Everyone is now talking about LEED certification. It now seems that anyone involved in land development is certified as a LEED AP. The trouble is, the U.S. Green Building Council is only now requiring that one have experience with a LEED project before one can be certified. Also, there are many aspects to the program that have little to do with site development and stormwater in particular.
Fortunately, the good people at the NC State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department have an alternative education program. They have started Low Impact Development (LID) certification program. LID is a set of techniques, which can be associated with LEED, that seek to mimic the natural hydrology of a site and to efficiently use the natural water resources associated with it. As a result, there is a lot of emphasis on the use of channels instead of pipes, infiltration instead of detention, and storage of water for non-potable use. I am attending the “FastTrack Certification” seminar from Tuesday, February 16th to Thursday, February 18th.
Tags: development, LEED, LID, NCSU, stormwater
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