Huntington, New York To Grant Incentives To Building Owners That Pass LEED Standards

June 30, 2008 1:28 p.m. EST

Huntington, NY (AHN) - The Huntingtown town board approved the grant of incentives to building owners with at least 4,000 square feet of new construction that would meet the benchmarks of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Under the recently approved legislation, developers must initially pay the town $1 per square foot of construction. Upon completion of the buildings, inspectors would verify if the new structure passes LEED standards.

Failure to meet the standard would meet the amount it paid would not be returned. Passing the benchmark would result to a refunds of 80 percent of the total pad, with a cap of $200,000 per project. The remaining 10 percent would be for the administration of the town's green program, and the balance for training of more Huntington staff on green building matters.

Meanwhile, at South Bronx, beer manufacturer Anheuser-Busch unveiled plans to convert its one-year old 220,000-square foot warehouse and distribution center more eco-friendly. When the facility opened last year environmentalists expressed apprehension the plant would worsen the pollution level in the area with its high truck traffic.

To address the concerns, Anheuser-Busch using a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would fit 15 of its trucks with exhaust filters to reduce carbon dioxide emission of their company trucks and closed crankcase filtration systems. Eventually the beer company would shift to greener sources of fuel coming from waste grease and plant oils.