SS Credit 1 Option D: Heat Island Reduction, Non-Roof Intent: Reduce heat islands to minimize impact on habitat. Requirement: Locate the tenant space in a building where at least 30% of the site\'s non-roof impervious surfaces including parking areas, walkways, etc., uses light-colored/high-albedo materials with a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of at least 30. Situation: Tenant is municipal employees who will be located in the administrative area of a building that is part of a water treatment plant. There are two large circular in-ground water storage tanks that are a part of the water treatment process on the site. These tanks have permanent, impervious covers that have a durable coating with a high SRI value, and will be in place at the time of submittal for this project. Strategy under consideration: Consider the tanks to be a part of the site\'s non-roof impervious surfaces with an SRI index greater than 30, in order to provide the required percentage of light-colored, non-roof impervious surface area on the site (30%) needed to earn 1/2 point under Option D. Are we allowed to include the surface area of these tank covers in our calculation of the percentage of non-roof impervious surface area materials having SRI of 30 or higher?
The applicant is requesting clarification as to whether impervious covers to permanent in-ground equipment can be considered as non-roof impervious surfaces for the sake of meeting Option D requirements. Based on the description provided, it is assumed that the covers are exposed at or near grade, in which case the covers may be considered as non-roof impervious surface for the purpose of meeting this credit. All similar equipment covers within the scope of the project need to be consistently addressed.