Many Vicksburg residents drive past it daily. Most know it’s there. But few actually know what goes on behind the fences that surround the sprawling Engineer Research and Development Center, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Halls Ferry Road.

On Tuesday, the facility’s $16.4 million administrative office complex for its Environmental Laboratory was dedicated. The building has been certified as “gold” status and is green-friendly, following suit on the growing push for the nation to “go green.”

The gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council was given for environmental design. More than 20 percent of the building was built with recycled materials and it is believed to be the first civilian Army building to receive the gold certification. There you go, green and gold.

The facility has been operational since the beginning of this year, home to 300 engineers and scientists.The work that is done at ERDC is felt worldwide. On Tuesday, a scientist showed off work tied to dredging in the world’s waters and the effects the deepening of the channel has on the environment.

Before the building’s construction was completed, environmental researchers worked in six buildings, including a 1970s-era Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer, the kind Hurricane Katrina victims lived in for months or years.

The environmental lab is one of four on the campus, with Coastal and Hydraulics, Geotechnical and Structures, and Information Technology being the others.The Corps of Engineers operates seven giant laboratories — four are in Vicksburg.

The ERDC facilities have been and will continue to be a boon to Vicksburg and Warren County. The work is important. And while many won’t see the activities inside, the results are geared to make our world better and safer.