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DNREC's Dover building recognized for sustainability efforts

The Dover campus of Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control was recognized for its efforts in environmental sustainability Wednesday.

 

The Richardson & Robbins Building at 89 Kings Hwy is the first state-owned building to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for maintaining and operating an existing building.

 

DNREC Secretary David Small said it’s also one of only three already-existing structures in the state to receive that certification. He said the almost-fifty other LEED certified buildings in Delaware were newly constructed buildings. 

 

DNREC’s Dover campus was built as a cannery in 1881 and turned into a state office over 30 years ago. Small said it was in real need of an overhaul.

 

“Just the way the building had been designed, getting to some of these old systems we found that fan systems that were designed to move airflow weren’t working," Small said. "They really hadn’t been assessed for a while. You know, it was a combination of things, but most of it has to do with older design and older infrastructure in the building.”

 

DNREC employees have been working to be more energy efficient since 2009. They reduced energy use by 40 percent and water use in the building by 24 percent. According to Division of Energy and Climate's Bahareh van Boekhold, DNREC implemented cartridge and battery recycling boxes around the building. Among other efforts, they also constructed a rain garden to restore water runoff, water quality and habitat at the site.

 

“Not only is the environmental outcome fabulous, but the learning experience for everybody involved, I think, is equally powerful if not more so,” Small said.

 

And van Boekhold, the principal sustainable building and committees planner, said though the building has achieved LEED certification, DNREC is not finished. The agency still needs to keep the building up to the high performance standard employees have set for it.

 

“You set yourself to perform better and you continue to do that into the future,” van Boekhold said.

 

Small said he too, hopes environmental sustainability efforts at the Richardson & Robbins building will continue. If funding were to become available, he said he would like to see DNREC consider covered parking using solar energy.