EPA to install first green roof on its West Building

摘要

Often, a frustrated Ja-mal Kadri fantasizes about sneaking out his work window to cover a rooftop of terra cotta tiles with trays of rain-hungry plants indigenous to the mid-Atlantic. Then, he figures he can ask forgiveness instead of permission.rnBut he hasn't resorted to that guerrilla route. Yet. Instead, the EPA watershed specialist is patiently snipping a path through layers of federal, local and internal red tape so a green roof can eventually bedeck a 2,000-square-foot section atop the Environmental Protection Agency's seven-story West Building.rn"It has the structural capacity because we've done all of the engineering studies," explains Kadri as he strides across the designated site, the Washington Monument looming in the background. Still to be decided is who will cover the estimated $14,000 cost.rnKadri and Robert Goo, an EPA smart growth coordinator, envision the green roof as environmental icing on a batch of outdoor sustainable goodies already complementing the EPA's two-block downtown complex - rain gardens of native flowers, pervious concrete sidewalks, cisterns that capture roof runoff to irrigate landscaping, a piece of granite curb reused as a garden bench and plant identification signs crafted from recycled farm tools.rn"This will give EPA a little more gravitas in promoting green roofs," Kadri says. "It's harder to promote it when you haven't done it yourself."