Testimony of
Mark Rodeffer, Sierra Club DC Chapter
Before the DC Council Committee on Business & Economic Development
Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development Performance Oversight Hearing
February 16, 2022
Good morning, Councilmember McDuffie, and thank you for the opportunity to testify at the oversight hearing for the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED). My name is Mark Rodeffer, and I am testifying on behalf of the Sierra Club DC Chapter. The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest, largest and most influential environmental advocacy group. We have chapters in all 50 states, with 3,000 dues-paying members in DC.
Microgrid for St. Elizabeths
We are here today primarily because we have concerns about a microgrid planned for the Office of Unified Communications 911 call center and the new hospital being built on the grounds of St. Elizabeths.
We understand that the St. Elizabeths microgrid will not incorporate renewable energy, and instead will generate electricity by burning fracked gas and diesel fuel, both of which emit greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. These dirty fuels also emit pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and formaldehyde, which cause respiratory and other ailments. Diesel generators not only are dirty, they also are expensive and unreliable as a source of electricity.
To be clear: the Sierra Club fully supports a microgrid on the St. Elizabeths campus. This microgrid will benefit the new hospital, which is desperately needed in Wards 7 and 8. The microgrid would keep the hospital and call center – both essential facilities – operating when the electric grid goes down. The microgrid would also provide substantial energy savings for day to day operations. In addition to the call center and the hospital, the microgrid will support a men’s shelter and potentially other aspects of the St. Elizabeths development, including affordable housing. If the microgrid is not completed, the District will forfeit a grant of almost $20 million from FEMA.
However, we want the St. Elizabeths microgrid to be powered by renewable energy, such as solar energy coupled with battery storage, to the maximum extent possible. Electric utilities may dislike microgrids that produce their own electricity rather than relying on a utility company. Nonetheless, microgrids are an overall benefit because of the improved resilience and lower cost.
The Sierra Club has been told that some in the executive branch are working to thwart a microgrid at St. Elizabeths. We were told a staffer in the Mayor’s Office falsely stated the microgrid would be illegal unless it was owned by the electric utility. We have also been told that DMPED has significantly delayed the issuance of a request for proposals (RFP) for the microgrid by objecting to all proposed locations for the necessary equipment. We have also been told that DMPED has stated that because of the delays it has caused, plans to construct a new hospital in Ward 8 should move forward without a microgrid. We have heard that because of the capital costs savings of $8 to $12 million that would be lost without a microgrid, the hospital may have to be built with one less floor than planned.
The allegations shared with us are deeply concerning. Residents in Wards 7 and 8 have a right to quality medical services in a hospital east of the river. Wards 7 and 8 – and all of the District – should expect our government to work to reduce energy costs and increase the resilience of energy systems.
The Sierra Club calls on DMPED and other District government agencies to add as much renewable energy generation as possible to the microgrid, eliminate plans for diesel generation, and reject efforts to kill the project. This microcrid may not be in the electric utility’s interest, but it is clearly in the public interest.
The Business and Economic Development Committee, the Transportation and Environment Committee, the Health Committee, and the full Council must provide rigorous oversight to ensure the new hospital at St. Elizabeths is powered by a microgrid instead of lopping off an entire floor of the hospital to the detriment of the health of residents of Wards 7 and 8.
Sustainability of District-led Economic Development Projects
We are deeply concerned that the District government is failing to incorporate principles of sustainability in the major, city-led developments of public property that are underway, in the planning phase, or anticipated. In addition to St. Elizabeths, these include Walter Reed, Poplar Point, Reservation 13, and the RFK stadium site. In fact, it appears that the District is failing to incorporate its own principles of sustainability, laid out in a series of plans and commitments, including Clean Energy DC, Sustainable DC, and the District's climate, Zero Waste, and Vision Zero commitments. Designing the microgrid at St. Elizabeths to run on dirty energy, discussed in the first part of this testimony, is an outstanding example of this failure.
With the global climate crisis and the global biodiversity crisis now fully upon us, the past can no longer be the guide for the future. Because of climate change, our city will increasingly be subjected to extreme conditions, including scorching heat waves, extreme rainfall, Arctic cold from polar vortex incidents, more Snowmageddons, and sea level rise in the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. In February 2010, DC was buried under 38 inches of snow. In 2021, a teenager who was trying to save his mother drowned in his own basement apartment in Rockville due to extreme rainfall from Hurricane Ida. For the safety, affordability, comfort, and even the survival of the families and businesses that will occupy these new developments, it is essential that they achieve high levels of sustainability.
New and renovated buildings should be net-zero energy: highly energy efficient and using on-site energy including passive solar energy, solar panels, and ground-source geothermal heat pumps. Net-zero buildings provide their inhabitants with affordable energy bills and greater comfort and resilience to extreme weather. All buildings should include electric vehicle charging infrastructure or be EV-ready. Microgrids that do not use fossil fuels should be incorporated wherever feasible. All buildings and grounds should be designed to absorb and reuse rainwater to protect lives and property from extreme rainfall and reduce runoff into storm sewers and rivers.
Our communities should be designed with “complete streets” principles to be safe and accessible to all modes of transportation, including walking and biking; public transit; and shared modes of transportation including bikes, scooters, and motor vehicles, thereby reducing the need for private vehicles and parking. District communities should include parks and community gardens for the enjoyment and sustenance of their human and animal residents and to reduce the urban heat island effect. Important natural areas such as wetlands should be protected and expanded, because they support wildlife, absorb flood water, and filter contaminants out of water.
This is not rocket science; it’s a matter of applying existing knowledge and experience. It appears that the District employees in charge of these developments are not availing themselves of the vision and expertise of experts in the DC government such as at DOEE, other experts in our city and region, or the insights of community members.
Councilmember McDuffie, the Sierra Club requests that you hold an oversight hearing, in partnership with other relevant committees, to inform the Council and the public of the current plans for these DC-led developments – including the microgrid at St. Elizabeths – and we strongly encourage the District to apply essential concepts of sustainability to them.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on these important topics.