Federal Requirements
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA)
Section 432 of EISA, Management of Energy and Water Efficiency in Federal Buildings, amends Section 543 of NECPA, and establishes a framework for facility project management and benchmarking. Under this new requirement, agencies must identify all "covered facilities" that constitute at least 75 percent of the agency's facility energy use. A covered facility may be defined as "a group of facilities at a single location or multiple locations managed as an integrated operation". An energy manager must be designated for each of these covered facilities. Each facility energy manager will be responsible for:
- Completing comprehensive energy and water evaluations (including re-/retrocommissioning) of 25 percent of covered facilities each year, so that an evaluation of each such facility is completed at least once every four years.
- Implementing of identified energy and water efficiency measures; bundling of individual measures of varying paybacks into combined projects is permitted.
- Following up on implemented measures, including fully commissioning equipment, putting in place O&M plans, and measuring and verifying energy and water savings.
Executive Order 13423
Executive Order 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy and Transportation Management (January 29, 2007) directs each agency beginning in FY 2008 [to] reduce water consumption intensity, relative to the baseline of the agency's water consumption in FY 2007, through life-cycle cost effective measures by 2 percent annually through the end of the fiscal year 2015 or 16 percent by the end of FY 2015.
DOE Supplemental Guidance
To help achieve the water goals and reporting requirements of E.O. 13423 and the Instructions for Implementing Executive Order 13423 (PDF 150 KB) (dated March 29, 2007) FEMP has developed supplemental guidance, Establishing Baseline and Meeting Water Conservation Goals of Executive Order 13423 (PDF 211 KB). Download Adobe Reader. This guidance was developed to assist in the interpretation of, and ultimate compliance with, E.O. 13423. Specifically, three key elements of compliance were identified and presented: baseline development, efficiency opportunity identification/ implementation, and necessary reporting. For each key area, this document provides E.O. 13423 interpretation, suggests a path forward, and provides resources for additional information.
Additionally, Best Management Practices (BMPs) were originally developed by the Department of Energy Federal Energy Management (FEMP) Program in response to the requirements set forth in previous E.O. 13123, which required Federal agencies to reduce water use through cost-effective water efficiency improvements. In response to E.O. 13423 and to account for recent changes in technology in water use patterns the Environmental Protection Agency's Water Sense Office has updated the original BMPs. The updated BMPs below were developed to help agency personnel achieve water conservation goals of E.O. 13423.
BMP # 1 - Water Management Planning
BMP # 2 - Information and Education Programs
BMP # 3 - Distribution System Audits, Leak Detection and Repair
BMP # 4 - Water-Efficient Landscaping
BMP # 5 - Water-Efficient Irrigation
BMP # 6 - Toilets and Urinals
BMP # 7 - Faucets and Showerheads
BMP # 8 - Boiler/Steam Systems
BMP # 9 - Single-Pass Cooling Equipment
BMP #10 - Cooling Tower Management
BMP #11 - Commercial Kitchen Equipment
BMP #12 - Laboratory/Medical Equipment
BMP #13 - Other Water Use
BMP #14 - Alternate Water Sources
For more information on the FEMP Water Efficiency Best Management Practices, please see the resources section.