Obama Abandons New Ozone Standard

September 2, 2011 

In a pre-Labor day late news release, President Obama abandoned a contentious new air pollution rule on setting a new ozone standard.  The E.P.A., following the recommendation of its scientific advisers, had proposed lowering the so-called ozone standard of 75 parts per billion, set at the end of the Bush administration, to a stricter standard of 60 to 70 parts per billion. The administration will seek to  implement the more lenient Bush administration standard set in 2008. Cass R. Sunstein, who leads the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and who reviews all major regulations from EPA, utilized a somewhat legally suspect basis for the rejection of hte new rule, and most believe politics (not science or the law) was behind the fairly significant change in position taken by the Obama Administration. The September 2, 2011 letter is attached.   Leaders of major business groups were pleased. The Obama EPA subsequently announced more details on its plans to now implement a three-year-old Bush administration standard for smog-forming ozone Lisa Jackson had denounced as illegal under the Clean Air Act as recently as the summer of 2011. Litigation over the legality of that standard will now resume, after having been delayed as the Obama EPA had previously told the court it would be putting out a new ozone standard.  

NSR Rules Issued for Indian Country

On June 10, 2011, EPA finalized a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to ensure that Clean Air Act NSR permitting requirements are applied to facilities in Indian country. The FIP puts in place the two remaining pieces of the preconstruction air permitting program for minor New Source Review (NSR) and nonattainment major NSR in Indian country. The FIP establishes requirement for EPA to issue air permits, or allows tribes to accept delegation of the federal program,  or allows tribes to develop and seek approval of a Tribal Implementation Plan (TIP).

EPA on  Boilers–New Area Source NESHAP and Compliance Guide Available

Boilers at commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities that emit less than 10 tons per year of any single air toxic or 25 tons per year or more of any combination of air toxics, except those that burn gaseous fuels or solid waste, are required to comply with the boiler area source National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP).  Requirements vary depending on the type of fuel used and can include emission limits for mercury and carbon monoxide, an energy assessment, tune-ups, and reporting and recordkeeping.  Affected facilities must file an initial notice by September 17, 2011 or within 120 days of startup of a new boiler.  A notice of compliance status is also required as early as September 17, 2011 depending on your fuel type and other requirements.  A new small entity compliance guide is now available to help facilities understand how to comply with this boiler area source NESHAP.  See http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/boiler/boilerpg.html and scroll down to “Implementation Tools.” You can also find the rule language, a fact sheet and technical fact sheet, a brochure, and a table of requirements for this rule as well as information on other boiler rules.  (Boilers that combust any non-hazardous solid waste are or will be subject to air emission standards for incinerators rather than for boilers, with limited exceptions.)

Boilers–Some Requirements Being Reconsidered

On March 21, 2011, EPA announced that it planned to reconsider the area and major boiler rules, as well as the CISWI rule to allow time to seek and review additional public input on the final standards for boilers and certain solid waste incinerators also published on March 21, 2011.

On May 18, 2011 EPA also issued a stay to delay the effective date ofthe major source boilers and CISWI standards (see 76 FR 28662).  EPAexpects to propose standards to be reconsidered by the end of October2011 and issue final standards by the end of April 2012.  Note that EPA did not stay the effective date of the standards for boilers located at area sources of air toxic emissions.  See above topic.  For more information, see http://www.epa.gov/airquality/combustion/.

E.P.A. Issues Tougher Cross-State Pollution Transport Rules

The Environmental Protection Agency in July , 2011 issued new cross-state pollution transport rules that mostly impact  power plants in 28 states. The new regulation, known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule  applies to most states east of the Rockies, with certain exceptions.

EPA Proposed NOx Emission Standards for Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines

EPA issued a proposed rulemaking to adopt the NOx emission standards approved by the United Nation’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). EPA is proposing to adopt emission standards and related provisions for aircraft gas turbine engines with rated thrusts greater than 26.7 kilonewtons. These engines are used primarily on commercial passenger and freight aircraft. The proposal contains standards and related provisions that were either previously adopted by ICAO, or agreed on at ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) in 2010. Specifically, EPA is proposing two new tiers of more stringent emission standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx). These are referred to as the Tier 6 (or CAEP/6) standards and the Tier 8 (or CAEP/8) standards.

The proposed standards would apply differently depending on the date the engine model received its original airworthiness certificate as follows.

* Engine models that were originally certificated prior to the effective date of the proposed rule may continue production without meeting the proposed Tier 6 standards through December 31, 2012. After that date, these engines must comply with the proposed Tier 6 standards (this date is generally referred to as the Tier 6 production cutoff). This delay in complying with the proposed Tier 6 standards for previously certificated engine models is intended to allow for an orderly transition to the proposed Tier 6 standards.

* Engine models that were originally certificated between the effective date of the proposed rule and December 31, 2013 must comply with the proposed Tier 6 standards.

* Engine models that were originally certificated beginning on or after January 1, 2014 must comply with the proposed Tier 8 standards. EPA anticipates establishing a future production cutoff to require all engine models that were originally certificated before the above date to comply with the proposed Tier 8 standards. We will consider this in a future action after first pursuing it within ICAO/CAEP.

EPA is also proposing several additional changes that would affect all aircraft gas turbine engines that are subject to current emission requirements. First, EPA is proposing to clarify when a design variation of a previously certified engine model causes the emission characteristics of the new version to become different enough from its parent engine that it must conform to the most current emissions standards. Second, EPA is proposing amendments to the emission measurement procedures. These revisions are primarily intended to reflect current certification practices. Finally, EPA is proposing to require all gas turbine and turboprop engine manufacturers to report to EPA, emission data and other information necessary for the purpose of conducting emission analyses and developing appropriate public policy for the aviation sector.

These proposed regulatory requirements, except a portion of the proposed engine manufacturer reports, have already been adopted or are actively under consideration by the ICAO. The proposed requirements are consistent with the United Nations Convention on International Civil Aviation.

EPA Should Address GHG Pollution under the Clean Air Act; GHG Regulation NOT for Federal Common Law – Supreme Court Decision - June 20, 2011

In 2004, plaintiffs filed suit against corporate entities who own fossil fuel-fired electric power plants, alleging that they release 10% of all U.S. anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Plaintiffs sought to hold defendants jointly and severally liable under both state and federal common law for creating a public nuisance and demanded that the nuisance be abated through the imposition of emissions limits on the defendants. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled [8-0 decision on June 20, 2011] in American Electric Power v. Connecticut, this case in which several states and others sought a court order requiring these large electric utilities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions because they were a public nuisance. As expected, the Court rejected the federal common law nuisance portion of this lawsuit against the owners of Midwestern coal-fired power plants. In a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Ginsburg, the Court ruled that the federal common law of nuisance had, in this context, been “displaced” by US EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The Court ruled that the federal government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act–as the justices ruled it could in its 2007 Massachusetts v. US EPA Supreme Court GHG decision, and as federal regulators are currently working to do–displaces any role that federal nuisance law might otherwise have. Justice Ginsburg wrote that “any such [federal public nuisance] claim [in this case] would be displaced by the federal legislation authorizing EPA to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions.” Ginsburg wrote: “The critical point is that Congress delegated to EPA the decision whether and how to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants; the delegation is what displaces federal common law.” The Court’s displacement-based decision could be revisited should Congress withdraw or otherwise interfere with EPA’s existing climate change authority. The Court did not determine whether federal law has preempted state common law remedies, as this issue was not decided below or briefed before the Supreme Court. That issue was left open for consideration on remand.

EPA Announces Timeline for Reconsideration of Air Toxics Standards for Boilers and Certain Incinerators

The Environmental Protection Agency has set a schedule for issuing updated air toxics standards for boilers and certain solid waste incinerators, and now will propose standards to be reconsidered by the end of October 2011 and will supposedly issue final standards by the end of April 2012. In May 2011, EPA announced it would stay the effective date of those standards. EPA did not stay the effective date of the standards for boilers located at area sources of air toxic emissions.

Pollution on Tribal Lands Target of New Regulations

Final Rule Containing NSR Requirements in Indian Country: EPA issued a final Federal Implementation Plan containing new requirements for implementing New Source Review in Indian Country. The FIP allows either EPA or the relevant tribe to take responsibility for issuing permits under the new requirements. EPA regional offices will be responsible for implementing the rules unless the tribe chooses to accept delegation or develop and obtain approval of a Tribal Implementation Plan.

EPA Issues Final Repeal of PM2.5 PSD Grandfathering

EPA issued a final rule repealing the grandfathering provision for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. 76 Fed. Reg. 28646 (May 18, 2011). The grandfather provision allowed facilities under certain circumstances to satisfy the PSD permit program requirements for PM2.5 by meeting the requirements for controlling particulate matter less than 10 micrometers (PM10) and analyzing impacts on PM10 air quality as a surrogate approach based on an EPA policy known as the “1997 PM10 Surrogate Policy.” Under the 2008 PM2.5 Implementation Rule, sources that submitted a complete permit application by July 15, 2008 were effectively “grandfathered” and allowed to continue to use the 1997 PM10 Surrogate Policy – whereby a source could demonstrate PSD compliance using coarse particulate matter (PM10) as a surrogate for PM2.5 – rather than directly demonstrate compliance with the PM2.5 standard. In the final rule, EPA also announced its decision to take no action on its earlier proposal to end early the 1997 PM10 Surrogate Policy. As a result, use of the policy will end as originally scheduled on May 16, 2011. On February 11, 2010, EPA also proposed to end early the 1997 PM10 Surrogate Policy in EPA-approved state PSD programs during the remainder of the SIP development period, which ended on May 16, 2011. EPA took no final action on that aspect of the proposal.

EPA Extends Comment Period for Utility MACT and NSPS

EPA has announced that it is extending by 30 days the public comment period for the Utility MACT and Electric Utility Generator NSPS proposal that was announced on March 16, 2011 and published in the Federal Register on May 3, 2011. The original comment deadline was July 5, 2011 and the new deadline is August 4, 2011. The extension to the comment period supposedly will not affect the deadline for the issuance of the final rules on November 16, 2011.

Amendments to GHG Reporting Rules for Electronics Manufacturing

EPA is proposing changes to the calculation and monitoring provisions in the Electronics Manufacturing portion (Subpart I) of the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule for the “largest” semiconductor manufacturing facilities (i.e., those that fabricate devices on wafers measuring 300 millimeters or less in diameter and that have an annual manufacturing capacity of greater than 10,500 square meters). More specifically, for reporting years 2011 and 2012 this action proposes to allow the largest semiconductor facilities the option to calculate emissions using default emission factors already contained in Subpart I, instead of recipe-specific utilization and by-product formation rates (recipe-specific emission factors) for the plasma etching process type. EPA initially proposed reporting requirements for electronics manufacturing on April 12, 2009 (74 FR 16448). On April 12, 2010, EPA published a revised proposal (75 FR 18652) concerning the monitoring and reporting methods for electronics manufacturing facilities. As of December 1, 2011, EPA issued the final Subpart I: Electronics Manufacturing of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule on December 1, 2011 (40 CFR part 98, subpart I) (75 FR 74774). In that rule, among other provisions, EPA finalized two different methods for facilities that manufacture semiconductors wafers measuring 300 millimeters (mm) or less in diameter to calculate and report their fluorinated GHGs, depending on the facility’s manufacturing capacity:

• A method for facilities that have an annual manufacturing capacity that is less than or equal to 10,500 square meters of substrate (hereinafter referred to as “other semiconductor manufacturing facilities”), and (2) a method for those that have an annual manufacturing capacity greater than 10,500 square meters of substrate (hereinafter referred to as the “largest semiconductor manufacturing facilities”). Pursuant to 40 CFR 98.93(a)(2)(i), semiconductor manufacturing facilities that fabricate devices on wafers measuring 300 mm or less in diameter and that have an annual manufacturing capacity of less than or equal to 10,500 square meters of substrate must calculate and report their fluorinated GHG emissions using default emission factors for the following process types and sub-types:
  • Plasma etching process type.
  • Chamber cleaning process type, which includes the following three process sub-types:
    • In-situ plasma chamber cleaning process sub-type.
    • Remote plasma chamber cleaning process sub-type.
    • In-situ thermal chamber cleaning process sub-type.
  • Wafer cleaning process type.
• Pursuant to 40 CFR 98.93(a)(2)(ii), semiconductor manufacturing facilities that fabricate devices on wafers measuring 300 mm or less in diameter and that have an annual manufacturing capacity greater than 10,500 square meters of substrate (i.e., the largest semiconductor manufacturing facilities) must calculate and report their emissions using a combination of default emission factors and directly measured recipe-specific emission factors. For the following process types and sub-types, the largest semiconductor manufacturing facilities must calculate emissions using only the default emission factors:
  • Chamber cleaning process type which includes the following three process sub-types:
    • In-situ plasma chamber cleaning process sub-type.
    • Remote plasma chamber cleaning process sub-type.
    • In-situ thermal chamber cleaning process sub-type.
  • Wafer cleaning process type.
• For the plasma etching process type, the largest semiconductor manufacturing facilities are required to calculate emissions using only directly measured recipe-specific emission factors.

EPA also included provisions for all electronics manufacturing facilities to use and/or request the use of best available monitoring methods (BAMM) in lieu of following specified parameters for calculating GHG emissions for a specific period of time. To estimate emissions from January 1, 2011 through June 30, 2011, owners or operators may use BAMM for any parameter that cannot reasonably be measured according to the monitoring and QA/QC requirements of Subpart I without submitting a request and receiving approval from the EPA Administrator (40 CFR 98.94(a)(1)).

EPA Final Air Pollution Rules for Boilers

Major Source Boiler MACT Fact Sheet
Area Source Boiler MACT Fact Sheet

The types of boilers and incinerators covered by these updated standards include:

• Boilers at large sources of air toxics emissions: There are about 13,800 boilers located at large sources of air pollutants, including refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial facilities. These standards will reduce emissions of pollutants including mercury, organic air toxics and dioxins.
• Boilers located at small sources of air toxics emissions: There are about 187,000 boilers located at small sources of air pollutants, including universities, hospitals, hotels and commercial buildings that may be covered by these standards. The original standards for these have been scaled back substantially, including for some sources revising the requirement from maximum achievable control technology to generally available control technology.
• Solid waste incinerators: There are 88 solid waste incinerators that burn waste at a commercial or an industrial facility, including cement manufacturing facilities. These standards, which facilities will need to meet by 2016 at the latest, will reduce emissions of pollutants including mercury, lead, cadmium, nitrogen dioxide and particle pollution.

New Guidance for Compliance Assessment with Part 68 RMP

EPA released new “Guidance for Conducting Risk Management Program Inspections under Clean Air Act Section 112(r)” (EPA 550-K-11-001, January 2011). This document updates and supersedes the “Guidance for Auditing Risk Management Plans/Programs under Clean Air Act Section 112(r)” of August 1999. The new document includes updated EPA policy on involvement of facility employees and employee representatives in EPA and delegated state agency on-site compliance inspections as provided for in Clean Air Act section 112(r)(6)(L). Additionally, the guidance reflects the Agency’s focus on inspections as a means of facility oversight, and provides additional information on CAA Section 112(r) inspection procedures. The guidance preserves Risk Management Program audits as a facility oversight option. However, audits should supplement implementing agency inspection programs and not be done in lieu of inspections. EPA requests that state and local agencies that have accepted delegation of the CAA section 112(r) program adopt procedures similar to those contained in this guidance in their 40 CFR Part 68 inspection programs. EPA’s interim policy on involvement of employees and employee representatives in CAA Section 112(r) on-site compliance evaluations established in the Agency’s April 2, 2010 memo is hereby superseded. The new guidance document, which is effective immediately, is available here.

EPA Issues Final Rule for State Greenhouse Gas Permitting Programs

EPA moved with its plan to call on certain states to update their Clean Air Act implementation plans to cover greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. EPA has identified 13 states that need to make changes to their plans, allowing them to issue permits that include GHG emissions. These states include: Ariz., Ark., Calif., Conn., Fla., Idaho, Kan., Ky., Neb., Nev., Ore., Texas, and Wyo. The Clean Air Act requires states to develop EPA approved implementation plans that include requirements for issuing air permits. When federal permitting requirements change, as they did after EPA finalized the GHG tailoring rule, states may need to modify these plans.

GHG Permitting in States

The National Association of Clean Air Agencies has released a report on the state by state status of GHG permitting.

Long-Delayed Projects Get Exemption From EPA’s New Rules

Moving away from its position in the June 2010 GHG Tailoring Rule, EPA will “grandfather” certain pending PSD permits with respect to new permitting requirements for GHG emissions. The Tailoring Rule had stated that PSD permit applications that were pending as of January 2, 2011 would have to be amended or resubmitted to ensure compliance with new PSD requirements for GHG emissions. Under the new grandfathering policy, PSD permit applications that have been pending for an extended period would not be required to be amended to reflect “best available control technology” for GHGs or otherwise address GHG emissions. The policy was articulated with respect to a single facility but EPA said it will extend the same treatment to other facilities that can demonstrate they are “similarly situated.”

Mercury Major Source Threshold – Drop It to Just 25 Pounds Per Year in Potential Emissions?

The Clean Air Act typically sets the major source threshold at 10 tons per year of a single HAP or 25 tons per year of a combination of HAPs, but provides the EPA Administrator with the authority to establish a lesser-quantity threshold (LQT) for persistent and bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) pollutants. On January 5, 2011, the Quicksilver Caucus (a group representing state environmental regulators) sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson requesting that EPA amend the definition of a major source of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act to include a threshold for mercury of no more than 25 pounds per year, a huge drop from the current major source threshold for mercury of 10 tons per year. The QSC argues that since mercury is a PBT and even very low emissions can result in unacceptable impacts, it warrants an LQT. This would significantly increase the number of sources that are subject to major source MACT standards. The caucus points out that the Clean Air Act allows EPA to set lower thresholds for persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic pollutants. Apparently, the 25 pounds per year value was chosen because Maine and a number of Great Lakes states already use this number.

NAAQS For Carbon Monoxide To Remain Unchanged, Although With More Roadway Monitoring Similar to New N0x Standard Jan 31, 2011

EPA, after review of the science, is proposing to keep the current national ambient air quality standards for carbon monoxide. The current CO standards are 9 parts per million measured over 8 hours, and 35 ppm measured over 1 hour. EPA is proposing to revise the CO air monitoring requirements with more focused CO monitors placed near highly trafficked roads in urban areas with populations of 1 million or more. EPA estimates a need for an additional 77 CO monitors in 53 urban areas, but believes states could relocate some of their existing CO monitors to the near-road monitoring stations already required in connection with the revised nitrogen dioxide standards issued in January 2010. CO monitors at the new locations would be required to be operational by January 1, 2013.

REFRIGERANT MANAGEMENT CHANGES COMING – 75 Fed. Reg 78558 (December 15, 2010, notice of proposed rulemaking)

EPA has proposed to lower the leak repair trigger rates for comfort cooling, commercial refrigeration, and industrial process refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment with refrigerant charges greater than 50 pounds of ozone-depleting substances. This rule proposes to streamline existing required practices and associated reporting and recordkeeping requirements by establishing similar leak repair requirements for owners or operators of comfort cooling, commercial refrigeration, and industrial process refrigeration appliances. This rule also proposes to reduce the use and emissions of class I and class II controlled substances (such as but not limited to CFC-11, CFC-12, HCFC-123, and HCFC-22) by requiring verification and documentation of all repairs, retrofit or retirement of appliances that cannot be sufficiently repaired; replacement of appliance components that have a history of failures; and recordkeeping of the determination of the full charge and the fate of recovered refrigerant.

EPA CHANGES MOTOR VEHICLE COUNTING RULES FOR PM SIPS Feb 4, 2011

Motor vehicle SIP emissions inventories for PM10 and PM2.5 are comprised of four components: Exhaust emissions, emissions from brake wear, emissions from tire wear, and re-entrained road dust. EPA’s methodologies for estimating PM emissions from re-entrained road dust are found in AP-42, the Agency’s compilation of data and methods for estimating average emission rates from a variety of activities and sources from various sectors. The sections of AP-42 that address re-entrained road dust emissions are: Section 13.2.1 (Paved Roads) and Section 13.2.2 (Unpaved Roads). State and local agencies currently use the latest versions of these sections of AP-42 for calculating re-entrained road dust in PM SIP development and regional conformity analyses, as applicable.

EPA is approving, for SIPs and regional emissions analyses, the January 2011 edition of Section 13.2.1 of AP-42 that reflects a new methodology for calculating re-entrained road dust from paved roads. 76 Fed. Reg. 6328 ( Feb 4, 2011). The January 2011 AP-42 method includes revisions of the equation used to predict PM emissions, an extension of the applicable range of speeds down to 1 mph from the previous 10 mph, and the incorporation of an improved methodology for characterizing silt loading. These revisions were based on additional data from tests that were conducted on roads with slow moving and stop-and-go traffic. It is estimated that PM10 emissions predicted by the January 2011 AP-42 method will be, on average, 40% less than the emissions for paved roads predicted by the November 2006 update. PM2.5 emissions from paved roads predicted by the January 2011 AP-42 method will be generally greater than the emissions predicted by the November 2006 update. EPA notes that the January 2011 AP-42 method is approved only for situations for which silt loading, mean vehicle weight, and mean vehicle speed fall within ranges given in AP-42 section 13.2.1.3 and with reasonably free-flowing traffic. For other conditions, areas should use, or continue to use, an alternate method approved by EPA on a case-by-case basis for use in SIPs or regional conformity analyses. In some areas, alternate methods may be more appropriate than AP-42 given specific local conditions even within the parameters given in AP-42 Section 13.2.1.3. State and local agencies should consult with EPA for approval of alternate road dust methods.

Greenhouse Gas NSPS regulations Getting Started

An NSPS (for new affected units) or EG (emissions guideline for existing units) is a technology-based emission standard for certain emission units, typically based in a particular industry sector. EPA announced a settlement in December 2010 regarding NSPS’s for EGUs and refineries. Within the next two years, we will see NSPS standards for emission units that address greenhouse gases.

For EGUs – By July 26, 2011, EPA will propose (1) a NSPS for GHGs for new and modified EGUs, and (2) emission guidelines for GHGs from existing EGUs. By May 26, 2012, EPA will finalize the above actions.

For Refineries – By December 10, 2011, EPA will propose (1) NSPS’s for affected facilities at certain refineries, and (2) emission guidelines for GHGs from existing affected facilities at certain refineries. By November 12, 2012, EPA will finalize the above actions. Before these standards are proposed, EPA has scheduled five listening sessions to help them craft these proposed rules. Each session will feature a facilitated roundtable discussion of stakeholders. Each session will have a different panel representing the different stakeholder groups. The first session (February 4 in Washington, DC) had a panel from the electric power industry. The second (February 15) in Atlanta, GA has representatives from environmental and environmental justice organizations. The third (February 17) will be in Chicago, IL and will have representatives from states and tribes. The fourth (February 23) will be in Washington, DC and have coalition group representatives. The last one (March 4) will be in Washington, DC and have representatives from the petroleum industry. EPA intends to finalize the EGU GHG NSPS by May 2012, and the refinery GHG NSPS by November 2012.

EPA Deferral of Permitting Requirements for GHG Emissions from Biomass Sources

By July 2011, EPA plans to complete a rulemaking to implement the deferral for three years of GHG permitting requirements for carbon dioxide emissions from biomass-fired and other biogenic sources. Among the issues under review include whether burning certain types of biomass may emit the same amount of CO2 emissions that would be emitted if they were not burned as fuel, while others may result in a net increase in CO2 emissions.

LAWSUIT CLAIMS LEED Green Building Standard A FRAUD Feb 7, 2011

Henry Gifford and three others (all design and construction professionals) filed a lawsuit against the United States Green Building Council alleging that the USGBC had fraudulently represented the performance of LEED buildings, and doctored study results to support their claim that LEED buildings performed more efficiently than standard construction. They claim that the USGBC’s own data proves that LEED buildings are actually not more energy efficient. They also assert that the USGBC never actually verifies that buildings are designed and constructed to save energy and that the LEED certification is not a verification of the actual energy performance of the building.