Howard County is a leader in the environmental movement and strives to continually increase our resource production and sustainability practices. Our Office of Environmental Sustainability works in partnership with all other County departments to reach new levels of environmental stewardship. This album highlights our efforts to date. These programs and accomplishments have not only been successful in reducing our environmental impact, but have also brought great awareness to community residents, businesses and the region, resulting in behavior and lifestyle changes with our environment in mind. We hope you find this album equally informational and inspirational and we look forward to having you join our efforts. Please visit LiveGreenHoward.com for more details. Welcome
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Howard County is a leader in the environmental movement and strives tocontinually increase our resource production and sustainability practices. OurOffice of Environmental Sustainability works in partnership with all otherCounty departments to reach new levels of environmental stewardship. Thisalbum highlights our efforts to date. These programs and accomplishmentshave not only been successful in reducing our environmental impact, buthave also brought great awareness to community residents, businesses andthe region, resulting in behavior and lifestyle changes with our environment inmind. We hope you find this album equally informational and inspirational andwe look forward to having you join our efforts.
Please visit LiveGreenHoward.com for more details.
Welcome
Energy
Climate Action PlanHoward County was the second county in the country to sign on to the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection
Agreement. As part of our commitment, Howard County completed a greenhouse gas inventory of County
operations and the surrounding community and committed to reducing emissions by 7%. In 2010, the Howard
County Climate Action Plan summarized the results of the 2008 greenhouse gas inventory and presented reductiongoals and future actions to reduce emissions County-wide. The County exceeded the goal of reducing emissions
from County government facilities by 7% below 2007 levels by 2012. We expect this will be reduced even more in
the coming years through increased energy efficiency efforts.
Energy
FleetHoward County operates one of the largest alternative-fueled vehicle fleets in the state, including 106 hybrid
vehicles, and five electric vehicles. The County operates five charging stations for electric vehicles that areavailable to County employees and residents free of charge.
Energy
Government Energy EfficiencyA pilot project to test performance contracting on seven County buildings with the highest energy consumptionreduced energy used by those buildings by over 20%. The project saved so much energy that the County hasadded all other buildings to the contract, fostering maximum energy efficiency in all County facilities. The Countyinstalled sub-meters in 40 buildings to analyze energy usage and inform appropriate adjustments to equipment. Atracking system for utilities in all County facilities helps the County verify energy savings and save additionalrevenue by finding billing errors. The County’s Energy Dashboard presents daily updates on energy used in ourmost energy intensive buildings in easy to understand graphs.
Energy
Home Energy Audits
Howard County provided 1,200 free home energy audits for County residents. These comprehensive audits
recommended to homeowners the most cost-effective measures to reduce their energy bills. Using information from
the home energy audits, the County now has a database of energy efficiency recommendations specific to different
types of homes. This information will help residents find cost-effective options for saving energy and money.
Howard County Libraries loan residents “Kill A Watt” monitoring devices to measure the electricity consumption ofappliances.
Energy
RenewablesThe Alpha Ridge Landfill gas-to-energy system generates 1 MW of energy every hour – enough to power 500
homes for a year. The County property tax credit program for renewable energy systems, such as geothermal and
solar, provided 565 credits totaling over $2.5 million to make these systems more affordable for homeowners to
install and kick start the renewable energy industry in the region. Howard County established recommendations on
how to install solar on historic properties, thus preserving the character of the structure while allowing for renewableenergy generation. The solar PV system on the East Columbia branch of The Howard County Library generatesenough energy to power 913 homes for one day, and avoids emissions equivalent to those produced by 2076 cars
in one day. Solar panel arrays installed at the re-purposed New Cut Landfill are projected to supply 90% of nearby
Worthington Elementary School’s energy needs.
Energy
TransitHoward County Transit operates 28 hybrid vehicles – the Azure CitiBus – as a clean, fuel-efficient alternative to
conventional shuttle buses. These buses have efficient features such as engine-off at stop functionality and
regenerative braking. Use of the hybrid Azure CitiBus as part of the County’s fleet improves fuel economy by up to
50% while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30%. This environmentally responsible solution further
saves money by reducing vehicle maintenance by up to 30%.
Water
StormwaterThe READY summer jobs youth conservation corps, a partner in Howard County’s stormwater remediation efforts,built 31 raingardens that manage 200,000 sq. ft. of impervious area, exceeding their goal by 80,000 sq. ft. In 2011,
the County conducted two rain garden workshops for residents and installed 30 residential rain gardens in the Red
Hill Branch subwatershed. Since 2010, over 650 free pre-drilled barrels have been distributed to residents during
Master Gardener demonstrations and the annual Howard County GreenFest. Residents then use instructions and
guidance from the Master Gardeners to add parts and make them into rain barrels. A partnership with a local
hardware store makes rain barrel parts kits available at a reduced rate to residents.
Water
WastewaterHoward County’s wastewater treatment plant uses a state-of-the-art technology Enhanced Nutrient Removal systemto make it more energy efficient and reduce the amount of nitrogen released into the environment. Two new back-up
generators at the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant protect the plant from power loss as occurred during
Hurricane Sandy. Additionally, the plant will install a solar energy array to completely offset the carbon of the
generators and partially offset the carbon emissions of the plant.
Water
Watershed ImprovementsSince 2007, Howard County has restored 3.25 miles of streams, created 13 bioretention facilities, retrofitted 16
ponds and created 4 new water quality facilities through engineering projects that control stormwater entering our
local watersheds.
Green Development
Green Building RequirementsHoward County law requires new private commercial buildings larger than 50,000 square feet to attain US Green
Building Council LEED Certification and new public buildings larger than 10,000 square feet to attain LEED Silver.
Howard County government is proud of our 5 LEED-qualified buildings: one certified, two silver, one gold, and oneplatinum.
Green Development
Green Building Tax CreditHoward County provides a five-year tax credit for new green commercial buildings that attain a LEED certification of
25 % for LEED-Silver, 50% for LEED-Gold, and 75% for LEED-Platinum rated buildings. To date, 4 private
buildings qualified for the silver level credit and 7 buildings for the gold level credit. Existing buildings earn a three-
year tax credit equal to 10% for LEED-Silver, 25% for LEED-Gold, and 50% for LEED-Platinum if they receive a
LEED for Existing Buildings certification.
Green Development
Green Housing
The Howard County Housing Department and Housing Commission embrace green development for Howard County
residents across the economic spectrum. Monarch Mills, is a mixed-income community built to Enterprise GreenCommunity standards which also enjoys a clubhouse expected to attain LEED Gold status in the near future.. The
Cottages at Greenwood , recently recognized in the Washington Post, are affordable single-family homes built tomeet the highest LEED Platinum standards and offer universal design features.
Green Development
Green NeighborhoodsHoward County Green Neighborhoods provides incentives for environmentally-friendly residential developmentincluding everything from site design, to stormwater and construction waste management, to material use. The firstHoward County Green Neighborhood is completing construction soon.
Economic Development
Buy LocalHoward County’s five Farmer’s Market locations offer a cornucopia of locally grown, raised and prepared foods atdifferent locations each Wednesday through Sunday from spring through fall. Howard County promotes “CommunitySupported Agriculture” (CSA) where individuals buy “shares” in a local farm to enjoy a portion of the fresh, local andoften organic produce harvested. Many Howard County restaurants work closely with our local farms to serve
locally grown produce, cheese and meat in our Farm to Table program. Howard County’s Green Business Directoryshowcases local businesses and organizations providing products and services to better our community and the
environment.
Economic Development
Green Business CouncilThe Howard County Green Business Council assembles businesses in Howard County that are committed tomaking their business environmentally friendly and/or providing green goods or services. The Green Business
Council hosts regular events to support the green business community and provide networking opportunities to
connect with companies looking to green their operations.
Economic Development
GreenFestSince 2008, Howard County’s annual GreenFest kicks off earth month throughout the County. Each year,GreenFest draws more than 2,000 people who enjoy workshops, outdoor activities, opportunities for learning about
local non-profits, children’s crafts and nature play spaces, giveaways, food and over 100 green vendors. In the last
three years, GreenFest included popular opportunities for residents to donate harder-to-recycle items resulting in:.
300 used bikes for Bikes for the World,
Truck loads of reusable items to GoodWill and Habitat for Humanity,
Hundreds of shoes for Nike ReUse-A-Shoe,
More than 10 tons of electronics for recycling,
Dozens of eyeglasses for the Lions Club, cell phones and even sewing machines.
Waste
Clean-UpsSince 2010, about 5,000 20 Minute Cleanup volunteers have removed litter from neighborhoods, parks, schools andbusinesses as part of this annual spring cleaning project. In 2012, 88 County residents spent 188 hours collectingover 1,500 pounds of trash and 1,000 pounds of recyclables from streams and open space around the County.Since 2000, 35.89 miles of waterways and 52.2 acres of pond area have been cleaned resulting in 27,257 pounds oftrash collected and 10,651 pounds of materials recycled. The County’s Adopt-A-Road Program participantscollected nearly 1,500 bags of trash over the past year from 135 miles of road.
Waste
Food WasteApproximately 350 backyard compost bins are distributed annually to county residents through a partnership withthe Master Gardeners. At a pilot composting facility at the Alpha Ridge Landfill in Marriottsville,400 tons of materiala year is diverted from landfills and produces mulch, topsoil and other byproducts to be sold to the public and usedat county facilities. In the first phase of the program, 1,015 participating residents set out an average of 9.5 poundsa week.
Waste
Recycling95% of eligible Howard County residents recycle approximately 110 tons of material at the curb every day. HowardCounty collects about 12,000 tons of yard trim for recycling every year. Since June 2012, 14 tons of Styrofoamhave been recycled at Alpha Ridge Landfill. County residents diverted over 200 mattresses per month at Alpha
Ridge Landfill through the new mattress recycling program.