Duluth, Minnesota

This facility features the following green attributes:
Green Power
Water Management Plan
Native Landscaping

Mid-Continent Ecology Division Laboratory

Total Facility Area: 88,577 gross square feet (GSF)
Estimated Personnel: 145 persons
Energy Consumption: 26,774,097,092 Btu per year
Btu per GSF per Year: 302,269
Total Water Consumption: 1,092,156 gallons per year
Gallons per GSF per Year: 12

All energy and water data are reported as of FY 2006.

Description

The Duluth laboratory is a research facility for EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory under the Office of Research and Development (ORD). It conducts research to determine the ecological effects of water pollutants on fish, wildlife, and ecosystems. The Mid-continent Ecology Division (MED) also operates the Large Lakes and Rivers Research Station in Grosse Ile, Michigan.

Duluth was selected for the site of the MED research facility because of the need for water from Lake Superior to conduct its research. The unchanging quality of the water over the past 30 years is essential to the credibility of the ecotoxicology research performed. Currently, the facility uses about 100 million gallons of Lake Superior water annually for research and cooling.

Unique Environmental Features

Energy Conservation

In FY 2006, EPA completed designs on a project to replace the Duluth laboratory's existing constant volume air handling units (AHU) with a more energy-efficient variable air volume (VAV) unit, and install more current AHU technology overall. Construction of the project is expected to begin in 2009. Once completed, the upgrades should reduce the laboratory’s energy use.
In March 2005, EPA installed 37 wireless temperature sensors throughout its Duluth, Minnesota, laboratory offices and corridors. These sensors, which give employees greater control over indoor air temperature, have the potential to decrease energy use and increase cost savings for the facility.
The facility's use of Lake Superior water for "free" and reduced energy cooling is unique among EPA laboratories, and is a significant energy savings contributor.
Management's innovative expansion and application of the facility's control system and diligence in operational practices, both in maintenance and selective fuel use, helped the facility achieve an 18 percent reduction in energy consumption and cost from FY 1997 to FY 1999 (FY 2000 and FY 2001 energy consumption was influenced by facility construction activities).

Green Power

In June 2006, EPA worked with the Defense Energy Support Center to procure a green power contract with 3 Phases Energy Services for 110 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in renewable energy certificates (RECs), or “green tags.” With deliveries beginning September 1, 2006, this blanket purchase offsets 100 percent of annual electricity use at the Duluth laboratory and several other facilities through FY 2007 by supporting wind power generation in California, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
In June 2004, EPA entered into a three-year contract (procured by the Defense Energy Support Center) with QVINTA, Inc. to purchase 2.35 million kWh annually of green power for its Duluth laboratory. This represents approximately 90 percent of the laboratory's electricity use. EPA is buying 2,350 RECs (1 REC = 1,000 kWh) per year generated at a wind farm in Dodge Center, Minnesota.

Water Conservation

Design was completed in July 2005 for a culture water reclamation system at the Duluth laboratory. Construction on the new system, which will divert culture water back into Lake Superior rather than into the sewer system, is expected to be completed in December 2006.
In January 2004, EPA completed a water management plan for the Duluth laboratory (PDF) (15 pp, 360K, About PDF). Water-efficient installations, such as low-flow plumbing fixtures and native landscaping, helped EPA's Duluth laboratory reduce its water use by 10 percent over the past year and nearly 60 percent since the FY 2000 baseline.

For More Information

Rod Booth (booth.rod@epa.gov)
6201 Congdon Boulevard
Duluth, MN 55804
Phone: (218) 529-5000
Fax: (218) 720-5703

Web site:www.epa.gov/med