The EPA Region 8 Technical Library provides technical library services to EPA Region 8 staff and makes environmental information and resources easily accessible to the general public who live in a six-state western region. The library's collection includes over 20,000 EPA reports, books, and journals, focusing on environmental issues and conditions unique to the American West, including Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and the 27 sovereign tribal nations. Special collections include: Green Buildings, Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Justice, and Western Wetlands.
The Region 8 Library was established in the early 1970s with a collection of handbooks, reports, and printed regulations. After a number of moves over the last 35 years, the library is now housed in a new LEED certified green building in downtown Denver. Depending on staff availability, the tour may include restricted areas of the building, including a cutting-edge "green roof." One of the first roofs of its kind in Colorado, it provides air and water quality benefits, reduces building heating and cooling needs, and features solar panels, a weather station and a large garden of research plants.
Tours fill up quickly, so be sure to register early. There is no charge, but
advance registration is required by June 8.
NOTE: A government-issued photo ID is required for entry to the building. All visitors must pass through a metal detector. Photography is not allowed in the building. [Walking Tour: 15 minute walk]
