4716836 Environment, District Department of the - Notice of Emergency Rulemaking - Soil Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater Management Infractions
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DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT
NOTICE OF emergency RULEMAKING
Soil Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater Management Infractions
The Director of the District Department of the Environment (Department), in accordance with the authority set forth in the District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005, effective February 15, 2006 (D.C. Law 16-51; D.C. Official Code 8-151.01 et seq. (2012 Repl.)); Section 104 of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Civil Infractions Act of 1985, effective October 5, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-42; D.C. Official Code § 2-1801.04 (2012 Repl.)); the Water Pollution Control Act of 1984, as amended, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-188; D.C. Official Code §§ 8-103.16(f) and 8-103.20 (2012 Repl.)); and Mayor’s Order 2006-61, dated June 14, 2006, hereby gives notice of the adoption of an emergency rulemaking to amend Section 3646 (Soil Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater Management Infractions) of Chapter 36 (Department of Health (DOH) Infractions) of Title 16 (Civil Infractions Schedule of Fines) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
This emergency rulemaking establishes fines for violations of the District’s soil erosion and sediment control and stormwater management regulations. Chapter 32 of Title 16 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (16 DCMR §§ 3200-3201) explains how infractions are classified and lists the fine amounts. The stormwater management and soil erosion and sediment control infractions have been scheduled as follows: Class 1 infractions include the failure to submit a plan or obtain Department approval, the failure to maintain the ongoing environmental obligations of the installed stormwater management system, and the failure to comply with a stop work order; Class 2 infractions are generally those relating to the failure to comply with the conditions in the Department-approved plans, including installing adequate soil erosion and sediment controls at a construction site; Class 3 infractions are violations that are housekeeping in nature, for example, not complying with notice requirements; and Class 4 infractions are violations not scheduled elsewhere.
Emergency rulemaking action is necessary to ensure the protection of the waters of the District of Columbia by seeking compliance with the Department’s new stormwater management and soil erosion and sediment control permitting regulations. Those regulations were published in the D.C. Register on July 19, 2013 at 60 DCR 10640.
A prior emergency rulemaking establishing fines for violations of the District’s soil erosion and sediment control and stormwater management regulations was adopted on September 23, 2013, and became effective immediately on that date. That rulemaking was published in the D.C. Register on October 4, 2013 at 60 DCR 13604, and was scheduled to expire on January 22, 2014. This emergency rulemaking was adopted on January 09, 2014, supersedes the prior emergency rulemaking, and will expire one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of effectiveness, on May 9, 2014, unless earlier superseded by a subsequent emergency or final rulemaking. No changes were made from the prior emergency rulemaking.
Through a separate notice of proposed rulemaking to be published in the D.C. Register, the[S1] infractions set forth in this rulemaking, as well as additional infractions associated with regulatory provisions that do not immediately take effect in the new stormwater, regulations, have been proposed for stakeholder comment as part of a comprehensive revision to the Department’s schedule of fines. Persons may provide comments on the soil erosion and sediment control and stormwater management infractions pursuant to this rulemaking.
Chapter 36, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (DOH) INFRACTIONS, of Title 16, CIVIL INFRACTIONS SCHEDULE OF FINES, of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Section 3646, SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT INFRACTIONS, is amended to read as follows:
3646 Soil Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater management Infractions
3646.1 Violation of any of the following provisions shall be a Class 1 infraction:
(a) 21 DCMR § 504.1 (upon notice from the Department, failure to stop work identified);
(b) 21 DCMR § 504.5 (unauthorized removal of a posted stop work order);
(c) 21 DCMR § 504.6 (continuing work stopped by a Department order);
(d) 21 DCMR § 509.1 (failure to correct soil erosion occurring as the result of natural forces or past land-disturbing activities after an inspection and an order from the Department);
(e) 21 DCMR § 516.1 (failure to obtain a Department-approved stormwater management plan);
(f) 21 DCMR § 519.1(b) (failure to comply with the maintenance activities in a Department-approved stormwater management plan);
(g) 21 DCMR § 527.2 (failure to maintain or achieve the off-site retention volume);
(h) 21 DCMR § 528.1 (failure to conduct maintenance required by the stormwater management plan approved by the Department);
(i) 21 DCMR § 528.3 (failure to ensure that a best management practice or a land cover on a lot or parcel is maintained in good working order);
(j) 21 DCMR § 528.4 (converting natural land cover associated with a stormwater retention requirement to compacted or impervious land cover, resulting in the loss of retention capacity associated with the land conversion);
(k) 21 DCMR § 528.5 (converting compacted land associated with a stormwater retention requirement to impervious land cover, resulting in the loss of retention capacity associated with the land conversion);
(l) 21 DCMR § 531.3 (failure to maintain the retention capacity for a best management practice or land cover for the period of time for which the Department certified a Stormwater Retention Credit);
(m) 21 DCMR § 532.5(b) (failure to replace a certified Stormwater Retention Credit associated with a retention failure);
(n) 21 DCMR § 534.2 (failure to maintain the retention capacity for a best management practice or land cover for the period of time for which the Department certified the Stormwater Retention Credit);
(o) 21 DCMR § 532.5 (failure to replace a Stormwater Retention Credit (SRC) for which retention failure has occurred with another SRC or pay the in-lieu fee corresponding to the SRC);
(p) 21 DCMR § 540.1 (engaging in razing or land-disturbing activity, including stripping, clearing, grading, grubbing, excavating, and filling of land, without obtaining the Department’s approval of a soil erosion and sediment control plan); or
(q) 21 DCMR § 540.5 (working outside the scope of the Department-approved soil erosion and sediment control plan).
3646.2 Violation of any of the following provisions shall be a Class 2 infraction:
(a) 21 DCMR § 502.2 (failure to conduct all work in accordance with a Department-approved plan or approved plan change);
(b) 21 DCMR § 503.3 (changing a Department-approved plan or its implementation without Department approval);
(c) 21 DCMR § 503.6 (proceeding past a stage of construction without obtaining the required Department inspection and approval);
(d) 21 DCMR § 503.13 (upon notice from the Department, failure to promptly correct work that fails to comply with a Department-approved plan);
(e) 21 DCMR § 516.3(b) (failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the Department-approved stormwater management plan);
(f) 21 DCMR § 516.3(c) (failure to comply with the Department’s orders and directions to achieve compliance with the Department-approved stormwater management plan);
(g) 21 DCMR § 516.5 (failure to comply with a Department-approved stormwater management plan);
(h) 21 DCMR § 518.12 (failure to submit a complete as-built stormwater management plan package within twenty-one (21) days of the Department’s final construction inspection);
(i) 21 DCMR § 518.13 (failure to submit an as-built stormwater management plan or a Record Drawing for a project consisting entirely of work in the public right-of-way);
(j) 21 DCMR § 528.10 (using soil media removed from a best management practice receiving drainage from an area intended for use or storage of motor vehicles for planting or as fill material);
(k) 21 DCMR § 528.11 (failure to dispose non-vegetative waste material from cleaning, maintaining, repairing, or replacing a best management practice into a landfill or other facility approved for processing these materials);
(l) 21 DCMR § 533.3 (transferring ownership of a Stormwater Retention Credit without the Department’s approval);
(m) 21 DCMR § 540.2 (engaging in a demolition project that results in debris, dust, or sediment leaving the site without instituting the necessary control measure(s));
(n) 21 DCMR § 540.3 (failure to apply each necessary control measure upon receiving instruction to do so by the Department after exposing erodible material and causing erosion);
(o) 21 DCMR § 542.12 (failure to request the Department’s approval at the scheduled stage(s) of construction);
(p) 21 DCMR § 543.3 (failure to use adequate soil erosion and sediment control measures to prevent transportation of sediment from the site);
(q) 21 DCMR § 543.5 (failure to protect a best management practice from sedimentation and other damage during construction);
(r) 21 DCMR § 543.6 (failure to have adequate erosion and sediment control measures in place before and during land disturbance);
(s) 21 DCMR § 543.7 (failure to have soil erosion and sediment control measures in place to stabilize an exposed area as soon as practicable after construction activity has temporarily or permanently ceased);
(t) 21 DCMR § 543.9 (failure to implement measures to prevent the discharge of erodible material or waste material to District sewers or District waterbodies);
(u) 21 DCMR § 543.10(a) (failure to comply with a stormwater pollution prevention plan);
(v) 21 DCMR § 543.12 (except for the area undergoing construction, failure to stabilize area and install perimeter controls within one (1) week of initial land disturbance or redisturbance);
(w) 21 DCMR § 543.13 (failure to control runoff from the site by either diverting or conveying the runoff through areas with soil erosion and sediment control measures, such as through the installation of lined conveyance ditches, channels, or checkdams);
(x) 21 DCMR § 543.14 (failure to apply critical area stabilization to each cut and fill slope);
(y) 21 DCMR § 543.16(a) (failure to establish and maintain perimeter controls around the stockpile material that is actively being used during a phase of construction);
(z) 21 DCMR § 543.16 (b) (failure to stabilize stockpiled material with mulch, temporary vegetation, hydro-seed, or plastic within fifteen (15) calendar days after last use or addition of material);
(aa) 21 DCMR § 543.17 (failure to install required sediment traps or basins and other soil erosion and sediment controls);
(bb) 21 DCMR § 543.18 (failure to seed and mulch or install a sod or a stabilization blanket immediately after building debris basins, diversions, waterways, or related structures);
(cc) 21 DCMR § 543.19 (failure to install measures to minimize off-site vehicle tracking at the construction site access);
(dd) 21 DCMR § 543.20 (failure to remove off-site accumulations of sediment);
(ee) 21 DCMR § 543.21 (failure to maintain and prevent stabilized areas from becoming unstabilized);
(ff) 21 DCMR § 545.2 (failure to install measures to achieve a non-eroding velocity for stormwater exiting from a roof or downspout or to temporarily pipe that stormwater directly to a storm drain);
(gg) 21 DCMR § 545.3 (failure to maximize the preservation of natural vegetation and limit the removal of vegetation to that is necessary for construction or landscaping activity);
(hh) 21 DCMR § 546.1(a) (exposing more than five hundred linear feet (500 ft) of open trench at any one time for land-disturbing activity that involves work on an underground utility);
(ii) 21 DCMR § 546.1 (b) (failure to place all excavated material on the uphill side of a trench for land-disturbing activity that involves work on an underground utility);
(kk) 21 DCMR § 546.1 (c) (failure to install interim or permanent stabilization upon completion of refilling for land-disturbing activity that involves work on an underground utility);
(ll) 21 DCMR § 546.1 (d) (failure to use mulches and matting to minimize soil erosion when natural or artificial grass filter strips are used to collect sediment from excavated material for land-disturbing activity that involves work on an underground utility); or
(mm) 21 DCMR § 547.1 (failure to ensure that a responsible person (as described in the Chapter) is present or available if a site involves a land disturbance of five thousand square feet (5,000 ft2) or more).
3646.3 Violation of any of the following provisions shall be a Class 3 infraction:
(a) 21 DCMR § 502.4 (failure to notify the Department of a material change in the performance provided for in a Department-approved stormwater pollution prevention plan, including a material change in the volume of stormwater flowing into a best management practice (BMP), a shared BMP, or a land cover);
(b) 21 DCMR § 503.7(a) (failure to schedule a preconstruction meeting or field visit with the Department at least three (3) business days before commencement of a land-disturbing activity);
(c) 21 DCMR § 503.7(b) (failure to schedule a preconstruction inspection with the Department at least three (3) business days before beginning construction of a best management practice);
(d) 21 DCMR § 503.7(c) (failure to schedule an inspection required for a stage of construction or other construction event at least three (3) business days before the anticipated inspection);
(e) 21 DCMR § 503.7(d) (failure to give notice to the Department within two (2) weeks of completion of the land-disturbing activity); or
(f) 21 DCMR § 503.7(e) (failure to request a final construction inspection one (1) week before completion of a best management practice).
3646.4 Violation of any of the following provisions shall be a Class 4 infraction:
(a) 21 DCMR § 542.2 (failure to make the Department-approved soil erosion and sediment control plan for a project available on site for Department review);
(b) 21 DCMR § 543.10(b) (failure to post a copy of the Department-approved stormwater pollution prevention plan on site);
(c) 21 DCMR § 543.22 (failure to post a sign that notifies the public to contact the Department in the event of soil erosion or other pollution); or
(d) Violation of any provision of the District of Columbia Stormwater Management, Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Regulations (21 DCMR, Chapter 5) that is not cited elsewhere in this section.
[S1]DDOE has a separate rm that reorganizes the schedule of fines (chapter 36 to chapter 40)
