Federal Logic - Stormwater In DC

On one hand the EPA, a federal agency, is requiring DC to take actions about stormwater runoff - on the other hand............ sort of a take with one hand, give with another......... definetely an example of the right hand not talking with the left hand............ or maybe the one hand consciously obstructing the other.....

Feds say they won't pay D.C. for stormwater runoff fees

By: Alana Goodman
Examiner Staff Writer
April 28, 2010

Federal government agencies are refusing to pay fees for new federally mandated District environmental regulations, and D.C. officials say that the expense may be passed on to city residents.

The Environmental Protection Agency took control of stormwater regulations in D.C. last spring, in an effort to help restore the Anacostia River and in response to an executive order by President Obama. Under the new system, the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority changed its fee structure for stormwater runoff, charging landowners by square footage instead of by the number of people who utilize the property.

But several federal agencies have balked at the city's new rules, arguing that they should be exempt from the fees under a law that exempts federal buildings from paying property taxes.

"[B]ased upon our preliminary review, the [stormwater] charges adopted by the District appear to be a tax on property owners," an attorney forthe Government Accountability Office wrote in an April 13 letter to WASA. "Accordingly, we are instructing the Department of Treasury not to make a payment to the District from GAO's appropriations."

The Department of Defense also is refusing to pay up and snubbed the fees as an "impermissible tax on the federal government," a top military official wrote in an April 15 letter to WASA.

WASA denies that the new rate structure represents a property tax. "It's a fee, because it's directly related to a service that is rendered by our agency," WASA spokesman Alan Heymann said.

If the federal government doesn't pay, WASA says the approximate $2 million cost might be passed on to local residents. "The money has to come from someplace, and that someplace is our ratepayers," Heymann said.

D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh called the situation "extraordinarily concerning to us all."

"If [the federal agencies] don't pay it, the alternative is to spread it out over the other ratepayers of the district," she said.

WASA officials will be meeting with the GAO to attempt to negotiate on the matter. Other options may include another restructuring of the fee system or legal action.

"We don't want to go to court about it," Cheh said. "But, it may be that we might have to go to court about it."

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Feds-say-they-won_t-pay-D_C_-for-stormwater-runoff-fees-92258154.html

Green Socialability

Out of the Post - not current info but current activity indicates some longevity -



Ways to Make Eco-Minded Friends
Sunday, October 5, 2008

Here's how you, too, can cultivate a greener circle of friends:
Toast the Planet

Green Drinks convenes the second Tuesday of the month for happy hours at restaurants and bars (to join the e-mail list, write to greendrinksdc@gmail.com).

Tree Hugger Happy Hour (TH3) is a social group for those working in or interested in the environmental field, "but without the heavy pressure of having to network or talk about work," says organizer Gustavo Silva-Chávez. TH3 meets the third Thursday of the month for happy hours. Join through Facebook (search for the group's name) or by e-mailing dctreehuggerhappyhour@gmail.com.

Eco-Bond Outdoors

Hiking groups Wanderbirds ( http://www.wanderbirds.org) and the Capital Hiking Club ( http://www.capitalhikingclub.org) organize weekend trips to such spots as Shenandoah National Park and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath.

Explore Rock Creek Park and other trails from your bike seat with Potomac Pedalers ( http://www.bikepptc.org).

Volunteer

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network ( http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org) seeks people to pitch in on their campaigns, from promoting clean energy to reducing home energy costs.

Beautify Northern Virginia with Fairfax ReLeaf ( http://www.fairfaxreleaf.org), whose volunteers work to restore and maintain urban forests.

Roll up your sleeves with the Potomac Conservancy ( http://www.potomac.org), which needs helpers to pull invasive weeds, clear trash and plant trees along the Potomac River.

Go Green Online

Join the more than 180 members of the Meetup group Living Green DC/MD/VA ( http://environment.meetup.com/341), who gather to see films with environmental themes, visit farmers' markets and volunteer for Earth Day. The site provides a great forum for environmentalists (including a green DJ and a green Realtor) to keep apprised of local events, says organizer Darlene Olsen.

Become a member of the Live Green network ($13 a year at http://www.livegreen.net), and you'll receive benefits and deals at eco-friendly businesses with "Live Green Spot" logos throughout Washington.

-- Christine Dell'Amore

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/02/AR2008100203379.html

EPA To Require Rainwater Collection In DC

If this goes through as planned, it will mean major changes to Washington, DC, construction practices. I don't quite follow the five year part though - a developer might decide to wait it out especially for a project in the fourth or fifth year of the project.

EPA proposes rainwater-trapping rules for D.C.

By David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 22, 2010; B10

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced plans Wednesday to require "green roofs," rain barrels and other measures that trap runoff at new and redeveloped buildings in the District, making the city a test case for an ambitious effort to stop pollution from flowing into rivers along with the rain.

The EPA's plan, contained in a proposed permit for the District's storm-sewer system, would require developers to trap 90 percent of the water that falls on a plot during a storm.

Water usually hits roofs and parking lots and runs into sewers, carrying trash and chemical pollutants. Under the permit, that water would be filtered naturally, through plants and dirt, or be caught in a receptacle for use watering plants.

If developers cannot make the changes, the EPA proposed, they would be required to pay for projects elsewhere.

The EPA will seek public comment on the plan, which would last five years. If approved, it would mean a major shift in thinking for a city covered in glass, concrete and shingles. EPA officials estimated that some buildings currently might trap 30 percent of rainwater with gardens or landscaping. At sites where the buildings are surrounded only by concrete, the number could be zero.

In the EPA's plan, "you're using water on site as an asset, rather than a waste product," said Jon Capacasa, director of the water protection division of the EPA's mid-Atlantic regional office. He said the changes were part of a larger effort, begun with a presidential order last year, to improve the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. "The local water bodies need these levels of [storm water] control to be healthy," he said.

Capacasa said the plan would make the District's rules on rainwater among the strictest in the country.

In the past few months, Virginia and Maryland have proposed similar measures to trap and filter rainwater. But house builders and other developers said they would add vast new costs to their projects. Virginia shelved its plan, and Maryland made some alterations that developers demanded.

The EPA plan for the District would require developers to trap the first 1.2 inches of rain that falls during a storm (it would require federal buildings to trap the first 1.7 inches). In that way, it is more restrictive than the proposal that was shot down in Virginia, and tougher on redevelopment projects than Maryland's rules are.

A D.C. Building Industries Association official said she could not comment Wednesday because she had not seen the details of the permit. An official with the D.C. government declined to comment for the same reason.

Rainwater is an unlikely sounding, but important, source of pollution for the Chesapeake, bringing down more than 10 percent of the two pollutants that cause "dead zones" downstream. Environmental groups applauded the EPA's proposal Wednesday, saying it would also reduce the amount of mud and garbage washed down during storms.

"Less of that storm water flowing into the river is going to mean less trash," said Brent C. Bolin of the Anacostia Watershed Society. "You'll be able to see the difference."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/21/AR2010042104929.html

Lamp Post Graffiti

Some lamp post graffiti in my area. First three photos taken in September 2009.








So after a winter of looking at the graffiti... I called 311 and left a report on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. The reference number they gave me is 17534. (Corrected number - originaly I had 27534).

May 11, 2010 update - graffiti is still there - called 311; had the number wrong by one digit but the representative was able to get the correct number. The representative reported to me that the service number had been closed as "completed" on April 28, 2010. Hmmmmm... as I look out the window at the same graffiti. So start from the top...... new service number 162107 and it starts all over, basically as if the graffiti is new.

Whether closing the service number without actually completing the job was intentional or not, it shows me that supervision is not in place to keep this from happening. The crew looks like they are doing a good job by the completion rate, yet the problem "keeps happening" in part because graffiti that was inaccurately reported as removed is then counted as a new service request.

Is there any accountability?


May 19, 2010 update -
Noticed yesterday that the lamp post graffiti has been removed - almost. Below are photos taken May 20, 2010, that clearly show graffiti which can be identified in last September's photos is still on the lamp post. Is anyone paying attention to the work they are doing? This graffiti will now get a third service call! Oh yeah, we are winning........

Easy Parking For Some

More illegal overnight parking by government vehicles - this is not a cop on duty - often seen parked overnight during the fall of 2009. Notice that it is a 5th District cruiser - parked at the northwest corner of 11th and Fairmont Sts. NW, in the 3rd District.

A Pattern Of Illegal Parking With No Consequence

Here is some nice parking on the southeast corner of Fairmont and 13th Sts NW, on Fairmont, taken February 21, 2010. When you have a DC government vehicle, parking regulations for the common folk mean nothing. This is a person who gets to take home a DC government car. This person regularly parks overnight illegally.

Free Parking For Some

The daylight photo below is at the northeast corner of 13th and Fairmont Sts. NW, on Fairmont next to the Great Pleasant Plains Baptist Church, taken on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at around 7:20am. The nighttime photos fo the same car were taken earlier that morning around 3:00am at the same location. The white Honda Civic is parked in front of, to the left of in the first picture, a clearly marked "No Parking Anytime" sign pointing towards the Civic.



















Parking is an issue in many areas of DC. In the most congested of areas in Ward 1, in Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan parking can be very scarce and elicit many emotions. Over the past few months there have been two different Honda Civics belonging to the DC government that at various times, for extended periods of time, park illegally in a couple of clearly marked "No Parking Anytime" zones. As in overnight or for lunch break.

A few different residents in the area have reported the illegal parking to 311 as well as other DC government offices. A couple of weeks ago one of the illegally parked Civics actually got a parking ticket. Yet the illegal parking continues as the above recently taken photo shows.

Frequently cars in this area get a variety of tickets while parked overnight that are issued by patrol officers, not parking enforcement. For example a ticket issued at 2:30am to an otherwise legally parked car for not having the registration sticker properly affixed in the left lower corner of the windshield - a valid sticker is there but it is leaning against the glass perhaps while the owner is trying to deal with getting the old one off to make room for the thing; issued by a patrol officer driving a cruiser. Yet only once have I seen a ticket on these two cars and that was issued in the morning by parking enforcement at around 9:30am. Community policing is all about what community you are in I guess.

From the photos we can see that this person has free parking at two city parking lots in prime areas - the Wilson Building and the Reeves Center. In a city that in general does not build public parking garages, this person has a nice perk.

Random Reasons For Not Supporting FentyRhee; The Dog Ate My Homework

Now that an election is on the horizon for DC mayor, some friends of mine have asked me about my reasons for "lack of confidence" in Mr. Adrian Fenty as the mayor of Washington, DC. So some random examples are in order - not an attempt at cataloging, just some random examples, as they present themselves, of moments that make me think I want better from political "leadership".

Fenty appeared before the DC Council this week to talk about his 2011 budget for the city. The budget includes a pay raise for teachers but fails to provide the funding needed to pay for it. From the following article from The Examiner, when questioned about the disparity, Fenty said that Rhee would answer the question later and asked council members to email him questions. Fenty's passing the buck to Rhee is just one example of why I often use FentyRhee and RheeFenty to describe them.

I scratch my head - he doesn't seem very prepared to me. For many I know, that wouldn't cut it at their job - make a presentation and leave out critical info? It wouldn't cut it for my son's 8th grade class. Throw in a little arrogance..... not a path to career success for most although it amazes me how well it works for some.

From The Washington Examiner,

Council grills Fenty over proposed budget

By: Alana Goodman
Examiner Staff Writer
April 13, 2010

.......................Council members also sparred with the mayor over how he would fund his proposed $101 million in pay raises for teachers. About $65 million of this tab would be picked up by private grants, while taxpayer dollars would fund the rest.

"We're talking about a huge sum of money here that I cannot identify in the budget. ... Where is it?" Chairman Vince Gray asked the mayor.

Fenty responded that Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee would answer the question during her testimony on Tuesday, but Gray shot back that "this is way above her pay grade."

"I don't think every mayor should know every dollar in the budget ... but we're talking about an issue involving education, which is your top priority," said Gray, who is challenging Fenty in the 2010 mayoral election.

Councilman Marion Barry also slammed the mayor for not indicating where the money would come from. "Let me ask you a question: Is this the chancellor's budget or your budget?" Barry said. "I think the mayor of the District of Columbia ... ought to be able to tell this council where the $100 million is coming from."

Fenty invited the council members to e-mail him or call him with their questions. "There are questions that I guess I'm not going to have the answer to sitting on the dais," he said.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/D_C_-Council-grills-Fenty-over-proposed-budget-90691894.html#ixzz0l4uk1Y7a