Testimony
of
Mark Rodeffer
Chair, Sierra Club DC Chapter
before the
Transportation and Environment Committee
Hearing on
DC Department of Energy & Environment performance
Thank you Councilmember Cheh for holding this hearing today. My name is Mark Rodeffer. I’m the chair of the Sierra Club DC Chapter. The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest, largest and most influential environmental advocacy group. We have 3,000-dues paying members in DC. Our top priority is fighting climate change.
Thank you also, Councilmember Cheh, for writing the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act of 2018. It is stronger than any other climate legislation in the country and would not have become law without your visionary leadership. And thank you as well to your staff, who did an excellent job on the legislation.
Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act Implementation
The centerpiece of the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act is the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requiring electricity from 100 percent renewable sources by 2032. We look forward to the Public Service Commission successfully implementing the strengthened RPS.
The Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act is the strongest clean energy law in the nation as written. But it will only achieve its aims with effective implementation by the executive branch. Most of that falls to the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE).
SETF & REDF Special Purpose Funds
The Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act prioritizes cost-effective, equitable investments in clean energy and energy efficiency to reduce DC's carbon emissions. The District's key clean energy and efficiency programs – such as the Sustainable Energy Utility, Solar for All, Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS), and Green Finance Authority (“Green Bank”) – share funding mechanisms in the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund (SETF) and the Renewable Energy Development Fund (REDF).
The Sierra Club asks that as the Mayor and DOEE assemble their Fiscal Year 2020 budget, the SETF and REDF special purpose funds be used only for the renewable energy and energy efficiency programs for which they are statutorily intended.
Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS)
The Clean Energy DC law requires DOEE to establish minimum Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) for different building types to reduce energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. DOEE estimates this portion of the law will save 939,000 metric tons of carbon pollution annually, or 10.7% of DC’s total greenhouse gas emissions. That’s an estimate. The actual emissions reductions could be even more, perhaps over a million tons a year. Or it could be less, perhaps nothing. It all depends on how this program is implemented.
The BEPS program, which is funded from the SETF, must be set up quickly. BEPS will provide the largest reductions in carbon pollution after the 100% RPS. The Sierra Club requests the BEPS program be fully funded in 2020. Every dollar spent on BEPS rulemaking, research and other needs to start the program will result in substantial greenhouse gas reductions.
The law requires the Mayor to appoint a task force to work through the nuance of rulemaking and implementation, including establishing the efficiency standards. The Mayor must complete these appointments within 90 days of the law entering into effect. With the congressional review period, the 90-day deadline is not until July. The Sierra Club asks DOEE to begin to solicit and review nominations for appointments to the BEPS Task Force immediately, with a goal of convening the Task Force well before the 90-day deadline. In addition, DOEE should draft a statement of work for a study to analyze the costs and benefits of the BEPS program. The Clean Energy law provides $250,000 for this study in Fiscal Year 2020. The Sierra Club asks that options for engaging the study begin before October 2019.
Transportation Emissions Reductions
Two essential programs in the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act are not implemented by DOEE and are not funded from the SETF and REDF: the transportation electrification program and re-calculating the vehicle excise tax based on fuel efficiency.
To meet DC’s climate commitments, these programs must be funded and implementation must begin in the upcoming fiscal year. Because these programs are not funded from the special purposes funds, the Mayor and the Council will have to allocate money separately for these programs in the FY 2020 budget.
For the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), we request full funding for the transportation electrification program itself, not merely $250,000 for a study. Half of DC’s fleet vehicles must be electric in a decade, so we need to move fast.
For the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) estimates the cost to implement the revised excise tax is only $218,000 in Fiscal Year 2020. This is a small amount of money to achieve greenhouse gas reductions from this provision estimated by DOEE to be 76,500 metric tons annually, or 1% of DC’s total carbon pollution. Because the revised tax must go into effect on January 1, 2020, DMV needs every penny for implementation on October 1, 2019.
Reducing Waste
Before concluding, I want to say that the Sierra Club appreciates DOEE’s work to enforce the polystyrene and plastic straw bans. But we see violations of the regulations every day. DOEE needs more funding to expand its three-person enforcement team.
We also ask that DOEE work with environmental stakeholders and the Council to develop a bottle deposit bill. DC has made much progress at reducing waste, but bottles are still a major problem in our waterways.
If DC is ever going to meet the Sustainable DC goal of 80% waste diversion, these steps are necessary.
Conclusion
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. For DC to have any chance to survive the catastrophic effects of climate change, we must fully fund and fully implement every provision of the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act as quickly as possible.