5500984 Environment, District Department of the - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Apiculture Infractions
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District DEPARTMENT OF the Environment
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The Director of the District Department of the Environment (Department), pursuant to the authority set forth in Section 104(a)(1) of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Civil Infractions Act of 1985 (Civil Infractions Act), effective October 5, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-42; D.C. Official Code § 2-1801.04(a)(1) (2012 Repl.)), Sections 211 and 219 of the Sustainable Urban Agriculture Apiculture Act of 2012, effective April 20, 2013 (D.C. Law 19-262; D.C. Official Code §§ 8-1825.01 and 8-1825.09 (2013 Repl.)), as amended by Title IV, Subtitle B of the Sustainable D.C. Omnibus Amendment Act of 2014, effective December 17, 2014 (D.C. Law 20-142; 61 DCR 8045 (August 8, 2014)), 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. (2013 Repl.)), and Mayor’s Order 2006-61, dated June 14, 2006, hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt the following amendments to Chapter 36 (Department of Health (DOH) Infractions) of Title 16 (Consumers, Commercial Practices, and Civil Infractions) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR), in not less than thirty (30) days.
Pursuant to § 104(a)(1) 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(a)(1) (2012 Repl.)), the proposed rules will be submitted to the Council of the District of Columbia for review and approval. The rule will become effective upon Council approval, or thirty (30) days after submission if the Council has not disapproved the proposed rulemaking, and publication of the final rules in the D.C. Register.
These rules will add a new Section 4017, Apiculture Infractions, to Title 16 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, by adding to the schedule of fines for violations in 21 DCMR Chapter 19, related to urban apiculture. The fines shall be scheduled as Class 4 infractions.
Chapter 36, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (DOH) INFRACTIONS, of Title 16 DCMR, CONSUMERS, COMMERCIAL PRACTICES, AND CIVIL INFRACTIONS, is amended as follows:
A new Section 4017 is added to read as follows:
4017 APICULTURE INFRACTIONS
4017.1 [RESERVED]
4017.2 [RESERVED]
4017.3 [RESERVED]
4017.4 Violation of any of the following provisions shall be a Class 4 infraction:
(a) 19 DCMR § 1520.1 (failure to register a colony of bees with the Department);
(b) 19 DCMR § 1523.1 (failure to obtain a permit prior to transporting a colony, portion of a colony, bees on combs, empty used combs, or used hives into the District);
(c) 19 DCMR § 1523.3 (failure to obtain a Certificate of Apiary Inspection from the Department prior to taking any colony, portion of a colony, bees on combs, empty used combs, or used hives out of the District);
(d) 19 DCMR § 1524.2 (failure to keep bees in hives with removable combs);
(e) 19 DCMR § 1524.3 (failure to maintain hive in sound condition);
(f) 19 DCMR § 1524.4 (failure to maintain adequate space in the hive to prevent overcrowding and deter swarming);
(g) 19 DCMR § 1524.5 (failure to provide colony with a convenient, adequate, and constant source of water);
(h) 19 DCMR § 1524.6 (failure to promptly remediate a bee swarm);
(i) 19 DCMR § 1525.1 (failure to locate a hive as required from a property line);
(j) 19 DCMR § 1525.1d (failure to secure annual written approval from neighbors within 30 feet of the proposed hive when hive distance requirements aren’t met)
(k) 19 DCMR § 1525.2 (failure to provide an adequate flyway barrier);
(l) 19 DCMR § 1525.3 (failure to obtain written permission from the Department to keep more than four (4) hives on any one-quarter acre lot (10,890 square feet));
(m) 19 DCMR § 1526.2 (violation of the ban on the keeping of Africanized bees);
(n) 19 DCMR § 1526.3 (failure to re-queen a colony with a marked queen in a colony that exhibits unusual aggressive characteristics);
(o) 19 DCMR § 1527.1 (failure to take measures to control the spread of bee disease);
(p) 19 DCMR § 1527.2 (failure to quarantine a colony that is suspected to have American foulbrood or other bee disease that may pose a risk to the colony, environment, or public health);
(q) 19 DCMR § 1527.3 (failure to notify the Department of a quarantined colony);
(r) 19 DCMR § 1527.4 (removing bees, colonies, and equipment from a quarantined area); or
(s) 19 DCMR § 1527.8 (failure to properly destroy a colony with American foulbrood or any untreatable disease).
All persons desiring to comment on the proposed schedule of fines for the District of Columbia Sustainable Urban Agriculture Apiculture regulations should file comments in writing not later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. All comments will be treated as public documents and will be made available for public viewing on the Department’s website at: www.ddoe.dc.gov. When the Department identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, the Department will provide a reference to that material on the website. If a comment is sent by e-mail, the email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public record and made available on the Department’s website. All comments should be labeled “Schedule of Fines, Sustainable Urban Agriculture Apiculture” and filed with District Department of the Environment, Fisheries Quality Division, 1200 First Street, N.E., 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20002, Attention: Apiculture Comments, or by e-mail to apiculture.comments@dc.gov.
