One Brickell Square, an Energy Star building

With a wave of new green construction, Miami is one of 25 cities with the most Energy Star-certified buildings, according to a report from the Environmental Protection Agency, which gives the ratings. Miami’s Energy Star-labeled buildings represent more than 20.7 million square feet and could save $19 million each year in energy costs. There were a total of 16,500 Energy Star-certified buildings in America at the end of 2011. Miami is ranked 18th on the list, ahead of San Diego. Los Angeles has the most Energy Star buildings in the country. — Alexander Britell

The Environmental Protection Agency is rolling out an expanded national plan encouraging homebuilders to create more water-efficient landscapes. WaterSense, the EPA’s existing conservation program, will expand to include voluntary labels for newly built homes that follow a set of EPA guidelines of acceptable outdoor water use. Homes will be eligible for certification if they consume 20 percent less water than the average home. The new plan will be similar to programs in states like Florida, where financial incentives are already available to homeowners. Several companies and trade groups, such as Scotts Miracle-Gro and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, have expressed outrage over the new plan, claiming that it demonizes grass. “It puts a label on grass as bad — that it’s not something to be used,” Kris Kiser, executive vice president of Outdoor Power Equipment, said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said a developer must remove
the asbestos-contaminated exterior stucco from the 30-story tower at
1515 S. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach before it demolishes the
building. Trinity Development Group, which wants to build a $150
million luxury tower called the Modern in the tower’s place, contested
earlier recommendations regarding the asbestos, saying there was not
enough asbestos to prevent a simple demolition. [more]