II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 77 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011 Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend the Clean Air Act to reduce pollution and lower costs for building owners.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Pollution and Costs Reduction Act.

2.

Findings

Congress finds that— (1)actions taken to reduce emissions of air pollutants, as defined in section 302 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7602), will spur investments that create new jobs and foster innovation and entrepreneurship in clean technology industries; and (2)according to the Environmental Protection Agency— (A)the average building wastes 30 percent of the energy consumed by the building because of inefficiency; and (B)the operating costs of the nearly 5,000,000 buildings in the United States exceed $100,000,000,000 per year.

3.

Building pollution reduction program

Section 105 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7405) is amended by adding at the end the following: (f)

Building pollution reduction program

(1)

Definitions

In this subsection: (A)

Air pollutant

The term air pollutant has the meaning given the term in section 302. (B)

Emissions

The term emissions means— (i)direct emissions of an air pollutant from sources that are owned or controlled by an owner of a building; and (ii)indirect emissions of an air pollutant resulting from the generation of electricity, heat, or steam purchased by the owner of a building. (2)

Program

The Administrator shall establish and carry out a program, to be known as the Building Pollution Reduction Program, to provide assistance to owners of buildings in the United States to reduce the emission of air pollutants and building operating costs by— (A)constructing highly efficient buildings in the United States; or (B)increasing the efficiency of and reducing the emissions associated with existing buildings in the United States. (3)

Requirements

The Administrator shall provide assistance under this section to owners of buildings in the United States based on the extent to which projects relating to the buildings of the owners result in verifiable, additional, and enforceable reductions in emissions of air pollutants through operational improvements such as— (A)improved energy efficiency; (B)increased water-use efficiency; (C)use of renewable energy sources; and (D)such additional measures, as determined by the Administrator, as will result in a measurable decrease in emissions of air pollutants. (4)

Priority

In providing assistance under this subsection, the Administrator shall give priority to projects that— (A)achieve the following minimum scores as evaluated by energy performance bench­marking tools— (i)in new or renovated buildings that demonstrate exemplary performance by achieving— (I)a minimum score of 75 on the benchmarking tool of the Energy Star program established by section 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a); or (II)an equivalent score on an established energy performance bench­marking metric selected by the Administrator, such as the metric used for the National Building Rating Program of the Department of Energy; and (ii)in retrofitted existing buildings that demonstrate— (I)substantial improvement in the score or rating on the bench­marking tool described in clause (i) by a minimum of 30 points; or (II)an equivalent improvement using an established performance bench­marking metric selected by the Administrator; (B)are completed by building owners with a proven track record of reducing pollution through the measures described in paragraph (3); and (C)result in measurable pollution reduction benefits not encompassed within the metrics of the Energy Star program described in subparagraph (A)(i)(I). (5)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016. .