Testimony of Matthias Paustian of the Sierra Club
Before the DC Council Oversight Hearing on the Department of Buildings
February 23, 2023
Thank you, Chairman Mendelson, for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Matthias Paustian, and I am testifying on behalf of the Sierra Club DC Chapter. Our top priority is combating climate change.
I begin my testimony with a recent personal experience on obtaining permits from the Department of Buildings for a renovation project at my house. That turned out to be straightforward and easy. The permit for an alteration and repair could be obtained by submitting all required documents online and each step was moved forward by reviewers in less than 24 hours. Kudos to DOB for creating a simple and quick permitting process.
Turning to climate change, about 75 percent of the District’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. Therefore, the Department of Buildings plays an important role in implementing the District’s climate commitments, via its participation in updates of the building codes and in its enforcement of the code.
The current building code includes a voluntary net zero energy compliance path for commercial construction. Net zero energy buildings are highly energy efficient and are powered exclusively by electricity from renewable sources. Importantly, they do not burn fossil fuels.
As you know, last year, the DC Council passed the Clean Energy DC Building Code Act, which requires the executive to establish a net zero building code for all newly constructed commercial buildings no later than 2026. The Construction Codes Coordinating Board (CCCB) is the government body that is tasked with implementing the Council’s directive for the net zero code, and the Department of Buildings has three members on the CCCB. The building code that the CCCB is currently considering will be the last code update that can be completed before 2026.
CCCB currently has before it a proposal from its Technical Advisory group which requires that all equipment in newly constructed commercial buildings be powered exclusively by electricity, with no on-site combustion of fossil fuels. This proposal is a natural interim step towards a net zero energy code that is required by law.
The Sierra Club calls on DOB representatives on the CCCB – and all CCCB members – to uphold DC’s climate commitments by voting in favor of this all-electric commercial code.
All-electric codes for new construction are common sense policy. All-electric buildings are less expensive to build than mixed fuel buildings because they rely on one piece of equipment (a heat pump) to both heat and cool rather than requiring two separate pieces of equipment for heating and cooling, with commensurate increases in upfront equipment costs and gas hookup costs.
Heat pumps are less expensive to operate, because they achieve 300 to 400 percent efficiency compared to only around 85 percent efficiency for fossil fuel burning equipment. Heat pumps are better for the health of building occupants because electric equipment does not emit toxic pollutants such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) that are released when burning fossil fuels indoors and that contribute to asthma and other adverse health outcomes. Heat pumps are better for our climate because DC’s electricity will come from 100 percent renewable sources by 2032. DC’s methane gas, on the other hand, is composed of – guess what? – 100 percent fossil fuels.
All-electric codes are fiscally responsible because the polluting alternative – methane gas – is plagued with aging and leaky pipes that are costly to repair and whose wholesale replacement will result in stranded assets, which are misguided investments that will fall out of use well before the ends of their physical lives. Over the next five years alone, Washington Gas wants to spend $672 million dollars to replace just a small fraction of its pipes, part of the gas utility’s larger plan to have DC residents pay almost $5 billion to replace its fossil fuel piping system. The earlier we move away from such an expensive fossil fuel distribution system, the better.
There are about 100 municipalities in the country that have adopted electrification policies in the last four years, covering more than 20 percent of the nation’s population. Put simply, electrification is now mainstream among jurisdictions that take climate change seriously.
Given these benefits, it is perhaps surprising that I see the need to testify today. I do so because perceptions in the building trades change slowly and because the fossil fuel industry and its surrogates are lobbying to stop electrification efforts in the District and protect dirty energy profits over the interests of DC residents.
The Sierra Club asks the Committee of the Whole to remind the CCCB members that in taking their oath, they affirmed to faithfully execute all laws of the United States of America and of the District of Columbia. The Climate Commitment Act of 2022 requires DC to achieve carbon neutrality and eliminate fossil fuel combustion by 2045. The Clean Energy DC Building Code Act of 2022 requires DC to end fossil fuel combustion in newly constructed buildings.
Approving the all-electric commercial building code proposal currently before the CCCB is a step toward implementing Mayor Bowser’s commitment to carbon neutrality. In my experience following the building code update process over the last two years, representatives of the DOB have been diligent, knowledgeable, and committed to achievement of the District’s policy goals. The Sierra Club expects that DOB representatives – and all members of the CCCB – enact the statutory requirements from the Council and the Mayor to implement DC’s climate commitment to transition off fossil fuels.
This concludes my prepared remarks. Thank you for your time and attention.