Section 10-A600. OVERVIEW

 

600.1The Environmental Protection Element addresses the protection, restoration, and management of the District’s land, air, water, energy, and biologic resources. The Element provides policies and actions on important issues such as drinking water safety, the restoration of our tree canopy, energy conservation, air quality, watershed protection, pollution prevention and waste management, and the remediation of contaminated sites. The health of Washington’s environment is a key indicator of the quality of life in the city. Good environmental management and pollution prevention are essential to sustain all living things and to safeguard the welfare of future generations. 600.1

 

600.2The critical environmental issues facing the District of Columbia are addressed in this element. These include:

 

•Restoring the city's tree canopy and green infrastructure

 

•Improving our rivers, streams and stream valleys

 

•Reducing erosion and stormwater run-off

 

•Sustaining plant and animal habitat

 

•Conserving water and energy

 

•Expanding recycling

 

•Encouraging green building techniques

 

•Reducing air pollution. 600.2

 

600.3Environmental protection has been part of planning in the District since the city’s inception. In 1791, the L’Enfant Plan used the natural landscape to guide the location of avenues and principal buildings. Later plans in the 19th and 20th centuries created some of the most memorable parks in the country and designated thousands of acres for resource protection. In the 1870s, the District planted 60,000 trees, leading Harper’s Magazine to dub Washington the “City of Trees.” Today’s post-card images of the District still portray a city of blue skies, pristine waters, and lush greenery. 600.3

 

600.4But reality is another story. Washington’s legacy as America’s “greenest” city has been seriously challenged over the centuries by urbanization. Our air quality does not meet federal standards, and our rivers and streams are polluted by raw sewage and urban runoff. Ninety percent of the District’s wetlands have disappeared since 1790. Some sites in the city face soil and groundwater contamination problems from former industrial uses and municipal waste disposal. Perhaps most disturbing, the city has lost much of its tree cover in the last 35 years as trees have died or been removed at a much faster rate than they have been replaced. 600.4

 

600.5  The District has turned the corner and begun to tackle these challenges head on.  In 2005, legislation was passed creating a District Department of the Environment.  The District, along with hundreds of other cities, has signed on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and has taken on climate change as the most pressing global environmental challenge of this century.  The District is committed to meeting or beating the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol, which is a 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012. The most ambitious tree planting, water quality improvement, and habitat restoration projects in decades are underway, and great strides are being made to promote more sustainable growth.”.

 

600.6The Environmental Protection Element builds on this momentum. It charts a course toward excellence in environmental quality and improved environmental health. Consistent with the notion of an “Inclusive City,” it strives for environmental justice so that all neighborhoods are provided with clean air, healthy rivers and streams, clean soils, healthy homes, and an abundance of trees and open spaces. 600.6

 

authority

Pursuant to the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1-306.01 et seq.), the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital: District Elements of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (10 DCMR A300 through A2520) (“Comprehensive Plan”).

source

Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300) published at 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361) published at 58 DCR 908, 915 (February 2, 2011).

notation

The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.