Gov. Christine Gregoire recently signed the high-performance green buildings bill into law, making Washington the first state to require new public buildings meet high standards of energy efficiency, water conservation and other environmental standards.

Under the new law, all major public agency facilities exceeding 5,000 square feet, including school buildings receiving state funding, would be required to meet the green building council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

Gregoire noted the new buildings will not only help protect the environment, but also produce considerable savings in operating costs. The Washington Middle School project in Olympia, for example, will help the Olympia School District save more than 500,000 gallons of water each year and provide natural ventilation in classrooms at a savings of $1,200 a year versus the cost of air conditioning. Natural lighting and lighting controls will produce an energy saving of 50 cents per square foot, or $25,000 over a 30-year period.