Local Law 87 Energy audit and retro-commissioning - December deadline

Greene, Greater Building Laws - PlaNYC - requires that buildings greater than 50,000 s/f conduct both an energy audit and retro-commissioning by an independent engineer that meets the qualifications as prescribed by Local Law 87 rules and regulations. This local law covers all classes of buildings including: commercial, multifamily and not-for-profit - all defined as "covered buildings." If your "covered building" is located on a block that ends in a "3," your LL 87 reports must be filed this year - by the end of December. And if you don't - then grit your teeth while you wait for your fines ($3,000 - $5,000) and violations. Since this is the first year of compliance for this Local Law, many building owners may not be fully aware of the requirements nor the amount of time, which is substantial, to have this work performed. The requirements include the preparation and filing of two reports - an energy audit report as well as a retro-commissioning report. The process is both complex and time consuming as it includes a comprehensive series of inspections and evaluations of your building's envelope, energy and water consumption, lighting and testing base building equipment including boilers and HVAC equipment which are incorporated into the reports. For multi-family properties, 10% of the apartments must also be inspected. Compounding the problem for those owners and managers who have not have started the process, is the fact that most of the qualified providers will probably have a full plate of contractual obligations with buildings that started their LL 87 compliance process earlier in the year. For those building owners who have not started the process, it may be later, much later, than you think. While a two or three month lead time may seem more than adequate to meet a December 31st filing deadline, however, with the combination of busy providers and the substantial amount of time involved in LL 87 report preparation, meeting this deadline may prove to be difficult. Some Suggestions: 1. Check the last digit of your block number to determine your reporting date. If it ends in a "3," the filing due date is in 2013, a "4," in 2014 and so on. 2. If you are required to file, ask a trusted advisor for recommendations to connect with a qualified LL 87 provider. 3. Act now. Note that early compliance is also allowed. George Crawford is a principal at NYG Green Partners, New York, N.Y.