As of today, regional priority (RP) credits can now be found on the USGBC website for each state in a protected (what else?) excel format. For each state file there's a tab for all programs within the v3 system (LEED-NC, LEED-CS, LEED-Schools, LEED-CI, and LEED-EB:O&M).
Eligible points are determined via zip code, and from what I can tell it's a bit more complex than the simple "urban/rural" split that was rumored earlier.
I haven't looked at this in great detail yet, deciding instead to use my home state of South Carolina and the home state of most of my readers, California, to try to make sense of what's going on...
Get Down with the Breakdown
The Chosen Ones
South Carolina has two groups of bonus points, though they only really differ by a single credit:
- Group 1 - Urbanish?
- SSc4.1 - Alternative Transportation, Public Transportation Access
- SSc6.1 -Stormwater Design, Quantity Control
- WEc3 (40%) - Water Use Reduction
- EAc1 (28% new/ 24% renovation) - Optimize Energy Performance
- EAc2 (1 %) - On-Site Renewable Energy
- EQc7.1 - Thermal Comfort, Design
- Group 2 - Ruralish?
- SSc6.1 - Stormwater Design, Quantity Control
- WEc3 (40%) - Water Use Reduction
- EAc1 (28% new/ 24% renovation) - Optimize Energy Performance
- EAc2 (1 %) - On-Site Renewable Energy
- EQc7.1 - Thermal Comfort, Design
- MRc2 (50%) - Construction Waste Management
As you can see, the bonus points for SC are identical with the exception that certain zip codes can earn more points focusing on transportation access while others should focus more strongly on reducing waste to the landfill during construction. Looking briefly at California's options, there are four separate groups instead of just two.
Living in the Charleston area, my first take on these points is that they are for the most part representative of our needs. Charleston is working to build capacity for our bus system and is looking into commuter/light rail options (SSc4.1). Flooding after storms (or just a really high tide for that matter) is a huge issue on the penninsula (SSc6.2). Like much of the nation, we're fighting the approval of new coal fired plants, and part of that argument is that efficiency (EAc1) and renewable sources (EAc2) can negate the need for more large scale polluters. Landfill space is becoming a premium (MRc2) with one of our major local C&D sites shutting down in less than two months. The only one I can't quite figure is the need for a bonus point for EQc7.1, Thermal Comfort, Design. I think there are plenty of other options that would be a better fit, and am curious to hear the reasoning behind this choice. On the whole though, well selected!
The Great Divide?
Things really start go it interesting when you try to figure out what the dividing lines were for one group over the other. I started by taking what I figured to be the 'urban' group (the one with a bonus for alternative transportation access) and painstakingly marking those on a zip code map of SC. About an hour into the process I noticed that many zip codes are listed for BOTH groups, making my efforts incorrect and completely worthless. See for yourself:
LEGEND - The orange on this map indicates an hour of my time that I'll never get back
At this point I can't make heads or tails of how zip codes where placed in one category or another. Quite a few lucky zip codes effectively have 7 regional priority options instead of six. I'm not sure if this is a mistake or intentional (it doesn't seem to have occurred in the California spreadsheet), so we'll have to wait and see what comes down from national on this subject. From what I can tell there seems to be a distinction between zip codes that are completely urban (don't ask me how they defined 'urban), those that are completely rural, and those that contain elements of both. I'd like to point out that it's very difficult to discern patterns from a list of zip codes, so I could be off on the whole urban/rural thing to begin with. There's not exactly any explanation I've been able to find on the subject.
Finally, people working on foreign projects won't receive much help here either. I would guess that they're not eligible for regional points at this time, and will update you once/if I hear otherwise.
Could you gleam some extraordinary insight into your state's RP credits? Think they're a good/bad fit for the issues of your region? Let us know by leaving a comment!
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