City of Indianapolis Implements New Energy and Water Usage Reporting Requirements

Jan 30, 2023

The City of Indianapolis has implemented new energy and water usage reporting requirements for certain types of facilities located within the city.

Title III, Chapter 710 of the Indianapolis Code of Ordinances provides that owners of “covered property” must submit the prior year’s energy and water usage information to the director of the city’s office of sustainability by June 1 using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star portfolio manager.  A “covered property” includes both “covered city property” and “covered non-city property,” and generally excludes residential properties.

Covered city property means a property that:

  1. Is city-owned property over fifty thousand (50,000) square feet of gross floor area, beginning with 2022 data and thereafter; and
  2. Is city-owned property over twenty-five thousand (25,000) square feet of gross floor area, beginning with 2023 data and thereafter.

Covered non-city property means a property, other than a covered city property, that:

  1. Has a gross floor area of over one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet beginning in 2023 and thereafter; and
  2. Has a gross floor area of over fifty thousand (50,000) square feet beginning in 2024 and thereafter.

The ordinance also states that the director of the city’s office of sustainability may publicly post a list of all covered properties that must make a submission. Accordingly, the city has published resources on its website regarding these reporting requirements, including a spreadsheet which contains a list of the properties that are required to make submissions for their 2022 energy and water usage information. This link also provides a link to the EPA’s Energy Star website and gives other brief explanations on these reporting requirements.

The ordinance also includes a chart which outlines that the “covered properties” subject to the these reporting requirements will expand as the years go on. See below:

If a covered property fails to make a submission, it will receive a notice of violation from the city. If the property owner fails to cure the defect within 30 days of the notice, the owner will be subject to civil penalties provided by other sections of the code. There are also procedures for requesting an exemption, but the exemption requirements appear to be difficult to meet if the property is regularly being used and receiving energy and water service. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all covered properties timely submit their usage information to avoid potential civil penalties.

If you have any questions regarding this requirement or whether it affects your business, please contact your Bose McKinney & Evans Business Services attorney.