As Project Landscape Architect, MESA has been leading the efforts related to sustainable design for the new Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality(ADEQ) Headquarters to insure the new complex reflects the mission of the Department. MESA worked closely with TFCG and W&D Architects in locating the 125,000 SF, 6 story structure on the 10 acre site, planning pedestrian and vehicular circulation and ensuring that the project meets the sustainability objectives qualifying the project for LEED Silver or Gold certification. The new ADEQ Headquarters combines an environmentally sustainable structure and site that offers the latest in green design materials, technologies and methodologies, while serving as a model for ecological stewardship, as well as providing environmental educational opportunities for the State of Arkansas. To reduce storm water runoff, sustainable design features incorporated into the project include: detention basins and bio-swales that allow for storm water infiltration instead of discharging into the Arkansas River and constructed wetlands. Over 35% of the project site will be planted in native landscape materials appropriate for the mixed floodplain plant community in which it resides. This restoration will transform a previously bare site into a natural oasis providing habitat for a diverse faunal population.