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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 20. ENVIRONMENT |
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Chapter 20-9. AIR QUALITY - MOTOR VEHICULAR POLLUTANTS, LEAD, ODORS, AND NUISANCE POLLUTANTS |
Section 20-900. ONROAD ENGINE IDLING AND NONROAD DIESEL ENGINE IDLING
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900.1No person owning, operating, or having control over the engine of a gasoline or diesel-powered motor vehicle on public or private space, including the engine of public vehicles for hire, buses with a seating capacity of twelve (12) or more persons, and school buses or any vehicle transporting students, shall allow that engine to idle for more than three (3) minutes while the motor vehicle is parked, stopped, or standing, including for the purpose of operating air conditioning equipment in those vehicles, except as follows:
(a)To operate private passenger vehicles;
(b)To operate power takeoff equipment, including dumping, cement mixers, refrigeration systems, content delivery, winches, or shredders;
(c)To idle the engine for no more than five (5) minutes to operate heating equipment when the ambient air temperature is thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit (32° F) or below; or
(d)To operate warming buses during a Cold Emergency Alert, provided that:
(1)Warming buses are located a minimum of fifty feet (50 ft.) away from residential buildings; and
(2)In order to minimize air pollution, motor vehicles shall be selected for use as warming buses as follows:
(i) If available, vehicles that meet the needs for warming buses and use clean fuel, such as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), shall be selected; and
(ii) If vehicles meeting the criteria in subparagraph (i) are not available, the newest available model year vehicles that meet the needs for warming buses shall be used.
900.2No person owning, operating, leasing, or having control over a nonroad diesel engine, or the holder of the permit for the activity for which the nonroad diesel engine is being operated, shall cause or allow the idling of a nonroad diesel engine under its control or on its property for more than three (3) consecutive minutes.
900.3Subsection 900.2 does not apply to locomotives, generator sets, marine vessels, recreational vehicles, farming equipment, military equipment when it is being used during training exercises, emergency or public safety situations, or any private use of a nonroad diesel engine that is not for compensation.
900.4The idling limit in Subsection 900.2 does not apply to:
(a)Idling necessary to ensure the safe operation of the equipment and safety of the operator, such as conditions specified by the equipment manufacturer in the manual or an appropriate technical document accompanying the nonroad diesel engine;
(b)Idling for testing, servicing, repairing, diagnostic purposes, or to verify that the equipment is in good working order, including regeneration of a diesel particulate filter, in accordance with the equipment manufacturer manual or other technical document accompanying the nonroad diesel engine;
(c)Idling for less than fifteen (15) minutes when queuing (i.e., when nonroad diesel equipment, situated in a queue of other vehicles, must intermittently move forward to perform work or a service), not including the time an operator may wait motionless in line in anticipation of the start of a workday or opening of a location where work or a service will be performed.
(d)Idling by any nonroad diesel engine being used in an emergency or public safety capacity;
(e)Idling for a state or federal inspection to verify that all equipment is in good working order, if idling is required as part of the inspection; and
(f)Idling for up to five (5) consecutive minutes to operate heating equipment when the ambient air temperature is thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit (32ºF) or below.