There is not an official glossary definition that LEEDuser is aware of. However, various references indicate that LEED views "high volume" as one or more printers in an area totaling more than 40,000 copies (20,000 double sided) per month. The number is based on "expected" use, not capacity. This definition can be found in LEED Interpretation #1938 issued 1/7/2008, for example, and although that Interpretation is not applicable to LEED 2009, the number 40,000 has appeared in enough places that we view it as a solid number.

Yes, if you also avoid CFC-based refrigerants in any fire suppression systems.

Details for each qualifying product are given in specifications on the Energy Star website under each product category. If your equipment type is not eligible for Energy Star, you should be able to exclude it from your calculations. However, make sure the product type is actually not eligible if you are excluding it from the calculations. If there just aren’t enough models on the market yet, but the product is eligible, you have to include it in your calculations.

For all questions related to qualifying Energy Star equipment, please refer to the Energy Star website products section.

Yes, a project team may earn the credit even when remediation is not complete provided there is an approved ongoing remediation plan in place and the applicable regulatory authority has approved the site for its intended use.

Brownfield requirements are determined at the federal, state, or local level and vary from one jurisdiction to another. For LEED, there are no minimum thresholds (volume or area) required to meet this credit as long as the site—or a portion of it—is classified as a brownfield.

No. If the remediation occurred prior to when the property was purchased, you are no longer developing a contaminated site. SSc3 addresses sites that are subject to corrective action; it doesn't address the past history of the site.

Yes, an environmental professional will need to verify that contamination is located on the site using the specified standards for testing and verification. This helps identify the scope of contamination and thus the scope of remediation that will be required.

Given the effort, expense, and risk involved in many brownfield projects, one LEED point is probably not a worthy reward. It would probably be more useful to think of this credit as a token, and to acknowledge that developers aren't likely to choose a brownfield site to earn this point. There is a silver lining, however, in that urban infill sites, which are often brownfields, are typically well-rewarded in LEED's density-related credits.

USGBC has not identified specific standards for judging this, or defined certain codes as compliant with the credit, or not. The stringency of other codes relative to EPA's Construction General Permit is judged on a case-by-case basis.