Governor Recognizes Environmental Achievements

Olympia -- Washington state Gov. Gary Locke has honored the BetterBricks Daylighting Lab with the Governor's Award for Pollution Prevention & Sustainable Practices.

The awards recognize businesses, agencies and organizations that reach high environmental protection goals - conserving vital resources such as energy and water and reducing or eliminating hazardous waste - while making products and providing services.

The BetterBricks Daylighting Lab and six other winners were recognized for preventing pollution and using business practices that are "sustainable" - those that support the vitality of the economy, the environment and the community.

The BetterBricks Daylighting Lab, which is managed by the University of Washington's School of Architecture in Seattle, promotes using natural light through windows or skylights as the primary source of interior lighting. Research indicates that daylighting not only saves energy, but also improves workplace health and productivity.

The work of the Daylighting Lab helps reduce the energy needed for lighting and cooling work, saving more than $1 million in electricity costs each year in the Northwest.

Electric lighting accounts for 40 percent of the total electrical energy consumed in commercial buildings. It also generates heat and adds to the building's cooling load. A building that fully uses daylighting strategies can reduce total energy costs by as much as 30 percent.

The Daylighting Lab also advises clients on meeting the U.S. Green Building Council's requirements for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) certification. The Lab is involved in more than 50 building projects that are LEED™ registered or certified. The American Institute of Architects recognized one of the lab's projects - the Pierce County Environmental Services Building - as a Top Ten Green Project for 2004.

Huntwood Building New Facility

Liberty Lake -- The most exciting phase of the construction on the new Huntwood manufacturing facility was placing the concrete tilt-up walls for this super-structure, each weighing 75,000 lb. An immense 200-ton crane was required.

Huntwood Industries, headquartered in Spokane, is in the process of building a 540,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing plant in Liberty Lake. Huntwood's new facility is the largest building currently under construction in the Inland Northwest.

Construction started six months ago by the Haskins Co. and is to be completed in late spring 2005, with move-in scheduled for mid-2005. The new facility will consolidate manufacturing, warehousing, and administrative functions within a single location. The company expects, over the next ten years, to employ over 1,400 people at this location.

Huntwood Industries, the West's leading manufacturer of custom kitchen, bath, entertainment, and home office cabinetry, has experienced exceptional growth over the past decade. Huntwood products are sold and distributed throughout the western US, Alaska, Hawaii, and a few select cities in the Midwest. The company operates factory showrooms/warehouses in Spokane, Seattle, Portland, Boise, Sacramento, and Phoenix. Huntwood promotes its products to the new-construction and remodeling trades.

HDR-EES Commissioned for Study on Lead

BELLEVUE -- The AWWA Research Foundation (AwwaRF), with support from 21 participating utilities and other entities, has commissioned an HDR/EES-led team to conduct a study of the effects that various lead bearing plumbing components have on compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule. The Lead and Copper Rule requires utilities to optimize corrosion control and if appropriate, treat source water, deliver public education and replace lead service lines to reduce lead in drinking water.

The stated goal of the three-year research project is "To research and quantify the contribution of lead service lines, utility-owned inline devices, and customer-owned plumbing fixtures to Lead and Copper Rule compliance issues. The final report is scheduled to be made available for publication in November 2007.

HDR (www.hdrinc.com) is an architectural, engineering and consulting firm with more than 3,600 employees.

BPA Supports Energy Projects

Seattle -- Vote for Change artists announced they will help fund several new small-scale solar energy and wind power plants in several of the states they toured through earlier this month.

"During the tour, the artists talked about how we could help support local organizations already doing good work in their communities around issues we all care about." said Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. "We decided to focus on local projects that highlight opportunities for alternative energy technologies in an effort to demonstrate community-based solutions to our nation's reliance on oil."

In order to identify the best local organizations focusing on alternative energy projects, Vote For Change partnered with the Portland, Oregon-based Bonneville Environmental Foundation. They have identified the projects Vote For Change artists will support in this endeavor, and will help communities see these projects through to their completion.

Support for two of the projects in the states the Vote for Change tour traveled through earlier this month has already been confirmed. Several more will be identified over the next month.

WISCONSIN

The agencies of Family Centers in Madison, Wisconsin work to prevent child abuse by helping to strengthen families. As part of a facility renovation and expansion project that is currently underway, Family Centers will get a solar hot water system and a solar electric power system with the help of additional funding from Wisconsin's Focus on Energy renewable energy program.

FLORIDA

Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington, Florida, will have a solar powered disaster shelter system installed, with additional support from the Florida Solar Energy Center through Florida's SunSmart Schools Program. School faculty will integrate the new solar power system into their teaching to show the importance of renewable energy to address economic development and reduced reliance on foreign oil.