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DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, pursuant to the authority under Section 2 of the New and Used Tire Dealer License Act of 2012, effective April 23, 2013 (D.C. Law 19-279; D.C. Official Code § 47-2832.02, 60 DCR 2122), Section 2002(l) of the Second Omnibus Regulatory Reform Amendment Act of 1998, April 20, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-261; D.C. Official Code § 47-2851.20 (2005 Repl.)), and Sections 104 and 105 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 and 2-1801.05 (2007 Repl. & 2012 Supp.)), hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt, in not less than thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register, a new Chapter 8 (Tire Dealers) to Title 17 (Business, Occupations and Professions) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR), and amendments to Chapter 5 (Basic Business License Schedule of Fees) of DCMR Title 17 (Business, Occupations and Professions) and to Chapter 33 (Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) Infractions) of DCMR Title 16 (Consumers, Commercial Practices, & Civil Infractions).
The proposed rulemaking prescribes the business license requirements for the storage, collection, or processing of waste tires in the District of Columbia; establishes a fee for the issuance of a tire dealer business license; and establishes a schedule of civil infraction fines for violations of the business license requirements.
A new Chapter 8 (Tire Dealers) to Title 17 (Business, Occupations and Professions) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations is added to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8: TIRE DEALERS
800 APPLICABILITY
801 GENERAL LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
802 STORAGE OF WASTE TIRES
803 DISPOSAL OF WASTE TIRES
804 RECORD KEEPING
805 EMERGENCY PLAN
806 WAIVERS
899 DEFINITIONS
800 APPLICABILITY
800.1 This chapter shall apply to any person engaged in the storage, collection, or processing of waste tires in the District of Columbia, regardless of whether the waste tires are purchased or obtained free of charge.
801 GENERAL LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
801.1 No person shall operate a business of storing, collecting, or processing waste tires without obtaining and maintaining a valid basic business license for a tire dealer.
801.2 Application for a tire dealer business license shall be made on a form prescribed by the Department and shall include the following information:
(a) The name and address of the owner of the tire dealer business;
(b) A copy of the current Certificate of Occupancy for the property where the tire dealer business is to be located;
(c) A Clean Hands Certification;
(d) A copy of the applicant’s certificate of registration, issued by the Office of Tax and Revenue, designating the applicant’s sales and use tax number;
(e) If the applicant is not a resident of the District of Columbia:
(1) The name and address of a registered agent upon whom service of process and other legal notices may be delivered; or
(2) A designation of the Mayor as the person who may accept service of process as well as other legal notices directed to the applicant; and
(f) Any additional information required by the Department.
802 STORAGE OF WASTE TIRES
802.1 No tire dealer licensee shall store more than five hundred (500) waste tires on its property.
802.2 Waste tires shall be stacked in solid piles and in an orderly manner on a level surface.
802.3 Waste tires shall be stored in a covered trailer, roll-off box, cage, or similar storage device to prevent rainwater or melting snow from collecting in the waste tires.
802.4 Waste tires shall not:
(a) Be located on public space, including sidewalks, streets, or alleys;
(b) Be located along the property’s fences, gates or walls that are immediately adjacent to public space, including sidewalks, streets, or alleys;
(c) Be located within twenty-five feet (25 ft.) of any occupiable structure, such as a residential or commercial building, on an adjacent property;
(d) Be stored so that they exceed ten feet (10 ft.) in height;
(e) Be stored in such a manner that they exceed either twenty-five feet (25 ft.) in width or one hundred feet (100 ft.) in length;
(f) Be stored in such a manner that they do not allow a width of at least fifty feet (50 ft.) between stacks of waste tires; and
(g) Be stored near any flammable source, combustible material, or any other volatile material.
802.5 Any area on the licensee’s property that contains waste tires shall be clearly designated as a no smoking area.
802.6 A licensee shall properly maintain the property and shall not allow excessive vegetative growth, including plants with obnoxious or noxious odor, weeds, grasses causing hay fever, or any weed growth that creates a breeding place for mosquitoes. Vegetative growth on the property shall not exceed a height of ten inches (10 in.).
802.7 A licensee shall ensure the property’s fences and gates are properly maintained to prevent any unauthorized access to the property.
803 DISPOSAL OF WASTE TIRES
803.1 A licensee shall establish and maintain a contractual agreement with a waste tire hauler, or its equivalent, for the removal of waste tires, at a minimum of every three calendar (3) days, from the licensee’s property.
803.2 A copy of the contractual agreement required by § 803.1 shall be available for inspection or review by the Department.
804 RECORD KEEPING
804.1 By February 1 of each year, a licensee shall produce a report summarizing the licensee’s waste tire business activity in the prior calendar year.
804.2 The annual report required by § 804.1 shall contain the following information:
(a) The source, total number, type and average quantity (by number or weight) of waste tires collected;
(b) The approximate number of waste tires that accumulated on the property every day;
(c) The maximum quantity, by number or weight, and type of waste tires that were accepted by the licensee on a daily basis;
(d) The arrangement and size of the piles of tires stored at the business awaiting removal;
(e) Description of how waste tires were stored at the licensee’s property pending disposal and removal;
(f) The destination and number of tires shipped or otherwise disposed of; and
(g) A copy of the agreement with the waste tire hauler required under § 803.1.
804.3 A licensee shall maintain copies of each annual report for a minimum of three (3) years and the reports shall be made available for inspection by the Department upon request.
804.4 The record keeping requirements of this section shall not apply to any charitable, fraternal, or other type of nonprofit organization or association that conducts programs that result in the voluntary cleanup of land, water resources, or collection for disposal of waste tires.
805 EMERGENCY PLAN
805.1 A licensee shall have and maintain at its business location an emergency plan containing the following information:
(1) A description of the licensee’s fire prevention plans;
(2) The name, home address, phone number, and email address of the persons to be contacted in the event of a fire or other type of emergency;
(3) A list of the emergency response equipment at the licensee’s property, its location, and how it should be used in the event of a fire or other emergency; and
(4) The procedures to be followed in the event of a fire, including how to contain and dispose of any oily material generated by the combustion of tires.
806 WAIVERS
806.1 Any licensee that has been in operation for at least three (3) years before the effective date of these regulations may seek a waiver from the applicability of § 802.4(c).
806.2 A licensee seeking a waiver from § 802.4(c) shall remain subject to all other provisions of this chapter and shall submit evidence of when it commenced operations as a tire dealer.
806.3 Any waiver issued pursuant to this section shall be valid only to the licensee whose name and business address is listed on the business license issued pursuant to this chapter.
806.4 Any waiver issued pursuant to this section shall not be transferrable to any subsequent owners of the tire dealer business or to any change of address of the tire dealer business.
806.5 A licensee seeking a waiver issued pursuant to this section shall file an application with the Department within one hundred eighty (180) days of the effective date of these regulations. Failure to file an application shall be deemed a forfeiture of the waiver and shall subject the licensee to § 802.4(c).
899 DEFINITIONS
When used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed:
Department – the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
Vegetative growth – includes tall grass, kudzu, poison ivy, oak and sumac, plants with obnoxious odors, weeds, grasses causing hay fever, and any weed growth that creates a breeding place for mosquitoes.
Waste tire – any automobile, motorcycle, heavy equipment, or truck tire stored or offered for sale by a waste tire generator or otherwise retained by a waste tire generator after having replaced a customer’s new or used tire.
Waste tire generator – any person who buys, sells, or stores new or used tires for use on automobiles, motorcycles, heavy equipment, or trucks and which retains any of the customer’s used tires after replacement.
Title 17 (Business, Occupations and Professions), Chapter 5 (Basic Business License Schedule of Fees), Section 515 (General Service and Repair Endorsement) of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Subsection 515.1 is amended by amending Paragraphs (h) and (i) and adding a new paragraph (j) to read as follows:
(h) Tour guide: $73;
(i) Valet parking company: $222; and
(j) Tire dealer: $497.
Title 16 (Consumers, Commercial Practices, & Civil Infractions), Chapter 33 (Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) Infractions), Section 3301 (Business and Professional Licensing Administration Infractions) of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Subsection 3301.1 is amended by amending Paragraphs (jj) and (kk) and adding a new paragraph (ll) to read as follows:
(jj) D.C. Official Code § 47-2851.03d(a) (operating a business without a general business license endorsement);
(kk) D.C. Official Code § 47-2851.03d(b) (operating a general contracting or construction management business without a general contractor/construction manager license endorsement); or
(ll) D.C. Official Code § 47-2832.02 (operating a business without a tire dealer business license).
Subsection 3301.2 is amended by amending Paragraphs (c) and (d) and adding new Paragraphs (e) and (f) to read as follows:
(c) Employment Services Licensing and Regulation Act of 1984, effective Mar. 13, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-136; D.C. Official Code § 32-401 et seq., except § 32-402(a)) (violation of any provision of the Employment Services Licensing and Regulation Act of 1984, D.C. Law 5-136, or rule issued pursuant thereto, except Section 3(a) (D.C. Official Code § 32-402(a));
(d) Automobile Consumer Protection Act of 1984, effective Mar. 14, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-162; D.C. Official Code § 50-501 et seq.) (violation of any provision of the Automobile Consumer Protection Act of 1984, or rule issued pursuant thereto).
(e) D.C. Official Code § 47-2832.02(c) and 17 DCMR § 802.1 (storage of more than five hundred (500) waste tires); or
(f) 17 DCMR § 803 (failure to establish and maintain a contractual agreement with a waste tire hauler for the removal of waste tires).
A new Subsection 3301.3 is added to read as follows:
3301.3 Violation of any of the following provisions shall be a Class 3 infraction:
(a) 17 DCMR § 805 (failure to establish and maintain an emergency plan).
A new Subsection 3301.4 is added to read as follows:
3301.4 Violation of any of the following provisions shall be a Class 4 infraction:
(a) 17 DCMR § 804 (failure to prepare an annual report).
All persons desiring to comment on these proposed regulations should submit comments in writing to Adrianne Lord-Sorenson, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, 1100 Fourth Street, SW, Fifth Floor, Washington, D.C. 20024, or via e-mail at Adrianne.Lord-Sorensen@dc.gov, not later than thirty (30) days after publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. Persons with questions concerning this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking should call (202) 442-4400. Copies of the proposed rules can be obtained from the address listed above. A copy fee of one dollar ($1.00) will be charged for each copy of the proposed rulemaking requested. Free copies are available on the DCRA website at http://dcra.dc.gov by going to the “About DCRA” tab, clicking on “News Room,” and then clicking on “Rulemaking.”
