Friday, December 11, 2009

FTA Requirement For Energy Assessments During Environmental Review

Applications for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) assistance for the construction, reconstruction, or modification of buildings require completion of an energy assessment. The energy assessment must be documented as part of the Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement. For projects which do not require an environmental assessment or EIS, the energy assessment must be submitted with the application for FTA assistance for actual construction.

An energy assessment consists of an analysis of the total energy requirements of a building, including:

(1) Overall design of the facility or modification, and alternative designs;
(2) Materials and techniques used in construction or rehabilitation;
(3) Special or innovative conservation features that may be used;
(4) Fuel requirements for heating, cooling, and operations essential to the function of the structure, projected over the life of the facility and including projected costs of this fuel; and
(5) Kind of energy to be used, including:
(i) Consideration of opportunities for using fuels other than petroleum and natural gas, and
(ii) Consideration of using alternative, renewable energy sources.


Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Environmental Review and Environmental Impact Assessment.

Caltha Environmental Review Website



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