5970658 Energy and Environment, Department of - Notice of Final Rulemaking - Stormwater Fee Discount Program  

  • DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

     

    NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING

     

    Stormwater Fee Discount Program

     

    The Director of the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE or Department) pursuant to the authority set forth in the District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005, effective February 15, 2006, as amended (D.C. Law 16-51; D.C. Official Code §§ 8-151.01 et seq. (2013 Repl.)); the Comprehensive Stormwater Management Enhancement Amendment Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009, as amended (D.C. Law 17-371; D.C. Official Code §§ 8‑152.01 et seq. (2013 Repl.)); the Water Pollution Control Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985, as amended (D.C. Law 5-188; D.C. Official Code §§ 8-103.01 et seq. (2013 Repl.)); and Mayor’s Order 2006-61, dated June 14, 2006, hereby adopts the following amendments to Chapter 5 (Water Quality and Pollution) of Title 21 (Water and Sanitation) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).

     

    The final rulemaking aligns the Department’s administrative enrollment process with DC Water's existing billing practices by commencing a discount when DC Water posts it to the customer's account; provides a greater discount for green infrastructure that receives runoff from compacted cover; and allows greater flexibility in calculating discounts for rainwater harvesting practices.

     

    The Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the D.C. Register on January 29, 2016 at 63 DCR 001092. The Department did not receive any comments on the proposed rulemaking.

     

    The rules were adopted as final on March 1, 2016 and will become effective upon publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

     

    Chapter 5, WATER QUALITY AND POLLUTION, of Title 21 DCMR, WATER AND SANITATION, is amended as follows:

     

    Section 558, STORMWATER FEE DISCOUNT PROGRAM: ELIGIBILITY, is amended as follows:

     

    Subsection 558.4 is amended to read as follows:

     

    558.4               The Department shall calculate the discount to be applied to the customer’s DC Water bill:

     

    (a)                As a recurring subtraction from the stormwater fee billed pursuant to § 556;

     

    (b)               Beginning no later than the billing period that follows DC Water’s processing of the discount; and

     

    (c)                For the stormwater fee discount period that this chapter sets.

     

    Section 559, STORMWATER FEE DISCOUNT PROGRAM: DISCOUNT CALCULATION, is amended as follows:

     

    Subsection 559.2 is amended to read as follows:

     

    559.2               The stormwater fee discount shall be calculated as follows:

     

    (a)        Determine, in gallons, the maximum volume of stormwater runoff retained by the eligible Best Management Practice (BMP) during a one and two-tenths-inch (1.2 in.) rainfall event;

     

    (b)        Divide the step “(a)” result by seven hundred ten and seventy-five hundredths gallons (710.75 gal.) per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) (the number of gallons of stormwater runoff per ERU that would be generated by a one and two-tenths-inch (1.2 in.) rainfall event);

     

    (c)        Multiply the step “(b)” result by the maximum allowable discount percentage; and

     

    (d)       Multiply the step “(c)” result by the stormwater fee per ERU specified in § 556;

     

    (e)        Except that, for a rain barrel, the Department may allow the calculation method in § 559.6(e) to be used.

     

    Subsection 559.6 is amended to read as follows:

     

    559.6               The Department shall calculate the discount eligible for use of the Simplified Application as follows:

     

    (a)        Determine the total area that the BMP(s) manages, in square feet, after taking into consideration the runoff coefficients of this chapter for each land cover type;

     

    (b)        Divide the step “(a)” result by the original total area of impervious surface, and express the quotient as a percentage;

     

    (c)        Multiply the step “(b)” result by the maximum allowable discount;

     

    (d)       Multiply the percentage result from step “(c)” by the stormwater fee per ERU specified in § 556; and

     

    (e)        For rainwater harvesting, including a rain barrel and a cistern, add:

     

    (1)     The product of multiplying the stormwater fee by 0.13 ERU per rain barrel installed; or

     

    (2)  The discount calculated using the methodology of § 559.2.