Madam Chair and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to comment on the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) FY19 budget as recently proposed by the Mayor.
We offer these comments on behalf of the Washington DC Chapter of the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest environmental advocacy group. The DC Chapter is a grassroots organization with 3,500 dues paying members. Our top priority is combating climate change. We work to shift away from dirty fossil fuels and move towards a clean energy economy.
Overall, we applaud the Mayor for increasing the Department’s budget by 9.3 percent. With a few exceptions, programs have enjoyed steady state or slight increases in funding levels compared to FY18. This is vitally important to furnish the continuity that is so important for the long-term viability of environmental and conservation programs. At least two of these programs, the Renewable Energy Development Fund and the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund, are supported by independent, dedicated funding sources. However, in the past, they have been subject to raids to siphon off dollars from these dedicated funds. We urge the Mayor and the Council to continue to refrain from =shifting these funds to other programs, which is contrary to the law that created the funds. We strongly support the waiver issued to the Department to enable it to issue multi-year grants to provide the long-term support so needed in environmental and conservation programs.
This funding increase will enable the Department to continue its all-important Research and Development (R&D) programs to help guide us in future programs. For example, in the context of the Mayor’s commitment for our city to become carbon neutral by 2050, since D.C. is lacking any major point sources of carbon, our buildings present us with the most challenges. The Department’s R&D should continue its work to find the appropriate level of incentives to help us tackle this thorny problem of reducing carbon emissions from buildings. To address the long-term problem of financing for clean energy, the Department devised Green Bank legislation that was submitted by the Mayor to the Council and passed in Committee on March 29th. Similarly, on the water side, the District’s R&D efforts have led to a nationally-lauded program of trading stormwater credits. Clearly, a strong and consistent support for R&D can yield tangible and long term benefits.
In light of the concerns about high sewer charges under the Clean Rivers Impervious Area Charge (CRIAC), more innovative work is needed to more fairly assign these charges. The Department should continue to work with DC Water to create new approaches. We note that while the Mayor’s addition of $6 million to provide hardship support is welcome, it is only a one-time solution to an ongoing problem that cries out for innovative solutions.
We are particularly heartened by the continued robust support for the Solar for All program that provides solar power systems and the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that provides help with energy bills for our low-income neighbors. DOEE reports that they are presently completing Phase I of the Solar for All program, in which 10 megawatts of solar was installed on the roofs of low-income households. In the face of what has turned out to be an extremely complex undertaking, the Department is clearly learning quickly and working hard to overcome the various pitfalls. While some solar developers have complained that the Department has developed some of these projects on their own instead of contracting with area companies – which could use the federal tax credits available to expand the funding for projects – we believe that there are some circumstances that might warrant DC ownership of the panels.
For the first time in recent memory, the LIHEAP appears fully funded with local dollars. This will eliminate the mad scramble for funds at the end of the program and eliminate uncertainty and long lines for low-income applicants. We are optimistic that over time, the installation of energy efficiency measures by the DC Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) will reduce the level of funding needed for this program. The increase in funding for DC SEU’s contract will help fund additional energy efficient measures, including efforts to help people replace old inefficient boilers. Again, over the long term, these efforts will reduce our carbon footprint and cut energy costs for low-income families.
The Mayor’s budget appears to make an important first step in the work of preserving Kingman and Heritage Islands in the Anacostia. In addition, the funding of the remediation work on the Anacostia sediments appears on track and, according to the Department, there is adequate funding to support the work in the coming year. Unknown appears to be the amount of funding that the National Park Service might ask for in compensation for their work on Kingman Island, although the Director has testified that reprogramming funds may be adequate to absorb these new demands. How this might affect the rest of the DOEE budget is unclear. The conservation of Kingman and Heritage as well as continuing the important clean-up work is vital to enable residents east of the river to gain the benefits of living along a clean and healthy Anacostia River. Much more work needs to be done, but these are important first steps.
Data from both DOEE and the US Coast and Geodetic Survey water quality monitors continue to demonstrate high levels of bacterial contamination in areas not impacted by discharges from combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The question then is where is this contamination coming from. To more thoroughly answer this question, DOEE may wish to consider expanding both the frequency and number of locations sampled. For example, regarding the upper stem of Rock Creek where it is not uncommon for kids to wade in the water, currently the Department is sampling at the DC boundary and under the Connecticut Avenue bridge and only quarterly during the winter. (The Department has indicated they may sample weekly during the summer months in Rock Creek, a welcome improvement.) They may consider adding sampling at Joyce Road, to buttress the data already gathered by the USGS and consider how to better capture bacterial levels after storms.
Increased data, while vital to prioritize clean-up projects, should also be linked with an easy-to-understand public notification system to tell parents whether it is safe for their children to have contact with the water. We recognize that there is a current ban on direct contact with the waters of the District. But the reality is that contact is occurring now and is likely to continue. We believe that the Department, working with such groups as the Potomac and Anacostia River Keepers, can craft an easily understood and effective water quality notification system.
In conclusion, we thank the Mayor for increasing the DOEE budget and support of these important programs. They are an investment for the quality of life for DC residents for decades to come.