and under the

5 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the

6 Federal Government.

7 (i) GIFTS.—The Board may accept, use, and dispose

8 of gifts or donations of services or property for purposes

9 of carrying out its duties under this section.

10 (j) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of

11 the Board who is not an officer or employee of the Federal

12 Government shall be compensated at a rate equal to the

13 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed

14 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315

15 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including

16 travel time) during which such member is engaged in the

17 performance of the duties of the Board. All members of

18 the Board who are officers or employees of the United

19 States shall serve without compensation in addition to that

20 received for their services as officers or employees of the

21 United States.

22 (k) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Board

23 shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu

24 of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agen25 cies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United
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1 States Code, while away from their homes or regular

2 places of business in the performance of services for the

3 Board.

4 (l) STAFF.—(1) The Chairman of the Board may,

5 without regard to the civil service laws and regulations,

6 appoint and terminate an executive director and such

7 other additional personnel as may be necessary to enable

8 the Board to perform its duties. The employment of an

9 executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the

10 Board.

11 (2) The Chairman of the Board may fix the com12 pensation of the executive director and other personnel

13 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub14 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code,

15 relating to classification of positions and General Schedule

16 pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the executive

17 director and other personnel may not exceed the rate pay18 able for level V of the Executive Schedule under section

19 5316 of such title.

20 (m) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any

21 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the

22 Board without reimbursement, and such detail shall be

23 without interruption or loss of civil service status or privi24 lege.
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1 (n) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT2 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairman of the Board may pro3 cure temporary and intermittent services under section

4 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ5 uals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

6 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive

7 Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

8 (o) REPORT.—(1) Taking into consideration the re9 sults of the pilot program established under section 3, the

10 Board shall submit a report to Congress and the Adminis11 trator that—

12 (A) makes recommendations on actions needed

13 to further facilitate the research on, and develop14 ment, acquisition, and use of, environmentally effi15 cient materials in Federal construction;

16 (B) makes recommendations on actions needed

17 to minimize the generation of solid waste in the con18 struction of Federal buildings and facilities; and

19 (C) includes any dissenting minority views.

20 (2) The report required by paragraph (1) shall be

21 submitted not later than 90 days after completion of the

22 pilot program established under section 3.

23 (p) TERMINATION.—The Board shall cease to exist

24 within 1 year after the submission of its report under sub25 section (o).
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1 SEC. 6. GUIDELINES TO FEDERAL AGENCIES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—No later than 1 year after the En3 vironmentally Efficient Building Material Advisory Board

4 submits its report under section 5(o), the Administrator

5 shall, after consultation with the Administrator of General

6 Services, promulgate regulations containing guidelines to

7 Federal agencies on minimizing the creation of solid waste

8 and on maximizing the use of environmentally efficient

9 building materials in the construction of Federal build10 ings. Such regulations shall include—

11 (1) a requirement that any bid or proposal for

12 Federal contracts for the construction of Federal

13 buildings include a plan for minimizing the genera14 tion of solid waste and for maximizing the use of en15 vironmentally efficient building materials in such

16 construction; and

17 (2) standards for an acceptable plan that satis18 fies the requirement under paragraph (1).

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