The District of Columbia Department of the Environment (DDOE) is revising its stormwater fee, effective May 1, 2009.  DDOE is responsible for managing stormwater pollution in the District.

1. What is the stormwater fee? 

This fee covers the costs to manage and treat pollution in stormwater runoff, which is rain and melted snow that do not soak into the ground.

 

2. Why is stormwater a problem? 

Stormwater flows off streets, buildings, parking lots and driveways, picking up trash and pollutants before entering storm drains.  These drains deliver pollution to waterways such as Rock Creek and the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers.

 

3. Why charge a stormwater fee? 

The federal government requires the District to control pollution from stormwater runoff.  The stormwater fee provides a dedicated funding source to pay for these pollution control efforts.  The fee helps pay for green roofs, rain gardens, tree planting, street sweeping, and other activities that help keep waterways clean.

 

4.  How is the stormwater fee changing? 

Right now, the stormwater fee is charged as either a flat fee (for single family homes) or based on how much water you use (for all other properties).  Starting May 1, the fee will be based on how much impervious, or hard surface, area you have on your property.

 

5.  Why is the stormwater fee changing? 

The old fee isn’t based on the best way to measure how much stormwater runs off a property.  More impervious surface means more stormwater runoff, and a higher cost to the District for managing the pollution that comes with it.

 

For example, a parking lot is typically 100 percent impervious surface, and can collect and hold liquid pollutants from cars.  Without a restroom on the property, the owners of the parking lot would pay no stormwater fee at all under the old fee structure.  The new fee structure will let the District recover the cost of the stormwater the parking lot generates.

 

6.  Is this change an increase in the stormwater fee? 

No.  The total amount of stormwater fees collected each year in the District will still be about $13 million.  What is changing is who pays for what portion of this total.  The owners of properties that generate more stormwater will pay more; others will pay less.  Properties that use large quantities of water (example: an apartment building) but that have relatively small amounts of impervious area will see their stormwater fees go down.  Properties with large amounts of impervious area but that use little or no water (example: a parking lot) will see their stormwater fees go up.

 

7. What will happen to my bill?
Single family residences, multi-family properties with fewer than four units, and individually-metered apartment, cooperative, and condominium residences will be charged $2.57 per month, based on the average amount of impervious surface on residential properties (1,000 square feet).

 

All other properties, such as businesses and large multi-family properties, will be charged $2.57 per month for each 1,000 square feet of impervious area on their lot, reduced to the nearest 100 square feet.

 

For example, the monthly stormwater fee for a commercial property with 26,500 square feet of impervious area would be calculated as follows:

 

26,500 square feet / 1,000 square feet = 26.5 X $2.57 = $68.11 per month

 

8. How is this change in stormwater fees being put into place? 

The Council of the District of Columbia granted DDOE authority to revise stormwater fees in June 2008.  A more recent piece of legislation* directed DDOE to base the stormwater fee on impervious area.  DDOE issued a proposed regulation in the DC Register on March 6.  Public comments will be accepted for 30 days and a public hearing will be held on April 13.  After reviewing public feedback, DDOE will develop and publish a final regulation.
 
9. How does this relate to DC WASA’s Impervious Area Charge? 

Both fees relate to improving the District’s water quality.  However, DDOE’s stormwater fee and the DC WASA charge are separate and address separate pollution control requirements.  For more information on DC WASA’s Impervious Area Charge, click here.

 

10. Is there a way I can reduce my stormwater fee? 

The District Council has directed DDOE to establish a stormwater fee discount program to reduce stormwater fees for property owners who implement measures to manage and reduce stormwater runoff.  This program is required to be established by May 2010. The Council also indicated that stormwater fee discounts shall be made retroactive to no earlier than the implementation date of the impervious area stormwater fee (i.e. May 1, 2009). DDOE will be coordinating with DC WASA this year to develop and implement this program, and will provide more details shortly.

 

11. Are there measures in place to assist low-income residents with water bills? 

Currently, there is no assistance available to help with the stormwater fee.  However, low-income residents may qualify for assistance with their water bill through DC WASA’s S.P.L.A.S.H. program administered by the Greater Washington Urban League and the Customer Assistance Program administered by the DDOE Energy Office.  For more information about S.P.L.A.S.H., contact the Greater Washington Urban League at (202) 265-8200.  For more information about the Customer Assistance Program, contact the DDOE Energy Office at (202) 673-6700 or visit the DC WASA and DDOE websites.