GOVERNOR DAVIS ANNOUNCES EPA
GRANT FOR UC MERCED

Grant to Support Studies With UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design

SACRAMENTO -- Governor Davis today announced a grant of $166,200 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the University of California, Merced to determine how resource and energy efficiency measures can be integrated into the building of the new campus near Merced. "Our goal is to educate students of the San Joaquin Valley and fully meet our environmental obligation," Governor Davis said. "This grant will help meet that goal."

UC Merced was a topic of discussion at the Governor's Partnership with the Valley Economic Summit held in Bakersfield last Friday. The grant will fund a detailed analysis of the environmental conditions of the planned campus site and provide resources for a planning workshop and conference. The College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley and the California State and Consumer Services Agency will collaborate on the project with UC Merced planners.

"With this grant, the EPA is pleased to assist UC Merced in finding innovative ways to preserve the area's natural resources and to minimize the campus' use of energy and water," said EPA Deputy Director, Karen Schwinn. "We all want UC Merced to be a campus of the 21st century and beyond."

As part of the grant, professors and students from the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design will conduct an in-depth analysis of the existing environmental conditions, opportunities and constraints for the UCMerced site, and analyze sustainable design technologies, building locations and configurations, construction materials and building system techniques that could be used to conserve resources and energy in creation and operation of the campus.

The analysis will include detailed mapping and graphing of regional and localized weather patterns. Once the existing environmental conditions and weather information have been analyzed, a profile of various potential building construction and configuration methods will be created to determine predicted energy consumption patterns and suitability of design for the localized environment. The findings of the analysis will be compiled into a manual to serve as a design and construction reference document for UC Merced planners and partner architectural and construction firms.

In addition, a community workshop will be conducted to present findings of the studies to the public and provide an opportunity for public input.

UC Merced is expected to open in the fall of 2004 to serve 1,000 students. The campus will grow over coming decades to serve 25,000 students. UC Merced contributes to educational access through the entire San Joaquin region via special educational and outreach centers in Fresno and Bakersfield. A new UC Merced center will open in Modesto later this year.

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