April 22, 2005

The Department of Environmental Quality celebrated Earth Day today by hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Southeast Michigan District Office. The new office, located at 27700 Donald Court in Warren, is Michigan’s first “green” state office building.

The building, located on the old Warren Tank Plant brownfield site, features numerous “green” design benefits that will reduce overall potable water usage by 20 percent, and reduce energy usage by 35 percent. The design also uses more natural day lighting, storm water for irrigation rather than potable water, renewable energy on-site, sustainable wood sources, regionally manufactured materials, and low-emitting materials like paints, glues, carpets, etc., to reduce building toxics.

“The new Southeast Michigan District Office is a demonstration of the DEQ’s commitment to being a leader in promoting environmentally sound business practices,” said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. “As we celebrate Earth Day across the nation today we can look at redevelopment projects such as this site to show that we can have both a healthy environment and a healthy economy.”

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, the DEQ hosted a variety of displays and activities in honor of Earth Day.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised April 22, 2005 by Alice Stimpson